Company lost paycheck and getting the runaround.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I am currently in a contract until June. The agency included a direct deposit form in the initial paperwork and it said to fill it out as soon as possible and send it back to them so I could have direct deposit right away. I did so. Turns out that it still takes a few paychecks to kick in, so they mail the check.

I am missing a paycheck from the week ending 2/28. Supposedly it was mailed last Wednesday. My recruiter is not very helpful. I am made to feel like I'm a pest for asking them to look into what happened. The final straw was him asking if my boyfriend or husband could lend me money to tide me over! This is not a helpful answer nor do I think it's any of his business if I have a boyfriend or husband. I did lodge a complaint with corporate but what should be my next step? Am I out of line here? I understand that they have no control over the post office but this isn't my fault either. I signed up for direct deposit in plenty of time. It doesn't help that I continually receive conflicting information on this issue and others and I've caught them in lies on a few occasions. If I need to call the labor board, do I call the one in my state, the state I work in or the state the company is located in? The scary thing is, I can't guarantee that they won't lose the next check either.

FWIW, I had this happen with another agency last year and the difference was night and day. That recruiter was calling me daily to see if the check showed up, she helped me with the payroll department and got me a new check as soon as possible. This guy, nope. Have to contact him and he just keeps saying that maybe it will show up tomorrow. I will finish this contract and I am running away from this agency as fast as I can. Never again...

I'm not sure the labor board can help you in the short term, but I would try both the work state and the agency state when it comes to that. The chances that it is the fault of USPS are vanishingly small. More likely they mailed the check to the wrong address, or mixed up the deal with the check versus direct deposit and did neither. There is also a good possibility that your direct deposit account number is incorrect, which could be your fault or the agency fault. One of my banks issued a credit card which I set up to debit my account with them when the bill was due. They charged me a late fee because the account number was wrong! So if a bank could screw up their own account, you can see what can go wrong.

In this case, the reason that it takes a couple of weeks is they "verify" your account first to make sure deposits don't go to someone else. This is unnecessary and many employers don't do this. It is easy enough to reverse incorrect deposits so that is not an issue.

None of that really matters, you will eventually get your money. What matters is the agency attitude. Finish your contract and then take your business elsewhere. I would suggest you tell them that now, it might speed things along.

Hopefully you are not living from check to check. This is the most minor scenario for needing a healthy bank balance.

Specializes in Operating Room.

I had money in my savings but had to start to use that for rent and other bills. I double checked the bank numbers so I know it isn't that. I can be OCD when it comes to that. :)

You're right, it is the attitude that is making me angry. This isn't the first screw up I've had from them. I feel that messing around with someone's pay is a horrendous thing to do. I am quite sure my recruiter is getting paid and on time too. I think it is more the fact that it will cost them money to put a stop payment and issue a new check. I don't care. They need to make this right.

Thanks for your info regarding which state to contact. I already called the corporate office of the agency and lodged a complaint about his idiotic comment. I will be telling them that I will be going with a different agency too.

Specializes in ICU / PCU / Telemetry / Oncology.

It's 2015, I cant believe that in this day and age there is a delay in getting direct deposit set up. I mean really, it takes 2 paper checks before direct deposit kicks in? Even if this is arranged months before? Ludicrous. My agency set it up from the get go, my first paycheck was deposited on schedule. Never saw paper from them, and pay stubs are online.

I wish you would share the agency responsible for this so that we can all avoid them :)

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Specializes in Operating Room.

The agency is The Judge Group..they work with Supplemental. The weird thing is one of my fellow travelers is with Supplemental and loves them.

I got lowballed too. I am not taking their housing, and am not getting the stipends that another agency would give. This is only my second assignment so I'm chalking this up to lesson learned. Once June comes, I'm done. I got spoiled by my first agency and recruiter, they were great to work with. The only reason I didn't go with them again was they had nothing in Boston I was interested in at the time.

When I worked for an agency, one time the manager got out the company checkbook to write a check out immediately for some need at the time. For the life of me, I can't see why they did not immediately write you a check after X number of days. After so many requests and excuses, and so long, I would be visiting the Labor Board. Go to both Labor Boards, it will be sorted out eventually. In my state, you can file a claim on the internet. You won't get your money any quicker, but the Labor Board will get your pay for you and the employer will understand that you mean business.

OP,

I recently had an incident with an employer about a missing check. I let them drag it out for 6 weeks. Finally, I called and told them that this would be the last time I would be contacting them as I would be calling the labor board if the check did not arrive within 48 hours.

The check was in the mail the next day.

Sometimes all it takes is the threat of legal repercussions to get these folks to act. But, don't be afraid to actually back up the threat.

Specializes in OB.

Tell your company that you want them to put a stop payment on the check and do a "wire transfer" of the amount to your checking account. This should be in the same day.

I've had my company do wire transfer when a system glitch messed up my pay. Had the money within hours.

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