Is anyone working for Scripted?

[Gillian Page]

I'm having a lot of trouble getting paid by them. They were fine when they used PayPal, but they switched to bill.com, which seems to be a mess.

Anyone else having a problem?

[AC80]

I don't write for them, but there are writers on another platform's forum who are discussing the same issue you're having.

[Kiernansmom]

What kind of trouble are you having? I rarely have payment issues there. I don't really like Bill.com because it takes 2 days for the payment to hit my bank account, and once in a while the site says I was paid but I wasn't, and it takes a couple more days to go through. But I have not had any payment trouble in over a year.

[Gillian Page]

Scripted just flat-out isn't paying me. They owe me for work done since June 1, and keep putting me off with "we're trying to find out what happened" and "we spoke to our accountant and you'll be paid at the next cycle." They assured me I'd be paid today, now they say it'll be Aug. 14. They advertise good pay rates, but you're actually working for free.

[Gillian Page]

Originally Posted by AC80

I don't write for them, but there are writers on another platform's forum who are discussing the same issue you're having.

What forum is that, please? I'd like to see what others are saying.
Thanks.

[Kiernansmom]

I'm pretty sure you'll get paid so I doubt you're working for free, but I agree that sometimes it takes forever to get paid! And there have been times when I'm pretty sure they just wanted to delay paying as long as possible because my articles magically got accepted the day after the payments went through, so I had to wait for the next pay period 2 weeks later. So now I'm also cautious when it comes to relying on getting payment on a certain day, which sucks. That's why I only write there when I have no other work for a couple of days. Sorry you're dealing with this. I know that frustrated, helpless feeling when someone takes way too long to pay!

[Gillian Page]

Thanks for your reassurance, Keirnansmom, so I'm definitely going to be cautiously optimistic.

I think that they're short on cash reserves to pay the writers on time, so they wait until the client pays them, the they pay the writers. I worked for a few ad agencies that did that very thing, which I should have remembered. It's not supposed to happen, but it does.

Too bad, because I like writing for them. The jobs are always interesting. Ah, the uncertain joys of freelancing!

[AC80]

Originally Posted by Gillian Page

What forum is that, please? I'd like to see what others are saying.
Thanks.

Sorry, but it's not a public forum.

It does sound as if they have a lot of cash flow problems. I have an account there but have never written for them and doubt if I'll bother.

[HWMM]

Once I was due a few hundred dollars but got paid a fraction of this amount because a glitch pushed most of the money to the next pay period. I sent an email explaining what had happened and demanded payment immediately, stating I shouldn't have to wait two weeks because of their technical problems. The next day the remaining money was in my Bill.com account.

I know that you will get paid. The question is when will you be paid and whether you are wiling to demand they pay you outside of scheduled times. As long as the client has approved the work, and the payment appears on your payment page, there shouldn't be any problems, especially if everything is set up properly with Bill.com and your bank account.

Also, unless things have changed, clients pay Scripted in advance. This means Scripted has the money before you even start writing.

[Gillian Page]

Ha! I just got an email from them requesting a 1-paragraph revision on an article that's already been edited, revised and accepted. They said that not revising it would negatively affect my account standing. The paragraph they quoted as being discovered by their "team" doesn't even exist in the first or the final draft.

I should have told them that not paying me would negatively affect my account standing with my
landlord!

Also, they've indicated that they're paying me by check. What? They're supposed to be paying via bill.com who, as of ten minutes ago, still has not received payment. So I have to send them yet another email demanding payment.