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Serving Over 20,000 US Medical Transcriptionists

No paycheck, need advice

Posted By: Lindsay on 2008-06-17
In Reply to:

I have worked for a company since April 21 of this year.  I began asking about my first paycheck around the beginning of May, because it was my understanding that I would be paid for what I worked in April on May 1.  After asking MANY times, one of my bosses (they are husband and wife) finally responded to me (saying that he had already responded many times) only when I stated that I would not continue to submit any more work until I got an explanation of where my paycheck was.  He told me that I had misunderstood when I was hired, and that I would be paid June 1st for the pay period of March 5 - April 29.  I decided (stupidly) to continue working, and the same thing has happened this month.  I have been given three different explanations as to when my paycheck was mailed.  Today, I finally stated, again, that I would not submit work until I received either the paycheck, or a faxed copy or emailed copy of something that proved that a check was issued and mailed to me.  He was very rude, and basically said, he would not do it, and I would be "shut off" from work.  The wife emailed me and said she did not want me to quit, and that the check had been resent the previous day.  I subsequently gave my two-weeks' notice, and stated that I would complete any and all assignments given in the next two weeks, but wanted to quite thereafter (which I have to do according to the contract I signed).  I live in CA, and the company is located in PA... and I already submitted a back-wage complaint online, but do not know what else to do.  I have read recently that other people have had this problem, and am in contact with someone else that works there currently, who has only received one paycheck, and has worked for them since January.  They also charge a "start up fee" of 100.00, so the check I am waiting on is only for 17.00!  It's not the money, It is the fact that I have worked very hard for 2 months and have not been paid!  He was also very rude and brought up personal things about myself and family in his emails.  ANY ADVICE is MUCH appreciated.  Thank you.


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living paycheck to paycheck
Yeah, I feel your pain. I shop for as much groceries as possible in the Dollar Aisle at a local Kuhn's grocery store. Hopefully you have something like that around you.
Serious Poll: Paycheck-to-Paycheck

1.  Are you living paycheck-to-paycheck?  Defined:  Missing one paycheck would seriously harm your basic living (housing, food, utilities or necessary meds/medical care).


2.  If you lost your job today, without warning, do you think you could be employed again within 1 payperiod?


3.  Do you have an emergency fund in case a loss of job happens?


My answers:


1.  Missing 1 paycheck would hurt but not devastate me.  Mising 2 or more, yes - it could be dire.


2.  Yes, most definitely.


3.  Started one and slowly building it up.


 


paycheck
Mine was direct deposited yesterday, Wednesday.
paycheck
I worked for them for about 7 months the first 5 with direct deposit was fine but the last couple where they mailed checks was bad!!! My last several checks were 2-3 weeks late. Several people have left here. The "captain" is crazy. You would not believe some of the crazy & nasty emails he sent me. I would definitely get out of here unless you like waiting 2-3 weeks for a check and then are not sure if it will clear. Yes I heard a few checks bounced. Sorry I could go on and on about this guy but I think I have said enough. Good luck to you.
first paycheck?
It usually takes a full billing cycle for direct deposit to get going in my experience.
paycheck
Yeah the MTSO was responsible in that if they had payed her when it was agreed upon she could have paid her bills and wouldn't be in a financial bind. If you have your paycheck you can pay your bills. You work to pay bills, not for the heck of it. Yeah, you should have a cushion but they should pay on time. You think a sick child is an excuse you go pay a few doctor bills a see how much "cushion" you can keep in the bank. Don't judge people without knowing the circumstances. You don't know what is wrong with the child or how frequently they have to go to the doctor and it costs money not to mention the medicine. They have an agreed upon paydate and she has every right to be angry when she doesn't get her money. People work to pay bills. Alot of people don't have a big cushion in the bank.
No paycheck

I started with a company about three weeks ago, and here is the situation.  This is my first transcription job, so I think I was a little too eager to jump at the job offer when it was given to me.  They charge a "set up fee" of 100.00 that is taken out of the first paycheck.  I am only getting paid 5 cents/line, so I did not make that much more than the 100.00 (I think about 40.00).  The pay period ends on the last day of the month and checks are issued on the first of every month.  They do not offer direct deposit, so I have been waiting for the last nine days for my measly 40.00 check.  I really just want it to have documentation that I have paid the stupid set up fee (which I am embarrassed that I even agreed to).  I have emailed them 5 or 6 times with no response whatsoever.  They continue to send me work, and will (usually) answer questions regarding work, but NOTHING about my requests to see where my check is. 


I have since found a much better and higher paying position with another (wonderful) company, but I do not really want to put in my 2 weeks' notice until I have that check.  Any ideas??


definitely paycheck to paycheck sm

Losing even 1 would devastate me.


