A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

When a company doesn't pay and you can't afford a lawyer... - wasnotpaid

Posted: Apr 03, 2014

You're pretty much out of luck, right? A company didn't pay me, and I can't afford a lawyer to sue them as I'm flat broke. Do I have any options to get my money?

Legal aid, small claims - Valley Girl

[ In Reply To ..]
How much money? Your local court may be able to give you some information. If you call a law office, perhaps you could get some information w/o having to pay for it.

Thank you nm - wasnotpaid

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

MTSO Nonpayment List (sm) - Rose

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm sorry that happened to you. Hopefully you will get it out of them. It may just take a threat to go to small claims court. You can also notify the admin here. See Company Board/MTSO Nonpayment List.

Thank you nm - wasnotpaid

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Some ideas - Jill M.

[ In Reply To ..]
I sympathize with you. I did contract work for a company with slow/nonpayment problems. I contemplated a small claims option, since the company was located in a nearby state, but I too was short of funds. In the end I made a proposal to settle for less than what I was owed and to my surprise it was immediately accepted. I don't like the fact I was giving assent to the idea that my work was worth less than what was agreed upon initially, but after this I was able to move on and put the rancor and anxiety behind me. My advice is to keep your correspondence with the debtor polite and professional, concise, and firm. I can't say if proposing a settlement is the right option for you, but I'm just putting it out there as an idea. Best of luck!

Also... - Jill M.

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are not already sending them invoices, then send them, and regularly, by postal mail with an extra service added like signature confirmation. When you interact with them, do not rant, talk about your finances, what bills you can't pay, what kind of jerks you think they are, etc. Be polite, professional, negotiate, and send invoices.

Thanks nm - wasnotpaid

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

when a company does not pay.... - catherine

[ In Reply To ..]
If you are an employee, contact the state labor board where you live...or where the office is if it is in another state. If you are an IC..it is tougher. Legal aid usually only represents people with children who are getting divorced or trying to collect support. You might find a lawyer willing to write a letter for free through the law association...but as an IC it is just tougher. Been there done that you have my sympathy.

wasnotpaid - Nick

[ In Reply To ..]
Here are some options:
1. File in small claims court, if the amount does not exceed the allowable.
2. Were you an employee or an IC? If an employee, go to the Labor Board PRONTO.
3. Write up a single page telling the dates and amounts you should have been paid, etc. Attach that to the copy of your contract with the company and send it to:
A. The Fraud Division of the state in which you reside and,
B. The Fraud Division of the state in which the business is located.
4. If you were an employee and not IC, check with Social Security and the IRS to make sure that she has actually paid them the money she has withheld from your previous checks for that purpose.
5. Go to glassdoor.com and tell your experience. Warn others.

See if that builds some kind of a fire. I would also write to her/him and tell them that they had just 72 hours to pay me (with a cashier's check, NOT a personal one), or I would go to my Twitter account, Facebook, P*ssed Off Consumer, and any other kind of website I could find and rat her out. Don't let her get away with this. Tell her you will take all means necessary to be paid. BTW, many law schools and state bars offer free nights once a month where you can sign up and have free time with an attorney. Here you can sign up for a 30-minute session. That might help you. Finally, if the amount is large enough, turn it over to a collection agency. They will probably take a third or so to collect, but at least you will walk away with something. Good luck to you and fie upon her.

thanks nm - wasnotpaid

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Dept of Labor or small claims is probably only option - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
Document everything!

If this is an issue of being an IC where you were not compensated at least minimum wage kind of situation, file a complaint with the BBB and the DOL. I had to do that with an old MTSO because I was an IC but wasn't making minimum wage at the time.

Nick had some good points too, do all of those! Good luck!!

Did labor board enforce FLSA for an IC? - Rose

[ In Reply To ..]
If so, that is good news, but I thought minimum wage did not apply to contractors, only employees. Now I'm wondering if MTSOs are firing those who don't make minimum wage fearing action against them. If that is the case, it would be the MTs doing all the free labor required (research, etc)which reduces our income to less than minimum wage.

