Collecting invoice payments from large corporation.

[jhaarbrink]

Vancouver, Washington - As an independant contractor for a major mortgage company, I supplied loan closing and notary services for the Vancouver Branch and was paid per job. I have been paid for a majority of the invoices I provided but am still owed $1,500 in invoices that have not been paid. I have not received a check from them in at least a month and a half. I have submitted the unpaid invoices at least 4 times and have constantly followed up on the status of the checks. I have been told by the branch that it is beyond their control and that they have done what they could and that the corporate office (located in California) has not sent the checks and will not tell them what the status is.

This situation has created considerable financial hardship for me. I am in danger of having my utilities interrupted and loosing my residence because I have not been able to pay my rent. I have had to sell personal items just to buy food and gas. I would like to resolve this matter as soon as possible and am worried that if I commit to small claims as a solution, it will take even longer for me to be paid. Is there any other way to put preasure on the company to take care of their obligations completely and quickly? What resources do I have that can help me resolve this issue?

 

[JETX]

Other than the letters requesting payments, there really isn't much else that you can do to try to force them to pay.

I would suggest though that you contact the 'main office' in California and ask them about the payment. It is possible that they don't even know of the missing payment(s).

If you are still not able to get payment, the next thing you could consider would be to get a local attorney to send a demand letter on your behalf. This will sometimes get their 'attention' (but it will cost some money, probably less than $100).

Finally, if all else fails, your only real recourse would be to consider a small claims action. Depending on the courts backlog, this could take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks.