@ Serenity: You’re very welcome! I just found out that Scott changed the name of his company from People Enterprises to iContent Studios. The company is still located in Austin, Texas, he’s just operating the company under a new name.

Wanted to chime in and say that i receive payments from Helium a few times a month from article writing and gigs and love it. If they sent me a check, there’s always the “it’s in the mail” excuse or it may be a ‘bad check.’ With Paypal, I request payment, and they send it or they don’t. They cannot claim it was lost or it is on its way. Once it’s in my acct I immediately transfer it to my bank acct.

I also took Bobbi’s advice and contacted Angela–she was very prompt in response to my dilemma–try her out…

I’m not sure if I am supposed to state his name in this post, but I feel that I have an obligation to warn other writers about him. Well, his name is Scott Raskiewicz and he is the CEO of People Enterprises in Austin, Texas. Please be aware and do not let this man use you!

And Jodee, this is such a wonderful job site and I appreciate your hard work! Thank you!

But in the three years I have used it it has been great…

Amy, that sux girl — dealing online can be hazardous–I had to close my account after a company that offered a so called free trial kept hitting up my bank account for a “membership fee” I somehow automatically enrolled in for this trial ( something that they state in fine print on like the fifth page of the site…as they say caveat emptor…)

I asked them to cancel and they wouldn’t stop–incredibly there is no law that stops this as once you give a person access to your account they can practically do what they want…

All you can do is close your account…

How no one is screaming about this fact in Washington is beyond me…

To each computer geek his own, I guess! PayPal is very convenient, fast, and I’ve never had any problems with them.

I get paid by paypal all the time and love it — so far I have had no problems–the money is instantaneous and you can transfer funds from paypal into your bank account.

I even have a paypal debit card.

They charge a percentage of the transaction of course, but it is nominal and they are providing a valuable service…

I actually prefer it to checks, but to each their own….

Thanks for the heads up–I am in a similar situation with the “check is in the mail” responses to calls–I will have to look the Madame up if another week or two passes without payment…

I am giving them the benefit of the doubt…

But more and more companies are paying that way. I was thinking that if I don’t allow large payments on Paypal that if Paypal did hold an account for some reason, I’d only be out $50 or something.

Are there other risks to Paypal? I’ve often thought that my husband is paranoid, but he often turns out to be right in these computer matters.

Much as I hate to admit it!!

Wendy

Actually, while I’ll never say it’s okay to stop or reduce what employees are paid in lieu of hiring freezes, I actually am seeing that happen. A bunch of companies are giving you an option, get paid less or quit. While it’s not quite on the same level as not being paid at all, it seems employers have the upper hand. You either take what they give you or hope you can find a new job.

IBM here in Essex, Vermont is cutting their manufacturing employees’ pay by up to 20% effective January 1st. Everyone has to agree to this pay cut or find new jobs.

My husband’s company gave them a 25 cent per hour raise this spring and then opted to drop the longevity pay that the employees earned after 10 years with the company. My husband’s been with them 30 years, so he took a 30 cent per hour pay cut that negates the raise and lowered his salary.

Many people who signed up with Today.com a few months back saw their pay drop from $5 per post to $1 per post and they’ve kept hiring.

Two weeks ago, I was offered a position writing book reviews for money. After one week, the owner came back and said that he could no longer pay, but he still wanted everyone to keep buying books and reviewing them for free.

Then earlier this month, I was informed by one employer that I could take a 50 percent pay cut or leave. It was a commission job, I got 60 percent and a free online classroom and they got 40 percent. They want their staff to now work for a 30% commission and they get the other 70%. Meanwhile, they are continually adding more teaching staff at this new lower rate. I’m opting to leave. I’ve found another site willing to host my class, but it means redoing the entire course from scratch and that’s going to take a lot of time – time that I don’t have most days.

Good luck!
Bobbi

I, too, agree with using a collection agency after a decent amount of time has lapsed. Your time should be spent writing rather than making collection calls. Before sending anything to collections, send an e-mail and phone the client to let them know that you will give them 7 days to come to terms before you take the agency path, some will comply when they know that you are serious. Sadly there are business owners out there who pay only when the situation gets dire, I have seen this in my “other life” in sales multiple times. There is also no good initial indicator that a client will be one of these types, in fact these types usually go out of their way to make themselves look respectable so that people will give them credit.

Never feel bad about sending a past due account to collections – if the roles were reversed your client would quickly and gladly do it to you.

Sincere Regards,

Angela

Then, if you get to the point where you have to burn the bridge, threaten legal action.

The long version with all the “how” details is on my professional freelance writing blog.

As far as the economy goes, if things are tight, then it is ok to cut back on hiring people, it is NOT ok to cut back on paying them. Your bank won’t stop collecting your mortgage payment because the economy is tough.

My email is melissa@dovcocs.com

I give them ample time to pay me.

I then tell them that I will post an unfavorable mention to several freelance writing pages and list them. I then tell them I will let the National Writer’s Union know too. I usually get paid right away.

The point being is this: if the person is not paying you, he or she might not be paying other writers or might be hiring other writers still, and then not intending to pay them.

I’ve been freelance writing long enough to know I deserve to be paid. The agreement between the client and I is that I get paid.

When I get to the point above, a long time has passed and usually I haven’t heard from the client in a long time. I don’t want to write for them again because they don’t pay timely.

We have to pay our bills, eat and enjoy what we do for a living.

Another indicator to discontinue writing for a client is if the editors start to quit. They are usually the first ones to know the publication or website is having financial problems.

Angela Hoy is a route to take for your issue.