Blacklist E



Easy Language, London (payment issues)

A professional " I Did one job for them in March, they have not paid yet. I sent them several reminders, but they stopped responding after the first". Non-payers: EasyLanguage, London



Easy translate group / 30 min translate 

Treat translation like fast food - as the name suggests
I would like to add an agency called EasyTranslate that in my opinion is spreading misconceptions threatening the profession:
"WHAT IS 30MIN.TRANSLATE? 30min.translate gives you a professional and accurate translation of short texts in next to no time. 0 to 100 words within 30 minutes 101 to 200 words within 60 minutes More than 200 words in 60+ minutes No extra charge for express service Professional translators" http://www.easytranslategroup.co.uk/product/30mintranslate


Elanex 

Bad practices, unacceptable contract

"Their terms of service agreement attempts to force translators into giving a 50% discount for fuzzy matches. If you want to receive any projects from them you have to sign this agreement. In case of word rate the following standard Elanex compensation formula applies unless otherwise specified in the SOW:
· New translation: 100% of base per word rate
· Fuzzy translation: 50% of base per word rate
· Exact translation: 0% of base per word rate
No bloody way. Unless THEY pay for the CAT tool you are using, why on earth should THEY get a discount? (Even if they did, giving a discount would be debatable)
 


Elite translations, Malaysia 

Bottom feeder

"Dear XXX,

Greetings! This is Zoe from Elite Translations Asia (Malaysia) and I came across your profile on Proz.com. 
We are expanding our team for an on-going English to German bulk translation project involving SAP/ IT content and would like to know if you are familiar with SAP/IT content.
For the current batch, each translator will be handling approximately 10000 words. We usually receive more source files throughout the year and the years to come. The project source files will be similar to the sample text attached.

Our offered rate for this regular project is MYR0.20 per source word. Kindly advise if you are comfortable with this. 
Note: MYR0.20 is equivalent to USD0.06. or EUR 0.04

Should this come to your interest, could you please provide a short trial translation of the sample text attached for us to assess your translation quality without additional cost by 16 Oct 2014 (Thursday), 5PM GMT Plus 8?

Look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you!"
"I told them the rate was way too low and apparently they also offer higher rates for other projects between 0,07-0,12USD - however not for this "large" and "recurrent" project, as they say. Not to mention the free test they request." (Email 15/10/14)




Epic (Bottom feeder and non-payer)


"Not such good news on ProZ.com, where there are a number of non-payment reports. The outsourcer has been banned from that site since January 31, 2011"
"I have worked with them many times
They pay always between 45 and 60 days but offer only $.06 and lower. So you make the math "
From WPPF (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/WPPF/conversations/messages/7758 and 7753)
Links to reports on ProZ:
http://www.proz.com/blueboard/9631


Equivalangue, France (10 months late payments)

Email 15/05/2014 14:30
"Hi!
I would like to warn other freelance translators about the French translation agency Equivalangue. In September 2013 they contacted me and asked me to do a translation job for them. I did, and they kept sending me work. In December they paid what they owed me for my work during that year. I had no reason not to trust them when they gave me more work in 2014.
I worked almost exclusively for Equivalangue in January, February and the first week of March, which resulted in quite a large sum of money that they were going to pay out in the second week of March (due to their payment terms of 45 days after they have received the invoice). Mid-March came and nothing happened. I emailed them several times about when I could expect to receive the payment. Each time they came up with various excuses, said that they would pay soon and that they were sorry for the delay.
It's been two months since they were supposed to pay me, but I still haven’t received the payment for my work in 2014 and I would therefore like to advise other translators against working for Equivalangue. They may pay at first, but after a while they will cease to pay you. Currently they owe me 1225 euro."
Update: Translator got paid eventually (late december 14), 10 months late and after some amount of harassment. Avoid like the plague


