A client ghosted me after £3,200 of work. Here's exactly what I did to get paid.

True story. Built a full website for a small business. Invoiced £3,200. They went silent. Not "the cheque is in the post" silent. Full ghost. Three weeks, nothing. Here's what actually worked. The sequence that got me paid Week 1: Polite reminder (they probably forgot) Most late payments are genuinely just admin slip-ups. The first message should be zero-aggression: "Hi [Name], just checking in — invoice #47 for £3,200 was due on [date]. Please let me know if you need anything resent. Happy to help." About 60% of late invoices resolve here. Don't skip this step. Week 2: Professional follow-up (now it's a conversation) If nothing: switch tone slightly. Not aggressive — but it's no longer casual. "Following up on my previous message regarding invoice #47. This is now [X] days overdue. Could you confirm a payment date? I'm happy to discuss if there's an issue." Week 3: The statutory interest letter (this is where it gets serious) This is the move most freelancers don't know about. Under t