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Three translation agencies contacted us for MTPE and HT projects, all the same requirements.
Thread poster: Marc Svetov
IrinaN
IrinaN
United States
Local time: 12:28
English to Russian
+ ...
I am about to burst with curiosity:-) Dec 7, 2020

4 mil words x 3 agencies = 12 mil words.

What is there to say about MT training that could take that many words:-) Even with 100 languages involved, it's still 120,000 each.

Or do they mean that by offering 4 mil words for MT and post-MT work, they actually provide a superb training course and everyone will end up owing them????? Please, please enlighten us to the extent possible - what is this job all about???

As of 2020, mankind, including womankind... See more
4 mil words x 3 agencies = 12 mil words.

What is there to say about MT training that could take that many words:-) Even with 100 languages involved, it's still 120,000 each.

Or do they mean that by offering 4 mil words for MT and post-MT work, they actually provide a superb training course and everyone will end up owing them????? Please, please enlighten us to the extent possible - what is this job all about???

As of 2020, mankind, including womankind, speaks 7174 languages. Translating into each of them would make the job more believable.

Anyone who can walk away now, please do so.
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Marc Svetov
Marc Svetov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:28
Member (2007)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
Wide dispersal of contracted agencies Dec 7, 2020

Sheila Wilson wrote:

We need to hear from someone who has actually profited from this. Someone who has actually received payment. It sounds to me like a "straightforward" scam to get as much work as possible for as little money as possible.


A scam - maybe; or maybe not. My wife was contacted by two people from an agency in the UAE. Then by a small German agency. Then by a Spanish agency. I have been contacted by an agency in the UAE. What kind of a "project" are we talking about? Who has the money to pay for millions and millions of words in all imaginable languages outsourced to agencies in widely dispersed areas of the world? Why not more centralized standard agencies, i.e. in Europe and the United States?

[Edited at 2020-12-07 15:53 GMT]


Kuochoe Nikoi-Kotei
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:28
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Maybe it will turn out to be an overpayment scam Dec 7, 2020

Marc Svetov wrote:

Sheila Wilson wrote:

We need to hear from someone who has actually profited from this. Someone who has actually received payment. It sounds to me like a "straightforward" scam to get as much work as possible for as little money as possible.


My wife was contacted by two people from an agency in the UAE. Then by a small German agency. Then by a Spanish agency. I have been contacted by an agency in the UAE. What kind of a "project" are we talking about?

Maybe not enough people are falling for the advance payment scam. So now they get you to do the work first. Once you've invested mightily in the project, then they promise more than the pittance you were expecting but send you a hugely over-inflated sum, and ask for the difference to be refunded. I can imagine many people going along with that one, just desperately trying to avoid losing out on all that time they've spent on the job.


 
Marc Svetov
Marc Svetov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:28
Member (2007)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
No "name" agencies in Europe and the U.S. Dec 7, 2020

Sheila Wilson wrote:
Maybe not enough people are falling for the advance payment scam. So now they get you to do the work first. Once you've invested mightily in the project, then they promise more than the pittance you were expecting but send you a hugely over-inflated sum, and ask for the difference to be refunded. I can imagine many people going along with that one, just desperately trying to avoid losing out on all that time they've spent on the job.


If it is a scam, it is on quite a huge scale. Or it's a government entity trying to obscure itself by a very wide dispersal. No "name" agencies in Europe and the U.S.

Has anyone else noticed the number of identical job offers appearing from various agencies, the latest ones being (again) the UAE and Italy, all at the same conditions with a promise of a huge amount of work?

[Edited at 2020-12-07 18:05 GMT]


 
Lucie Roulland
Lucie Roulland
Romania
Local time: 19:28
English to French
+ ...
Same project indeed Dec 8, 2020

Barbara Carrara wrote:

Who's the 'we' mentioned in your post, please?

And, have a look at this,
https://www.proz.com/forum/scams/348235-translation_agency_has_no_way_of_keeping_track_of_my_word_count_scam.html
Does it ring any bells?


Hello,

Well spotted Barbara! I can confirm that Marc and I were working on the same project, for the same agency. For the same reasons as Marc, I posted on ProZ about my concerns regarding this agency (scam?).

Personally I informed them that I would not work with them after they expressly refused to provide me with any PO/ contract and explained to me that I and they had no way of finding out about my word count. There simply was too much wrong about this agency for me to take the risk to work with them.

