| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | A check instead of agreed bank transfer - what shall I do? Thread poster: MariusV
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MariusV 
Lithuania
Local time: 09:14
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | I agree - it is shameless | Oct 28, 2007 |
Nicole Schnell wrote: Bin Tiede wrote:
The SDL Trados sent me a cheque of the amount of the fee I paid to them. How shameless!
[Edited at 2007-10-27 15:30] I am still trying to figure out what is shameless / annoying with receiving payments / reimbursements. Edit: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", meaning if you interact with international companies, it's a good idea to respect their legal environment of business. Then they will respect yours. [Edited at 2007-10-28 12:43] [Edited at 2007-10-28 12:47]
Cashing a check costs money and time. If a person registered for an event, paid money as he/she had to do, and then due to the fault of the organizer the event did not happen, well, why the payer shall be running around and wasting money to have his/her money back? Cashing a check takes 2-3 hours (going to the bank, filling in papers, etc. etc.) - why should one run around ? I think we are busy people and we can spend time on other things...Moreover, any company should care about their good image. And refunding by check does not seem to be very "customer-minded"...
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 23:14
English to German
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In memoriam | You cannot expect your debtors to read your mind | Oct 28, 2007 |
You have to educate them. Or better: inform them.
As a vendor I had to do my homework. Result: I can offer adequate payment methods.
So, before any transaction, there will be an agreement on whether to pay via direct transfer, TT, Paypal, Moneybookers, VISA, Mastercard, debit card, domestic check, electronic check, casheers check, online, over the phone or by mail or per money order. Always a good idea: agree on the currency. ... See more You have to educate them. Or better: inform them.
As a vendor I had to do my homework. Result: I can offer adequate payment methods.
So, before any transaction, there will be an agreement on whether to pay via direct transfer, TT, Paypal, Moneybookers, VISA, Mastercard, debit card, domestic check, electronic check, casheers check, online, over the phone or by mail or per money order. Always a good idea: agree on the currency.
Each and all of those methods have been put to use.
Everybody is happy. At all times. ▲ Collapse
| | | | MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 09:14
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | I'd disagree | Oct 28, 2007 |
Nicole Schnell wrote: You have to educate them. Or better: inform them. As a vendor I had to do my homework. Result: I can offer adequate payment methods. So, before any transaction, there will be an agreement on whether to pay via direct transfer, TT, Paypal, Moneybookers, VISA, Mastercard, debit card, domestic check, electronic check, casheers check, online, over the phone or by mail or per money order. Always a good idea: agree on the currency. Each and all of those methods have been put to use. Everybody is happy. At all times.
I think that the clients shall simply pay as agreed (for a job that as done as agreed and as it should be done). And as you see, a clear agreement does not always help...It is not our job to educate them or inform them - our job is to do translations for them
| | | | Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:14
English to Latvian
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| some problems still remains | Oct 28, 2007 |
Hi Nicole,
I think that all companies try to minimize their bank fees and they try to offer the payment methods that are most advantageous to them. So, translators should pay extra attention to the payment terms when dealing with foreign companies.
I am glad for you Nicole, that you never had a problem. My experience regarding the payments from North American companies have also been flawless, however I cannot say the same about some European clients. There was a compan... See more Hi Nicole,
I think that all companies try to minimize their bank fees and they try to offer the payment methods that are most advantageous to them. So, translators should pay extra attention to the payment terms when dealing with foreign companies.
I am glad for you Nicole, that you never had a problem. My experience regarding the payments from North American companies have also been flawless, however I cannot say the same about some European clients. There was a company in France that said they cannot transfer money to my account because SWIFT code did not match my bank name and could not understand that the SWIFT code in question belongs to the intermediate bank and that American banks use routing numbers instead. I don't know if they were simply clueless or did not want to pay bank fees for transfer, but at the end I gave them my bank account number in Latvia that I had still kept open and they transferred the money immediately. ▲ Collapse
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Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 23:14
English to German
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In memoriam
Isn't banking part of running a business?
| | | | MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 09:14
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Maybe I should start a new topic, but just a question - if the payment is agreed to be done by bank - who usually shall cover the transfer costs "by default" (i.e. if there is no special agreement)?
As far as I understand, if you do a job for 1000 USD, you shall get those 1000 USD, not 960 USD (why we should cover the agency their transfer costs)?
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 23:14
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Kaspars Melkis wrote:
There was a company in France that said they cannot transfer money to my account because SWIFT code did not match my bank name
An Austrian client tried this gaga-stuff once (there are lists...). They simply forgot, as it turned out. One nice email and 2 hours later the money was sent via Paypal.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 23:14
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
MariusV wrote: It is not our job to educate them or inform them - our job is to do translations for them
Your job is to run a business. How else would you be capable of providing professional translation jobs as a partner (not as an employee, not as a beneficiary) to a client? You CAN NOT be a freelancer and expect the same benefits as an in-house translator.
