First client gripe of '08

Two weeks into the new year and I have my first client gripe.

I picked up a new client just a week ago, and a very promising job this looks like it will turn out to be. My contact at the company was in regular contact, phoning and emailing to check I'd understood the brief and could deliver on time etc, etc. No problem. I was asked to speak up if I had any questions, which I always do if anything is unclear. So far, so good.

Then I started filling in a tax declaration form, as this is a foreign client and a) it's to ensure I don't get hit with their version of IR35 and b) to declare that I'm a foreign (to them) supplier and will pay my own tax etc, etc. The form was ridiculously complicated and each question referred me to the "instructions". Fine, except I didn't have them.

I scratched my head a bit and fired off an email to my contact. That was yesterday morning. It's now Tuesday evening and I've had no reply. Not good. Especially as my first deadline was also today. Apart from yesterday's form-filling query, I'd also filed the first of two features. I have no idea if it's been received or not, or if they are happy with it. I'd also completed feature no. 2 but not sent it as I was awaiting a reaction to my tax form query. So feature no. 2 sits on my hard drive and will remain sitting there until my tax questions get a response.

Bugger. This looked like it would be so straightforward. Now I'm not so sure. I just hope I don't get stiffed. I don't like it when clients go quiet on me...