Editor's Note: The first part of this story appeared in the Jan. 26 print edition of ADVANCE.

The Tale of the Rubber Checks
Joan Edwards (not her real name), like Trudy Schaefer Looney, got into transcription on a whim 14 years ago. "It was sort of by fluke," she said. "I basically trained myself. I started out with a doctor and his wife. It was a brand new practice, and we sort of trained each other."

Edwards worked there for 4 years until the clinic closed due to lack of business. She moved on from there, getting her own accounts and working directly for clinics. Everything in her MT world was fine until she started working for a medical transcription service organization (MTSO) 2 years ago.  The warning signs were there. The company said it would get direct deposit for its 120 MTs nationwide. It didn't. The promised health care coverage never showed up. A notice was sent out by the company saying that 10 oncology MTs quit, all in the same day. And MTs were forbidden by the company from contacting each other, even if they worked on the same accounts. Also, a lot of times Edwards and other MTs saw discrepancies in the line counts. They thought they typed more lines than they were paid for, but the only way to prove it would be to purchase the company's own line counting software, which would cost a hefty $300.

Despite the early warning signs that the company might not have been the best, Edwards was always paid on time--at least up until 3 months ago. She walked into the company's bank with a check, and the teller didn't even look at the amount. "She looked at the company name and she just shook her head. I said, 'Why are you shaking your head?' She answered, 'There's insufficient funds,'" Edwards recalled.

Edwards called the owner, who said the money would be in the bank the following morning. He promised the check wouldn't bounce. Edwards ended up $700 overdrawn on her account, and it took 5 days to finally get the money she was owed along with the bank fees for cashing a rubber check.

A couple weeks later, Edwards experienced the same thing. The check would bounce, so she couldn't put it in her account. She called the fraudulent check division in her county, but they provided little help, as she would have to put the check into the account, let it bounce and then prove the owner didn't make things right. "We don't have the option to wait that long, especially single mothers or widows like me," Edwards said. "That's how we feed our children."

Finally, after 3 months of dealing with bad checks, Edwards left the company. She now visits chat sites to let other MTs who ask about the company know that it's bad news. Edwards recently landed a job with another transcription company, but she's wary of the profession now. "I really don't want to get back into the medical transcription profession because of [this company]," she said. "You just don't know what's going to happen."

Edwards admitted she put up with the bounced checks and other problems for too long. She liked the clinic she transcribed for, and was familiar with the doctors. She felt resistant to change, until it became unbearable to stick with the company. The lesson here: don't wait around. If you're experiencing a similar situation, it's not likely that things are going to improve. There are good MT companies out there. Find one and don't be afraid to make the change.

Another lesson out of Edwards' issues is to thoroughly research before starting a job with a company. She checked on chat sites in the MT world before starting work for the company, but didn't find much information. Now Edwards and others who worked for the company peruse message boards to try to help other MTs steer clear. If a transcription company has a bad reputation, chances are that reputation will get out on the Internet, and MTs looking for jobs can use that resource. Another tip is to speak with MTs already working for the company you're thinking of working for. If a company isn't comfortable letting you speak to its MTs, that might be a red flag.

Caught Up in the Excitement
Like Edwards, Cathy Jensen (not her real name) dealt with her fair share of racing to the bank to ensure a check didn't bounce. She was working for a national MTSO at the time and later found out the company wasn't paying her Social Security for a year, even though that money was deducted from her paycheck.

She teamed up with the MTSO's vice president and decided to form a company with her. The vice president had a good sales background and was a quality MT to boot. They'd be able to land a contract with one of the MTSO's clients, leaving enough work for the MTSO but also getting a piece of the pie. "We worked for the same client they had, so it was a match made in heaven, simply because I was already familiar with the client, the format and the dictators," Jensen said.

Jensen worked with the vice president for 2 and a half years before they went into business together. She hoped the pair would form a solid, small MTSO with a few employees and several reliable clients. She hoped she would eventually get to the point where she could work less, and also looked forward to being her own boss. "There was no basis in reality for my hopes and dreams," Jensen admitted.

Once the business got rolling, she started to notice a few warning signs. Her business partner started showing up late and missing work, and would express resentment when Jensen questioned her about it. The partner also refused to do anything on her own, and even insisted on having company when she ran errands. When it came to purchasing things for the business, Jensen's business partner insisted on having the best briefcase and a whole new wardrobe, along with high-end office equipment. The partner took frequent breaks and didn't seem able to concentrate on the work at hand.

Meanwhile, Jensen was putting in 12-hour days, 7 days a week. One day, her business partner showed up to work, smelling of alcohol. Jensen admitted, "That was the turning point, where I realized she simply had a problem, and there was nothing I could do about it."

Jensen looked for a way out. She gathered all the equipment she'd supplied to the company and brought it home. She noted that the split was not an amicable one, chalked it up to naïveté and swore she'd never go into business with anyone else again. She thought the bad experience was behind her. "And then the IRS reared its ugly head about 18 months or 2 years later," Jensen lamented.

Her father was sitting outside when an IRS agent came to the house. The agent left her card, with instructions that Jensen call the number listed.Jensen laughed when her father gave her the card, wondering what the issue could possibly be. It turned out to be no laughing matter. The IRS couldn't track down her former business partner, and the business owed a boatload of back taxes that Jensen would end up being responsible for. The IRS worked with her to set up a manageable payment plan that spanned 3 years.

Jensen doesn't regret the experience because she learned a lot from her mistakes. The first lesson: never go into business with anyone, and if you eschew that advice, make sure you know the person very well before you embark on that path. Looking back, Jensen wished she would've checked the books to make sure everything was on the up and up with taxes. She also rued not having a nest egg built up to pay expenses, and not consulting legal counsel before severing with the business. Another lesson she noted was to really take the warning signs seriously if you're working with someone else. "Hindsight's 20/20," Jensen explained. "If you're not completely happy with the work ethic, don't go into business with them, and spend a lot of time studying their work ethic."

While bad business partners can occur in any field, Jensen feels that MTSOs may experience those types of problems more frequently. She now works as an in-house MT for a hospital and enjoys her job. Overall, while she doesn't regret the experience, she would not ever do it again. "I loved the idea of being an entrepreneur," Jensen said. "I loved the idea of not having to answer to anyone but the client. I like all of that, but in the long run, it's just as enslaving as being an employee."

Lynn Jusinski is an associate editor with ADVANCE.