I am the only wage earner, and it is paycheck to paycheck.


There is nothing set aside to help, just in case.  But I definitely feel I could get another job almost immediately with my skills and experience.


It's a hard knocklife.


You will have paycheck on Monday 711/05
x
Why is it that the more desperately you need your paycheck,
the later the mailman is delivering?
Production is my paycheck
I work in 1 of my bedrooms with a big window facing the driveway. I have done this work for 30+ years. The office also has my husband's computer in it. I have absolutely no problem in keeping my mind on my work, the pay alone is the answer, no work, no pay and the more lines the better I feel when I get that check. I never see things I should do around the house because I have a housekeeper that comes every other week and takes care of things like that for me. Housework is about the last thing I want to do!!
whoever signs your paycheck
has the final say.

But, you might consider drawing up a "contract" that states the terms and conditions ... the dotor takes the ultimate responsibility ... your initials are only a reference ... and so forth. You sign it and they sign. Throw in a notary.




Not when your paycheck depends on it, it isn't.
p
To get the paycheck I want, I work
5 days a week and I type 1500 lines per day. I am radiology and therefore this is easy to achieve and for the most part, I am done in less than 7 hours but I will put in 7 hours.
SoftScript paycheck late again?!!
Any other SS employees get their paycheck?  Mine is late again! And I have direct deposit- so sick of this.  Why do I stay!! aagghh
SS paycheck question for SS employees

This is my first check and it seems like they did not hold out taxes, does anyone know if you get a copy of a paycheck to see?????


I don't feel in control of my paycheck

For example, I start out on a roll, going along at a really good pace.. get half my production in a few hours, then all h - - -  breaks loose. Here comes the bad stuff...All of a sudden, its not about skill... its about detective work...hunting foreign referral doctors names and addresses, etc, many times I can't even understand what the name starts with. I have to search and search for what seems like hours just to get what might or might not be the right name!  OOPS...there goes that production. I'm at the mercy of my "pool". I have no control over that or the paycheck from that point on. Any suggestions?


Self-employed even worse getting paycheck
Bill three doctors at the end of the month, and still waiting two weeks later, sometimes three. I even stay up all night and do a 12h turnaround time. You'd think they would see I was paid in a reasonable amount of time!
Are there any deductions for taxes on your paycheck?
nm
Nada! My work and paycheck are enough!
n
Affected my paycheck - a verb
nm
Would you work for a co. that docked your paycheck for blanks?
nm
Right, they want all this time off, yet you can bet they expect a FULL paycheck come payday! nm
.
don't worry, they'll catch it. Probably take it out of your next short paycheck.nm
nm
Dear, I'm wondering if the economy has effected your paycheck...
something tells me it hasn't.
And should you not receive your final paycheck in a reasonable amount of time,

notify them that you will be filing complaints with the Department of Labor, the BBB, the FTC, the state attorney general's office, and small claims court.


As an IC you invoice the company, count your own lines, and receive a paycheck.
First Choice, JLG, QT Medical, Metro in Atlanta, just to name a few.

Most use SylCount or something similar. I used Abacus - free line counting software.
Advice to YOU..1st learn to spell before insulting poster and trying to give advice...sm

Sound advice from a fellow MT if you want advice or support (sm)

I have been an MT for over 10 years.  I also am getting burnt out, tired of my job, day in day.  However, I do love transcription and make excellent money at it, have grossed over $50,000 per year the last 5 years.  I decided to go back to nursing school and am very happy with my choice.  However, over these 10 years of transcription I have had my ups and downs.  My biggest issue with being at home working is lack of socialization, being home day in and day out with just the kids and the animals really gets to a person, sure hubby is home at night and thinks working from home is the easy life, thus the return to school and boy has my overall enjoyment of life changed once I realized I was the problem, not everyone else and I needed to find myself again.


Anyway, my biggest advice to you three-fold:


1.  Get into counseling for yourself, find out who you are and what your needs are, whether or not you think you need to, I sense you are feeling overwhelmed and need someone other than your family to talk to that can be nonjudgmental to your feelings and needs.


2.  If you're only making $100 after you pay preschool you can either keep doing it and be miserable, or quit because you are lucky enough to have a husband who can support the family without your income. (See how fast his mind changes just by losing the income you do have as to whether your job means anything.)  Or look for a different company or office that you like more and are more productive if you really want to do transcription (lots of fish in the sea as far as companies).


