Was told on the day of deadline that another translator was found. Can I charge? Thread poster: linadia
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Hello all,
I'd like to know if I'm entitled to ask for charges from a client who gave me a translation job and demanded a very short deadline. Then on the day of delivery, when I was just proof-reading the translation to be sent, he told me that he had found another translator for the job.
Is this acceptable? And do I ask for charges? And if yes, do I send him the translated file?
Thanks
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2004-05-28 16:18]... See more Hello all,
I'd like to know if I'm entitled to ask for charges from a client who gave me a translation job and demanded a very short deadline. Then on the day of delivery, when I was just proof-reading the translation to be sent, he told me that he had found another translator for the job.
Is this acceptable? And do I ask for charges? And if yes, do I send him the translated file?
Thanks
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2004-05-28 16:18]
[Edited at 2004-05-28 17:21]
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2004-05-29 18:48] ▲ Collapse
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[Edited at 2004-06-13 15:14]
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linadia
French to Arabic
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TOPIC STARTER | It's so unprofessional | May 28, 2004 |
Marijke Singer wrote:
I would be fuming! Make sure to tell as many people as you can about this.
Hello Marijke,
It's true, I am upset with this, as I did my best in this translation and worked for long hours just to make it in time.
What I'm thinking is that is so unprofessional, to give a job to a translator then move it to another just on delivery day is not very ethical!
Should I expose this? and where?
Regards
nadia
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Wenke Geddert
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:56
Member (2004)
English to German
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| ... refer to model terms of business for commissioned translation work (ITI) | May 28, 2004 |
Totally unprofessional behaviour by your client whether it is an agency or private client. Based on your PO, I would submit the translation and charge for the project undertaken. I know it probably doesn't help on this occasion, but have a look at the ITI's website under publication: # 019 - recommended model terms of business for commissioned translation work, paragraph 19 "cancellation and frustration", which might be worth adopting for futur... See more Totally unprofessional behaviour by your client whether it is an agency or private client. Based on your PO, I would submit the translation and charge for the project undertaken. I know it probably doesn't help on this occasion, but have a look at the ITI's website under publication: # 019 - recommended model terms of business for commissioned translation work, paragraph 19 "cancellation and frustration", which might be worth adopting for future projects. Good luck!
http://www.iti.org.uk/pdfs/newPDF/19FHModelGeneralTerms.pdf ▲ Collapse
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NGK 
United States
Local time: 03:56
| Not acceptable | May 28, 2004 |
nadiaa wrote:
Is this acceptable? And do I ask for charges? And if yes, do I send him the translated file?
No / Yes / Yes
If client refuses to pay, be sure to make a stink. If it's an agency, file reports with ProZ.com (Blueboard), aquarius.net (Resources > Review an Agency) , trwenterprises.com/payment_practices.htm , translationdirectory.com/non-payers.htm .
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I had something simliar happen to me...
except that my client cancelled the translation one day before the due date, which by the way he had set and would not accept any other suggestions. I took the job, hardly slept, because I needed the money. One day before the deadline he cancels the job without telling me. I handed the job in the day it was due and the client told me that the deadline had been moved and that I had passed the delivery deadline. I said I had not received notice ... See more I had something simliar happen to me...
except that my client cancelled the translation one day before the due date, which by the way he had set and would not accept any other suggestions. I took the job, hardly slept, because I needed the money. One day before the deadline he cancels the job without telling me. I handed the job in the day it was due and the client told me that the deadline had been moved and that I had passed the delivery deadline. I said I had not received notice of the change in dates and showed him the original contract. He had to accept and told me they generally pay at the end of each month. I patiently waited to the end of the month, called and was told to all a week later because the person in charge of signing the paychecks was not in. Long story short, they came to me with a million and one excuses until I myslef was embarrassed just to hear them lie to me. After about five months of insisting I finally went to them with a letter from my lawyer explaining my rights to them. That is when they finally paid.
No it is not acceptable that you do not get paid. You did the work, you invested the time and probably declined other ofeers because you were in the middle of this one. Insist by all means possible that they pay you. If you have some sort of paper or correspondence that proves that they hired you as the translator for this particular job then send a copy of it along with part of the transaltion. I would not send the whole thing at first because they might just stay with it and not pay you at all. At least maybe by sending them a copy of the correspondence plus a partial copy of the translation you are telling them you mean business.
HTH
Alexandra ▲ Collapse
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linadia
French to Arabic
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TOPIC STARTER | Very useful document, thank you | May 28, 2004 |
Thank you Wenke Geddert
I found many valuable information on this link. Thank you for sending it to me.
I will send them the file and the fees.
nadia
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| The only question is... | May 28, 2004 |
did your client give you the "go ahead" on the project or did he only inquire if you were available.
If he told you to do the job, you are entitled to charge. If, however, the client only asked about your availablity and you thought they assigned you the project, then it's more delicate.
