SMD still a slouch at payments

Remember how I related the tale of how SMD weren't paying very promptly? One of those affected has contacted me again:

They're using a new tactic over there now. They tell you payment has been sent out - for your invoice - but it really hasn't. First, they tell you that your invoice has received “Final Authorization” and then you pressure them and they lie and tell you payment has been sent. So far, I've gotten paid for two invoices (I have three more outstanding) and the only way I got paid for those was threatening to withhold publication of future articles.

So if you were planning on writing for an SMD publication, I'd say hold off for a while, since you might not get paid for quite some time (assuming this isn't an isolated incident).