3.  Find a local "mom's" group where you can get out and socialize.  MOPS (mother's of preschoolers) is an excellent one that is nationwide, they have a website.  Also Mom2Mom is in a lot of areas.  They provide a once a week time for moms with kids the same age to get together, socialize, (some offer spirtual guidance some don't) and each week a different mom takes a turn watching everyone else's children at the facility that hosts it so the other moms can talk about things they have in common.  Every stay-at-home and work-from-home mom needs to socialize with adults, without their kids, or they will have a nervous breakdown eventually no matter how much they love their kids.


Sorry so long but it does get better but you have to take the first step at making yourself happy.


My dwindling paycheck, loss of benefits, and loss of respect is all the proof I need. nm
,
my advice
would be to get an MT job that pays by the hour until your experience and accuracy come together well.

I believe that MQ will pay by the hour until you reach "production" -- but i am not sure if there is a time limit on that. I believe i've seen where other companies do this also.

I admire your refusal to quit -- i believe that is one of the essential traits of a transcriptionist. Hang in there. Very little worth attaining comes easy, you'll make it.
Need some advice

I know this isn't MT-related, but it has gotten me so upset that I can't work, so maybe it is MT-related after all.  Anyway, if anyone has been in this situation, can you please tell me how you successfully handled it?  My son wanted to go away for the weekend and asked to use my credit card to secure a hotel room.  We went online to Hotels.com and found a nice place.  I put in my credit card number and was given a room confirmation.  I then received an e-mail from the hotel telling me there were no rooms available.  I called the hotel and they told me I would have to address it with Hotels.com since they were the ones with my credit card information.  I called Hotels.com and they told me that my card had been swept for the entire amount of the stay ($276.00!) but since there were no rooms available, the money would be credited back to my account.  I got my credit card statement yesterday and they only credited back $71.00 of my money, causing me to incur and over-the -limit fee of another $29.00.  I don't know where to turn to get this problem resolved.  Do I call Hotels.com and ask them to reimburse my over the limit fee?  Do I call my credit card company and tell them that it was Hotel.com's fault for hitting my account for the whole amount when they said they weren't going to?  If anyone has been through this kind of thing before, I would really appreciate your input.  Needless to say, I will NEVER use Hotels.com ever again!!  Thanks in advance for your help!


 


Well said! I will take that advice.

Here's some advice from another old MT
Give Medquist a try. I know there's a lot of controversy surrounding MQ, but there is a lot positive about the company, too. The transcription platform is very, very easy to learn and quite MT friendly. Set your boundaries about the number of accounts you are willing to do right from the beginning.

You will never have to worry about not getting paid on time. If you need no benefits, go with the statutory employee status. There's flexibility with that.

There are apparently many MQ haters on this board, but there are many more who are happy with MQ. They just don't happen to spend a lot of time posting here.

Whereever you land next, may it be a great fit for you. :)
Need advice, please --
My 15-year-old niece has confided that she has met a boy through an over 21 chat room and has been emailing him (supposedly, he is 18). He has been to her house, and her parents have met him and they think he is a nice boy, but they have no idea how they really met.  I have serious reservations about this and feel I should tell her parents, because even if this one is very nice, he is still too old for her, and what about the next one? 
Advice
Learning a secondary account can be challenging but it also makes you a more well-rounded transcriptionist. The more accounts, the more doctors you work on, the better off you are in the long run. If its hard at first, work that much harder to learn it. You can't have to much experience!
Need advice

I just wanted to see if anyone had any advice to give.....I have been debating changing jobs.  I currently make $15 an hour doing transcription in office.  The delima I am having is that the whole reason I started doing transcription was so that I could work from home.  I have been doing transcription for 4 years and my job is really easy and I am happy with the money, there are however other down falls with the company and I am not able to have the flexability of working at home, therefore dealing with the stress of not being able to always be there for "home" things.  I have three school age kids, and they are all very active.  My question is....Do I have a chance of finding anything else working at home or do I just try and suck it up where I am at???   I really have not started looking, so I am not sure what is actually out there.  I hate changing jobs, but I also don't want to settle. 


Just need some outside help and opinions! Thanks, KL


RE: Need advice
Don't forget your taxes. You can really wind up in a mess if you don't get on top of that right away.
Need Advice! What would you do?

Want opinions about something which has come up at work and need some advice. I am the lead Transcriptionist in a department with three other people.

Last year, one of our physicians in the practice was fired and rejoined another practice in town. He currently has a lawsuit against the company about the firing.

Today, I saw letters typed by one of the girls in the my department for this particular doctor. (because this patient switched physician groups). Apparently she has been working for him on the side since October of 2004. I am not sure if she is still typing for him or not.

My question is this, would this be something you would bring to the manager's attention, talk to my coworker, or just let it go.

On one hand I feel she is being dishonest and not loyal to our current company. I do not know if she is saying anything about our practice to the other doctor or not. Also at looking at the letters, she set them up exactly the same way we do. Isn't this considered a conflict of interest?

