| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | Scary movie starring me and a phantom translation agency Thread poster: Iuliana Bozkurt
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Iuliana Bozkurt 
Romania
Local time: 02:39
Member (2008)
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Kate Chaffer wrote: Iuliana Isac wrote:
I phoned, in Germany, and a very nice lady said that SHE HAS NEVER HEARD ABOUT THE RESPECTIVE TRANSLATION AGENCY!!! Wow!!! Was I in a Twilight Zone TV series? No. It was the reality itself! After some lamentations from my side, she agreed to tell me that indeed they worked with a translation agency, who supplied the Romanian translation (MY Romanian translation), and the translation was OK and at that monent was being adapted for website publication by their IT team. But, surprise again! The name of the translation agency they worked with was completely different than what I knew!!! She was kind enough to give me the tel no and website of the REAL agency. A Chinese agency. Does the agency that actually gave you the work exist? Does it have a website? Does it have a Blueboard record? Could it be that the Chinese agency outsourced to this other agency? Your claim is surely with the agency that gave you the work and not the Chinese agency.
Hi Kate,
the false ID is:
(available upon request)
Why do I say it is false? Because I contacted the end client, who read their contract to me and they told me that they worked with ...(details available upon request). This is ''my'' scammer. When I phoned the scammer, he said he did not know me and never heard of me. Now you see why I am so upset...
[Edited at 2011-03-04 11:47 GMT]
[Edited at 2011-03-04 16:08 GMT]
| | | | Kate Chaffer
Italy
Local time: 01:39
Member (2009)
Italian to English
| Delete contact details | Mar 4, 2011 |
Iuliana, you need to delete the contact details you posted above. It's against forum rules.
| | | | Iuliana Bozkurt
Romania
Local time: 02:39
Member (2008)
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Kate Chaffer wrote:
Iuliana, you need to delete the contact details you posted above. It's against forum rules.
Indeed, it is against forum rules to write about an existing company. But, well, Kate, this company does not exist at all. The forum moderators can verify that it does not exist and that I do not endanger anyone's reputation. I would not want another legal mess apart from the one I am in right now.
This company is indeed fictitious, and this is the point of my entire post. I would leave it here, maybe another colleague googles it and will see that it does not exist. I surely hope the forum moderators agree with my position. If not, of course, the contact details shall deleted by the moderators. If they find this solution adequate. Still, I strongly believe that we must be all informed. Maybe the next ''victim'' could be one of the participants in this topic, who knows...
| | | | Kate Chaffer
Italy
Local time: 01:39
Member (2009)
Italian to English
Iuliana Isac wrote:
Indeed, it is against forum rules to write about an existing company. But, well, Kate, this company does not exist at all.
You've given a blue board link to an existing company.
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Iuliana Bozkurt
Romania
Local time: 02:39
Member (2008)
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Kate Chaffer wrote: Iuliana Isac wrote:
Indeed, it is against forum rules to write about an existing company. But, well, Kate, this company does not exist at all.
You've given a blue board link to an existing company.
Sorry, I just meant to inform you all that this MONEORDER (not even correctly spelled) does not exist and, in fact, there is a real agency hiding behind that name. But I will no longer mention whom I was referring to. I have just updated my post. For further info, you can contact me personally.
[Edited at 2011-03-04 20:47 GMT]
| | | | | Write back to your client | Mar 4, 2011 |
That is, your fake client, and inform them you have registered your translation for copyright in your country and that you will sue their end client if they use your translation.
This might scare them.
| | | | Iuliana Bozkurt
Romania
Local time: 02:39
Member (2008)
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Your idea is just great | Mar 4, 2011 |
Paula Hernández Sambeat wrote:
That is, your fake client, and inform them you have registered your translation for copyright in your country and that you will sue their end client if they use your translation.
This might scare them.
Paula, you saved the day!!! Your idea is extraordinary. Indeed, there is a Romanian office where I will immediately register my translation as my intellectual property. It costs only 15 euros and I will have full rights on it.
If the translation is registered in Romania, therefore it will be recognized as such anywhere in the EU. And they will not be able to publish my translation on the German website (Germany - EU Member State) without my approval. Oh, that is just great! Maybe I will not need to hire the law firm after all
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 01:39
French to German
+ ...
| *Confirmed* time / date / author information | Mar 4, 2011 |
Now that Paula mentions it, there are also companies providing *confirmed* date / time / author information for free. Basic as it is, this protection is widely acknowledged and can be used in order to get an "official" copyright registration.
As we are not allowed to mention names or give links in the fora, I will be giving this information in private should there be some interest.
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Evans (X)
Local time: 00:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
| ownership and sale of goods and services | Mar 4, 2011 |
Many sales invoices of all kinds contain a statement to the effect that the goods or services sold "remain the property of" the seller "until paid for in full". This is the basic law in the sale of goods and services in most countries. I have thought in the past of adding such a clause to my invoices. On one occasion I did some work for a private client who seemed to be trying to evade payment. When I informed him that use of the document that I still owned until fully paid for would be illegal,... See more Many sales invoices of all kinds contain a statement to the effect that the goods or services sold "remain the property of" the seller "until paid for in full". This is the basic law in the sale of goods and services in most countries. I have thought in the past of adding such a clause to my invoices. On one occasion I did some work for a private client who seemed to be trying to evade payment. When I informed him that use of the document that I still owned until fully paid for would be illegal, payment arrived the next day. ▲ Collapse
| | | | John Rawlins
Spain
Local time: 01:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Make sure the end user knows | Mar 4, 2011 |
Paula's suggestion does seem an excellent way of asserting your copyright.
