where to start????

1.  you gave scott a name and contact number for one of his companies?  GREAT-- that doesnt address the point that he shouldnt have to be tracking them down for payment.  we arent supposed to be bill collectors!!  years ago, i used to work in retail.  in retail, you dont get credit terms until you have established quite a bit of history with a vendor.  i worked for companies that had DECADES of good credit and even then most common terms were net30.  we are expected to give that right off the bat, if not net60 or greater-- and many of these companies still ignore that!!  that also doesnt negate the fact that you came on here and stuck up for those companies, which serves as a show of SUPPORT for the companies that scott is having a hard time collecting from!!  what incentive is there for these companies to pay on time if we have "fellow abstractors" coming on here sticking up for them when they dont pay on time?????  you need to read roberts post today and scott's follow-up comment!!  it is perfect!!  THEY are supposed to pay us on time and WE shouldnt have to waste so much time bill collecting!!

2.  YOU find it unprofessional that people rant and rave on here?  I FIND IT UNPROFESSIONAL THAT COMPANIES CANT PAY ON TIME FOR SERVICES RENDERED!!!!!  I BELIEVE THIS IS CALLED "BLAMING THE VICTIM".  you also seem to not have a problem with people that dont pay abstractors as long as you get yours, since you stuck up for companies that seem to owe scott money.  i personally have had problems with numerous companies on scotts list.  what is your definition of a good paying client??  sorry, i am not into playing russian roulette with my livelihood.  of course people rant and rave!!  some people are being forced out of business!  many others have seen a dramatic drop in their income!  people are losing ground, some are losing everything!!  are we just supposed to sit back and smile while everything we have worked so hard to acheive hangs by a thread?  what would you do if your three biggest clients went belly-up tomorrow?  these are the times we are in right now.  people are worried.  one of the big reasons is that many companies only pay when they feel like it, yet we dont have that luxury with our bills!!!  and we dont have much recourse because we cannot present a united front because of people like you!!!  try paying a credit card 60 days late and see what happens!!  pay your mortgage late and see what happens!!  i had a situation last year where i had to decide whether to pay my credit cards late or my mortgage late or let my mom suffer.  i chose to pay the one bill late, rather than the several.  even at that, it still shows on my credit as a late payment of my largest debt-- and it will remain on there until 2012!!  ALL THE WHILE I HAD THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN PAST DUE INVOICES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  the ripple effect of this will cause ramifications for my life for years and cost me thousands of dollars.  all because these companies wont pay their damn bills on time!!  and there are others out there in the same boat as me, some worse off.  SO DONT COME ON HERE AND TELL US THAT WE DONT HAVE THE RIGHT TO RANT AND RAVE ABOUT NOT BEING PAID ON TIME FOR WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE!!  MAYBE IF YOU WOULD COME ON HERE AND SUPPORT YOUR "FELLOW ABSTRACTOR", RATHER THAN THE COMPANIES THAT DO THIS, THINGS WOULD GET A LITTLE BETTER!!  YOU ARE ENABLING THEM TO CONTINUE DOING THIS!!  I'M SORRY IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY ALL OF US THAT ARE LOSING OUR LIVELIHOOD ONE PAST DUE INVOICE AT A TIME!!!

3.  you complain about my post being nasty--  well, if you are going to be OFFENDED by those of us that are losing ground because PEOPLE WONT PAY US ON TIME--  i could really care less.  i was completely offended by your sticking up for late-paying companies over your "fellow abstractor". 

4.  SOT discussion board is for people to share information.  PAYMENT INFORMATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION WE CAN SHARE WITH EACH OTHER!!  we are in a very bad time right now!!  do you expect everything to be roses and sunshine, while people are losing so much?????  are we supposed to write off money that is owed to us with a smile, while we run the risk of losing everything?  the negativity on this site is directly proportional to the times we are in.  sharing information with each other is a very vaulable asset to have right now.  it can be the difference between staying in business or not for many people on here.  YET YOU WANT EVERYONE TO KEEP SILENT ABOUT THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING MOST OF US-- PAYMENT ISSUES???  perhaps you would be better off going to rainbowsandbubblegum.com rather than source of title, because most of us are facing the biggest challenges in a long time.  AND BEING PAID ON TIME IS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST!!!  (ps-- LEGAL DISCLAIMER:  i dont know if rainbowsandbubblegum.com is a real site or not.  if you go there and it is porn, dont blame me.  i am not endorsing or suggesting anyone go to that site.  this is how bad it is, you have to cover your ass when making a joke and then still worry about getting paid!!)

