Agreed, Rousseau. As mystery shoppers we operate as small businesses and need to have reserves upon which to draw should a "creditor" default on payment, whether it's a LOC or a separate savings account . This is a basic sound business practice. I also agree that shoppers should work for multiple companies so as to spread out the risk of non-payment.
However, many of the folks who are mystery shopping are working hard to make ends meet and count on every penny that is due them. This could evolve into a much broader discussion about entrepreneurship and the current barriers to entry for small businesses and start-ups, but that's not really appropriate .
We don't know if ath has an established a LOC to manage cash flow; perhaps they do and it was maxed out making the August payments?
Regardless of how one is managing the financial aspects of their "mystery shopping micro-business", my complaint is with the ath's shoddy treatment of its shoppers. Letting emails and voicemails go unanswered is inconsiderate and rude. ath has an expectation that shoppers will respond to their questions in a timely manner; that should go both ways. Further, there were shoppers that were told they would be paid by a certain date AFTER they had to chase down the payment due them, and they were not paid by that date. ath's communication with it's shopping base was extremely poor.
The beauty of being an IC and the managing partner of your mystery shopping micro-business is that you can pick and choose your clients. Sound business practices also include staying away from clients/creditors that have known issues satisfying their debts.