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linadia
French to Arabic
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for sharing your story | May 28, 2004 |
alexandra123 wrote:
No it is not acceptable that you do not get paid. You did the work, you invested the time and probably declined other ofeers because you were in the middle of this one.
HTH
Alexandra
Thank you Alexandra for sharing this with us.
Actually it's what happened. I didn't decline any offers though, but I made other small sacrifices. Any way, thank you all for your advice.
nadia
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linadia
French to Arabic
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TOPIC STARTER
Elvira Stoianov wrote:
did your client give you the "go ahead" on the project or did he only inquire if you were available.
If he told you to do the job, you are entitled to charge. If, however, the client only asked about your availablity and you thought they assigned you the project, then it's more delicate.
Hi Elvira,
I checked the e-mails again. I was asked if I could do it in 2 days. I said yes and I was sent the file. When you only have 2 days to do a translation job, it's normal to start right away. But then replies from the client were coming too slow.
And if the intentions are good, at least they should've had more sens of responsibility and be precise about their conditions.
Any way, thank you and it's a good lesson to me, to be absolutely sure as who I'm dealing with. I think they are either disorganised or not very well-experienced.
Regards
nadia
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| It sounds like you should charge | May 29, 2004 |
If they asked you if you can do the job and you said yes and they only sent you the file after that, then it seems like a situation where you should definitely charge the client. Don't let them get away with it.
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linadia
French to Arabic
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TOPIC STARTER | They didn't even bother to reply | May 29, 2004 |
Elvira Stoianov wrote:
Don't let them get away with it.
Hello Elvira,
Actually from day one I felt these were amateurs. The information was not solid enough and the replies were too slow, but I thought maybe it was the time difference or something. Actually I will send them what I've done and charge them.
Thank you again and thanks to all those who posted here.
Regards
nadia
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Paul Appleyard (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:56
French to English
| I would pay you if I were the agency... | May 29, 2004 |
In the era of email, everything should be clear from the outset, with a record of who said what to whom, and when.
I hope that your agency sees the light (and that you will post an appropriate/relevant comment on the Blue Board).
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sylvie malich (X)
Germany
Local time: 10:56
German to English
nadiaa wrote: Elvira Stoianov wrote:
did your client give you the "go ahead" on the project or did he only inquire if you were available.
If he told you to do the job, you are entitled to charge. If, however, the client only asked about your availablity and you thought they assigned you the project, then it's more delicate. Hi Elvira, I checked the e-mails again. I was asked if I could do it in 2 days. I said yes and I was sent the file. When you only have 2 days to do a translation job, it's normal to start right away. But then replies from the client were coming too slow. And if the intentions are good, at least they should've had more sens of responsibility and be precise about their conditions. Any way, thank you and it's a good lesson to me, to be absolutely sure as who I'm dealing with. I think they are either disorganised or not very well-experienced. Regards nadia
AFTER you've talked with them on the phone to make sure they're a legitimate company, it's always a good idea to send a CONFIRMATION that you received the file indicating that you accept the deadline and thanking them for the job. Send them a PO to sign if they haven't sent you one. If they aren't precise about their conditions YOU HAVE TO BE.
Sounds to me like a misunderstanding.
sylvie
[Edited at 2004-05-29 18:55]
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linadia
French to Arabic
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TOPIC STARTER | The whole story | May 31, 2004 |
sylvie malich wrote:
AFTER you've talked with them on the phone to make sure they're a legitimate company, it's always a good idea to send a CONFIRMATION that you received the file indicating that you accept the deadline and thanking them for the job. Send them a PO to sign if they haven't sent you one. If they aren't precise about their conditions YOU HAVE TO BE.
Sounds to me like a misunderstanding.
sylvie
[Edited at 2004-05-29 18:55]
Hi Sylvie,
I'm not sure it's a misunderstanding. I did confirm accepting the deadline. I took the job by bidding on this site and I clearly defined my rates and deadline. So the agency, when contacting me, presumably, agreed to my terms. I didn't ask for details because they were mentioned in the job post. But you're right, I had to be more cautious and ask for solid information from their part.
I was sent part of the job on the 26th and asked if I could get it done on the 28th. I agreed. I was sent two more files late on the 27th and asked if I could do them for the same deadline! I said, according to the deadline I gave in the bidding, that they could be done in three days and confirmed that I was going to deliver the first file on the 28th. Finally, on the 28th, I was told the whole job was cancelled.
All the while, I had to wait long time to get a reply which was mostly "laconique", too short, no details, hasty! I mean if I was told even on the 27th that the job was cancelled and given a proper explanation, there would have been no problem.
I posted a short comment on the Blue Board and the owner of the agency answered back that it was just asking for pricing and delivery date and that I was never assigned for the job! To me this is lack of organization and responsibility.
I've never been in a situation like this. All my direct clients and agencies were straightforward from the start. Even those who contacted me and couldn't give me the job for one reason or another, would explain why and apologize.
But this agency never bothered to reply my last e-mail, where I just wanted to know if they still need the file I had actually finished.
Thank you all again
nadia
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