what do I need to ask the client (by way of documents, etc) to be "sure" I will get paid?
Thread poster: catainde
catainde
catainde  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
Oct 4, 2011

I have been given a long translations, 1 month work. but they contacted me via email (it was a proz offer) and I don't know anything about them, I have only an email address. what can I ask them/the agency or client to have some rights if they don't pay me? what do you normally do?
thank you so much


 
Bernhard Sulzer
Bernhard Sulzer  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 21:33
English to German
+ ...
don't accept the job Oct 4, 2011

catainde wrote:


I have been given a long translations, 1 month work. but they contacted me via email (it was a proz offer) and I don't know anything about them, I have only an email address. what can I ask them/the agency or client to have some rights if they don't pay me? what do you normally do?
thank you so much


Hi Catainde,

I would not accept the offer as such.
You don't know if it is a private individual or agency, right?
Unacceptable.
What do you mean it was a proz offer but you were contacted by email?
You need to know the name, address, and telephone number.
I would ask for payment up front, no matter what. But they won't accept that.
You need a contract if you choose to "just" ask for a 50% down payment.
But I would not work for this client.
You will probably never see a dime.

Bernhard


 
Stanislaw Czech, MCIL CL
Stanislaw Czech, MCIL CL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:33
Member (2006)
English to Polish
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
down payment Oct 4, 2011

or some kind of escrow seem the only safe options here. However they are very unlikely to agree to any of them. Alternatively you could agree to payment in installments - let's say after every week.
Anyway I wouldn't take such a job myself.

Best Regards
Stanislaw

Edited to add: do they have a BB entry and if yes - have you checked it?

[Edited at 2011-10-04 14:28 GMT]


 
catainde
catainde  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
thanks... but then...? Oct 4, 2011

thank you so much for the advice. it was a proz client and blue board. I have found some more info about the company such as address and cif number.
but anyway, I always wonder how do people do when accepting a job via proz? do you always ask for some advanced payment? do you make a contract via email? normally, what is the thing people do...?
you see I am quite lost! I have always worked for "people", not email conta
... See more
thank you so much for the advice. it was a proz client and blue board. I have found some more info about the company such as address and cif number.
but anyway, I always wonder how do people do when accepting a job via proz? do you always ask for some advanced payment? do you make a contract via email? normally, what is the thing people do...?
you see I am quite lost! I have always worked for "people", not email contacts but lately I am quoting in proz. I am very interested in finding something via proz but I see I really don't know the procedure..........................
thank you!
Collapse


 
Bernhard Sulzer
Bernhard Sulzer  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 21:33
English to German
+ ...
many companies with a proz.com profile are banned from posting on proz.com Oct 4, 2011

catainde wrote:

thank you so much for the advice. it was a proz client and blue board. I have found some more info about the company such as address and cif number.
but anyway, I always wonder how do people do when accepting a job via proz? do you always ask for some advanced payment? do you make a contract via email? normally, what is the thing people do...?
you see I am quite lost! I have always worked for "people", not email contacts but lately I am quoting in proz. I am very interested in finding something via proz but I see I really don't know the procedure..........................
thank you!


I now take it the company you are referring to is not banned from posting jobs on proz.com - the blueboard entry will tell you.
Many companies are indeed banned because of non-payment and they will contact translators directly, via email, instead of posting the job on proz.com.
What is the translator feedback on blueboard about this company? Are there payment issues?
If the company has a "5" rating (clean record), check how long they have been on proz.com. Have translators commented on "big"projects for that company?
If the company is new (a few months, one year), and you never worked for them, you need to be very careful.
The bigger the project, the more careful you have to be.
Proz.com jobs posted on proz.com are usually accepted via the "submit" feature directly on the proz.com website or, if the job poster requests it, by contacting the job poster directly (that way you don't know how many other translators have applied for the job).
In any case, if you never worked for a company, it is customary to ask for up front payment or at least down payments.
You also need a contract (you can issue a contract form and have the client fill it out and sign it - a signature is necessary (they can fax the form to you - but you need to receive an original version by regular mail).
This is absolutely necessary for big projects.
Ask yourself: why did they contact me directly? Why did they not post the job on proz.com?

PS:
don't accept a "big" job from an outsourcer that you know you can never sue because they are not located in your country.

Good luck!
Bernhard



[Edited at 2011-10-04 14:59 GMT]


 
catainde
catainde  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
oh Oct 4, 2011

OH... thank you so much! I dindn't expect such a quick reply! I think the best thing to do may be ask for a contract...

 


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what do I need to ask the client (by way of documents, etc) to be "sure" I will get paid?







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