CreatorsA brand or platform didn't pay you
A brand or platform didn't pay you
A brand, agency, or platform that owes you for delivered work owes a debt, and in Arizona a signed agreement, an email chain, or a DM thread that states the terms can all be enforced. A claim on a written contract generally must be filed within six years under A.R.S. § 12-548, and on an oral agreement within three under A.R.S. § 12-543. Unpaid amounts can accrue interest at Arizona's legal rate under A.R.S. § 44-1201, and in a contract action a court may award attorney fees to the successful party under A.R.S. § 12-341.01. The usual first step is an attorney-signed demand letter; many invoices are paid after one. If the brand went quiet after you posted, you may have a claim, and the thread is the evidence.
What Blueshoe does
The groundwork, in order, before you decide anything.
- 01
Assemble the record
The contract or the thread that stands in for one, the brief, the delivered content with its live dates, the invoice, and every message since. Blueshoe lays it out as a timeline so the debt and its due date are provable.
- 02
Check what the contract actually triggers payment
Net terms, pay-on-publication, pay-on-approval, and kill fees each change when the money is due and whether the brand has a defense. The assessment says which applies, and whether the brand's reason for not paying holds up.
- 03
Send the demand
An attorney-signed demand letter stating the amount, the contract term it rests on, the interest accruing under A.R.S. § 44-1201, the attorney fee exposure under § 12-341.01, and a deadline. Many invoices are paid at this step.
- 04
An attorney can file if the letter does not work
A licensed Arizona attorney can review the file and bring the claim, in Arizona justice court for amounts up to $10,000 or in superior court for more, or advise you when the contract sends the dispute to another state, on terms stated in writing first.
What the law says
What the law says when a brand or platform does not pay
We never signed a formal contract. Can I still collect?
Often, yes. An agreement reached by email or DM that states the deliverables and the fee is a contract, and a written one if the terms are in the messages. A purely oral deal is also enforceable but carries a three-year deadline under A.R.S. § 12-543 instead of six under § 12-548, and becomes a contest over what was said.
How long do I have to sue for an unpaid fee in Arizona?
A claim for breach of a written contract generally must be filed within six years under A.R.S. § 12-548, and a claim on an oral agreement within three years under A.R.S. § 12-543, usually measured from when payment was due. The deadlines are long, but the evidence, the thread and the post, gets harder to retrieve every month.
Export the thread now, screenshot the live post with its date, and save the invoice and any read receipts. Platforms delete accounts and brands change agencies; the record you keep is the one the court will see.
Can I charge interest or recover my attorney fees?
Both are possible. An unpaid, fixed amount can accrue interest at Arizona's legal rate under A.R.S. § 44-1201, ten percent a year unless the contract set a different rate in writing. In an action arising out of a contract, A.R.S. § 12-341.01 lets the court award reasonable attorney fees to the successful party, which changes what ignoring the demand costs.
Where would the case be filed, and what does the contract say about that?
In Arizona, claims up to $10,000 can be filed in justice court, a faster and cheaper forum than superior court, where larger claims go. Many brand and platform contracts choose another state's law and courts, or require arbitration. Blueshoe is an Arizona firm; the assessment reads that clause first and tells you plainly if the dispute belongs elsewhere.
A platform froze or clawed back my payout. Is that different?
Yes. Platform payouts are governed by the platform's terms of service, which usually include an internal appeal, an arbitration clause, and broad discretion over monetization. The first step is the written appeal on the platform's own process, documented; the second is reading the terms for what the platform actually promised and whether it followed its own rules.
What it costs
A demand letter first, at a flat fee.
Asking costs nothing, and a licensed Arizona attorney can review the agreement and the thread before you decide anything. The usual first step is an attorney-signed demand letter, and the flat fee for it is quoted in writing before the letter is drafted. Where a larger unpaid amount justifies it, Blueshoe may take the matter on contingency instead: a percentage of what is recovered, stated in a written engagement agreement, with nothing owed if there is no recovery. Case costs, such as filing fees, are set out in the same agreement.
- Free to ask
- Written assessment before any fee
- Engagement terms in writing
- No billable hours
Questions people ask
The contract decides. If payment was tied to approval, what the approval process required and whether the brand followed it is the question; if payment was tied to delivery or publication, a later complaint is usually not a defense to the fee. Revision rounds, the brief, and the brand's own feedback thread are the evidence, so keep all of it.
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Legally reviewed by Catherine O’Grady, State Bar of Arizona No. 011647
Managing partner & chief compliance officer · 30+ years in practice · Reviewed 2026-10-08 · Full bio →