5.  how is demanding payment for past due invoices and giving USEFUL information about payment problems "spitting out venom".  scott simply came forward about companies he cannot seem to collect from and gave that information to all of us to do with as we see fit!  HE EVEN GAVE THEM A WAY OUT-- PAY HIM!!!!!  the fact that you would be offended by this is stunning!!  if you dont want it-- fine, dont take it.  but dont complain about those of us that would like that information!!  you could have just stated that you hadnt had a problem with those companies, but instead you decided to try to paint scott as just some disgruntled person with some imaginary axe to grind.  he has a perfectly good axe to grind-- HE HAS PAST DUE INVOICES THAT HAVENT BEEN PAID!!  this isnt charity work, we are trying to make a living!!  maybe someday unicef will get into the title business, but until then, we're the guys to see.  (to quote a line from JOE DIRT)

6.  maybe "spitting out venom" is the only way things will get better??  here is an example i had with one of the clients on scotts list.  i was nice as can be to them, for over two months, trying to get paid.  i refaxed my invoice numerous times.  i sent numerous e-mails.  i left numerous voice messages (because suprise, suprise-- i could never get a live person in accounts payable to actually answer a phone).  i was nice and pleasant as could be up to this point.  then i saw that other people on here were having trouble collecting from them, so i decided to get "nasty".  one day i kept calling and calling and kept telling the person answering the phones that i would keep calling and calling until i got a live person.  i never did-- but after numerous upset and angry voice mails, i finally got an email that said the check was going out that day.  i received the check that next week.  i didnt like being upset and angry, but that, and being a complete jerk, was the only way that i got paid.  so if the choice is being nice and friendly-- and hungry and homeless; or mean and nasty-- and being able to pay my bills-- i'll chose the latter.  although all of that can be avoided if they PAY THEIR BILLS ON TIME!!!  perhaps if you got a little more aggressive about being paid, you wouldnt be out that 50K.  evidently you are so awash in money that it doesnt matter-- just quit expecting us to be able to write off that amount!!

7.  i'm not saying that you arent out that 50K that you claim to have written off, but i would think that anyone who was would have a little more sympathy for people in these situations!! 

8.  if you really care about your "fellow abstractor", care more about them being paid, on time, than sticking up for a company because they send you work.  what is happening to them today could (and probably will) happen to you tomorrow.  you could lose everything you have worked for overnight.  if you expect any help or sympathy from anyone else-- you better be able to show some now.  in case you didnt get it yet, i keep putting "fellow abstractor" in quotes, because until people like you start understanding some of these points a little better, you are more a part of the problem than part of the solution.  if we cant all band together on something as simple as getting paid on time, there is no such thing as a "fellow abstractor".  i am all for the rights of the individual over the rights of the group.  i am the farthest thing from a collectivist, or socialist, or communist.  however, it amazes me that people cant understand when the interest of both the individual AND the group are the same and they STILL act this way.  these clients must sit back and laugh at the fact that we cant even come together about something so basic as being paid on time!!!  that an abstractor cant even go on a message board FOR ABSTRACTORS and inform other abstractors about problem payers without catching hell.  you just basically told all your clients (and prospective clients) that they can NOT pay you, and it will not affect their business in any other part of the country, because you wont tell anyone!!  one of the strongest arguments we have is that these companies might lose other vendors that they cant afford to lose if we share information with each other.  with new jersey's population, i would assume that you arent the only game in town in your coverage area.  they could probably replace you overnight.  but they might not be able to replace a dozen or so abstractors in rural areas where there isnt anyone else.  scott is in missouri, i'm not sure where, but lets just say, for sake of argument, it is in a rural area where there is nobody else.  if the shoe was on the other foot, wouldnt it be nice to have someone like scott come to your aid and tell them they will lose him if they dont pay you?  i'm not suggesting that is what everyone should do, but until these guys feel some real repercussions, they will continue to want more for less, pay whenever they feel like it, show very little loyalty and have complete control of the business arrangement.  you dont seem to notice, or care, that the light at the end of the tunnel may well be an oncoming train.  you definately dont seem to care whether anyone is there to help pull you off the tracks!!!