Translation - art & business » Business issues »
Recourses for translators
Thread poster: golf264
golf264
golf264  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 20:04
English to Dutch
+ ...
Feb 20, 2008

I dont know if other translators have had to endure this experience, but I have recently been a victim of a large number of fraud and attempts to defraud. I have actually fallen for a few of these
but could recognize some at the start as false, and could therefore avoid being used.

But I continually ask myself what we can do as translators about this. Because none of us stands
to profit from these types of fraud-crimes, whether it happens to me or someone else. It appea... See more
I dont know if other translators have had to endure this experience, but I have recently been a victim of a large number of fraud and attempts to defraud. I have actually fallen for a few of these
but could recognize some at the start as false, and could therefore avoid being used.

But I continually ask myself what we can do as translators about this. Because none of us stands
to profit from these types of fraud-crimes, whether it happens to me or someone else. It appears that there is a growing pool of employers/task-assigners that just have no plans to pay at all, and this from the beginning.

To come to a possible solution, I have thought up a few ideas over time. Wouldn't it be achievable/advantageous to set up a sort of funds for translators that can assist translators with information, legal advice, and in extreme cases even assistance by a legal case in the event of
fraud/delayed payment?

FOr the largest question that would be associated with this - how would we pay this off - I have as a possible answer that we could ask/require every translator that renews/starts his/her membership to make a contribution to the funds - for the purpose of protecting our trade against such cases.

I am myself ready to pay this amount, and I don't think that it has to be too high either, because
a large number of employers for whom I have worked are indeed honest concerning payment.

To recognise the differences in laws of various countries, couldn't we adjust the amount respectively, based on the residence country of the translator?

I don't know of course how we must set everything up precisely, or how this can be perfected, but
this appears to me to be a good start.

I would gladly hear you ideas/commentary.

P.S. For my Dutch-speaking colleagues, there is a seperate but same forum article in that category. ▲ Collapse
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Margarita[Call to this topic]
James Heppe-Smith[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Recourses for translators







Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »