| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6] | Finding work, fast, lost my previous client(s) Thread poster: S_G_C
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S_G_C
Romania
Local time: 17:42
English to Romanian
TOPIC STARTER | Final answer | Dec 30, 2022 |
Guys, my paid proz.com membership will expire soon, which means my threads and posts (comments/replies) will undergo moderation/vetting again before becoming visible for you all to read. So I'm just going to leave this here.
Trust me on this one, it is very difficult for anyone not living in Romania and not experiencing the realities here to understand how things work and especially how and why they don't work.
I graduated from college in the summer of 2002 and register... See more Guys, my paid proz.com membership will expire soon, which means my threads and posts (comments/replies) will undergo moderation/vetting again before becoming visible for you all to read. So I'm just going to leave this here.
Trust me on this one, it is very difficult for anyone not living in Romania and not experiencing the realities here to understand how things work and especially how and why they don't work.
I graduated from college in the summer of 2002 and registered as a PFA (registered sole trader) in February, 2003. Back then, NOBODY knew the steps graduates should take in order to become a PFA. There wasn't anybody to turn to for advice, not even our professors or a counselor. I found out what I was supposed to do from someone who had graduated before me and opened a small translation bureau. The Internet was NOT the kind of commodity it is now. I could only access it during my Computer Science classes or if I had money to go to an Internet Cafe. Personal computers were also rare. Laptops? NO ONE had one. We would use the pen and paper and the best dictionaries we could get our hands on.
Regarding my relationship with the Tax Authorities, I did everything they told me to. Yet I've NEVER felt treated like a human being. They messed my financial records up and lied to me and other translators. According to the maternity law in Romania, I should have formally ceased my translator activity for a period of 2 years (the length of the maternity leave here) in order to receive the maternity allowance. They NEVER accepted the dedicated forms. Other translators were coerced into cancelling their sworn translator authorization (I have one, too) despite the fact that no Tax Authority can demand/impose such an action since they are not the issuing authority (sworn translator authorizations are issued by the Ministry of Justice). They also did not accept my request to temporarily cease my activity since I was moving out of town to another county and would not be under their jurisdiction anymore. They forced me to fill in two tax statements right then and there, despite me telling them I had left my newborn daughter home alone just to come over and inform them of the situation. I told them several times to use my email address and mobile number to communicate, yet they always preferred the postal service, even if there wasn't anybody there to sign for the documents they would send.
When I finally decided I had had enough, it was September, 2016. I cancelled my national VAT number, my European VAT number, and ceased my activity. However, the law allowed them to keep checking on me for the following 5 years.
After a while, what they did was issue incorrect payment orders (like I said, their databases are not synchronized and the office on the ground floor would register one amount, while the office on the first floor would register another amount, plus, the law allows them to recalculate a sole trader's dues AFTER that sole trader goes out of business) and lock my accounts several times, taking away all of my money, including my daughter's birthday and Christmas present, mind you, that transaction bore her name and the note "gift". I've tried to contact them by phone dozens of times, literally, and they NEVER picked up. I took them to Court and the Court decided I acted too late and they were right anyhow. It took me 8 months to solve the matter.
Even now I find myself wondering whether I am "clean" or not, whether they might pull a fast one on me again or not. No representative of the Tax Authorities EVER took responsibility or apologized for everything they had put me through, for all the stress and anxiety they had caused me. The level of civil abuse here is incommensurate. Authorities treat citizens like dirt under their feet, like cockroaches that are bothering them, keeping them from their responsibilities. There are exceptions, ofc, but they are so rare...
[Edited at 2022-12-30 21:18 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-12-30 21:20 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Hayley Wakenshaw 
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:42
Member (2018)
Dutch to English
| Brexit and lack of marketing | Jan 9, 2023 |
Sadek_A wrote: Hayley Wakenshaw wrote:
(I'd love to see the faces of those who turn their noses up at MTPE if they knew what work I actually had to do to pay the bills!)
Why were you not able to MTPE instead?
I was. I actually find I prefer it to almost any other work I do now, oddly. I find it relaxing. But at that point, I'd not marketed myself well, and there was a post-Brexit slump in the amount of work coming in. I wasn't finding much work at all, MTPE or otherwise.
| | | | IrinaN
United States
Local time: 09:42
English to Russian
+ ...
| Unless I missed it | Jan 9, 2023 |
Sorana, have you tried tourism/hospitality businesses?
I don't know how overstuffed this niche is for freelancers in Romania but there are hotels and travel agencies with tour guides on staff. Again, I have no idea if your schedule, needs of your child or health would permit walking and riding a bus for most of the day, or standing behind the front desk.
I know for sure that in many countries good private tour guides are immensely popular and it's not easy to book them ... See more Sorana, have you tried tourism/hospitality businesses?
I don't know how overstuffed this niche is for freelancers in Romania but there are hotels and travel agencies with tour guides on staff. Again, I have no idea if your schedule, needs of your child or health would permit walking and riding a bus for most of the day, or standing behind the front desk.
I know for sure that in many countries good private tour guides are immensely popular and it's not easy to book them at the last minute. Individually crafted, unique tours that they'd created make people stand in line. Do you reside in Bucharest, if I may ask? Walking tours do not require a car that many guides offer.
Try Viator company, ask how you can join them. This is a global enterprise and they arrange tours all over the world, lasting from 2 hours to 5 days; most, if not all their guides are freelancers. I have used them in Turkey, Japan, Austria and recently Cape Town, where I made good friends with one of my fantastic guides and his lovely wife. He is very experienced and by now he picks the days and the assignments he likes/wants, just like any established freelancer in our business. If you are interested, I can ask him about the best way to approach Viator. I'm sure there are many global companies like that, I have heard of them but it just happened so that Viator was enough for me since I did a lot of exploring on my own.
[Edited at 2023-01-09 10:42 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | S_G_C
Romania
Local time: 17:42
English to Romanian
TOPIC STARTER
IrinaN wrote:
Sorana, have you tried tourism/hospitality businesses?
I've never heard of anything like this where I live - the "city", not the area.
It's not a tourist attraction (I do not reside in Bucharest).
The "city" is described as poor, with the number of pensioners (retired people) surpassing the number of employees. I have no idea what could have been done to turn it into a tourist attraction (the Danube is passing through). I can't blame the Mayor. The citizens lack the proper respect for the place they inhabit and turn it into a filthy site (and sight, I was shocked when I moved here to be with my partner).
Also, the number of jobs available to college graduates (higher education) is scarce. I've just returned from the local Labor Office (I registered with them and had a look at their list of job offers). Employers prefer middle school or high school graduates (the pay grade is lower).
[Edited at 2023-01-09 16:01 GMT]
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