Problem with a client: No payment or messages after delivering complete work Thread poster: Anna Jirásková
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Hello anyone.
I've replied to somebody who found my translator profile through ProZ. He asked me about my rate per word, sent a document (contract agreement between a sports manager and a player), said that my price is good and even increased the amount. Now 150 dollars were in business. The client wrote he will send the payment via US check (postal service).
However after completing the translation, sending it and receiving an e-mail that he's forwarding the payment t... See more Hello anyone.
I've replied to somebody who found my translator profile through ProZ. He asked me about my rate per word, sent a document (contract agreement between a sports manager and a player), said that my price is good and even increased the amount. Now 150 dollars were in business. The client wrote he will send the payment via US check (postal service).
However after completing the translation, sending it and receiving an e-mail that he's forwarding the payment to his financial assistant so it can be sent to me, a problem appeared. I received no check, so I reported it to the client. He replied that he will look to it and everything should be solved shortly. Nevertheless - nothing changed and after my next email he stopped responding completely.
I know that it's difficult without any document signed by both parties. But what would you do in case that you completed a work for somebody and didn't receive a payment? I have only the name of the client and his probable financial assistant. It's been over three monts from completing my work and I although I'm not sure what to do, the idea of working for nothing doesn't really fascinate me.
Thank you for all the suggestions. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Morano El-Kholy 
Egypt
Local time: 22:45
Member (2011)
English to Arabic
+ ...
| A bitter lesson to learn from. | Nov 23, 2014 |
Dear Argaria,
I am sympathizing with you. Although I had no decisive solution to offer you but I can comfort you a bit by saying:
1- Most of us- your fellow translators - had surely experienced this same dilemma in a way or other.
2- Consider this bad experience as a useful lesson to learn from in your future work.
3- Try to ask for your PO prior to your start working.
I am sure that our wonderful colleagues can give you much mor... See more Dear Argaria,
I am sympathizing with you. Although I had no decisive solution to offer you but I can comfort you a bit by saying:
1- Most of us- your fellow translators - had surely experienced this same dilemma in a way or other.
2- Consider this bad experience as a useful lesson to learn from in your future work.
3- Try to ask for your PO prior to your start working.
I am sure that our wonderful colleagues can give you much more valuable input and advice regarding your issue.
Kind regards. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 21:45
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Have you sent a formal demand? | Nov 23, 2014 |
One step of the escalation process is to send a registered letter to the company's offices, a letter that they have to sign for on receipt. Ask your postal service to send that to you. It serves as proof of wilful non-payment by the courts. Of course, the courts may not be practical in this case but I'd still personally send the final demand.
Is this a reputable outsourcer? Are they on the Blue Board here or similar registers? In either case it would be helpful to warn the rest of u... See more One step of the escalation process is to send a registered letter to the company's offices, a letter that they have to sign for on receipt. Ask your postal service to send that to you. It serves as proof of wilful non-payment by the courts. Of course, the courts may not be practical in this case but I'd still personally send the final demand.
Is this a reputable outsourcer? Are they on the Blue Board here or similar registers? In either case it would be helpful to warn the rest of us by posting a negative entry on the BB. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 16:45
German to English
| Sounds like an attempted scam | Nov 23, 2014 |
Argaria wrote:
said that my price is good and even increased the amount. Now 150 dollars were in business. The client wrote he will send the payment via US check (postal service).
[snip]
However after completing the translation, sending it and receiving an e-mail that he's forwarding the payment to his financial assistant so it can be sent to me,
It sounds as though the person contacting you attempted to pull a scam, but didn't follow through with it. I've never had a customer to offer to pay more than I asked for a translation. In scams of this type the "financial assistant" "mistakenly" sends a check for a significantly larger amount and asks you to refund the difference.
Be thankful you only wasted your time.
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Usch Pilz
Local time: 22:45
English to German
+ ...
Hi!
Very sorry - but my guess is you have been duped.
Especially since this happened three months ago.
Increased rates? Payment by check? This sounds like they meant to pull the overpayment-scam on you and got cold feet the last minute.
Or else the translation was actually legit and they are on the run, never intending to pay you.
Have you inserted their IP into whois.domaintools.com ?
Maybe that way you get a hint from which country they ... See more Hi!
Very sorry - but my guess is you have been duped.
Especially since this happened three months ago.
Increased rates? Payment by check? This sounds like they meant to pull the overpayment-scam on you and got cold feet the last minute.
Or else the translation was actually legit and they are on the run, never intending to pay you.
Have you inserted their IP into whois.domaintools.com ?
Maybe that way you get a hint from which country they were actually mailing.
Sorry this has happened to you!
Best - Usch ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 14:45
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Don't worry too much yet | Nov 23, 2014 |
It often happens that the PM forwards a payment request to the agency's accounts service but it doesn't get paid for another two months or so. It depends on what the agency's payment terms are but could easily be 60 or even 90 days. It is best to get these details in writing in a PO or at least clearly spelled out in an email before you start. Unless immediate payment was promised I don't think you need to panic or take further steps just yet.
| | | | Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:45
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Usch Pilz wrote:
Increased rates? Payment by check? This sounds like they meant to pull the overpayment-scam on you and got cold feet the last minute.
