I just received a W-9 form to sign from an agency I worked for last year for several projects and the problem is that they owe me a big amount of money for a project I did for them in August and which they refused to pay for without any written evidence such as a proofread version of it. I have repeatedly asked them to pay this off but they have been ignoring my emails and are not answering their phone.
This agency is located in Louisiana, I live in Washington State so if I want to file a small claim I would actually have to travel to their state: according to the law the plaintiff must go where the defendant is located (??!!). And of course the plane ticket alone would be the amount this agency owes me: a little over $600.
I have no interest of working for them again (go figure?!) and all I want is for them to send me payment for my almost 20 hours of work. I remember spending my entire weekend to get that translation done and I hate to be taking advantage of in such a horrible way.
Now they sent me a blank email (I think they sent the same email to several translators) asking me to fil out the W-9 form. I do not really want to do anything for them anymore until they pay me up to the last penny. I already made an entry in the Blue Board with a negative review for them for non payment and I also let them know about it, but they do not seem to care about that. Last time I called them (in December) the owner hung up on me, I did not get to say a word. This lady is very "professional" at what she is doing, that is, contracting people (without having them sign a contract), and them not paying their work. And she never sends Purchase Orders.
And (to put a cherry on top) she has just been elected in a very important position in the International Medical Interpreters Association. This is outrageous: do they know the type of manager she is? that she does not pay her contractors? I don't think so. How did she get in that leading position? I have no idea. Some people are just so shrewd and sneaky and simply make their way up without caring about anything else but themselves and deceiving everyone around.
I do not want to send them anything (any forms) really until they pay up.
Any thoughts on this would be a great help. Thank you.
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Bernhard Sulzer United States Local time: 16:09 English to German + ...
you should probably fill it out
Jan 17
Ionela Popescu wrote:
...
I do not want to send them anything (any forms) really until they pay up.
Any thoughts on this would be a great help. Thank you.
It is possible that you give them a reason NOT to pay you if you do NOT fill out the W-9.
I would fill it out and send it quickly.
HTH
Bernhard
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-form-w-9.htm
Most employers must only have a record of a W-9 form if the money they will pay to a freelancer exceeds 600 US dollars (USD) yearly. For lesser amounts the form may not be required. W-9's and other tax forms and instructions can be downloaded directly from the IRS's website.
http://contributor.yahoo.com/help/#A155
When a contributor earns more than $500 in a tax year. We use the information obtained from the W-9 to produce a 1099 form, which details the earnings that the independent contractor received from Yahoo! Contributor Network for that tax year. Yahoo! Contributor Network is required by the IRS to file a 1099 form for each individual making $600 or more in any given calendar year. In order to protect against exceeding the $600 legal limit, Yahoo! Contributor Network has imposed a $500 threshold for requiring a W-9 form from contributors. Emails requesting you to submit a W-9 come from contributor-verify@yahoo-inc.com.
To verify accounts. Our system constantly scans content and contributors for violations of our Terms of Service, Submission Guidelines, and Master License Agreement. If an account is flagged for a potential violation, a W-9 request will be sent to verify the account. Once a request for a W-9 has been issued, Yahoo! Contributor Network stops all payments to the contributor and prevents the contributor from logging in to his or her account. All payments resume and the account is reactivated once the W-9 is on file. Emails of this nature come from contributor-verify@yahoo-inc.com.
The Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, serves two purposes. First, it is used by third parties to collect identifying information to help file information returns with the IRS.[9] It requests the name, address, and taxpayer identification information of a taxpayer (usually in the form of a Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number). The form is never actually sent to the IRS, but is maintained by the person who files the information return for verification purposes. The information on the Form W-9 and the payment made are usually reported on a Form 1096 or 1099.[10] The second purpose is to help the payee avoid backup withholding. The payor must collect withholding taxes on certain reportable payments for the IRS. However, if the payee certifies on the W-9 they are not subject to backup withholding they generally receive the full payment due them from the payor.[9] This is similar to the withholding exemptions certifications found on Form W-4 for employees.
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Tomás Cano Binder, CT Spain Local time: 22:09 Member (2005) English to Spanish + ...
Confused
Jan 17
Ionela Popescu wrote:
I just received a W-9 form to sign from an agency I worked for last year for several projects and the problem is that they owe me a big amount of money for a project I did for them in August and which they refused to pay for without any written evidence such as a proofread version of it. I have repeatedly asked them to pay this off but they have been ignoring my emails and are not answering their phone.
