American debitor Thread poster: Ramon Pros Ariza
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An agency based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (U.S.A.), has been delaying payment to some of their freelance translators and building up an important debt. Now, they have been forwarding emails to these affected translators notifying they have gathered a funding source and announcing immediate settling down of the debt provided the translators accept to be paid only 20% of their respective amounts.
They have provided a document to be signed in case of acceptance as a means of terminat... See more An agency based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (U.S.A.), has been delaying payment to some of their freelance translators and building up an important debt. Now, they have been forwarding emails to these affected translators notifying they have gathered a funding source and announcing immediate settling down of the debt provided the translators accept to be paid only 20% of their respective amounts.
They have provided a document to be signed in case of acceptance as a means of termination of the debt and a waiver of any other further rights.
Now, some of these affected translators have decided not to accept these terms and stand up together against the agency offer. We intend to write a collective letter where we will expose our stance and claim the full payment of what they owe us. If somebody else has received this email from the agency and wishes to join us, please, feel free to contact me (http://www.proz.com/profile/1609409) or Willeke Barens (https://www.proz.com/profile/3829). ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton 
United States
Local time: 15:06
German to English
| Beware of bankruptcy | Sep 30, 2018 |
If there are enough US-based creditors, the company could be forced into bankruptcy, in which case, translators – as unsecured creditors – would potentially receive nothing. Foreign claims against a US translation agency would have no standing without US representation and could easily be ignored. Having declared bankruptcy, this agency could reopen under a different name and registration as an LLC.
I might suggest taking the settlement, as the alternative might be a total loss ... See more If there are enough US-based creditors, the company could be forced into bankruptcy, in which case, translators – as unsecured creditors – would potentially receive nothing. Foreign claims against a US translation agency would have no standing without US representation and could easily be ignored. Having declared bankruptcy, this agency could reopen under a different name and registration as an LLC.
I might suggest taking the settlement, as the alternative might be a total loss for the claimants.
Life isn't always fair. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 15:06
Japanese to English
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| American debtor | Oct 1, 2018 |
Even if some translators sign the agreement to accept only 20 % of the total debt, how can this payment be guaranteed? Is the agency acting through an attorney? If the agency is dishonest in paying the original, who is to say they will be honest is paying only 20 % of it? Many translators are located outside the US and they are not covered by legal protections available to State-side translators. How is the agency able to come up with even 20 % of the total debt? My advice to US-based translato... See more Even if some translators sign the agreement to accept only 20 % of the total debt, how can this payment be guaranteed? Is the agency acting through an attorney? If the agency is dishonest in paying the original, who is to say they will be honest is paying only 20 % of it? Many translators are located outside the US and they are not covered by legal protections available to State-side translators. How is the agency able to come up with even 20 % of the total debt? My advice to US-based translators is to take the company to Pittsburgh Small-Claims Court immediately and include incidentals such as legal fees, travel to and from Pittsburgh, hotel charges and miscellaneous, as long as the total amount does not exceed the sum covered in SCC. A claim of an original debt of USD 1,000 accompanied by incidentals of say USD 800 has a sobering effect on an agency. Unfortunately I believe that the other translators are out of luck.
My sense is that the agency will or already has filed for bankruptcy. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Woodstock (X)
Germany
Local time: 21:06
German to English
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| Agency had payment problems from Day 1 | Oct 1, 2018 |
That's a very unfortunate situation, but that agency has had terrible Blue Board ratings from the beginning, which means for two years (since September 2, 2016). It really goes to show how important it is to check any company's Blue Board entries before accepting a job. In all my years at Proz, I've never had a bad experience (knock wood), which I attribute to always researching the Blue Board payment record (or whatever is available online) before agreeing to work with them and not accepting jo... See more That's a very unfortunate situation, but that agency has had terrible Blue Board ratings from the beginning, which means for two years (since September 2, 2016). It really goes to show how important it is to check any company's Blue Board entries before accepting a job. In all my years at Proz, I've never had a bad experience (knock wood), which I attribute to always researching the Blue Board payment record (or whatever is available online) before agreeing to work with them and not accepting jobs from any agency with a rating of less than 4.5.
