Another trick to vanish...be careful Autor da sequência: Blanca Amoroso
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Hello!
I was reading the topic recently posted by another colleague about the agency that apparently vanished and I would like to know you opinion about another case, which I had the misfortune to experience. In my case, I did a large translation for an agency (at that time, a relatively new client of mine) and 30 days after the invoice was due, I noticed there were problems to get paid by them. Well, after so many excuses about cashflow and late payment by their clients, th... See more Hello!
I was reading the topic recently posted by another colleague about the agency that apparently vanished and I would like to know you opinion about another case, which I had the misfortune to experience. In my case, I did a large translation for an agency (at that time, a relatively new client of mine) and 30 days after the invoice was due, I noticed there were problems to get paid by them. Well, after so many excuses about cashflow and late payment by their clients, they told me they had financial problems and they put as a condition to pay me that I had to continue working for them (which I stupidly accepted as I wanted to recover my money) until they could payoff the whole sum (a big one). WARNING: Never accept this!! The fact is I was cheated and I never received my money and, they now say that the company was sold and that the new owner has no obligation to make this payment to me. What do you think? I think all this was a masquerade to evade their responsibilities. Apart from the fact that they did not pay me, I believe this is the most humilliating treatment a translator can be victim of and this, for their shameless behaviour during all this time. The worst of it is I was commended by them on the great job and still keep their mails and now they say that they do not care about this situation because all agencies usually have problems with translators due to quality. CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS??
I know this is not the best place to discuss this kind of topic, and let\'s have it clear that I am not making a direct accusation against a specific agency, but sharing our experiences is the only protection we have in cases like this one. Honestly, I don\'t know what else I can do to collect this money.
Good luck!
Regards,
Blanca. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ralf Lemster 
Alemanha
Local time: 20:16
Inglês para Alemão
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Hi Blanca,
Quote:
The fact is I was cheated and I never received my money and, they now say that the company was sold and that the new owner has no obligation to make this payment to me. What do you think? I think all this was a masquerade to evade their responsibilities.
Just an excuse, and not even a good one - obviously, I don\'t know which country this agency is in, but in any jurisdiction I know, if... See more Hi Blanca,
Quote:
The fact is I was cheated and I never received my money and, they now say that the company was sold and that the new owner has no obligation to make this payment to me. What do you think? I think all this was a masquerade to evade their responsibilities.
Just an excuse, and not even a good one - obviously, I don\'t know which country this agency is in, but in any jurisdiction I know, if you buy a company, you acquire its assets and liabilities, unless someone else explicitly assumes liability.
Quote:
I know this is not the best place to discuss this kind of topic, and let\'s have it clear that I am not making a direct accusation against a specific agency, but sharing our experiences is the only protection we have in cases like this one.
You should make sure there is a Blue Board entry for this agency (with your appropriate rating, of course), and also post on other lists, such as PP or TCR.
Good luck, Ralf ▲ Collapse
| | | | Blanca Amoroso
Local time: 15:16
Inglês para Espanhol
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Autor do assunto
Hello Ralph,
Sure, just an excuse. This agency is in Canada, Québéc. Obviously, I will not generalize about Canadian agencies since, as a matter of fact, my best client is a Canadian agency!!
Thanks!!
Blanca.
| | | | Eva Blanar
Hungria
Local time: 20:16
Inglês para Húngaro
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| Don't let it be! | Apr 26, 2003 |
Ralf is absolutely right about the new owner issue and the Blue Board entry + PP and TCR, but if this is an important amount, keep on fighting! Their behaviour is actually shameless, but don\'t give it all up, don\'t be shy - as I hear, the mentioning of a collection agency can usually bring a solution in such cases.
And thanks in advance for the Blue Board entry 
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Edward Potter
Espanha
Local time: 20:16
Espanhol para Inglês
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| Getting your money | Apr 26, 2003 |
A typical strategy is to contact a collection agency near the offending agency. Usually, you don\'t pay anything unless they collect the money. You can expect to pay about 25% to the collection agency.
In effect, you are paying professional debt-collectors to get you your money. Let us know how it goes.
Spani
| | | | | DO NOT work for someone who owes you for old jobs!! | Apr 27, 2003 |
Warning: It\'s a long story, but I think it\'s worth reading for those of you who keep working for people who owe you money, like Blanca and I did.
For many years I worked for an agency that would send me work almost every day, all the time. We had a good and friendly relationship. They kept telling me how wonderful my work was, how happy their clients were with my translations, etc., etc. The problem? They would send me a monthly check, yes, but I was never paid in full (i.... See more Warning: It\'s a long story, but I think it\'s worth reading for those of you who keep working for people who owe you money, like Blanca and I did.
For many years I worked for an agency that would send me work almost every day, all the time. We had a good and friendly relationship. They kept telling me how wonderful my work was, how happy their clients were with my translations, etc., etc. The problem? They would send me a monthly check, yes, but I was never paid in full (i.e., they would pay for some jobs this month, but would leave others (most) behind, then they would pay for the others much later on, but then they would leave many more others behind, etc., etc. I would tell them every so often to please pay me in full, but since they kept sending me work (and again, sending me a check month after month), I kept relatively quiet. After all (I would tell myself), they keep paying me something.
I would send them reminders, etc., but basically there was always an outstanding balance that would never get paid (and that grew and grew). Overtime, the amount of the outstanding balance was so big (thousands of dollars) that I started telling them to pay me in full or I would not work for them anymore.
