Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 272 posts

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#171

Post by paulsutter »

finkin1 wrote: post #128
paulsutter wrote: post #107

If a vendor doesn't pay you, call a collections lawyer. Generally speaking the client owns the code whether or not they've paid yet. Of course if the client agrees this is fine. But it's not fine if the client hasn't agreed. Stunts like this are a really bad idea. There's a right way to do it, and it works really well. Call a collections lawyer.

My understanding is that the person who produces the work produces generally owns the code until they are paid. Obviously it depends on the specifics of the signed agreement, but I'm curious why you think the client owns the code by default?

I’ve never seen a contract like that, have any examples?

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#172

Post by icelancer »

novaleaf wrote: post #147
xwdv wrote: post #81

Don’t understand why someone would throw away their integrity by doing this. When a client refuses to pay, the standard procedure is to take them to court and then make them pay what is owed + attorney fees. Instead, this developer has put himself on industry blacklists by doing this. No way he’ll be trusted with sensitive projects. Don’t do this.

I'm in a kind of similar situation in that Msft owes me aprox $7k in royalties but they lost track of it internally. I've been pinging them every 6 months about this for the last 4 years, hoping to avoid litigation. in the usa, you can't expect a lawyer to take a case without paying their fees up front. So $5000+ for any case. Assuming you win, you are still looking at years before you might actually get paid (if eve…

There are attorneys who may take this type of case on contingency. I happen to know of a good one who would consider it.

https://petersonbakerlaw.com/

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#173

Post by novaleaf »

michaelmrose wrote: post #166
novaleaf wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

small claims court in my state (WA) is limited to aprox $5000. This awkward area between $6k to $15k seems to be a sweet spot for abusive business practices (intentional or otherwise) because of the big time and financial commitment it takes to pursue. EDIT: Also I should add that it's not guaranteed that legal fees can be reclaimed from successful litigation. This is probably the main reason I keep putting it off (a…

Can you not sue them for 5K even if your actual damages are 7?

yes, that's an option, though probably the least attractive out of all my crappy choices :/

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#174

Post by novaleaf »

icelancer wrote: post #172
novaleaf wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in a kind of similar situation in that Msft owes me aprox $7k in royalties but they lost track of it internally. I've been pinging them every 6 months about this for the last 4 years, hoping to avoid litigation. in the usa, you can't expect a lawyer to take a case without paying their fees up front. So $5000+ for any case. Assuming you win, you are still looking at years before you might actually get paid (if eve…

There are attorneys who may take this type of case on contingency. I happen to know of a good one who would consider it. https://petersonbakerlaw.com/

thanks for the referral. I phoned a few lawyers about this but none were interested in contingency. I'll give him/them a call!

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#175

Post by Msurrow »

kwhitefoot wrote: post #126
davedx wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

*will solve it with laws. I'm working with a fintech company in Germany at the moment that asks users for their internet banking credentials. Apparently it's quite common in Germany.

That's very strange. Here in Norway we have a unified login system for banks and state services that lets you set up the login with your own bank then any other service that needs you to log in will delegate the login process to your bank and never needs any of your details except for your personnummer (social security number in US/UK I suppose). Then your bank either asks for a code from a one time pad or sends a me…

Yep, same in Denmark. NemID. But it works with any bank, public service etc. The govt runs the IDP and any company or public institution that wants to utilize trusted user login will delegate authentification to the govt idp

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#176

Post by clairity »

plorkyeran wrote: post #142
qafy wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you aren't comfortable with that you better not use any fintech apps like Cash App, Venmo, Wealthfront, Robinhood, any Intuit products, etc. These services use Plaid (like this app does) or similar APIs like Quovo, Yodlee, etc. Even financial institutions themselves like Citi Bank, American Express, Chime, PayPal, etc use these APIs to link your accounts. And to be clear, the app itself never has access to your cr…

I in fact don't use any of those apps, partially because of that.

yes, financial apps need to be locally-installed and under your control (preferably open-sourced), for both security and privacy.

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#177

Post by qbaqbaqba »

davedx wrote: post #112
maaaats wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Europe they solve it with laws. PSD2 forces banks to become open, and allow others to make services on top.

*will solve it with laws. I'm working with a fintech company in Germany at the moment that asks users for their internet banking credentials. Apparently it's quite common in Germany.

Sofort? When it got introduced in Poland everyone was bewildered as it seemed to stupid to be true. But after some EU nagging banks that support advanced and secured interfaces must tolerate this abomination. Ah, and if you need a US visa you have to use it to pay for your application. Suspicious.

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#179

Post by jwr »

qafy wrote: post #123
Animats wrote: post #41

This thing wants the password for your bank account? WTF? That's way more than it needs. Enough info to authorize an ACH transfer, maybe. But the login password for your bank account? No way. That voids Bank of America's security guarantee.[1] If you provide info for an ACH transfer, and the other party abuses that info, it's reversible. If you provide login info and the other party abuses that info, it's not. [1] ht…

If you aren't comfortable with that you better not use any fintech apps like Cash App, Venmo, Wealthfront, Robinhood, any Intuit products, etc. These services use Plaid (like this app does) or similar APIs like Quovo, Yodlee, etc. Even financial institutions themselves like Citi Bank, American Express, Chime, PayPal, etc use these APIs to link your accounts. And to be clear, the app itself never has access to your cr…

Well of course I won't use anything like that! I find it mind-boggling that people even consider giving a third party their bank account login+password. It's like saying "yes, I want to be robbed of all my money, please take these credentials and spread them forth to whichever leaked data pile they might end up in".

My bank considers transactions done using login credentials to be final. There is no recourse if someone steals your money.

Last year an iOS mail application called "Spark" (otherwise a great app) decided to quietly upload my login and password to their cloud servers so that their servers can access my mail for me. I dropped the app immediately (https://jan.rychter.com/enblog/spark-email-app-why-i-dont-us...).

This should not be considered acceptable. If you want to let users authorize external access to account data, use Oauth2.

Re: I didn't get paid, so I open-sourced my client’s project

#180

Post by InafuSabi »

plorkyeran wrote: post #142
qafy wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you aren't comfortable with that you better not use any fintech apps like Cash App, Venmo, Wealthfront, Robinhood, any Intuit products, etc. These services use Plaid (like this app does) or similar APIs like Quovo, Yodlee, etc. Even financial institutions themselves like Citi Bank, American Express, Chime, PayPal, etc use these APIs to link your accounts. And to be clear, the app itself never has access to your cr…

I in fact don't use any of those apps, partially because of that.

Correct move. Only you know your bankpass, even the machine generating it `forgets` after the printout
Post reply on HN