scam and unpaid translation Thread poster: Marion Candau
|
|---|
Hello everyone,
I am a freelance translator since March because I've just finished my studies.
In july I became a member of Proz and two weeks later I found a translation job. It was a medical translation dealing with the depth of anesthesia. They gave me the price of 0,09/words for a 4890 word document.
I did the translation, "Kiana Lee" confirmed the reception and since I have sent the invoice, I haven't heard about her. I sent her emails but no answers.. They had u... See more Hello everyone,
I am a freelance translator since March because I've just finished my studies.
In july I became a member of Proz and two weeks later I found a translation job. It was a medical translation dealing with the depth of anesthesia. They gave me the price of 0,09/words for a 4890 word document.
I did the translation, "Kiana Lee" confirmed the reception and since I have sent the invoice, I haven't heard about her. I sent her emails but no answers.. They had until August 21st to pay and I haven't received any payment...
The only thing I know is their email: [email protected]
I know I should have verified their identity before accepting the translation, but I did not. Now, what can I do?
Have you ever heard about them?
Thank you for your help,
Marion ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:22
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Marion Candau wrote: Hello everyone, I am a freelance translator since March because I've just finished my studies. In july I became a member of Proz and two weeks later I found a translation job. It was a medical translation dealing with the depth of anesthesia. They gave me the price of 0,09/words for a 4890 word document. I did the translation, "Kiana Lee" confirmed the reception and since I have sent the invoice, I haven't heard about her. I sent her emails but no answers.. They had until August 21st to pay and I haven't received any payment... The only thing I know is their email: [email protected] I know I should have verified their identity before accepting the translation, but I did not. Now, what can I do? Have you ever heard about them? Thank you for your help, Marion
Begin with the Blue Board. Is this agency represented there? If it is, give them a very bad rating and then tell them.
If they're not on the BB, create an entry for them and then do what I just said.
Then, after that, there are other steps you can take.
| | | |
What a weird mail address for somebody asking for a medical translation dealing with the depth of anesthesia, no?
Good luck!
| | | | Marion Candau 
France
Local time: 02:22
Spanish to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you for your answer Tom! The agency does not seem to appear on the blue board when I write one of the three key words (best cheap travel), so I will create an entry.
What are the other steps I can take?
| | |
|
|
|
Egils Grikis
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:22
Russian to Latvian
+ ...
| scam and unpaid translation | whois | Sep 5, 2013 |
Hi Marion,
Here is some info about domain you mentioned.
http://www.whois.de/(domain_name)
Creation Date: 2013-03-18 18:13:58
Expiration Date: 2014-03-18 18:13:58
Cheers, Egils
Marion Candau wrote:
Hello everyone,
…The only thing I know is their email…
I know I should have verified their identity before accepting the translation, but I did not. Now, what can I do?
Have you ever heard about them?
Thank you for your help,
Marion
[Edited at 2013-09-06 06:50 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-09-06 08:01 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-09-06 11:31 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-09-06 11:32 GMT]
| | | |
It does sound fishy to me. Firstly, the domain name is registered but there appears to be no website and no evidence that the company is in fact in operation. Secondly, I wonder why a company with a name like "best cheap travel" would need a translation about anaesthesia?
As Tom suggested, make a blue board entry. I would also search for the original e-mail or job posting and raise a support ticket with Proz.
The telephone number registered on whois looks fake too bec... See more It does sound fishy to me. Firstly, the domain name is registered but there appears to be no website and no evidence that the company is in fact in operation. Secondly, I wonder why a company with a name like "best cheap travel" would need a translation about anaesthesia?
As Tom suggested, make a blue board entry. I would also search for the original e-mail or job posting and raise a support ticket with Proz.
The telephone number registered on whois looks fake too because a French phone number usually has 9 digits after the country code and this one has 12. It also doesn't go with the address. I have found the address on street view and it is a block of flats. There is someone with a business at this address and his number starts +33 561.
[Edited at 2013-09-05 21:00 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | |
Thanks for the info on how to find somebody, if only with a weird email. Marion, you should go after him, this kind of people ruins the business - if he doesn't react find the original customer and inform them of your client. Hope you will get paid, and welcome to the profession. It's a great way of making a living!
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: |
|
|
Marion Candau
France
Local time: 02:22
Spanish to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you everyone for your help! I appreciate!
Do you think I can call the man who created the domain?
Do you think he is directly involved in the case?
Thank you,
Marion
| | | | Maria Nerdrum
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:22
English to Norwegian
+ ...
| Most Likely a Scam! | Sep 7, 2013 |
Hello Marion,
Personally, I think you have become a victim of a scam and sadly, you are not the first.
