Complaint Review: Alice the poet

Alice the Poet. Seriously? The first 10 articles assigned are the common definition of content mill, SEO articles. No one, and I mean no one, would mistake them for "creative writing" pieces. It helps to do a little research before jumping into a new endeavor because if you did research SEO writing, you'd know those articles are SEO, through and through. $500 for Internet content? Insane!

Whether you were hospitalized or on vacation, Michele, you should have had a backup plan as far as paying your writers, such as allowing someone else to handle payments in case of your absence. The writers who work for you are not your friends; it's strictly business and while it's a shame you were hospitalized (for some physical or mental ailment), people still have to get paid but you won't even let your partner touch that business aspect. Boo h*o! I was in the hospital. So what? Take a sedative and move on. No one feels sorry for you. The last two times I was hospitalized, I insisted the ER release me early (a day early after a c-section and the same night after severe, I-could-barely-breathe asthmatic bronchitis during my pregnancy). Why? Because I had important things to do and I had to put my "big girl pants on" and deal with it because the world doesn't stop when I need medical attention; the world doesn't revolve around me.

Back to Alice, who is obviously in wonderland. Rewriting articles in order to fix errors is not an article rewrite. There's a difference and I pray that you are intelligent enough to realize it. When Michele said "REWRITTEN" articles, we all know she meant "revised." Enough said on that subject.

Michele, why do you care what Alice's pictures look like? She's old; she looks like she has a lot of money? Yet another example of your blatant unprofessionalism. And $40/hr for consulting? If your time away from your clients was really that valuable, you would get to the point a lot faster. Also, you changed writing (typing) styles so much in your original complaint, people may think you are a little unstable lol. And I find it shocking that you had the audacity to deduct $3.30 off of her final payment. That is unprofessional and makes you appear as if you lack a little something in the morals department. And $3 for your Freelancer.com fee? This is the risk you take as a high-volume content mill. Only you and small children who have a problem with sportsman-like conduct change the rules as they go so they come out feeling like the winner even if they aren't. If the bulk of your clients got to see this malarkey, I wonder what they'd think? If I were them, I'd be searching for a new supplier who is a little more stable and a little less vindictive.

Alice. It's not cyberstalking when your pictures and info are posted for the world to see on a social-networking site, which I assume is where Michele found it (as she released your MySpace page to the world in your ripoffreport.com complaint. You don't want to the world to see you, keep your page private. Also, if someone asks you to cease a form of contact in regards to collecting an alleged debt, you have to honor that request (if submitted in writing). That's pretty much the standard law nationwide.

Michele, if anyone can spot an "insane" person (as you referred to Alice), another insane person can. If you really do have a law degree, you would know that what Alice is or is not doing is not slander; it's libel. Libel, libel, libel (if she is spreading falsehoods). Do you really have a law degree lol?

You need to take it easy. Alice obviously selected "owner" instead of "ex-employee." The extremely long rant you posted about various tax laws veered far away from the subject at hand and only made you look a little crazy and very unprofessional. As a matter of fact, the more you write, the more unprofessional you seem to sound. For the most part, I skipped over that nonsense.

I currently work for Michelle as a freelance writer. I am contracted to write 5 articles a day from Monday to Friday. At no time during my employment with her, have I ever had concerns about my pay. My pay has always come to me weekly, straight into my Paypal account.

I am also do not believe these stories that Michelle has a history of non payment. Having been in the freelance world for approximately 2 years, I always keep a keen eye on my employers and potential clients. Buyers who do not pay, get a reputation on the internet. Freelance writers talk in amongst themselves and I have never seen one bad word about Michelle or her company.

Having read Alice the poet's reviews, I also went looking on Google for bad reviews about Michelle and her company. I used the general web search, the news search and the blog search. There is not one bad report about her.

Also any professional freelance writer will tell you, that if an article gets rejected, you do not get paid for it. All buyers work in this manner, if they did not,  then freelance writers all over the world would be lining up to write bad articles.

Does Alice the Poet have any proof that the rejected articles have been published and used? It is not that hard to find out using a simple program like Copyscape or Dupepro. The lack of information concerning this suggests to me that the articles have never been used.

I also find it rather bizarre that all correspondence is being used under the pen name of Alice the Poet. This is the most strangest and weirdest pen name I have ever heard of. Surely the official letters re lawyers and court cases over 16 dollars, should be sent to Michelle and signed off with a proper name. The fact that they are not, suggests to me that this is an attempt of blackmail or someone who is not as informed about the world of freelancing as she would like to make out.

