ROGUE REPORTER

[Roberta-Anne Schmitt]

URGENT!!! Seeking advice on what to do. I'll be brief and to the point - and just looking for input on what I should do as I've been crying on friends' shoulders for a bit now and while I appreciate sympathetic responses, am really interested in hearing from anyone who's been faced with this and how they resolved it.
Reporter contacted me to cover work. Said reporter gave me resume and sample job. Seemed on the up-and-up. 
Gave said reporter six jobs. First one busted, she submitted invoice immediately. Second and third job was a two-day gig. Fourth through sixth went forward as planned. 
I am unable to get the jobs from this reporter. She is playing cat & mouse with me, responding to every fifth e-mail/text with promises to deliver that are nothing but lies. 
The client is calling looking for the work. I've threatened to contact the NYS notary board and had my attorney contact her demanding the jobs. She promised HIM I would have them Friday. It is now Sunday and all I got from her was a reply, on Saturday, to my emailing her exhibits to finalize a job. Her reply? Thanks, rec'd the exhibits. When can I expect my paycheck? (For busted job, which was payable to her on the 15th.)
I am seriously having a nervous breakdown. I just don't know what to do.
Again, while I appreciate everyone's sympathetic replies, I am really just seeking those who have been faced with this and what they did to get their jobs or if anyone has heard of this before and has some idea of what I can do. 
FYI, I found out on Thursday that the agency she worked for prior to contacting me, a national one to boot, is still owed jobs from her since April. 
Thank you for indulging me and understanding what I seek from this post. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your sympathy and support.

[Janiece Young]

Oh, Roberta-Ann, this is a nightmare.  I have had scopists do this to me. 

Obviously, she gets no money until all the work is in.  If I were you, I would look it over before I send it out.

If she is on CSRnation, I would report her to Kelli.

I would tell her that her percentage of payment will drop a certain amount per day that her job is late.  Hit her in the pocketbook.

Janiece

[Laura Renke]

What a sticky situation.  Maybe you can offer to help her with the editing if she's on the same software as you are, or offer proofing help regardless of the software.  She probably won't go for it, but worth a try.  If you pester her enough, she might get sick of you and just give you the jobs to get you to go away.  You could also tell her you'll pay her immediately when you receive her work, and she might put your jobs before others in her sounds like lengthy queue.  If you threaten to withhold money, don't expect to see any transcripts.  At this point you can't really worry too much about the quality of what she's done; more so you just need whatever notes, transcripts, or recordings you can get from her of the depositions.  Once you get something, you can polish it up if need be and hopefully appease your clients.

Is she local?  Do you know where she lives or offices?  If she won't respond to your phone calls or e-mails, you can try to speak to her in person.  You might be able to get through to her speaking face to face.  She can ignore an e-mail or let the phone go to voice mail, but if you show up at her door and she answers it, she'll have to deal with you one way or another.

I think going to the notary board should be your last resort.  If you do that, you'll probably never see those jobs, completed or otherwise.  If you threaten, she'll just tune you out, so be careful how you approach her.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with such an awful situation :(

Laura

[Anita]

OMG!

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I'd definitely go to the NY board.  A reporter like that should not be in this business.  She makes us all look bad.  She needs to have her license pulled.  I would like to know if she's on this website so I can ban/delete here from here too.  I don't want any worthless reporters on my website.  I've had a few that have turned up already.  I need to try to stay on top of it.  

I am so sorry you're having to deal with this.  

[Quyen]

NY does not require licensure, just a notary. Makes a great case for licensing requirement, doesn't it?

[Karol Hill]

Kelli, this was my experience a few years back except it was a scopist supposedly from Florida.  I have all the e-mails she sent me stating she was done with all four or five days' work and was proofing.  The deadline was getting close so I finally confronted her and that's when she tells me there's no way she can finish my work, that my notes were a mess, etc, but she sent me an invoice for a very small amount so I knew something was wrong.  Yes, my notes were trash because I was a newly-hired Official at a court and had been ill  for couple of months before hire date.  I would love to know the name of the person.  Maybe she moved to New York or something.   Let me know!!  Thanks

[Deborah M.]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my gut feeling is she is probably incapable of producing a transcript and that's why it's taking her so long.  Maybe her audio malfunctioned and her notes are crap.  If she hasn't turned in jobs from April, there's no way she's going to do yours.  I would contact your client and see about redoing the depos, then tell her you'll sue her for the costs of retaking the depos.  The longer you wait, the worse it's going to get.  Good luck!  You'll need it.

[Ann Medis]

Roberta, I've had the very same thing happen.  Unfortunately, our hands are tied.  However, in the instance I was dealing with, I explained as much to the attorney, and his immediate response was that he'd have a warrant for arrest issued so the reporter could sit in a cell while the tript was produced.  It did the trick.  He got the transcript immediately. 

In another instance I was contacted by a lawyer seeking my advice on what to do to get tripts from another reporter.  So I called the reporter to see if I could assist in any way.  Interestingly, that did the trick also.  I listened.  I assured that no one was angry...more concerned for the reporter's welfare and that testimony was needed for evidence in the case.  Reporter was more frightened at the repercussions.   In that instance I was a non-interested third party.  

That's the sum of my experience with this situation.  Good luck.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I just don't get it.  Why take the work if you're not going to turn in the transcript.  You won't ever get paid if you don't turn in the transcript.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Chris, I wish there was a "like" button because I would have pushed it.

[Roberta-Anne Schmitt]

I have sought counsel and am close to receiving all my work.  Thanks for all your suggestions and support.  Chris, your post is stellar.  And Kelli, I am 99.99 % sure she's not on this page.  I can certainly give you her name and will message you shortly.

TIA

(LOOK IT UP, KELLI!  LOL)

[Janiece Young]

Hey, Roberta-Anne,

After all the dust settles please let us know what happened and why this reporter dropped off the face of the earth.  Of course, you can fill us in sans names.  

I'm so glad you are getting your transcripts.  What a nightmare.

Janiece