In light of the above-described circumstances, if I were you I would take the 20%, cross my fingers and hope that they will be able to pay even that much. At least they seem to be trying to do the right thing. ▲ Collapse
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 20:06
Member (2007)
English
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| Have they filed for bankruptcy? | Oct 1, 2018 |
Ramon Pros wrote:
Now, they have been forwarding emails to these affected translators notifying they have gathered a funding source and announcing immediate settling down of the debt provided the translators accept to be paid only 20% of their respective amounts.
They have provided a document to be signed in case of acceptance as a means of termination of the debt and a waiver of any other further rights.
If they've already filed, and they're still allowed to do this, then it's probably all you're ever going to get. In that case it would make sense to take it and move on.
If they haven't filed, how long can you reasonably expect them to stay solvent? I imagine any court case against them would take far too long and would be halted when they finally close the doors. How about a debt recovery firm? I don't know the details, but I think they'd take maybe 30% of the value of anything they manage to collect, would be happy to work for a bunch of freelancers, and would act very quickly. They often work on the basis of payment only if successful, so they've developed the expertise to gauge whether a company has the means to pay.
| | | | Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 21:06
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
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| Consider taking the deal | Oct 1, 2018 |
Ramon Pros wrote:
...accept to be paid only 20% of their respective amounts.
I'd say you have about a 75% chance of getting that 20%, if you take the deal.
That's probably a much surer thing than taking your chances in court. So you might ask yourself how much would that aggravation be worth, in money terms.
I remember being indignant when I was paid only half of what I was owed by a bankrupt company. Now, years later, I know I should be happy I got anything.
[Edited at 2018-10-01 15:30 GMT]
| | | | | Take what you can, while you can | Oct 2, 2018 |
20% is derisory but could be better than nothing
Check the story out as best you can. If they're in that much trouble, then the time and the expense involved in trying to recover more is likely to result in throwing good money after bad.
0% is silly and could turn out to be negative if you spend time and money chasing them for it.
If the agency is in a bad way, cut your losses and accept what's on offer without delay.
And make a note of the directors' names and keep a lo... See more 20% is derisory but could be better than nothing
Check the story out as best you can. If they're in that much trouble, then the time and the expense involved in trying to recover more is likely to result in throwing good money after bad.
0% is silly and could turn out to be negative if you spend time and money chasing them for it.
If the agency is in a bad way, cut your losses and accept what's on offer without delay.
And make a note of the directors' names and keep a look out for them in any new set-up so that you can avoid working with them again.
[Edited at 2018-10-02 17:21 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | A matter of principle | Oct 9, 2018 |
I had not realized I would not get the responses sent to me automatically, so didn't see all this until this morning.
For me this is a matter of principle. Why would I have to pay for their mismanagement? I worked for them for years, and they were sometimes a bit slow, but I always did get my money. But this...
I cannot meekly say, oh thank you for giving me 20%... I'll be losing 2350 dollars by saying No or losing 1900 dollars by saying Yes. The choice is not hard for me. I refuse t... See more I had not realized I would not get the responses sent to me automatically, so didn't see all this until this morning.
For me this is a matter of principle. Why would I have to pay for their mismanagement? I worked for them for years, and they were sometimes a bit slow, but I always did get my money. But this...
I cannot meekly say, oh thank you for giving me 20%... I'll be losing 2350 dollars by saying No or losing 1900 dollars by saying Yes. The choice is not hard for me. I refuse to give in to manipulation like this. Just give us the 80% then we can send you work in the future... ppfff as if I'd ever want to work with them again.
I definitely don't want anybody to think this is a normal way of doing business. I had the same problem with a different agency, years ago. That was a LOT more money, 9000 dollars, but they were decent people and paid me off, even though it took them a few years. That is a business attitude I respect.
That is integrity which I sorely miss in the people at Confluent.
I am not going to take them to court for this, for with American clients, it is hardly feasible from the EU. I am really sorry that Ramon and I are the only ones to come forward and object. I had expected way more support from the other translators that must have received the same letter, and together we could probably have had an attorney send Confluent a letter. Sometimes that is enough to show them how serious we really are.
So... yes, it's a matter of principle to me, and I stand by my saying NO to just letting them have my 80% without clearly pointing out how dishonest and bad this is.. ▲ Collapse
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Edward Potter
Spain
Local time: 21:07
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
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How did things work out for you? Did you ever get paid anything?
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