This agency is located in Louisiana, I live in Washington State so if I want to file a small claim I would actually have to travel to their state: according to the law the plaintiff must go where the defendant is located (??!!). And of course the plane ticket alone would be the amount this agency owes me: a little over $600.
I am a bit confused. Do they owe you a big amount of money or just US$ 600? When I read "big amount of money" I understood US% 5,000 immediately. US$ 600 is not such a huge debt, is it?
Now, can I ask you whether they sent you a PO for the job? Or did you do the job without a PO? Being "a big amount of money" for you, how come you haven't taken firm legal action (or warned them about it) since August?
Have you posted a record in the Blueboard for this agency already?
When they ask for evidence that the job was done, can't you just send them their own emails asking you to do the job and acknowledging receipt of the delivery? How about a copy of the source document and your final document? Don't you keep one?
Your posting puzzles me completely, to be honest.
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Katalin Horvath McClure United States Local time: 16:09 Member (2002) English to Hungarian + ...
Why did they refuse to pay?
Jan 17
Your posting is unclear at several points (Tomás already pointed out a few).
Ionela Popescu wrote:
I just received a W-9 form to sign from an agency I worked for last year for several projects and the problem is that they owe me a big amount of money for a project I did for them in August and which they refused to pay for without any written evidence such as a proofread version of it.
Are you saying that you worked for them on several projects, and there was one (out of the several) that they have not paid?
Are you saying they clearly refused to pay for that one project? What was their reasoning? Quality issues? You were talking about a proofread version as evidence, that's why I am suspecting they had a quality complaint?
If that is the case, what did your contract say about quality issues? (You said you signed a contract.)
As to the W9 form, if they paid you anything in 2011, they need to get that form from you to be able to issue a 1099 for you - which you will need for your taxes.
Katalin
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Luisa Ramos, CT United States Local time: 16:09 Member (2004) English to Spanish + ...
Debt aside...
Jan 17
As Katalin said, if they paid you any amount in 2011 you have to declare that income on your tax return and, for that, you need the 1099 form which they will produce and send to you based on the W-9 form they are asking you to complete. No W-9, no 1099.
If you do not include the money you received from them (supported by the 1099 they would send you) on your tax return you will be cheating the IRS, and we all know what that means and what it entails.
Furthermore, if you do not complete the W-9 they will not be able to produce a 1099, and they will not be able to claim the amount as a business expense. I wonder if they would, in turn, be entitled to file a tax claim against you for that amount.
Be careful. It looks like a catch 22 to me.
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I have read all the comments so far and thank you all very much.
Jan 17
I have read all the comments so far and thank you all very much.
Someone in the beginning asked why I did not make an entry for this agency. I did do that and I stated that in my story.
What really the issue is in this particular case is that this agency basically makes me sick and it is them who have cheated on me! I have all I need in my system to file my taxes, all my records, all my invoices.
Someone said something about the $600 not being a large amount. Let's get real. It is. When you know how much you have worked for every penny, even a tiny amount becomes big. I am an honest, hard working person and I know how much I worked for this translation and for them not to show me in writing what was wrong with my work (they complained about quality but I still have no clue what they were talking about as they never showed me what was wrong), that is outrageous to me.
Do you expect a 1099 form from each customer you have? Like every person in the neighborhood who came to you for a translation needs to send you a 1099? I don't think so. It is our responsibility as translators to be very organized and have everything on record and then file out taxes.
This agency is a cheater and they do not deserve anything.
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Tomás Cano Binder, CT Spain Local time: 22:09 Member (2005) English to Spanish + ...
The source of the problem
Jan 17
Ionela Popescu wrote:
...and for them not to show me in writing what was wrong with my work (they complained about quality but I still have no clue what they were talking about as they never showed me what was wrong), that is outrageous to me.
I think this is the source of the whole problem. Your customer should have told you what kind of issues they detected and should have worked more with you to clarify the matter and straighten it for the benefit of the end customer (if at all possible).
On your side, it would not have harmed to insist on a report of the alleged quality issues, or you would simply assume that your full charges are payable.
As for how to resolve this now, so far away in time, something you could do is to propose that a third, independent translator agreed and paid by both parties reviews your work and reports on any issues, as the base for a negotiation about how much they should pay in the end.
It would be good to know whether they finally used your text or had to hire another person to repeat the translation. Did they say anything about that back in August?
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They were supposed to proofread my translation on their end
Jan 17
They were supposed to proofread my translation on their end, and they stated so in their emails, but that never happened. Instead, they started complaining about the quality and said that the translation was undeliverable to the client. Based on what?? I kept asking them that but there was no answer. I know what I wrote on those 31 pages, it was in the medical field and I have been translating those type of documents for a long time and no other customer has complained or refused to pay for my work. Until this agency came around. No to mention I have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in French and English, the language pair of that translation. They just didn't care. The owner is a woman who is impossible to talk to, she does not like to be told that maybe she made a mistake and she needs to fix it.
I think that complianing about quality is just some type of a "chestnut" that certain agencies use in order not to pay and get something for free.
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Tomás Cano Binder, CT Spain Local time: 22:09 Member (2005) English to Spanish + ...
Looks like quite a tangle
Jan 17
Personally I see no clear solution here, other than suggesting that the matter is resolved amicably, by way of an independent assessment by a mutually-agreed, qualified translator, followed by negotiation. Both parties should be ready to lose a bit to settle this once for all.
Some people find it hard to confront a conflict depending on the language used in the communication. I hope the situation can be rescued somehow by means of a lot of patience and readiness to find a solution even if it means to lose a little.
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Bernhard Sulzer United States Local time: 16:09 English to German + ...
a tax issue
Jan 18
Two issues:
1st. You are owed money.
2nd. You are asking if you should complete and send the W-9
1
Ionela Popescu wrote:
I just received a W-9 form to sign from an agency I worked for last year for several projects and the problem is that they owe me a big amount of money for a project I did for them in August and which they refused to pay for without any written evidence such as a proofread version of it. I have repeatedly asked them to pay this off but they have been ignoring my emails and are not answering their phone. ...
I assume you have been paid for others jobs by this company before. You are looking to get paid for one unpaid job, from last August, right?
2: The issue you asked about:
Ionela Popescu wrote:
...
I do not want to send them anything (any forms) really until they pay up.
Any thoughts on this would be a great help. Thank you
You say you don't want to submit any forms before they pay you.
Actually, they are required to withhold some money for tax purposes if they don't have a W-9 from you.
I am going to assume that the company has someone that knows what they are doing...and they actually need a W9. If you don't provide that information then they are required to withhold at least 20% tax from any money paid to you.
Now how the IRS will know...if they request a W9 they intend on filing a 1099 for the amount they paid you. If they can show the request for a W9 and you refused...they don't even get fined the $50 for not including your SS#. And, then it becomes your problem.
According to the tax laws you don't have an option of not signing a W9 and providing this information. The only option you have is not entering into the transaction.
------------------------------
It seems they are acknowledging that you did carry out translations for them. Their request and your compliance will show that you indeed had dealings with this company. It will be harder for them to ignore you then.
[Edited at 2012-01-18 01:24 GMT]
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Katalin Horvath McClure United States Local time: 16:09 Member (2002) English to Hungarian + ...
Two separate issues
Jan 18
Ionela,
I see two separate issues here:
1. the problem of the agency not paying for one project you did in August, and
2. the agency's request about the W-9.
I assume you wanted to get some sort of help, not just rant.
You already got good tips about trying to solve problem #1, so let me focus on the second issue.
Whether you need to send the W-9 to them depends on how much money they paid you in total during 2011. If the amount is over the threshold for reporting on a 1099 to the IRS, then you do need to send in the form. I believe that threshold is $600, but you better check.
Some companies still issue a 1099, even if the amount does not reach $600.
So, if you were paid anything at all this past year (I don't know, because you have not answered the question about it), you better fill out the W-9.
You cannot apply any pressure on issue #1 by not filling it out the W-9, as it is you, who can get into trouble as a result. In fact, you may provide them a legal justification for withholding your money.
I understand that you are angry, but making a mess of issue #2 will not help you resolving issue #1. (If that is your goal.)
Do you expect a 1099 form from each customer you have? Like every person in the neighborhood who came to you for a translation needs to send you a 1099?
I expect a 1099 from every domestic (USA) business customer I have and who paid me more than the threshold in the given tax year. Private clients, and clients outside the US will not issue 1099s.
You can read more here, I think this explanation is pretty clear: http://taxes.about.com/od/businesstaxes/qt/1099-Misc-Reporting-for-Miscellaneous-Payments.htm
I just wanted to quote one paragraph:
Reporting such payments is required if the recipient of the payment is not a corporation -- for example, when the recipient is an individual, partnership, a limited liability company treated as a partnership or sole proprietorship.
According to your profile, you are an LLC, so they are doing their job correctly by reporting the payments made to you. (If there were any.)
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