A Hyderabad-based IT company has reportedly fired a consultant over email after they followed up about pending payments through both email and WhatsApp. According to the consultant, the company informed them that their services were no longer required following a change in their strategy. The incident was later shared on social media and has since gone viral.
'Got Fired For Taking Payment Follow-Ups'
“Got fired for taking payment follow-ups,” the consultant wrote in a post on Reddit. They also shared screenshots of their WhatsApp conversation with the person who had hired them, along with the email they received afterwards.
According to the screenshot shared in the post, the email had the subject line, “Discontinuing services.”
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The email read, “We have changed our strategy and would like to inform you that we no longer need your services effective today, April 16, 2026. We will get in touch with you should we need any assistance in the future, and our HR team will contact you regarding the release of pending payments.”
The consultant also shared screenshots of their WhatsApp conversation on Reddit. When they asked about the pending payment on April 8, the response from the company representative was, “Oh, you didn’t get it? Let me check with HR.”
When the consultant followed up the next day asking whether they had spoken to HR, the person responded that they had sent an email and added that they were hoping to see the desired results from the campaigns in April.
On April 10, the company representative informed the consultant that HR was on leave and that they would follow up once they returned. However, in the days that followed, the consultant claimed they continued to seek updates but did not receive any clear response.
In the Reddit post, the consultant explained the situation in detail.
“So I took a contract for cold emailing for a Hyderabad-based IT services company, and it’s been 45 days since I heard anything about payment from them. When I asked about it, the person who hired me seemed surprised that I hadn’t been paid. After that, I started actively following up for payment. They kept promising updates but nothing happened. Then yesterday, I received this email. I’m actually happy to receive it,” the consultant wrote.
Post Goes Viral On Reddit
Since being shared on Reddit, the post has received over 200 upvotes along with several comments from users.
One person asked, “Did you get your dues?”
Another wrote, “Ensure that you keep a trail of communication. Until you receive your complete dues, stay in touch with the same individual. That is your hard-earned money—don’t give up even a cent.”
A third user shared their experience, writing, “I have worked with many MNCs and generally payments are processed after submitting a proper invoice with a 30, 60, or 90-day payment term. Even then, many companies delay payments beyond the agreed period. Also, I’ve never had to deal with HR for payments—it’s usually handled by the procurement or finance team. Things might work differently in smaller companies, but for any decent company this is the standard practice.”