| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: The last time I had a non-payment issue with a client was... Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "The last time I had a non-payment issue with a client was...".
View the poll results »
| | | | | I've had some trouble getting paid over the years ... | Sep 12, 2023 |
... but never a non-payment in the end. It's probably a combination of luck and proper due diligence.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 17:57
Spanish to English
+ ...
The only agency I occasionally work with pays promptly within thirty days after receiving the invoice. And my direct clients always stump up in the end.
Although I've had other kinds of billing hassles over the years, I don't recall any non-payment issues per se.
| | | | Iulia Parvu 
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:57
Member (2022)
English to Romanian
+ ...
| I will say never although... | Sep 12, 2023 |
...I did have to send a few reminders throughout time. But everything was sorted out eventually.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:57
Member (2008)
Italian to English
ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "The last time I had a non-payment issue with a client was...". View the poll results »
Yesterday - for a job I delivered in May. After 4 reminders I did a BlueBoard entry and a non-payment report to Proz. I got paid immediately although it's possible they were going to pay me anyway. If they didn't, I was planning what to do next.
[Edited at 2023-09-12 08:45 GMT]
| | | | | Over 15 years | Sep 12, 2023 |
In over 30 years of professional practice, I had only a non-payment (a direct client, a Belgian accountant). Of course, I had to send a few reminders to some of my clients and my lawyer had to intervene in two cases. I’m extremely careful and I have been working mostly with long-standing customers. I must also say that I have more and more clients (3 agencies and 1 direct client) who pay within 24 hours after receiving my invoice.
[Edited at 2023-09-12 09:15 GMT]
| | | | Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 17:57
Member (2020)
English to German
+ ...
The last time I actually had a non-paying customer was back in 2018. She had been a regular customer for several years with some late payment issues, but then simply decided to completely ghost me over an €800 invoice.
I actually learned a lesson from this: No matter how much you trust a customer, never work without a formal purchase order. Otherwise, I could have easily collected my money by legal means, since she was from the same country as myself.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 18:57
Member
English to Turkish
| Some five years ago | Sep 12, 2023 |
The last and only time I had a non-payment issue was in 2018, I think. As bad luck would have it, I outsourced that job to another colleague as I was very busy at the time and paid her promptly upon completion, and thus unwittingly got myself screwed over twice if you like.
The client (from the UK) avoided my emails and phone calls as usual, and when I finally managed to get hold of them, their explanation was great: they didn't get paid by their end client, so they didn't feel like payin... See more The last and only time I had a non-payment issue was in 2018, I think. As bad luck would have it, I outsourced that job to another colleague as I was very busy at the time and paid her promptly upon completion, and thus unwittingly got myself screwed over twice if you like.
The client (from the UK) avoided my emails and phone calls as usual, and when I finally managed to get hold of them, their explanation was great: they didn't get paid by their end client, so they didn't feel like paying their translators involved in the project.
It taught me a valuable lesson though: never pay your translator before you've got paid yourself!
[Edited at 2023-09-12 09:52 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:57
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Baran Keki wrote:
....: they didn't get paid by their end client, so they didn't feel like paying their translators involved in the project.
I read somewhere that this is illegal under EU law. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
| | | | Ventnai
Spain
Local time: 17:57
German to English
+ ...
A regular client went bust last year and two invoices went unpaid.
| | | | Ventnai
Spain
Local time: 17:57
German to English
+ ...
| Dubious grounds | Sep 12, 2023 |
Baran Keki wrote:
they didn't get paid by their end client, so they didn't feel like paying their translators involved in the project.
[Edited at 2023-09-12 09:52 GMT]
Your contract was with the client, not the end client. They have to pay you. If you are dishonest, you as an agency could simply say that your end client has not paid you even though they have and you then don't pay the translator.
| | | | Dler Piran
Iraq
Local time: 18:57
Member (2023)
English to Kurdish
+ ...
| I got an unpaid job on the pretext of bad quality | Sep 12, 2023 |
A few months ago I worked on a project which required translation to several languages. The agency, Future Trans, was pressing translators to finish it on a very tight deadline for a discounted rate. However after I finished the job on thier unfriendly platform and wanted to create an invoice, I got an email from them telling me without any details that the job was no eligible for invoicing due to bad quality. I later learned that they have done the same about all the other target languages. A f... See more A few months ago I worked on a project which required translation to several languages. The agency, Future Trans, was pressing translators to finish it on a very tight deadline for a discounted rate. However after I finished the job on thier unfriendly platform and wanted to create an invoice, I got an email from them telling me without any details that the job was no eligible for invoicing due to bad quality. I later learned that they have done the same about all the other target languages. A few months later, they finally updated me saying that I will receive a %60 deducted payment. Still I can't create an invoice on their faulty platform, and hence I am stuck.
I still think they don't intend to pay. ▲ Collapse
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Dler Piran
Iraq
Local time: 18:57
Member (2023)
English to Kurdish
+ ...
| I really appreciate your advice as to what do you suggest for someone in a similar situation to do. | Sep 12, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote: ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "The last time I had a non-payment issue with a client was...". View the poll results » Yesterday - for a job I delivered in May. After 4 reminders I did a BlueBoard entry and a non-payment report to Proz. I got paid immediately although it's possible they were going to pay me anyway. If they didn't, I was planning what to do next. [Edited at 2023-09-12 08:45 GMT]
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:57
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Do what I did | Sep 12, 2023 |
Dler Piran wrote: Tom in London wrote: ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "The last time I had a non-payment issue with a client was...". View the poll results » Yesterday - for a job I delivered in May. After 4 reminders I did a BlueBoard entry and a non-payment report to Proz. I got paid immediately although it's possible they were going to pay me anyway. If they didn't, I was planning what to do next. [Edited at 2023-09-12 08:45 GMT]
Do what I did (described above)
| | | | Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 17:57
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Dler Piran wrote:
A few months ago I worked on a project which required translation to several languages. The agency, Future Trans, was pressing translators to finish it on a very tight deadline for a discounted rate. However after I finished the job on thier unfriendly platform and wanted to create an invoice, I got an email from them telling me without any details that the job was no eligible for invoicing due to bad quality. I later learned that they have done the same about all the other target languages. A few months later, they finally updated me saying that I will receive a %60 deducted payment. Still I can't create an invoice on their faulty platform, and hence I am stuck.
I still think they don't intend to pay.
First off, you'd better remove the agency name from your post, or the mods will delete it for breaking the Forum rules.
Mind you, I am against the rule of not being able to name and shame the agencies, when they behave so abysmally. I've gone through the BB comments that have been posted so far, and that agency is at risk of being banned from posting jobs in (the near) future.
Secondly, they certainly cannot decide unilaterally and without proof that your translation and those submitted by the other translators are bad. Of course, theirs is just an excuse and an escamotage to apply a reduction (60%, no less!), or as you correctly suspect, not pay you at all.
Is there any way you can check if your translation has been used/published in the meantime?
If you can retrieve it, and you can prove it is the one you originally submitted, then you are entitled to be paid in full, as I am sure you are already.
As you know, until you've been paid in full, your translations are YOURS, not the agency's, and they have no right to use them.
Meanwhile, can't you just email them your full invoice, rather than relying on their unfriendly platform?
Oh, and do what Tom suggests.
Good luck!
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