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!


Re: Advice - sm
My question - is she using YOUR company's equipment to do this typing? Is she doing it on YOUR company's time? THAT would be a NO-NO to me, along with the other points you mentioned, it doesn't seem quite the kosher thing to do.
Thanks for the advice!!! nm
nm
Thanks for the advice!
That does sound reasonable. Anything to get my foot in the door would be helpful.
need advice

I worked for a multispecialty medical center for 6 years that shut down and sent all transcription out to a service.  I got a job with spheris.  I love the company itself, they are great.  But the problem is money. This is my first experience with production pay. To make what I made by the hour, I would have to produce 1500 lines a day. I am now producing about 1000 a day more or less, depending on how much research I need to do, if my cable or power goes out or if their server goes down or is slow.-- I do ER, consults, admit and discharge summaries,  no operative reports. Cant really use a lot of expansions, only for simple phrases or individual words,  no macros, mostly straight typing. I figured once I got used to their system and compiled all my provider samples and got my Expander glossaries pretty much built  I would improve, which I have, but I really cant see myself ever doing much more than 1200 a day, and that would be with no "P" breaks. I am still having to stop multiple times during the day to enter drug names in my drug glossary so I dont have to look them up all the time to see if they are generic or brand names-their spell-check doesnt have automatic caps, which is another problem for me because I am having a hard time training myself to hit that shift key, I am constantly entering text into my expander.  The terminology is not a problem for me.


I am reading that a lot of you guys are doing 400 lines an hour.!!!  My previous job didnt have a word expander, so I know I need to utilize that better. How do you do it, what am I doing wrong, what can I do to improve, do I need to just forget it and apply at Home Depot? I LOVE transcription!!!!


Looking for advice
Hey, anyone in the Portland/Beaverton area I could speak to about the "real deal" in MT work in the current environment?   I'd really appreciate it.  Off line at moosefeather at msn  dot com  :)
My advice to you
You are doing just fine. Trust me, having kids makes it more difficult to get more work done, but you will soon find a good schedule that works for you. I work for Medquist as an SE and am able to work WHENEVER I want which makes it much easier for me, considering I have 3 kids, ages 7, 3, and 2. Your average of 500-700 lines a day is really good for just starting in July. Don't fret, this is one job that you only get better with in time because you become more used to the doctors and type faster, and don't forget to keep adding to your word expanders.

Another tip I can give is to only work when your child is sleeping, otherwise it becomes too much of a distraction to have your child awake and running around while you try to concentrate on your work. Not to mention, it could also be dangerous if you can't see or hear them like you should.
I appreciate your advice and will certainly
take it to heart.

Just wanted you to know though that I already know the information you posted. I had an MT business for 5 years. I've done MT work for 25 years.

I may be new with MQ but I'm no where near new with MT work. This isn't my first time to do IC/SE work either.

My rainy day money isn't going to the govt. It goes for what I want it to. I've been self-employed for a few years now. I know what I'm doing.

Thank you for your advice though!
Advice to MQ.

This advice is given too late, but for future reference...


 


When you have a new program, just send the information out.


 


Telling people a month in advance that you are going to send the information out is just upsetting.  Calling people on the phone to tell them they will get information next month but you cannot answer any questions just makes everyone more agitated.


 


If you think you were offering a teaser to get people excited, I am sorry to say that it backfired. As you can see from reading this board, everyone is just nervous and upset. Some people are out looking for other jobs because they think they are going to lose their SE position.


 


Big mistake......


advice
I quit over 3 years ago. I decided that I couldn't just slack off or use something to help me, I just set a date and totally stopped forever that day. You feel really bizarre for a few days and I still wanted one for probably a year or more, but that was the only way for me. Just stop. Also I chewed lots of gum all the time. I think I probably did gain weight but I got pregnant right after that so who knows what the weight is from.

But it really does make you feel better in the long run and I have a friend in her early 20s whose parents are both already dead because of lung CA (she still smokes, not a big lesson learner).

Anyway, good luck and just stop!! Just make your mind up right now!! Just buy your last pack and don't buy anymore!
Need some advice

Wanting to change from Hospital to working at home and a little confused about what some services are looking for as far as experience like what is basic 4 experience? 


My advice to you
HEY BUTT HEAD - SIT ON A POPSICLE STICK AND SPIN
Advice
I think the best plastic surgery that you could get would be to have your pie hole permanently sewn shut so that no one would EVER have to hear your disgusting voice again.  Also, as an added benefit to us, get your hands sawed off so we wouldn't have to read your posts!  Then you would be really attractive.  Kind of seen but not heard.  WOW that would be GREAT.