Europa Dubbing, France/Belgium/Morocco 

Non payers, disrespectful

Email 9/12/14 
"I would like to emphasize the bad experience with the company Europa Dubbing. They owe me 1400$. They are very smart. At first they give some scripts that they pay to gain your trust  and then, they finally give so much work to do that I totally thought that I could only work for them for a month. I have sent several e-mails to remind them of the payment, I have called to ask what was going on, and I only had responses like "I acknowledge your message, I'll get back to you soon". 
And it is not all, to get your hopes high, they sent me a message twice: one saying that I will receive the payment at the end of the week, and the other on Friday, confirming that I would be receiving the payment during the afternoon. So I anticipated, and started working on various scripts so that when they'll pay me I'll have more. But then again. Nothing happened. Also, like WWPP, the one who left the message, they started to accusing me of the bad work that their transcribers couldn't not handle. 
They are also very bossy: very prompt to ask you for the job done, but never ready to pay. 
They are not to be trusted: these people will pay the transcribers, and other engineers, developers, but do they consider the work of translators? They don't." 
Europa Dubbing, 5 Rue Melingue, 75019 Paris, France
Jean Louis AUBOYER, executive director, jl.auboyer@europadubb.com

 


Europadubb (same as above) Prague: bottom-feeder

Email 16/01/15:
"Europadubb, from Prague, offers the appalling rate of 2 euros/minute for subtitling.
It seems that subtitling is really going down the drain.
Message received on december 2014:
«Notre service technique adressera à chaque interprète, via liaison internet sécurisée, les fichiers de 12 épisodes (52 minutes chacun) à traduire (+ le script le cas échéant). Les candidats travailleront sous le statut de free-lance et recevront une rémunération de 1254 € pour l’ensemble des 12 épisodes. » = 2 euros/minute!!


European Consultation Lobby, Barcelona (non-payer)

Email 27/10/14:
"I think you've got a great site for warning us all about non-payers and scammers. I've been working in translation for over five years now and have had my share of non-payers, but there is one in particular I would like everyone to know about.
The agency goes by the name of European Consultant Lobby in Barcelona, Spain and the owner (i.e. non-payer) is called Eduard Royo Cosano.
I worked directly for him (no employees) for about three years with no significant payment problems (the odd delay, but ended up paying after me insisting). Until I did a very big project for him, which he said the client hadn't paid him for and he couldn't afford to pay me straight away. So we arranged he would pay me €500 each month until the debt was paid off (in the meantime he managed to go on a 6 week holiday in summer). He paid the sum once and stopped paying, when I refused to do anymore work until he resumed the arranged monthly payments, he stopped answering emails and calls. I even got my lawyer to send him a letter, but no luck.
So 18 months, he still owes me 3,800 Euros and I can't even try to get the money through courts as he owes money to the tax offices in Madrid and Barcelona and we all know they are first to get money if there is any.
I know I'll never get paid, but would like everyone else to be warned about this man and not to make the same mistake I made."



Euroscript Luxembourg 

Winning tenders for the EU Commission with low rates, 4 times lower than an acceptable rate. To BOYCOTT

October 2013: "Hi, thanks for your excellent blog. I would like to contribute with this job offer I receiver from Euroscript:

"Dear Translators,
Are you a freelance translator, with in-depth translation expertise in the indoor and outdoor cleaning solutions? (floor scrubber-dryer...) Are you available and do you translate in the following language combination?
English into Italian.
If so, euroscript Luxembourg, a leading multinational language services provider would like to hear from you. We have a huge technical/marketing project: brochures to translate and we are looking for the very best translators to join us.
What we expect from you
■Higher degree in translation or equivalent
■Italian native speaker
■Proven track of translation experience in marketing  texts
■Proven track of translation experience in marketing  texts and
in technical texts
■Highly service minded and strong sense of keeping to deadlines
What we offer you
■Long term partnership, where you are considered as a true co-worker (as opposed to a fake or illegit one)

■Personal contact to the Project Manager team
(You'd think it's a prerequisite...)

