| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | State when your quote expires and what constitutes acceptance Thread poster: Dan Lucas
|
|---|
Dan Lucas 
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:33
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
TOPIC STARTER | Sensible precautions | Jan 10, 2016 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
In addition to the expiry date, which is stated in all my quotations, I try to make a clear statement in emails about the fact that I do not begin work until I get an explicit request to do so. ... I often ask explicitely, in case I feel there could be any misunderstanding
I think this is probably what I am going to do in future: state that it's not an order until I get a clear statement.
Thanks to everybody for their input. I agree that accidents will happen. All we can do is take steps beforehand to mitigate them in the event that they occur.
Regards
Dan
| | | | | A morality tale / encouragement for good practice- some points to remember | Jan 10, 2016 |
I don't think Dan can be faulted here, nor perhaps his client - this was a straight down the line misunderstanding, but it could indeed have been avoided if the client had paid closer attention!
Likewise, I don't think Teresa was foolish to do what she did, although it didn't pay off. And, who knows, the project still might come about.
What is unfortunate is that anyone should be feeling disgruntled over either of these cases: they shouldn't. A little frustrated I shall... See more I don't think Dan can be faulted here, nor perhaps his client - this was a straight down the line misunderstanding, but it could indeed have been avoided if the client had paid closer attention!
Likewise, I don't think Teresa was foolish to do what she did, although it didn't pay off. And, who knows, the project still might come about.
What is unfortunate is that anyone should be feeling disgruntled over either of these cases: they shouldn't. A little frustrated I shall allow!
From all of this, I am reminded of the necessity to be explicit at all times, so that the following are quite clear:
1. Always ask for explicit confirmation that you are to start a job. Whether this is in the form of a formal PO or a simple e-mail is unimportant, but confirmation there should be.
2. When quoting you shouldn't be put in the position of making yourself unavailable for other work whilst waiting for the reply, so it should always be "depending on availability".
3. Many of us will be able to take on a short job in the middle of a larger one - will often welcome it - but the timing may be crucial, ie the job could be done in 4 hours, but only between Monday and Wednesday, say, and straying into Thursday would be impossible, so many quotes will have to be dependent on not just a deadline, but a window. Hence the need to express an expiry date on a quote.
4. EOB. And when is that, pray? Far too vague a term in my book. And even if we are in the same time zone, "mid afternoon" is no use either. I have to work with specific hours stated to avoid misunderstandings.
5. Since we are talking about a lot of provisos, and it has been shown how easy it is for a client to miss an important part of your quote, I do think that presenting your quote in table form is advisable.
6. And yes, last but not least, do mention that their acceptance of your quote and PO means that they accept your terms and conditions too. Far too often I receive a PO which contradicts half of what I've included in my quote. Watch out for those who send you an e-mail confirming that you should start and then send the PO later on.... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adrian MM. (X)
Local time: 06:33
French to English
+ ...
| Advising in cyberspace and a vacuum | Jan 10, 2016 |
Dan Lucas wrote:
What safeguards do you include in your quotes, if any?
Regards
Dan
I am amazed how everyone keeps advising without reference to any legal system and the enquirer's country, for instance the law of England and Wales or the US where a contract can be implied from the circumstances, namely partly written and party oral, and without the need for any purchase order: cf. Sheila W. referring to an exchange of emails.
Alternatively, the client may be operating out of Mongolia, South/North Korea or Japan where other contract rules apply.
The parties are free to choose any governing law they wish for the contract or arbitration: Chinese and Russian are unpopular at the mo. So first safeguard: agree what law is to apply.
[Edited at 2016-01-10 18:47 GMT]
| | | | | The opposite happened to me as well | Jan 10, 2016 |
It was a fairly urgent project just before Christmas, the agency came back to me very quickly and accepted my offer, that was when I noticed that I had quoted in the wrong currency $ instead of GBP! I notified them straight away and the PM still said that it was fine and wouldn't be a problem.
By that time I had started reading through the text and loaded it onto my CAT tool. I contacted the agency again to ask them a question when I was told that her colleague had given the job to ... See more It was a fairly urgent project just before Christmas, the agency came back to me very quickly and accepted my offer, that was when I noticed that I had quoted in the wrong currency $ instead of GBP! I notified them straight away and the PM still said that it was fine and wouldn't be a problem.
By that time I had started reading through the text and loaded it onto my CAT tool. I contacted the agency again to ask them a question when I was told that her colleague had given the job to another translator and that they would always send a PO to confirm!? Lucky escape, I thought! ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
I tend to insist that my quotes constitute only an invitation or information and are not a binding offer in the full sense of the law on contract formation unless clearly identified as such.
This last part is important because a broad disclaimer looks like a cheap ***-covering device, which a judge or jury may struggle with taking seriously. Avoid making yourself unreasonably immune or non-liable, and you'll look all the more reasonable and thus credible for it.
On the ... See more I tend to insist that my quotes constitute only an invitation or information and are not a binding offer in the full sense of the law on contract formation unless clearly identified as such.
This last part is important because a broad disclaimer looks like a cheap ***-covering device, which a judge or jury may struggle with taking seriously. Avoid making yourself unreasonably immune or non-liable, and you'll look all the more reasonable and thus credible for it.
On the other hand, you can just simply ciate a good justification instead, e.g. the dynamic and transient and fast-changing and some-other-corpospeak nature of e-mail communication and informal nature of your business, which renders the application of traditional rules impracticable.
Definitely set any deadlines in business days rather than as a specific date, unless you include a validity date.
I wouldn't try making your quotes offers conditional on immediate acceptance (or prompt, reasonable etc.) because people are going to ignore or dispute the 'immediate part'. Depending on the jurisdiction and their knowledge of the applicable law, their interpretation of 'immediate' may be correct and supported by case law and yours not. So don't expose yourself to that risk.
I also tend to insist that a binding order is formed by clear mutual confirmation (rather than express or explicit) but the client may cancel at any time on condition of paying for work already done.
My most recent idea is to include a general provision that communication should be based on actual communication and understanding as opposed to entrenched reliance on formal and formulaic rules. (And in case of doubt you consult the other party, not the law book.) ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » State when your quote expires and what constitutes acceptance | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
| | Trados Business Manager Lite | Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio
Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