COVID or not, none of us can be that desperate to collaborate with this type of company.


Barbara Carrara
Katarzyna Slowikova
Eric Azevedo
 
Vadim Kadyrov
Vadim Kadyrov  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 19:28
English to Russian
+ ...
The thing is that Dec 8, 2020

these agencies may think they will get the money. But they won`t, most probably. And the only option for them will be not to pay their translators.

it is not that they didn`t want to pay their translators from the start for the jobs done, it is simply because their 'clients' haven`t paid them for the project, in the first place. You guess now who is the last in the line ))).

You have to remember that agencies can pay you only in case they get the payment from their clie
... See more
these agencies may think they will get the money. But they won`t, most probably. And the only option for them will be not to pay their translators.

it is not that they didn`t want to pay their translators from the start for the jobs done, it is simply because their 'clients' haven`t paid them for the project, in the first place. You guess now who is the last in the line ))).

You have to remember that agencies can pay you only in case they get the payment from their client.
If they don`t, they simply can`t pay you. And given the pre-conditions of this project, it is better to stay away.

Yes, the number of words is huge, yes, you can get a lot of work, I know that, but it is extremely risky to put all your eggs in one basket.

I was also contacted by several agencies for the same task, and the Spanish agency couldn`t answer almost any of my questions - about payment terms, etc. The UAE agency would contact me several times over the year, and every time they would try to lower the rate, etc. But, at least, they used my name, because the Spanish one didn`t even bother to answer my questions.
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Lucie Roulland
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:28
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
That's not how it has to work Dec 8, 2020

Vadim Kadyrov wrote:
these agencies may think they will get the money. But they won`t, most probably. And the only option for them will be not to pay their translators.


You have to remember that agencies can pay you only in case they get the payment from their client.
If they don`t, they simply can`t pay you.


That may well be the story the agencies give you, of course. But more fool the translator who allows them to do it. They should be sued. There is no more straightforward case for a judge in a small claims court than a case of non-payment for labour -- a worker has an unalienable right to be paid for their labour.

An agency shouldn't be doing business with service suppliers if they can't afford to pay them. Their contract with the supplier is just as important and enforceable as the one with their client, and the two are completely separate.


Josephine Cassar
Christopher Schröder
Walter Landesman
Oriana W.
Vadim Kadyrov
Alison Jenner
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Sergio Betini
Sergio Betini
Local time: 14:28
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Huge project, good rates Dec 8, 2020

Hello everyone!
Some of my colleagues here in Brazil have been contacted by a number of agencies in relation to a 4 million words project to be delivered over the next few weeks.
Contrary to what has been mentioned in the previous replies here, the platform we are using provides us with means of checking how many words we have done.
Keep on hearing that song in my head: should I stay or should I go....

[Edited at 2020-12-08 12:26 GMT]


John Augustus Foulks (X)
 
Barbara Carrara
Barbara Carrara  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 18:28
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Sergio Dec 8, 2020

Sergio Betini wrote:
Some of my colleagues here in Brazil have been contacted by a number of agencies in relation to a 4 million words project to be delivered over the next few weeks. Contrary to what has been mentioned in the previous replies here, the platform we are using provides us with means of checking how many words we have done.


4 mil words in a few weeks?
How long would you say it would take a bunch of translators to work on 4 mil words MTPE/HT files?
Any idea how many BR-PT translators are involved, besides yourself (the 'we' gave it away)?
What makes you think that if you can check the number of words you have done, then you'll be alright and you will get your money?
This is too ludicrous to fathom, if it weren't for the people who are getting scammed by these swindlers.

You decided to title your post 'Huge project, good rates'. If it's so appealing, how come you are still debating whether to 'stay or go'? I'd say, run for the hills!


 
Marc Svetov
Marc Svetov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:28
Member (2007)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
Big Tech? Or not? Dec 8, 2020

I have inquired now at two agencies. One of them said it's a Big Tech company. I cannot vouch for it, though. I was told it was a Big Tech corporation by this one agency in the UAE and was told by a second agency in the States that it isn't a Big Tech company but is a "private client." Go figure.

[Edited at 2020-12-08 18:35 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-12-08 18:47 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-12-08 19:47 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-12-09 13:55 GMT]


Katarzyna Slowikova
 
Vadim Kadyrov
Vadim Kadyrov  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 19:28
English to Russian
+ ...
Sure Dec 9, 2020

Sheila Wilson wrote:

An agency shouldn't be doing business with service suppliers if they can't afford to pay them.