■Fair payment conditions and punctual payments
(Well thank you that's incredibly generous of you to pay the exact amount on time, you really didn't have to)

■Good opportunities for personal development
(Thanks, I can't wait to learn all about "indoor and outdoor cleaning solutions (floor scrubber-dryers)"

If you are interested and meet the above requirements, please fill free to contact me with your full CV at dalila.Aitbraham@euroscript.lu

At lats but not least, the rate proposed for this project is 0,055€/sw. (Indeed that is not something to be frowning upon, it's almost as much as a McDonalds employee gets paid!)
If you have any questions, please contact me anytime.
I would need a reply by Monday, 16 2012 9:00 Luxembourg time at the latest. We are always pleased to hear from experienced and professional
translators who are at home in the world of marketing, technical
and technical writing
Cordialement / Best Regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Dalila Aït Braham | Vendor Management Department
euroscript Luxembourg S.à r.l.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I replied saying that I cannot accept anything lower than 0.08EUR per source word, and she said: 
"Dear X,
Thank you for your email and unfortunately  our margin is very tight and we cannot afford this rate.
Thank you."
UPDATE Email 23/07/14 Euroscript is paying 4 cents per word for LEGAL texts to be used by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION, which is 4 TIMES LOWER than what pros normally charge for this type of texts. Impose rates and translation program (Trados) to lower it (impose trados discounts for repetitions). Shall I remind you that the European laws and regulations go through this underpaid intellectual labour ?
"Thanks for posting your very helpful blacklist, I am a freelance translator and find it very useful. There are a couple of agencies I'd like to report to it.
I'll start with Euroscript Luxembourg, which is already on your list and has won several EU translation tenders in the past.
In May, they sent me yet another of their frequent requests for documentation so that they can bid for a contract with the European Commission. They mention the rate they are offering at the very end of the long request (you'll have to scroll down to the bottom): EUR 12 per EU page of 1500 chars (approx. 250-300 words). Even by their standards, this is startlingly low. I declined this "offer" and gave reasons. The email is below.
As you may be aware, it has introduced a system of paying translators per "Trados page", whether or not they work with a CAT tool. In practice, what this means is that whatever rate I quote to them, I receive a fraction of it once they send me a "pre-invoice" at the end of the month detailing the Trados breakdown of each job, which may or may not be accurate for all I know. I have just told them I am raising my rates substantially, so I imagine I won't be getting any more work from them.
I will send you details of another agency (which isn't on your list) shortly.
Thanks and keep up the great work on the blog!


----- Forwarded message from Dalila.AitBraham@euroscript.lu -----
    Date: Tue, 20 May 2014 18:06:42 +0000
    From: "Ait Braham, Dalila" <Dalila.AitBraham@euroscript.lu>
 Subject: Offer_Direction Générale CONNECT: DG CONNECT_ RO into English
Hello,
Presently, euroscript is looking to secure a contract with the European Commission by responding to a call for tender for the translation of notifications and Commission decisions under Article 7 of the Framework Directive 2002/21/EC (as amended by Directive 2009/140/EC) SMART 2014/1071.
Project details
DG Connect manages the procedure for notifications and consultations as laid down in Article 7 of the Framework Directive of the new Regulatory Framework for Electronic Communications.
This notification and consultation procedure consists in the analysis and assessment of the draft measures as proposed by the European National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to be imposed on the identified e-communications markets. These notifications are received in one of the 22 official EU languages and, in order to carry out the analysis of the notifications as foreseen by Article 7 procedure, these texts need to be translated into English under tight deadlines.
The subject of the contract is the translation of these notifications, their technical annexes and related messages, as well as responses by National Regulatory Authorities. This project will involve translating from and into any EU official languages.
Starting date of the contract: end of 2014. euroscript won this contract in 2007 and has also been renewed in 2011.
The project « DG Connect ». It is a long-term project (4 years).

1/ General Requirements
- target language = mother tongue English
- expertise in the domain  (electronic communications networks and services, competition law)
(samples documents can be found under:
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/newsroom/all/1003)
            - Usage of CAT tools are a must and Trados Studio 2014 is preferable.
2/ Candidate profile
æ Profile 1 - minimum qualifications
-           3 full years of translating experience in the language combination
-           University degree and/or master degree in translation
æ Profile 2 - minimum qualifications
-           Any other University degree
-           4 full years of translating experience in the language combination
æ Profile 3 - minimum qualifications
Non-native EN speakers with the following competences:
-           In-depth knowledge and competences in English ? close to native abilities
-           Post-graduate experience in translation of min. 3 full years (into EN)
-           Expertise in the requested domains

3/ Signed Documents to be submitted to the client
- europass CV in English (please use attached template)
- Annex 7: (see attached template: Information sheet)
- Annex 6b (see attached template: Letter of Intent)
- Annex 8: Computer and Telecommunications Equipment questionnaire
- copy of University diploma
- Confidentiality agreement
*Please use a blue pen when signing the documents.

