Appropriateness of posting individual in the Blueboard Thread poster: David Jessop
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Hi Compañeros,
I recently did a partial-job for someone who claims to be a freelance translator. However, he refuses to give out any information about himself and terminated the job when I requested information to verify his identity and feel secure to proceed with the work. He does not have a Proz.com account and is unheard of. In addition, several other users have expressed concern about this individual and the project. I would like to post information about my experiences on the... See more Hi Compañeros,
I recently did a partial-job for someone who claims to be a freelance translator. However, he refuses to give out any information about himself and terminated the job when I requested information to verify his identity and feel secure to proceed with the work. He does not have a Proz.com account and is unheard of. In addition, several other users have expressed concern about this individual and the project. I would like to post information about my experiences on the Blueboard but recognize that the Blueboard is typically for rating agencies. I suppose this is a question I could have emailed directly to a moderator but thought it might have some value to others as well.
Saludos de Bolivia.
David ▲ Collapse
| | | | Trudy Peters 
United States
Local time: 05:02
German to English
+ ...
| How do you know | Jul 18, 2004 |
David Jessop wrote:
Hi Compañeros,
addition, several other users have expressed concern about this individual and the project. [...]
David[/quote]
How do you know that other users have expressed concern? Users of what? You mean you know other people who were approached by this individual?
Just curious.
Trudy
| | | | Ozethai
Australia
Local time: 19:02
Thai to English
+ ...
| It's your right to know who you're dealing with | Jul 18, 2004 |
David Jessop wrote:
Hi Compañeros,
I recently did a partial-job for someone who claims to be a freelance translator. However, he refuses to give out any information about himself and terminated the job when I requested information to verify his identity and feel secure to proceed with the work. He does not have a Proz.com account and is unheard of. In addition, several other users have expressed concern about this individual and the project. I would like to post information about my experiences on the Blueboard but recognize that the Blueboard is typically for rating agencies. I suppose this is a question I could have emailed directly to a moderator but thought it might have some value to others as well.
Saludos de Bolivia.
David
I don't see why not.
It's your right to know who you're dealing with before you start typing your life away. After all, you are a freelance translator. You have to buy dictionaries, computer hardware and software, you have to spend sleepless nights to meet the deadlines, you are in it for a financial return. You don't want to work for free, do you?
Neither does any other Proz.com member, as you'd be doing everyone a favour!
Cheers,
OzeThai
| | | | Magda Dziadosz
Poland
Local time: 11:02
Member (2004)
English to Polish
+ ...
Hi David,
Blue Board is designed to rate outsourcers - regardless if they are incorporated or not, big agencies or one-man bands. If you have an experience to share, by all means please do so, you can create a BB entry if only you have enough contact data of this outsourcer to fill in.
You may also like to contact Jobs Mods about this one.
Best,
Magda
Job Mod
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David Jessop
Laos
Member
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Clarification | Jul 18, 2004 |
Trudy Peters wrote:
How do you know that other users have expressed concern? Users of what? You mean you know other people who were approached by this individual?
Just curious.
Trudy
Trudy,
Perhaps I should have been more clear. When I wrote "users," I was referring to users of Proz.com, my fellow colleagues.
Others have expressed concern through a variety of means. The thread: http://www.proz.com/topic/23002 ("http://www.proz.com/job/58687 ¿Alguien tuvo noticias?") is a reference to the job/individual.
I was approached via email by another Proz.com member who had a similar experience with the client and decided to reject the job and wanted to warn me. This Proz.com member came to the conclusion that I was working with the same person when I posted a message in the forums that is somewhat irrelevant to my present concerns. But it can be found at http://www.proz.com/topic/22997 ("Should I ask for more money?")
In summary, more than five people have expressed concern over this client´s behavior and method of offering jobs.
My concern is that after seeing the threads and receiving the email from a fellow user, I reacted by asking for a chunk of the payment upfront. The client reacted by proposing a smaller chunk and saying that since he is a freelancer as well, cash flow is a problem. He said that we should both "share the risk." While I stated that I understood that cash flow is a problem for a freelancer, I told him that I was not prepared to "take a risk" and would need identity verification to continue under his terms. This client is completely unheard of and this also raised a red flag. I requested a fax of his ID, two translator references, and a bit more of information regarding the job.
He wrote back, saying that he was working under a tight deadline and we were not making the kind of progress he wanted and thus he was terminating the contract. Would I please email him the work I completed and he would Paypal me payment immediately. I did so and it is to his benefit that he did indeed send me a Paypal deposit. It should be noted that he followed through with his words and did pay.
I believe people should know what they are getting into. I think that everyone should have a right to know with whom they are working. To me, it is highly suspicious that one would terminate a job upon request for identity verification. I gladly submitted to a translation and transcription test before he agreed to work with me.
Regards,
David
[Edited at 2004-07-18 21:18]
| | | | Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 11:02
English to German
+ ...
| Magda is right - and so are you, David | Jul 18, 2004 |
Hi David,
You are perfectly entitled to verify an outsourcer's details: I can see nothing wrong with your request.
As Magda already pointed out, the BlueBoard is a platform to rate outsourcers. Anyone who posts a job at ProZ.com qualifies as an outsourcer. (Just to avoid misunderstandings: BlueBoard entries are not restricted to those who have posted jobs on ProZ.com - refer to the FAQ for details.)
Best regards, Ralf
| | | | Lia Fail (X)
Spain
Local time: 11:02
Spanish to English
+ ...
David Jessop wrote:
The client reacted by proposing a smaller chunk and saying that since he is a freelancer as well, cash flow is a problem. He said that we should both \"share the risk.\" While I stated that I understood that cash flow is a problem for a freelancer, I told him that I was not prepared to \"take a risk\" and would need identity verification to continue under his terms. This client is completely unheard of and this also raised a red flag. I requested a fax of his ID, two translator references, and a bit more of information regarding the job.
[Edited at 2004-07-18 21:18]
Hi David
When one freelancer subs a job to another freelancer, there is no clear notion of how the risk is shared, unless it\'s agreed specifically beforehand.
I generally work with people I trust, and I know and they know that any jobs I offer them convey the same risk as incurred from any client. So if the client doesn\'t pay me, I don\'t pay them (it hasn\'t happened so far, but that is the trust we have). Another thing is if I contract someone I don\'t know, in which case I woulkd certainly pay them. In the first case, my partners often know rates and conditions, my work load , other personal circumtsances, etc, in the second case, the person is a stranger whom I contract on an impersonal basis.
Second of all, you seem to have spent a lot of time trying to sotrt out details with this client. From all you say and from all the time you have invested, seems like the job is simply not worth the trouble. For jobs like this you end up developing a sense of risk/worth, and in the end they are simply not worth the headache.
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