They gave me all sorts of excuses about being in a tight financial situation, etc., but eventually they paid me in full. I resumed working for them and guess what? The same story happened again (twice): eventually, they started owing me money again, and again, a big amount. This time (it was the third time) I was so angry that I told them to pay me and that I could not work for them any more.
What did they decide to do? They never paid me the money they owed me. As simple as that. And I certainly wasn\'t the first translator they did this to. I know for a fact they have done the same thing to other people. I am not a Platinum member so I cannot get in the board to tell you the name of the agency, but, because of my experience with them and with another U.S. agency, I can give you this advice (which is what I do now):
1) Do not work for someone who owes you for jobs that you did for them more than XX months ago (2, 3, or 4 months ago, or whatever you decide) until you get paid in full.
AND
2) Do not work for someone who owes you more than $XXX until you get paid. You set the amount you feel comfortable with (it could be $100 or $500 or whatever).
That way, if they never pay you and disappear, at least the amount will not be something worth losing your sleep about it. ▲ Collapse
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So sorry to hear about your experience with this agency. When I read things like this I feel like going to these people and giving them a piece of my mind. Thanks for the warning, believe it or not sharing our experiences here WILL help others avoid the same mistakes and follow our instincts or develop a new one
I think it is, like you say, a masquerade and I advise you not to let time pass by, keep insisting, find out about a collectio... See more So sorry to hear about your experience with this agency. When I read things like this I feel like going to these people and giving them a piece of my mind. Thanks for the warning, believe it or not sharing our experiences here WILL help others avoid the same mistakes and follow our instincts or develop a new one
I think it is, like you say, a masquerade and I advise you not to let time pass by, keep insisting, find out about a collection agency do whatever you can do to get your money. It is an abuse on their behalf, there should be international laws to protect us from these agencies. Something similar happened to and I feel I didn\'t do enough to get my hard earned money and that has been hunting me ever since.
Don\'t give up!
Pamela ▲ Collapse
| | | | Roomy Naqvy
Índia
Local time: 00:46
Inglês para Hindi
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| Please fight | Apr 27, 2003 |
Please fight... some agencies just require lots of tenacity on part of the translator to collect the money. I did so with one in Leeds in UK. If I can help with tips, pls do let me know.
[addsig]
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gianfranco
Brasil
Local time: 16:16
Membro (2001)
Inglês para Italiano
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| Non Platinum members can use the BlueBoard | Apr 27, 2003 |
Quote:
2003-04-27 00:54 msal wrote:
...snip...
I am not a Platinum member so I cannot get in the board to tell you the name of the agency, but...
Dear Colleague,
you can use the BlueBoard even if you are not a Platinum member.
Everybody can create a new entry if an Agency is not listed yet, or add a new rating if the age... See more Quote:
2003-04-27 00:54 msal wrote:
...snip...
I am not a Platinum member so I cannot get in the board to tell you the name of the agency, but...
Dear Colleague,
you can use the BlueBoard even if you are not a Platinum member.
Everybody can create a new entry if an Agency is not listed yet, or add a new rating if the agency is already listed.
After you rate an agency, that agency stays available for ever for you to consult.
If you want to consult any other agency the cost is only 50 BrowniZ points that you can earn in several ways (peer-grading KudoZ answers, inserting terms in the glossaries, participating to Surveys or to Powwows, etc...).
After you have paid your Browniz for an agency, it stays available for ever for you to consult.
See the relevant FAQ sections for more information.
Gianfranco
[ This Message was edited by: gianfranco on 2003-04-27 08:18] ▲ Collapse
| | | | mps1 (X)
Espanha
Local time: 19:16
Inglês para Espanhol
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| Is it possible to know the name of the agency? | Apr 27, 2003 |
Sorry, I don`t know very well the rules of these forums, but is it possible to know the name of the agency? If these cases are public, the agencies would think it twice before cheating us. Also there is a group called Payment Practices in Yahoo, where you can made inquieries about agencies, but I think it is absolutely necessary to denounce these kind of people. Good luck. Keep on fighting.
| | | | JCEC
Canadá
Local time: 14:16
Inglês para Francês
| Will try to help | Apr 27, 2003 |
We all feel incensed with experiences like this.
Since I\'m on location, I have told Bianca that I would do my best to help her, and I\'m currently in touch with her. It may be tricky however because I have already established that the agency in question has no legal existence.
We will keep you posted...
John
| | | | Ralf Lemster
Alemanha
Local time: 20:16
Inglês para Alemão
+ ...
| Not in the forums, please | Apr 27, 2003 |
Quote:
On 2003-04-27 12:35, mpstranslations wrote:
Sorry, I don`t know very well the rules of these forums, but is it possible to know the name of the agency?
Good idea to ask beforehand - please avoid \"naming and shaming\" in the forums (see the related FAQ entry).
Quote:... See more Quote:
On 2003-04-27 12:35, mpstranslations wrote:
Sorry, I don`t know very well the rules of these forums, but is it possible to know the name of the agency?
Good idea to ask beforehand - please avoid \"naming and shaming\" in the forums (see the related FAQ entry).
Quote:Also there is a group called Payment Practices in Yahoo, where you can made inquieries about agencies, but I think it is absolutely necessary to denounce these kind of people.
True - have you checked out the Agency Blue Board on ProZ.com?
Best regards, Ralf ▲ Collapse
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