4/ Deadline
- Scanned documents should be sent to vendors@euroscript.lu<mailto:vendors@euroscript.lu> as soon as possible
- Originals should be sent to euroscript Luxembourg by post at the following address at the latest by the 6th of June 2014.
Mrs. Stefanie Trahe, Bid Manager

DG CONNECT
55, rue de Luxembourg
L-8077 Bertrange
Luxembourg

Last but not least the standard pricing for a translation service is 12? per European Union standard page.
*EU page = sp1500 characters without spaces.


Should you have any question or suggestion, please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you very much for your time and support!
*please do not change the subject title when replying.

Cordialement / Best Regards / Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Dalila Aït Braham | Global Vendor Manager
euroscript Group (Luxembourg office)
T.: +352 31 44 11 445 | F.: +352 31 44 11 339
55, rue de Luxembourg | L-8077 Bertrange
www.euroscript.com<http://www.euroscript.com>


Eurostreet Società Cooperativa, Biella, Italy 

Low rates, bottom-feeder

They offer a ridiculous 11 Eur per page of 1500 signs minus spaces.
More on this page: "Eurostreet ’s prices have dropped more than a third from the price list they posted in 2010.How could Eurostreet possibly still be in business? Well, you could write and ask Claudio Ranghino, who is supposedly Eurostreet’s “legal representative” (commerciale4@eurostreet.it)."


Eurotranslations, Spain (Bottom feeder)

Email 23/07/14:  "Hello again, Below is the email correspondence I recently had with Eurotranslations, an agency based in Spain. They asked me to quote for a Romanian-English legal translation and said that they specifically wanted a UK English-speaking translator. When I told them my rate, they tried to persuade me to accept half of it, saying: "considering our clients are Spanish we cannot offer high budgets". I have worked for Spanish agencies before, and what Eurotranslations offered (EUR 0.04-0.05 per target word) is low even by Spanish standards, and insultingly low for a legal translator working into UK English."


    Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 16:44:38 +0200
    From: Eurotranslations <eurotranslations@mallorcaphone.com>
 Subject: Re: [ProZ.com mail] Legal document (bankrupcy file and power of attorney) 800 words 
Dear X,

Thank you very much for taking the time to get in contact regarding this project.

On average, considering our clients are Spanish we cannot offer high budgets and consequently we usually pay between 0.04 and 0.05 per target word to our translators.

Do you think you could possibily a lower rate on this occasion?


I look forward to your response."

Kind Regards,

Esmeralda García
Translation Project Manager


Exchange Data International Ltd (insulting rates and attitude)

Email 16/12/13: 
"Thanks for your blacklist of translation agencies, it is very helpful. Would it be possible to add Exchange Data International Ltd? Last week they offered me a whopping 7.5 GBP per hour. I replied:
"This would mean that, even if I put in 10 hours each day, I would end up with GBP 40 per day after taxes, and approximately GBP 800 per month. That's far from the minimum salary in Belgium, and I assume/hope in the UK as well."
Here's what they replied:
"I am afraid freelancers here don’t go by the minimum salary, they work when there is work. The pay is not negotiable I am afraid."
Of course, I declined the offer. I had already done a test translation for them. I would like to warn other freelancers so that they don't waste their time.
Thanks!
Best regards,
Bjorn T."



Expert of Translations (SCAM alert)

"Expert of Translations is a phantom company based in the Palestinian territories. It is linked to Translation Secrets, Gentle Translations, Amazing Translations, Powerful Translations, Languagemet and several other agencies that steal CV identities to get work.

The person behind Expert of Translations is called Stephani (a fake name). Do not accept any projects from this person. If you do, not only will he or she steal your identity, but you will also received no payments for work completed.

Feel free to contact me regarding this agency."

http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/WPPF/conversations/messages/7724

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