Is there a professional way to say FU

[MonicaGellller]

I need a work related way to say FU to someone in an email.
The back story is that I'm self employed and recently did some hours work for a company. Sent the invoice and they have decided to disregard the hours I've invoiced for and paid me what they feel I was owed! So basically less than half of what I invoiced for. On one hand I'm thinking it's a few hundred quid and I can't be arsed with the hassle to chase the money. (although I need it). On the other I'm thinking how fucking dare they undervalue my time, experience and self worth. So can I ask for advise on how to word... Fuck you, you unprofessional, horrible person etc.
I just probably need to get the last word in to make myself feel a bit better for the above mentioned under valued bit.

Just send them an email saying that they forgot to pay you the remainder and bill them again.

Take it to small claims if needed.

As above. What are your contract terms with them?

The usual 'fuck you' is "as per my previous". So "as per my previous invoice, the total owed is £XXX. Payment in full by (date

Balls, posted too soon.
"Payment by (date) or late fee of 20%" or whatever the terms of the contract were. And mean it. Don't accept not being paid.

If you provided a quote before the service and they accepted, you have a legal implied contract that they need to honour

If there's a contract take them to MCOL. If they don't pay up, it will go to small claims and if you have a cause of action I.e. a contract then they'll be made to pay.

Dear company,

Thank you for your payment of x which has arrived safely into my account. Please find attached your updated invoice.

The balance of Y is due by 1st May 2023.

With best wishes
Fred

Thanks all. No contract or quote up front, just an agreed hourly wage. They felt I didn't achieve enough outcome but I worked my arse off and am definitely owed.

If you agreed an hourly rate and kept track of your hours then that is the contract. They can't change it after without serious reason

Have been on both ends of thus, both times successfully on my part. What's the nature of the work and the wording of the agreement?

I did keep track of the hours and like the idea of just sending the outstanding invoice again and see what happens.

To confirm, the outstanding balance is £xx and is due by xxxx.

I trust this clarifies the situation.

Have you got in writing anywhere what the agreed hourly rate and worked hours was?

If not I’d try and write the email in a way that their response will acknowledge that agreement.

And then threaten to take it to small claims court….

Definitely just ask for the remainder by x date. Then small clams. Don’t walk away. You need to test your companies money as though it was your grannies and protect every penny.

Yes, you need to check what you have in writing. If there was supposed to be a specific outcome, it is odd that there isn't a fee for the overall job rather than an hourly rate. Because that could be a scam to milk the customer for excessive hours. Perhaps worth thinking about how you agree a price for a job in future....

Dear Tightwad

Thank you for your payment on account.
However we agreed an hourly rate of £XXX and I have worked XX hours on this project, as per the attached invoice.
Please ensure payment reaches my account no later than, after which time an 8% interest charge on outstanding payments will be applied.
If you are unable to pay the invoice, please contact me to discuss payment options.

That shows you're not messing around but will bring it to a head if they think they have a case not to pay. Consider letting them spread the payment (don't agree to more than x 2 months) if there is a genuine problem.

Do you have a contract with Ts & Cs? But you can go to small claims court anyway even if you don't.

small Claims court? I would jump through the hoops because they could be screwing lots of people over, not just you

It was a job that would potentially lead to long term working together so that's why the hourly rate was agreed. Replicating a product so it involved lots of trial and error. While there were no perfect final products created I was getting close to it. But they've decided no to pay me for all the hours I put in, I gave them an honest breakdown of the hours and provided photos.

If you have an hourly rate agreement and evidence then I'd say seek advice. Are you part of a union? You may be able to make
a MCOL but check with a professional body first

This definitely, it might be an oversight on their behalf so keep it polite for now.

Dear company, in reviewing your recent payment, I must point out that there seems to be a mistake in the processing of this invoice. As you recall the agreement we made was that I would be paid xxx per hour. There was no mention made of a cap on the number of hours expected or payment according to your judgement of the results of this work. My original invoice gave a full accounting of the hours involved in the work given, so please arrange for the payment of the outstanding amount of xxx as soon as possible (or give a date if you prefer). If you would like to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me. I trust we can resolve this satisfactorily.