However, you should ensure that the German end-users are immediately made aware of your intentions. Remember - it is in their interest that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible as they intend publishing the web. By comparison, the Chinese will be in no big hurry to pay - especially as they may have already lost the trust of their client.
Perhaps you should also give thought to reviewing ... See more Paula's suggestion does seem an excellent way of asserting your copyright.
However, you should ensure that the German end-users are immediately made aware of your intentions. Remember - it is in their interest that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible as they intend publishing the web. By comparison, the Chinese will be in no big hurry to pay - especially as they may have already lost the trust of their client.
Perhaps you should also give thought to reviewing your procedures for finding and accepting jobs in the future. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Iuliana Bozkurt
Romania
Local time: 02:39
Member (2008)
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
John Rawlins wrote:
Paula's suggestion does seem an excellent way of asserting your copyright.
However, you should ensure that the German end-users are immediately made aware of your intentions. Remember - it is in their interest that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible as they intend publishing the web. By comparison, the Chinese will be in no big hurry to pay - especially as they may have already lost the trust of their client.
Perhaps you should also give thought to reviewing your procedures for finding and accepting jobs in the future.
Hi John,
maybe I am getting a bit paranoiac, but what happens if I inform the end client that I am the copyright owner now, then the end client contacts the scammer, the scammer says ''No problem, end client, we will publish another translation''. The scammer will look for another Romanian translator, as naive as me, make him/her work for free and deliver another RO translation, which shall be posted on the website. Like that, 2 Romanian translators will get robbed... Could this become true or is it my sick imagination? I would rather not inform the end client. Instead, the moment they upload my translation, I will threaten them (although I am sorry for this end client who simply messed up with the wrong agency). I feel it is not very fair, but... Gosh... what to do?
| | | | Laurent KRAULAND (X)
France
Local time: 01:39
French to German
+ ...
| Ask yourself one single question! | Mar 4, 2011 |
And that question should be: "How many times is any end client willing to pay for having a translation redone from scratch?"
My guess is that any accountant worth their salt will shift to furious mood when they have to pay only a second time for the same service - not to speak of the CEO.
Iuliana Isac wrote: John Rawlins wrote:
Paula's suggestion does seem an excellent way of asserting your copyright.
However, you should ensure that the German end-users are immediately made aware of your intentions. Remember - it is in their interest that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible as they intend publishing the web. By comparison, the Chinese will be in no big hurry to pay - especially as they may have already lost the trust of their client.
Perhaps you should also give thought to reviewing your procedures for finding and accepting jobs in the future. Hi John, maybe I am getting a bit paranoiac, but what happens if I inform the end client that I am the copyright owner now, then the end client contacts the scammer, the scammer says ''No problem, end client, we will publish another translation''. (.../...)
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Iuliana Bozkurt
Romania
Local time: 02:39
Member (2008)
English to Romanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Laurent KRAULAND wrote: And that question should be: "How many times is any end client willing to pay for having a translation redone from scratch?" My guess is that any accountant worth their salt will shift to furious mood when they have to pay only a second time for the same service - not to speak of the CEO. Iuliana Isac wrote: John Rawlins wrote:
Paula's suggestion does seem an excellent way of asserting your copyright.
However, you should ensure that the German end-users are immediately made aware of your intentions. Remember - it is in their interest that the issue is resolved as quickly as possible as they intend publishing the web. By comparison, the Chinese will be in no big hurry to pay - especially as they may have already lost the trust of their client.
Perhaps you should also give thought to reviewing your procedures for finding and accepting jobs in the future. Hi John, maybe I am getting a bit paranoiac, but what happens if I inform the end client that I am the copyright owner now, then the end client contacts the scammer, the scammer says ''No problem, end client, we will publish another translation''. (.../...)
Did I say something about paying again? No way. I meant that the scammer will definitely find another me to do the job for free.
| | | | | Worry about that later | Mar 4, 2011 |
That is not for you to worry about. You focus on getting your money, and on broadcasting warnings about this agency on any forum you can find. If there's a translators forum for Romanian translators you can warn people there, that sort of thing. But you really can't allow "what ifs" to keep you from getting what is rightfully yours. $800 can buy an awful lot of groceries.
| | | | John Rawlins
Spain
Local time: 01:39
Spanish to English
+ ...
Of course, there is no way of knowing for sure what is the real situation between the scammer and the end client. The probability is that you will never be paid.
However, I believe your best shot is to say to the end client: 'Forget the Chinese agency. Pay me instead and use the translation that you have already received and prepared.' If the Germans have already paid then this approach is less likely to succeed.
I would speak to the managing director of the end-user c... See more Of course, there is no way of knowing for sure what is the real situation between the scammer and the end client. The probability is that you will never be paid.
However, I believe your best shot is to say to the end client: 'Forget the Chinese agency. Pay me instead and use the translation that you have already received and prepared.' If the Germans have already paid then this approach is less likely to succeed.
I would speak to the managing director of the end-user company if your contact cannot or will not cooperate. ▲ Collapse
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