It is way too fishy the whole thing and the best you can do is to put the company up on the Blue board.
I seriously do not think you will get paid and I also think you will be wasting your time trying to contact the person, who is more than likely involved in the whole thing.
It would be better getting hold of the client, if you can, and expla... See more Hello Marion,
Personally, I think you have become a victim of a scam and sadly, you are not the first.
It is way too fishy the whole thing and the best you can do is to put the company up on the Blue board.
I seriously do not think you will get paid and I also think you will be wasting your time trying to contact the person, who is more than likely involved in the whole thing.
It would be better getting hold of the client, if you can, and explain the situation. Whether this will lead to any payment I honestly don't know, but they may want to use you again as a translator, which would be good news for you.
This industry is full of scammers unfortunately, see other links here. So just make sure you check the Blue board first next time and follow all the other useful tips here.
Best of luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It happened to me too!! | Sep 8, 2013 |
Marion,
Basically the same thing happened to me, but she asked me to do some proofreading for her and never got back to me once the work was completed this July (2013).
Apparently this person has been banned/removed from the proz.com website, but they were under the (company) name : Diamond Translation / best-cheap-travel.com...
I feel so discouraged now, I was new to using this kind of system for translation work and my fears have now been confirmed...... See more Marion,
Basically the same thing happened to me, but she asked me to do some proofreading for her and never got back to me once the work was completed this July (2013).
Apparently this person has been banned/removed from the proz.com website, but they were under the (company) name : Diamond Translation / best-cheap-travel.com...
I feel so discouraged now, I was new to using this kind of system for translation work and my fears have now been confirmed...
Let us know if you ever manage to do something about what has happened, but I have to admit I haven't been applying for as many jobs since this incident..
Take care and good luck,
Mildred ▲ Collapse
| | | | Marion Candau
France
Local time: 02:22
Spanish to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Maria and Mildred for your answer and advice.
Getting hold of the client is a good idea, but first I am going to call the guy who created the domain best-cheap-travel.com this afternoon. I have nothing to loose and I can't let him take advantage of people like that.
Since this bad experience, I haven't been applying for many jobs neither Mildred, but I guess we have to be more prudent from now...
I'll let you know!
| | |
|
|
|
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:22
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Marion Candau wrote:
Thank you for your answer Tom! The agency does not seem to appear on the blue board when I write one of the three key words (best cheap travel), so I will create an entry.
What are the other steps I can take?
You seem to be thinking of trying to contact the webmaster of their website. That will waste your time and will not get you paid.
Getting paid is a process of gradual escalation, and it's important to proceed one step at a time.
So to recap:
1. Create a BB page for the agency
2. Give them a bad rating
3. Tell them
4. If necessary, agree that you will remove the bad rating AFTER they have paid. Give them 7 days.
5. If after 7 days you have not been paid, come back here and report what happened.
P.S. on various occasions, people have tried to get away with not paying me. So far, none of them has succeeded. In the end I have always been paid - in full.
[Edited at 2013-09-10 09:03 GMT]
| | | | | A lesson learned | Sep 10, 2013 |
Unfortunately chances are you have been lied to and won't see a penny for your work. One big thing to remember from now on is that you definitely have to establish the authenticity of the customer's existence and contact information.
A big red flag is the fact that the domain the email comes from is by no means related to the medical field, and clearly it is not a translation agency. This should have been enough a sign that trouble was coming your way if you continued discussing the... See more Unfortunately chances are you have been lied to and won't see a penny for your work. One big thing to remember from now on is that you definitely have to establish the authenticity of the customer's existence and contact information.
A big red flag is the fact that the domain the email comes from is by no means related to the medical field, and clearly it is not a translation agency. This should have been enough a sign that trouble was coming your way if you continued discussing the job with the customer. ▲ Collapse
| | | | fivexs (X)
Ireland
Local time: 01:22
English to Finnish
+ ...
| We need more information | Dec 8, 2014 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
Unfortunately chances are you have been lied to and won't see a penny for your work. One big thing to remember from now on is that you definitely have to establish the authenticity of the customer's existence and contact information.
A big red flag is the fact that the domain the email comes from is by no means related to the medical field, and clearly it is not a translation agency. This should have been enough a sign that trouble was coming your way if you continued discussing the job with the customer.
We are currently tracking these scammers. If anyone has anything useful information about them etc. Please let us know as we already have a couple of translators joining us for a legal case.
Thanks.
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » scam and unpaid translation | CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
| | Wordfast Pro | Translation Memory Software for Any Platform
Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users!
Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
