Get a signed contract, and don't let the client change it!

[dnavarrojr]

I don't know if this is true, I've been searching Google and can't find any articles...

I was told about a bride who was a lawyer. She made modifications to the contract of every vendor she signed to do her wedding. Caterer, DJ, reception hall, etc... And they all allowed her to do it. A week after her wedding, she sued every single one of them for breach of contract. They all had to return her fess and pay her court costs... so she got her wedding for free.

True story or not, do NOT let your clients change one word of your contract. And make sure that you follow your contract to the letter.

 

[Kerbouchard]

Seems pretty far fetched that out of every vendor that was hired at the wedding, not one of them read the parts she changed to find out if they could fulfill the obligations.

I suppose it's possible, it just doesn't seem very likely.

 

[imagemaker46]

Doesn't sound like the contracts that were signed should have been agreed to by any of the people hired for the wedding, Sorry to to say but if the contracts were that one sided and they signed them, they got what they deserved, screwed. I have contracts with some clients, if they want them, they draw them up, I read them, if there is anything I don't agree with we agree to a re-write. The contracts all have agreements in them where they can be cancelled within two weeks of the assignment, any cost incured by me as part of the contract is paid, as well they pay me a small cancellation fee. Any money that they may have paid me upfront are re-paid. The contracts are simple and no one gets screwed.

 

[KmH]

do NOT let your clients change one word of your contract. QUOTE]That is 'pie in the sky'. Actually, the word I want to use is ludicrous.

Contracts terms get negotiated and changed all the time without the parties to the contract winding up in court. No doubt my contract is written heavily in my favor, but I know that I'll often have to modify some of the terms to get the other party to sign it. In all honesty, a client that has zero questions or concerns about my contract terms scares me more than someone that has issues with it. The zero questions client is more likely to file suit, becuae they didn't understand what they were agreeing to when they signed.

And as usual I have a book that covers that; The Photographer's Guide to Negotiating

 

[dnavarrojr]

Thanks for the link to the book, I'll order it through my local library.

 

[bennielou]

My contract is 3 pages of small print. I won't change NADA. I'm a photographer, not a lawyer, so there is no way I would assume to change the lawyers work I paid for, in exchange for a red flag client. No way.