You have to wonder what goes through their minds...

My most absurd fee dispute involved several short payments.  The client started sending checks that were short for our invoices.  But, before the delinquency got more than a couple of weeks past due, their next check came in, which was also short.  However, because we consistently apply payments to the oldest open balance, it took some time before they were actually delinquent.

When they did get to the delinquency stage I called them for payment.  They, of course, responded by asking which searches didn't get paid in full.  My standard response is that we itemize our invoices and they needed to figure that out - basically "you owe $XXX, and I don't care how you want to account for it.  We billed $XXX and you only paid $YYY."  At their request, I recent several of our itemized bills and they researched it.  Sure enough they found the problem... but did they pay it?  NO!  Their response was: "We found the fees that didn't get paid, but they are more than 90 days old we don't pay any you for any discrepancies that are not brought to our attention within 90 days."

Essentially, their argument was that they were TOO FAR PAST DUE, so they weren't going to pay me.  I simply told them to find another abstractor, and we haven't worked for them since.... and will never work for them again.

Good luck with your issue.