The papers were delivered, but the wages hadn't arrived.

Weeks after they stopped delivering the Toronto Sunday Sun to East Hamilton homes, Patti and Chris Parkes said they hadn't been paid their January and February wages and their independent Sun delivery contractor wouldn't return their calls.

"My son-in-law lost his full-time job last fall and was unable to keep up with the family bills," Linda Arnold told Action Line. "I spotted an ad for Sun carriers. They started delivering the papers every Sunday even though it meant getting their children up at 4 a.m. to insert flyers.

"They had to take their little ones out in these harsh winter conditions as they had no one to babysit."

Patti said she and Chris had 233 customers spread across an area bounded by Ottawa Street and the Red Hill Valley Parkway and Barton and King Streets.

Eventually, Chris found a new full-time job and stopped delivering the paper.

"We kept leaving messages for our contractor, but she wouldn't return them.

"We even tried calling the Toronto Sun."

Indeed, Toronto Sun home distribution manager Mark Maynard told Action Line carriers don't work for the newspaper, but its independent contractor.

"We hire the contractors and they hire their own carriers," Maynard explained. There's not a lot I can do when a contractor doesn't pay a carrier. But, on a moral standpoint, I do push the issue if it comes back to us," he said. "Sometimes there are particular reasons why carriers aren't paid. Sometimes the companies are taken before the Ontario Labour Board. Sometimes they are ordered to pay and sometimes they are not."

Maynard said his contractor warned him about this particular dispute and indicated the carriers would be paid.

On March 13, the Parkes received a cheque for $279.60, representing three weeks' pay. They believed they were still owed $186.40.

Contractor Patty Mactaggart of BLS Associates told Action Line the couple did not give her proper notice before quitting and she was withholding the remainder of their pay until she received a doctor's note.

"Their January cheque was delayed, because they reported they did not receive the first cheque we sent out. So, I had to wait to make certain that cheque did not clear before I sent another one. When they quit, they indicated there was a medical issue, so I am waiting for a doctor's note."

Mactaggart's office was closed for the March school break, but Parkes told us she'd been "frustrated" by the lack of communication.

"If she explained what was happening, that certainly would have helped.If she'd simply returned our calls and explained what was happening, that certainly would have helped."

If you have a consumer problem, call 905-526-4665 or e-mail amacrury@thespec.com. Not all calls and letters can be answered.