IDK about that one - see message

[ In Reply To ..]
When I went after my former MTSO through the DOL, I was told that I couldn't prove I was actually at my desk all day waiting for work, even when I documented my time in/out, total hours worked per day/week/pay period and total lines produced divided by total hours worked which equaled $4 an hour, etc. I documented everything including all emails about asking my AM for work and did tons of extra copies and CC and all that. I even sent paystubs showing my $200 paychecks for two weeks of work and it still wasn't good enough. I filed the complaint, followed up constantly, and after 3-4 months got a letter from the DOL stating I wasn't owed any back pay because I was IC and not an employee and my contract "supposedly" had nothing written about minimum wage or any pay except CPL and production. And when I argued that any person working any job that is considering piece rate is to legally be paid at least minimum wage (I sent tons of web pages on this), I was still denied! I got a 2nd job to supplement and then left that MTSO and am now in a better one (but for how long?). I just hope that this situation is not the OPs and she doesn't get the shaft like I did because it was a total waste of time to get paid nothing (and I spent my own money pursuing this, postage adds up!)

BTW, it was ATSI in Florida who screwed me over. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Thanks for explaining (sm) - Rose

[ In Reply To ..]
I'm so sorry you went through all that trouble with DOI for nothing. It's things like this that show it's better to be an employee than IC, as long as you don't have a lot of expenses to itemize. Thanks for sharing your experience with DOI.

thank you nm - wasnotpaid

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

Similar Messages:

Jul 09, 2013

Anyone know of a company that doesn't require testing? ...

Sep 26, 2012

Hi, I am new to the independent contractor thing, but shouldn't a company that has "hired" you as an independent contrator have your SS and a 1099 filled out by you? Just wondering as it seems to me this is necessary and since it is not being done, it makes me wonder about this company that much more, espcially since others have stated they have not been paid by this company. I guess if they are not planning on paying me they don't need a 1099 or SS# huh? ...

Mar 18, 2010

I basically would like to grab my work from an FTP site, transcribe it in word, and upload it back. Are there any companies that still do that? ...

Apr 07, 2014

x ...

Apr 23, 2014

One ad I saw starts at $12.45 an hour. Right now I make more, but it's only a matter of time until I don't. If anyone has tried this, I'd appreciate some insight. Thanks!!!! ...

Aug 22, 2012

I will have to continue to work full-time while taking classes. Which online schools are accredited? And is there a big difference in getting a job/pay for having diploma or certificate? I'm in Florida and there are a lot of schools advertised. I want a good school, not a scam program. Thank you. ...

Nov 30, 2013

xx ...

Aug 12, 2011

First I need to apologize to the MTStars and its posters for having submitted material for which I was temporarily banned. I should have, and did not, clearly apply their rules to my posts. I have been re-instated and I want to thank MTStars for allowing my return. I am going to be seeking a lawyer and will be documenting as much information as I can. Hopefully it will be a two-fold case: The first addressing off-shore, and the second addressing our less-than-o ...

Jan 13, 2010

I spoke to a lawyer who knows some of the circumstances we will all face with the new HIPPA laws. If you type a report and typed in a fax number or cc to a certain individual and it is wrong and gets sent to (that pizza company in the video), it all depends how the hospital, doctor, HIPPA and anyone else concerned on how they want to proceed with this situation. If the doctor clearly states a fax number and an MT put the fax number in wrong and there are ways of finding out who did ...

May 14, 2012

Will someone please post how to contact the attorney mentioned in so many of these messages. I am ready to do that right now...might as well do something productive as I have NO WORK AGAIN TODAY!!! ...

Jul 11, 2014

I was seeing my lawyer for other legal matters and asked him if he knew anything about labor law. He said a little. I told him how we are paid by production, which includes providing our own computers, work environments at home, reading and responding to company email and you know, every other little thing we have to do like searching for patients, etc., etc., etc., and now we are expected to log into FIESA and sign off on "errors." He said off the top of his head, ...

Mar 03, 2010

There ought to be class action lawyers lined around the block to represent us!!! ...

Nov 26, 2012

demos when we're required to spend time searching and entering them? How can we be required to spend hours and hours a week searching & entering "required" information but not be paid for that time or those lines? Would it be a labor lawyer? ...

Nov 20, 2014

.....been going on with my job as a medical transcriptionist for the last several years to see if I had any legal recourse (I don't). Anyway, while we were talking I found out that he did not have a secretary/receptionst. I told him if he was ever looking for one that I would be interested. Then we got to talking about becoming a paralegal, and he said "you really don't want to do that". He basically said lawyers can be jerks to work with, and when you are ...

Dec 03, 2014

in all seriousness, can this be done legally? what about the state minimum wage... the Labor Board should be notified or a lawyer to make sure this is legal. ...

Apr 01, 2015

The idea of class action lawsuits is to get their $500 an hour attorneys looking at mounds of info. You only get attention dipping your hand into their pockets, deep at that. They will take attention then. It is a very valid claim. ...