Sure, absolutely, but let`s be realistic here - once you take a project from someone 5,000 miles away with just a PO, you can`t go to the country of this agency to sue them once there is any problem with your payment.

I mean, before taking any job on-line, we have to consider all the factors - distance, 'credibility' of a project, etc. That`s why I do not cooperate with agencies from certain countries, just because the chances are extremely high that problems may be there afterwards, when the payment date is approaching.

That`s why this project of 4 million words smells very fishy.


Eric Azevedo
 
Marc Svetov
Marc Svetov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:28
Member (2007)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
Big Tech is right Dec 9, 2020

Vadim Kadyrov wrote:

Sure, absolutely, but let`s be realistic here - once you take a project from someone 5,000 miles away with just a PO, you can`t go to the country of this agency to sue them once there is any problem with your payment.

I mean, before taking any job on-line, we have to consider all the factors - distance, 'credibility' of a project, etc. That`s why I do not cooperate with agencies from certain countries, just because the chances are extremely high that problems may be there afterwards, when the payment date is approaching.

That`s why this project of 4 million words smells very fishy.


I have inquired now at three agencies. The agency from the UAE said it's a certain American Big Tech company, but I don't think so. I was told by a second agency in the States that it is a "private client." The third agency said it is a "name" Big Tech corporation but not American. I think it's the third alternative. Which is what I have thought from the very onset.


Katarzyna Slowikova
José Silva
 
Giuseppe Bellone
Giuseppe Bellone
Italy
Local time: 18:28
English to Italian
+ ...
The same happened to me yesterday Dec 10, 2020

I had already accepted the project MTPE and HT, the SAME as in the posts commented on above, for an agency a few days ago and was just waiting for the green light and start working.

All of a sudden, yesterday a second agency I had worked with in the past offered me the same project, but wanted me to create an account on the same platform which belongs to the first agency I had already accepted. Strangely enough the link posted by the second agency landed exactly on the platform of t
... See more
I had already accepted the project MTPE and HT, the SAME as in the posts commented on above, for an agency a few days ago and was just waiting for the green light and start working.

All of a sudden, yesterday a second agency I had worked with in the past offered me the same project, but wanted me to create an account on the same platform which belongs to the first agency I had already accepted. Strangely enough the link posted by the second agency landed exactly on the platform of the first agency, i.e. the exact page with my username, my full account and so on. Quite strange, isn't it?
Of course I already have an account for the first agency, so all that rang a bell and I asked the second agency what was going on and for an explanation.
After TWO e-mails I am still waiting for a reply!


[Modificato alle 2020-12-10 20:54 GMT]
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José Silva
 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: User request.
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 17:28
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
ISAAC/ISSAC Dec 11, 2020

I wonder how many translation agencies are involved in the project as I was contacted this morning by a Canadian agency? I promptly declined. I don’t translate into Brazilian Portuguese and my translation rate is at least five times higher than the one “offered” (the currency is not mentioned).

Project details:
Name of the project: C837 - Isaac HT - Portuguese (Brazil)> English
Language combination: Portuguese (Brazil) > English
Task: Human Translation
... See more
I wonder how many translation agencies are involved in the project as I was contacted this morning by a Canadian agency? I promptly declined. I don’t translate into Brazilian Portuguese and my translation rate is at least five times higher than the one “offered” (the currency is not mentioned).

Project details:
Name of the project: C837 - Isaac HT - Portuguese (Brazil)> English
Language combination: Portuguese (Brazil) > English
Task: Human Translation
Volume of the project: 4,000,000 words approximately (You will be among a team of linguists)
CAT Tool: OneForma (Online platform)
Project deadline: Mid - End of January 2021
SCOPE OF WORK:
Providing 2 human translations per one source (you will be paid double rate for every string) and ensure that the output after translation done by the linguist is accurate and faithful to the original while keeping good grammar and style in target language.
Human Translation Rate: 0.02 (Double Rate: 0.04)

P.S.: The funny thing is that several agencies make exactly the same mistake: ISAAC/ISSAC… https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q="%20Isaac%20MTPE%20and%20HT"
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Vadim Kadyrov
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Three translation agencies contacted us for MTPE and HT projects, all the same requirements.







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