Mastermind Event Network Professionals / No Payment for Spanish Simultaneous Interpretation Services Rendered at their event on Nov. 3rd and 4th in Houston, Texas

On November 2nd, 2012, a very kind an warm lady from Mastermind Event contracted our services on the same day their eventstarted in Houston on November 2.  The lady's name is Ann Schreiter and needed Lone Star Interpreters to provide Spanish Simultaneous interpretation services at their event at the Royal Senasta Hotel on Nov. 3rd-4th.  The service was meant for  70 Spanish speaking attendees. Lone Star Interpreters Gave them a service quote and agreement and a payment term of upon receipt prior to starting services. They agreed to the quote and all terms and conditions of our agreement. 

We went a ahead and leased the conference interpretation equipment on their behalf and dispatched a crew of interpreters at the event. Upon completion of our assignment of the 3rd and 4th, contrary to what was agreed, Ms. Schreiter walked away without paying  us as agreed claiming she did not have a check book on her. She now was very cold and no longer the same I met a couple of days ago. She told me to email her an itemized invoice instead, which I did.
On Monday, they still wouldn't pay but wanted to meet to  discuss the invoice. I declined meeting and arranged for conference call instead.

Mr. Art Jonak called us and started disputing everything on the invoice from the hours everybody witnessed our team interpreting non-stop speaker after speaker, to the meals they agreed to pay for the interpreters.  Since he found a loophole in the contract which did not clearly stipulate that the client is liable for the interpreters meals when they are stationed at the client's premises , I went ahead and removed that charge and told him, our company will eat that cost. Even though Ms. Schreiter personally  told our supervising Manager in location to just go ahead and invoice them for the meals as well. He could not get anything else removed from the invoice at that point.

To cut a long story short, Mr. Jonak, gave me credit number to pay for our services and the leasing of the equipment. I passed that information to our accounting department which has been unable to process the charge of $6,350 since. I contacted Ms. Schreiter who bluntly text me saying that it was our fault we did not charge the credit card the day they gave it to us and now we must wait until more money post into that account.  

Who knows, we may never be able to get payment for our services but to all the people out there who have any kind of dealings or trades with them beware for they lack of ethics and they seem like straight Hustlers to me.