I think this forum is really important for sharing information, both positive and negative, about these companies, but I have to say that I have only one customer that I will never do work for again, and that's because they filed bankruptcy and screwed me out of a lot of money.  I have customers that have been past due several thousand dollars, and it took quite a bit of work to collect my money, but I did it.  I'll still do work for them, but I keep a VERY close eye on my aging reports.

Aimee, I shared your story with my Stewart contact for New York who put my in touch with his senior auditor.  This guy told me he was going to go out there and see what was going on.  He talked to Mr. Cedy at Titlesearch and had him cut a check to me on the spot.  The auditor was the one who mailed it to me!  Something he said kind of made me cool my jets, though.  He said a year ago, when he walked in that office, it was booming.  People everywhere, phones ringing, money pouring in.  He said that they've hit a rough spot.  About 75% of the cubicles are empty and they're really working hard to turn it around.  After having an auditor go in there and collect my money, I was sort of thinking that there's no way Titlesearch is ever going to send me more work.  I was wrong.  They've sent me a few orders in the last week, and I am doing them.  I'm going to keep a close eye on their balance, and when it gets to a couple hundred bucks, send a reminder email, but it is in the best interest of all of us to help this company stay in business.  If they do go out, and I lose a couple hundred bucks, I'll be a little bummed, but it's not as bad as a couple thousand dollars.  We have a symbiotic relationship with these companies, and I think that's important to keep in mind when we negotiate with customers.