Seeking your advice Thread poster: Frank Zou
|
|---|
Frank Zou 
China
Local time: 11:02
Member (2016)
Chinese to English
+ ...
I've been doing translation for this company for sometime (a couple of months). I had checked the blueboard before starting working for them. Its ratings were good overall at the time (with only one negative rating).
However, I've been receiving tons of work from the company recently and asked how much volume I can take every month. So I got a little bit worried for having done so much work without getting any advance payment and I went to check its blueboard again, ....and I saw t... See more I've been doing translation for this company for sometime (a couple of months). I had checked the blueboard before starting working for them. Its ratings were good overall at the time (with only one negative rating).
However, I've been receiving tons of work from the company recently and asked how much volume I can take every month. So I got a little bit worried for having done so much work without getting any advance payment and I went to check its blueboard again, ....and I saw two more negative ratings stating that this company doesn't pay. Plus, it's been banned by the site staff from posting any job here at Proz.
Now I still have a lot of work at hand and the company owes me nearly 1,000 USD already. I won't get paid until 60 days according to the contract.
Any opinions from you guys would be much appreciated. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 23:02
German to English
| Don't take any more work | Mar 31, 2019 |
From your description it appears that this client wants to get as much work from you without paying. I would suggest not accepting any more jobs until they demonstrate a solid payment history.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 05:02
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Payment first | Mar 31, 2019 |
Let them know that you will continue with the work at hand as soon as they've paid their debts. As soon as you've received your money, drop them. After all, you're not a bank.
[Edited at 2019-04-01 06:59 GMT]
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 04:02
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Action needed | Mar 31, 2019 |
If they really did have a good reputation (rather than insisting translators give them a good rating in return for paymemt), then they are likely to be on the verge of bankruptcy. I would advise you to:
- Contact them immediately, explaining why you are worried and saying that you need to be paid before doing any more work. If deadlines are looming you should deliver, IMO, otherwise you breach the contract, but tell them you're leaving other jobs to one side until payment arrives.
- ... See more If they really did have a good reputation (rather than insisting translators give them a good rating in return for paymemt), then they are likely to be on the verge of bankruptcy. I would advise you to:
- Contact them immediately, explaining why you are worried and saying that you need to be paid before doing any more work. If deadlines are looming you should deliver, IMO, otherwise you breach the contract, but tell them you're leaving other jobs to one side until payment arrives.
- Contact the other translators who haven't been paid, to swap stories and see if joint action would be a good idea.
- Check the company's financial status: most countries give access to their companies' register online, although there's often a small fee. Once a company has filed for bankruptcy, there's nothing you can do but stop work immediately, file your claim with the receiver, and move on. You may get some money one day but it's doubtful.
- If the company doesn't respond with payment (partial or full), but isn't bankrupt, consider contacting a debt recovery company that operates in their area.
For the future, and for others reading this, 1000 euros/dollars is an awful lot of credit to extend to a client whose money you've never seen. It also sounds as though you've worked a couple of months and are only now invoicing them, and with a 60-day payment schedule. Clearly, that implies large amounts of free credit - 4 months' work before payment, in fact! That's a recipe for disaster, IMO. I would advise sending every client an invoice once a month for their jobs, at least. The longer the payment period, the more important prompt invoicing becomes. Otherwise, if they fold they will take a lot of your money with them. ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| the 60+-day disaster | Mar 31, 2019 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
...It also sounds as though you've worked a couple of months and are only now invoicing them, and with a 60-day payment schedule. Clearly, that implies large amounts of free credit - 4 months' work before payment, in fact! That's a recipe for disaster, IMO. I would advise sending every client an invoice once a month for their jobs, at least. The longer the payment period, the more important prompt invoicing becomes. Otherwise, if they fold they will take a lot of your money with them.
In 2001, I used to be trusting and let agencies pay me at 60 days. A major client of mine went bankrupt after a year of trouble-free business, and because of those 60 days, their credit had built up to more than 3,000 euros. As I was unable to recover anything in the liquidation process, this amount just evaporated into thin air.
Lesson learned!
Philippe
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 04:02
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Goodness, that must have hurt a lot, Philippe. Thanks for sharing that it does happen. Hopefully, it will avoid someone else having to learn such an expensive lesson.
| | | | Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:02
German to English
+ ...
I had a client who started off giving me medium-sized translation tasks, and, because they liked what I did and suddenly had a lot more work in my field, inundated me during the first month of working together. I, too, got to a point where I realised they would owe me more than I was comfortable with. I contacted them and said I had a threshold in terms of credit beyond which I was not prepared to go. I said I would be grateful for immediate payment of the sum accrued to date, so that I could co... See more I had a client who started off giving me medium-sized translation tasks, and, because they liked what I did and suddenly had a lot more work in my field, inundated me during the first month of working together. I, too, got to a point where I realised they would owe me more than I was comfortable with. I contacted them and said I had a threshold in terms of credit beyond which I was not prepared to go. I said I would be grateful for immediate payment of the sum accrued to date, so that I could continue working for them. They paid immediately and were very pleasant about it. Any decent client would do the same. Take control of the situation. Tell them you have a threshold of $800, for instance, and cannot continue without that being cleared. If they create problems, you have your answer. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Frank Zou
China
Local time: 11:02
Member (2016)
Chinese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you guys | Apr 1, 2019 |
Thank you all for your sharing and suggestions, I've contacted the Vendor Manager and still waiting on response.
| | |
|
|
|
Frank Zou
China
Local time: 11:02
Member (2016)
Chinese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | First payment received | Apr 5, 2019 |
Thank you guys, I've received the first payment from the company after I explained my concerns to them following Sheila's advice and they agreed to change the payment option to 30 days with some discount that I'm okay with. I think I'll continue to work for the company, have to with caution, though.
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Seeking your advice | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
| | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