If you check out Rip-off Report #61601, you will see that there is a history of Michele Wall's inappropriate behavior.  In this case, she did pretty much the same thing to another freelance writer.  The writer's title is, "W V Writing Services W V Wholesalers Rip Off work - Writing Articles - Freelance work - Work for Free! Internet."

FIRST OFF LET ME SHOW YOU HOW STUPID SHE IS, HER REBUTTAL IS LISTED AS THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY LOL KNOW ALICE YOU ARE NOT THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY YES YOUR TITLE IS ABOUT THE OWNER OF THE COMPANY BUT YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO PUT IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP IN THIS MATTER, THAT WOULD BE FREELANCER. ARE YOU AN EMPLOYEE OF WV WRITING SERVICES, NO BUT SINCE YOU WANT TO CLAIM TO BE YOU NEVER FILLED OUT TAX PAPERS OR A 1099 OR A 1040 SO YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW. I AM REPORTING THAT. I WONDER HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE YOU WORKED FOR AS A FREELANCER AND NEVER GAVE THEM YOUR REAL NAME OR TAX INFO, HMM SMELLS LIKE TAX INVASION TO ME. HERE'S A LITTLE HINT, THE IRS IS NOT THE FBI, THEY WILL GO AFTER A PENNY IF IT'S OWED TO THEM.

In the world of income and taxation, corporations, small businesses, and other employers use a variety of forms to record the income earned by an employee or an independent contractor.

Typically, employees of a business receive a W-2 form that lists the income they received during the year. This form also contains deductions taken from that income in the form of federal and state taxes, deferred compensation and social security contributions, to name a few. 1099 forms are used for a number of reasons, though, typically, they are given to independent contractors--also known as "freelancers"--as a record of the income they received from a particular business.

On a 1099 MISC Form, the income earned will be noted, but there will not be any deductions for federal and state income taxes, nor will any deferred compensation, social security, or medical deductions be taken. Since the 1099 recipient is not an employee of the business, the business is obligated only to tender the income to the contractor sans any deductions. This 1099 income is also reported to the Internal Revenue Service so it has the opportunity to track income from freelance workers. The freelancer will be obligated to make his or her own tax deductions and forward such payments to the IRS.

Those who receive 1099 income come from a wide spectrum. Actors, artists, novelists, freelance writers and similar creative artists are generally compensated on a "per job" basis, and are not treated as employees. More and more businesses are bringing in independent contractors to work on a similar "per job" basis, as this helps keep the employer costs down since the employer does not have to pay for such things as health and life insurance, as well as make contributions to retirement plans. After the job is completed, the employer can cut the cord and simply issue the independent contractor a 1099 Form. 

What is Self-Employment Tax?

Self-employment tax (SE tax) is a social security and Medicare tax primarily for individuals who work for themselves. It is similar to the social security and Medicare taxes withheld from the pay of most wage earners.

You figure SE tax yourself using Schedule SE (Form 1040). Social security and Medicare taxes of most wage earners are figured by their employers. Also you can deduct half of your SE tax in figuring your adjusted gross income. Wage earners cannot deduct social security and Medicare taxes.

SE tax rate. The self-employment tax rate is 15.3%. The rate consists of two parts: 12.4% for social security (old-age, survivors, and disability insurance) and 2.9% for Medicare (hospital insurance).

Maximum earnings subject to SE tax. Only the first $106,800 of your combined wages, tips, and net earnings in 2009 is subject to any combination of the 12.4% social security part of SE tax, social security tax, or railroad retirement (tier 1) tax.

All your combined wages, tips, and net earnings in 2009 are subject to any combination of the 2.9% Medicare part of SE tax, social security tax, or railroad retirement (tier 1) tax.

Fiscal year filer. If you use a tax year other than the calendar year, you must use the tax rate and maximum earnings limit in effect at the beginning of your tax year. Even if the tax rate or maximum earnings limit changes during your tax year, continue to use the same rate and limit throughout your tax year.

Self-employment tax deduction. You can deduct half of your SE tax in figuring your adjusted gross income.  This deduction only affects your income tax.  It does not affect either your net earnings from self-employment or your SE tax. 

How to Pay Self-Employment Tax

To pay SE tax, you must have a social security number (SSN) or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN).  This section explains how to: