When a client goes silent after delivery, act in a fixed order: secure proof of what you delivered, follow up in writing on a schedule, send a dated demand once the payment is overdue, and then escalate to a forum. Silence does not cancel the debt, and in India you generally have three years from the due date to claim it.
Secure your evidence before you send another message. Save the agreement or the messages that set the terms, the files you delivered with their dates, any approval or use of the work by the client, and your invoices. Export chats and keep original emails with their headers.
Do this first because the relationship can change quickly. Shared drives get revoked, chats get deleted and accounts get closed. What you hold today is what you can prove later.
Follow up in writing, on a short schedule, with the same facts each time: the invoice number, the amount and the due date. A reminder on the due date, another a week later and a final one a week after that is reasonable. Use email as the main channel, with a message elsewhere pointing to it.
Keep the tone neutral. Angry or threatening messages weaken your position and can be quoted back at you. A polite, dated trail of unanswered reminders is good evidence.
Check the due date before you treat it as a default. If your agreement gives the client thirty days from invoice, silence in week two is not a breach. A demand sent before the debt is due has no legal footing.
If there is no payment date anywhere, rely on the invoice terms and the usual course of dealing, and make the due date explicit in your next project.
Send it once the amount is overdue and your reminders have gone unanswered. A demand notice for unpaid freelance work sets out the contract, the delivery, the amount and a deadline, usually seven to fifteen days.
Send it by email and by registered or speed post. You can send it yourself; no Indian law requires an advocate to sign it.
It depends on what your contract says. If ownership passes only on full payment, the client has no right to use the final deliverables until they pay, and you can say so in writing. If you have not handed over source files, you are generally not obliged to do so before payment unless you agreed otherwise.
Be careful with self-help. Accessing a client's systems to disable something, or deleting live work, can create liability for you. Assert your rights in writing instead. See who owns freelance work.
You can refer the matter to the Facilitation Council if you held an Udyam registration before the contract, file a summary suit for a debt on a written contract, or apply to a Lok Adalat. The order and the trade-offs are set out in how to raise a dispute against a non-paying client.
For small amounts, a clear demand and the Council route are usually the proportionate choices.
Take part of the fee before you start, split the rest across milestones, and hold final files until the last payment clears. Put a late-payment interest rate and a payment date in writing.
Each of these is a clause, not a negotiation tactic. The advance payment guide and the freelance contract template show the wording.
Wait until the payment is actually overdue, send two or three written reminders over about two weeks, and then send a formal demand with a deadline.
It is risky. Public accusations can lead to a defamation claim and distract from the debt. A written demand and a proper forum are safer and more effective.
No. The client's silence does not end their obligation to pay for work delivered and accepted. The debt stays recoverable within the limitation period.
Generally three years under the Limitation Act, 1963, counted from when the payment became due.