Or else the translation was actually legit and they are on the run, never intending to pay you.
In the future:
1. Always do a background check on agencies
2. Always demand pre-payment or 50% upfront from private individuals.
| | | | | Try calling them | Nov 23, 2014 |
I've had this problem before, particularly from agencies in the subcontinent. Before escalating the situation or losing all hope, try call them.
A phone call is quite direct and personal when everything is agreed over email etc. This might either act as a big reminder to pay up, or clarify any problems. Just realise that so many people have thousands of unread emails and contacting them this way is the only sure way to grab their attention.
Good luck!
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Nadine Epstein
Israel
Local time: 23:45
Member
Hebrew to Spanish
+ ...
| It happened to me also | Nov 23, 2014 |
The same story... a contract about a sport manager and a player... He contacted me by proz. I believe he saw my innocent face between all the English-Spanish translators.
After delivering the job, he answered he was sending to proofreading and never heard about him again.
I understood quiet quickly it was a scam and I am just trying to be more intelligent next time and if something doesn't seems to me in the beginning, is probably means something.
It's a pity we can't do anythi... See more The same story... a contract about a sport manager and a player... He contacted me by proz. I believe he saw my innocent face between all the English-Spanish translators.
After delivering the job, he answered he was sending to proofreading and never heard about him again.
I understood quiet quickly it was a scam and I am just trying to be more intelligent next time and if something doesn't seems to me in the beginning, is probably means something.
It's a pity we can't do anything, may be proz.com can open a list of particular clients (like blue board but just for private individuals) which are known as scammers, non paying and disappearing... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 21:45
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Exactly the same? | Nov 24, 2014 |
Nadine Epstein wrote:
The same story... a contract about a sport manager and a player... He contacted me by proz. I believe he saw my innocent face between all the English-Spanish translators.
That really does sound like the same person pulling a scam.
It's a pity we can't do anything, may be proz.com can open a list of particular clients (like blue board but just for private individuals) which are known as scammers, non paying and disappearing...
If it really is the same person, and that's easily discovered by the two of you in private messages, then you can certainly do something to protect others. Please send the emails to the Scam Centre here on ProZ.com: http://www.proz.com/about/translator-scam-alerts/
As others have said, increasing the rate is odd, but it actually isn't unheard of, just something that should make you alert to the dangers of a scam. As for a US cheque, to be honest you probably haven't lost anything like USD 150. Most European banks will take EUR 50+ to accept a USD cheque and it will take maybe a month to clear, with possible exchange rate losses, too. It really isn't a viable method of payment outside the US. But that's neither here nor there in this particular case, just something to think about in future. I'm afraid if it is a 'real' scam then you probably need to put it down to experience if ProZ.com can't help. Try Googling the names and email addresses involved along with "scam" and you might find something useful.
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 02:15
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | It is a scam and has already been reported in proz.com | Nov 24, 2014 |
Please see this link:
http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/246889-recent_nigerian_scam_money_order.html
You are lucky the scam didn't fully play out and you didn't lose additional money other than the lost payment for the translation you did.
The next stage of the scam would have been to send you an inflated cheque much above t... See more Please see this link:
http://www.proz.com/forum/scams/246889-recent_nigerian_scam_money_order.html
You are lucky the scam didn't fully play out and you didn't lose additional money other than the lost payment for the translation you did.
The next stage of the scam would have been to send you an inflated cheque much above the amount due to you, followed by a communication that this check was issued in error and would you be so kind as to return the balance after retaining your translation fee and deducting any any bank charges involved.
If you fall for this gimmick and return the balance, you will soon realize that the check was dud and there is no valid bank account associated with it.
I almost fell for this trick, but had the good sense to tell the person that I will return the amount after the check cleared. The check of course never cleared, and I was told by my bank that no valid bank account is associated with the cheque.
I have reported this scam to proz.com and was informed that others too have been victims and proz.com has already listed this scam in its scam roll.
[Edited at 2014-11-24 16:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Anna Jirásková
Czech Republic
Local time: 22:45
English to Czech
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all for your recommendations.
I've been contacted by a ProZ admin and copied the whole conversation there, so maybe if nothing will be solved, at least other freelancers can be warned.
By the way I put the IP into domaintools and this is what I got:
http://whois.domaintools.com/216.185.45.101 No idea, this "Alentus" seems to be just an internet... See more Thank you all for your recommendations.
I've been contacted by a ProZ admin and copied the whole conversation there, so maybe if nothing will be solved, at least other freelancers can be warned.
By the way I put the IP into domaintools and this is what I got:
http://whois.domaintools.com/216.185.45.101 No idea, this "Alentus" seems to be just an internet provider. ▲ Collapse
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