May 24, 2013

The letter offers me to join in a lawsuit against Transcend. Have you received one, and if so, if you plan to join the lawsuit, would you share your reasoning? Do you think one might be "blacklisted" for joining such a lawsuit? Also, I do not understand how they can sue Transcend if it is now part of Nuance? ...

May 13, 2012

I have to admit, it was tough calling - it just makes it all the more real - wow, these companies really have screwed us all over for years! It is a painful realization...I mean, you KNOW you're getting screwed over...but when you make contact with the legal system...it's real in a way it wasn't before. However...I'm glad I called!!!!!! I'm hoping other people will call as well - maybe if this law firm can't take it on, there will be some other law firm ...

Apr 07, 2010

I have an ESL dictating discharge medications with the hiccups! He just keeps right on dictating and I'm supposed to know what was said during the hiccup. VR is having a great time with this! ...

Jun 02, 2011

Rapid Outsourcing Imaging hired me to work the weekend graveyard shift. Their transcription platform does not refresh itself, and there is very little work. What work does come in has an almost immediate TAT, so you are expected to sit in front of your pc for a 10-hour graveyard shift constantly refreshing your screen to check for work. When work does come in and show up on your screen, it is already 7 minutes into the 20-minute TAT. I was making about $2 per hour. ...

Jan 13, 2012

Sentance reads: " The patient denies any parenthesis or weakness in the right lower extremity. " It just doesn't look right and when I look it up online I only get examples and definitions of the puncutation parenthesis or parentheses... Thanks for all your help :) ...

Dec 02, 2009

I have TWO JOBS right now and BOTH are completely out of work. It's been this way since mid-Sept or so. Every week I think, I'll get up EARLIER and pop out even more lines than ever.............but to no avail. NO WORK. I'm an IC with one and an employee with the other (a HUGE company). This after I had two other jobs two years ago that completely flaked out too where the work load dwindled to nothing, so I looked around and took these other two (I tr ...

Mar 14, 2010

So, that "First Time Right/QA on Demand just started. Wouldn't you know that as SOON as it started, I have been getting nothing but out-of-BOB accounts. At this rate, I won't be able to stay under 10%, much less than up to 25% or more. Up until now, was getting my primary or at least BOB accounts, I calculated carefully and figured out that while staying in my BOB, I could come under 5% most of the time. I am really thinking they want everyone consta ...

Mar 29, 2010

The evil Q doesn't have to fire or lay anyone off, they can just starve us to death with no work. ...

May 05, 2010

Only using an employer as an example - my personal example - but my idea is applicable to all the others I have read about on this site Not long ago, I posted a rant about Siance not paying me. I turned them in to the Labor Board. They were given a deadline to pay me, but it could take that Dept up to 6 months or longer to get my money. I thought...HMMM...I HAVE BILLS TODAY - NOT IN 6 MONTHS MAN! So...I filed unemployment against Saince. They did a pho ...

Sep 25, 2010

Not paid for four months' of work. ...

Dec 17, 2011

I've heard how great Transcend is so I applied, in addition to 8-10 other companies. I had heard such great things and such rave reviews from Transcend employees they were a company I wanted to hear back from most. Two weeks later still not a word, and I had already tested for most of the other companies and had been given offers. Because I was most interested in Transcend, I decided to write the recruiter using the email address I found on the website. Even after a ...

Sep 11, 2012

Let's sum it up briefly. MTtoCoding doesn't like us one bit. She also doesn't like being here. It causes her distress, just like her university and the instructor from her university did. We are all losers. Continued. We are bad, the MT board is bad also, her university is bad, the teacher is really, really bad, credentialed teachers stink, work experience is a bad idea for teachers to have, etc. She just dropped in to tell us about a great new coding course. When she didn&rs ...

Mar 25, 2014

This is a two-sided message. It is painfully obvious that no one is learning anything from having failed audits. This being said, I think there are a few sides to this. First, the error weights are harsh for a lot of small errors. Second, the error weighs are not harsh enough for other errors. Third, and most importantly, no one seems to be taking the time to learn anything from the audits/feedback in order to improve themselves and their work, which leads me to what I would do if ...

Jan 22, 2015

When you type an ESL, and you know he/she says the same thing all the time, but you cannot figure it out for the life of you. Leave a blank and send it on, when you know that blank could have been filled? I'm not passing it on to QA. How many times I have been audited with the same doctors I have submitted to QA is laughable. Fool me once.... etc., etc., etc. ...