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MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 09:14
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Nicole Schnell wrote: MariusV wrote: It is not our job to educate them or inform them - our job is to do translations for them Your job is to run a business. How else would you be capable of providing professional translation jobs as a partner (not as an employee, not as a beneficiary) to a client? You CAN NOT be a freelancer and expect the same benefits as an in-house translator.
I think that the main reason we work/do business is money. We charge money for our services. If the client pays - OK, if he/she does not - we have the right to demand our money. We are not to "teach" the clients nor educate them...And under my philosophy - a deal on translations is a deal of two equal parties who have a mutual interest. An agency cannot be "superior" compared to the free-lance translator and vice versa...And no one is "the boss" here....And even if it is an "in-house" translator or any other employee.
| | | | Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:14
English to Latvian
+ ...
| there is also practice that each party is responsible for their own bank fees | Oct 28, 2007 |
It would be good to delineate every little thing in a contract but it could also be an overkill. Many things are simply accepted standard business practices. Within Europe bank transfers are relatively cheap, convenient and banks usually don't charge for incoming money transfers. I think that the UK might be an exception.
In the US checks are the norm and the electronic invoice payment often means that you submit payment order online and then the bank prints out the check and mails ... See more It would be good to delineate every little thing in a contract but it could also be an overkill. Many things are simply accepted standard business practices. Within Europe bank transfers are relatively cheap, convenient and banks usually don't charge for incoming money transfers. I think that the UK might be an exception.
In the US checks are the norm and the electronic invoice payment often means that you submit payment order online and then the bank prints out the check and mails it to your vendor on your behalf. It might be possible that the client is not even aware of this or capable to make adjustments to this process without substantial efforts.
But as a freelancer I think that business attitude is also important. The main thing is to be adjustable and make a mutually beneficial deal instead of demanding to cover all my bank fees. When I was still living in Latvia, I had a US client who paid only with a check. Once the check got lost in the regular mail and after that they always fedexed it to me. And although cashing the check was expensive, they paid me the rates that were double my regular rate, so it was a win-win situation.
[Edited at 2007-10-28 21:37] ▲ Collapse
| | | | MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 09:14
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | a good client is always right :) | Oct 29, 2007 |
Kaspars Melkis wrote:
It would be good to delineate every little thing in a contract but it could also be an overkill. Many things are simply accepted standard business practices. Within Europe bank transfers are relatively cheap, convenient and banks usually don't charge for incoming money transfers. I think that the UK might be an exception.
In the US checks are the norm and the electronic invoice payment often means that you submit payment order online and then the bank prints out the check and mails it to your vendor on your behalf. It might be possible that the client is not even aware of this or capable to make adjustments to this process without substantial efforts.
But as a freelancer I think that business attitude is also important. The main thing is to be adjustable and make a mutually beneficial deal instead of demanding to cover all my bank fees. When I was still living in Latvia, I had a US client who paid only with a check. Once the check got lost in the regular mail and after that they always fedexed it to me. And although cashing the check was expensive, they paid me the rates that were double my regular rate, so it was a win-win situation.
[Edited at 2007-10-28 21:37]
Dear Kaspars,
Thanks for the info. As I use to say - "a good client is always right" And a good client is the one who pays a good rate, who values your work, who pays on time, and keeps other promises and agreements. Then one can really accept a check or a situation when one can have some small "loss" of cashing a check even when a check was not agreed or walking another extra mile. But what about those who do not even care to reply to an email and answer two simple questions - why they did decided to pay by check and why the amount differs...
| | | | MariusV
Lithuania
Local time: 09:14
English to Lithuanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | a good client is always right :) | Oct 29, 2007 |
Kaspars Melkis wrote:
It would be good to delineate every little thing in a contract but it could also be an overkill. Many things are simply accepted standard business practices. Within Europe bank transfers are relatively cheap, convenient and banks usually don't charge for incoming money transfers. I think that the UK might be an exception.
In the US checks are the norm and the electronic invoice payment often means that you submit payment order online and then the bank prints out the check and mails it to your vendor on your behalf. It might be possible that the client is not even aware of this or capable to make adjustments to this process without substantial efforts.
But as a freelancer I think that business attitude is also important. The main thing is to be adjustable and make a mutually beneficial deal instead of demanding to cover all my bank fees. When I was still living in Latvia, I had a US client who paid only with a check. Once the check got lost in the regular mail and after that they always fedexed it to me. And although cashing the check was expensive, they paid me the rates that were double my regular rate, so it was a win-win situation.
[Edited at 2007-10-28 21:37]
Dear Kaspars,
Thanks for the info. As I use to say - "a good client is always right" And a good client is the one who pays a good rate, who values your work, who pays on time, and keeps other promises and agreements. Then one can really accept a check or a situation when one can have some small "loss" of cashing a check even when a check was not agreed or walking another extra mile. But what about those who do not even care to reply to an email and answer two simple questions - why they did decided to pay by check and why the amount differs...These people are not those for whom I'd walk an extra mile... So, I'd tend to differentiate the clients for myself.
[Edited at 2007-10-29 09:29]
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