| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Scam or is this normal???? Thread poster: Robert Rietvelt
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| Blue is my favorite color | Sep 18, 2020 |
Tom in London wrote:
I would tell them, ever so politely, that unless you receive payment of the €30, in full, into your bank account within the next seven calendar days, you will show them (without further notice) what their legal obligations are.
[Edited at 2020-09-15 11:15 GMT]
Good one! Right on. And a big fat entry on the Blueboard as well.
| | | | Robert Rietvelt 
Local time: 04:54
Member (2006)
Spanish to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
After one more request (no response by the way) I sent them a last reminder with the message that if they didn't pay, they would let me no choice but to make use of the platforms available to us translators.
That caught their attention, but it wasn't the reaction I was hoping for (please see below).
Hi Rob,
I understand you are having some issues with the validation process that we ask suppliers to complete before we pay them for the first time.
... See more After one more request (no response by the way) I sent them a last reminder with the message that if they didn't pay, they would let me no choice but to make use of the platforms available to us translators.
That caught their attention, but it wasn't the reaction I was hoping for (please see below).
Hi Rob,
I understand you are having some issues with the validation process that we ask suppliers to complete before we pay them for the first time.
In truth, I agree that the process of validating your account is more bureaucratic than we would like. The steps you are asked to follow seem more appropriate for corporate vendors than individual writers. However, our hands are tied here: we have been told by our parent company, XXXXXX, that we must follow these procedures for all first-time suppliers in order to ensure our (and their) compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation in the US.
..................
First of all, I already worked for them before, so I am not a first time supplier, but more important the 'Sarbanes-Oxley legislation in the US'(????). I thought the translation agency was UK based. So I asked them. This was their answer (again, please see below).
Translation agency XXXX Ltd. is a UK-registered company, with our office in London.
However, we are owned by XXXXXX Group, which is a US corporation. They require all their subsidiaries, including us, to comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley act.
.....................
So, I work for a British agency and the US want to have my data. I am not sure I want that. Am I legally obliged to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley act to get my money? Is this standard procedure for doing business with the US? (or better said, with an UK registered agency owned by a US group?)
I feel like being ambushed.
[Edited at 2020-09-29 11:16 GMT]
[Edited at 2020-09-29 11:17 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 04:54
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
A copy of a recent bank statement that ... shows the name and address of the account holder and the account number. (The bank statement can be a screenshot of an online statement, provided the above information is visible.)
Well, I can understand that one might not want to provide this information to just anyone on the internet, but in this case you already gave this information to the client on your invoice. Your invoice contains your name, your address, and your bank account number. This is all that they want. All other information can be redacted (e.g. using XnView's blurring filters). Why do you not want to give this information? Just log in to your internet banking, download a rekeningafschrift, take a screenshot and redact everything except your name and address, the account number, and the date.
| | | | Robert Rietvelt
Local time: 04:54
Member (2006)
Spanish to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Samuel Murray wrote:
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
A copy of a recent bank statement that ... shows the name and address of the account holder and the account number. (The bank statement can be a screenshot of an online statement, provided the above information is visible.)
Well, I can understand that one might not want to provide this information to just anyone on the internet, but in this case you already gave this information to the client on your invoice. Your invoice contains your name, your address, and your bank account number. This is all that they want. All other information can be redacted (e.g. using XnView's blurring filters). Why do you not want to give this information? Just log in to your internet banking, download a rekeningafschrift, take a screenshot and redact everything except your name and address, the account number, and the date.
Why should I? Like you state correctly, I already gave this information on my invoice. Furthermore, am I legally bound, or is this an 'business internal' thing? All extra work for nothing. If this nonsense goes on, what will be the next question they will ask me before I get my money? The color of my underware, complete with a recent photo please?
[Edited at 2020-09-29 12:12 GMT]
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Andy Watkinson
Spain
Local time: 04:54
Member
Catalan to English
+ ...
| First payment? | Sep 29, 2020 |
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
Rachael Alexander wrote:
I've had to do this for a couple of clients here in Italy (both pharma companies though). However they made it very clear in the vendor registration process that it was required. It seems odd that they didn't tell you this whilst you were registering?
I registered in 2013!!!! And did a few jobs for them in the past.
As you said in your OP and again here, this is not the first time you have worked for or (presumably) been paid by them.
In which case, their statement " Please provide this information as soon as possible, so as to avoid any delay in your **first** payment." makes no sense.
| | | | | Taking the mick | Sep 29, 2020 |
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
So, I work for a British agency and the US want to have my data. I am not sure I want that. Am I legally obliged to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley act to get my money? Is this standard procedure for doing business with the US? (or better said, with an UK registered agency owned by a US group?)
I feel like being ambushed.
[Edited at 2020-09-29 11:16 GMT]
[Edited at 2020-09-29 11:17 GMT]
They could include that requirement in their terms of business. But if you didn't agree to this before doing the job, they can't start demanding it now.
I bet they don't require it when they nip out to the corner shop for a new pencil sharpener.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 04:54
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
Furthermore, am I legally bound, or is this an 'business internal' thing?
It may be a cultural thing. The downside of doing business internationally. I understand your frustration at not being told from the start about these additional procedures, but it is a known risk for us and it happens a lot more than we would have hoped.
I recall having worked for a client who in the end would not (could not) pay me until I formally registered as a service provider with their company, and I felt that was terribly unfair, but several other local translators who also worked for that company saw it as nothing other than the normal course of business and had no sympathy with me. I felt quite strongly that the client should have made this requirement clear from the start, but the fact is that clients don't always think of these things when they hire a translator, and take it for granted that a professional person or a business would have no problem with whatever additional requirements surprise them.
Are you legally bound? Possibly. If you want to be able to enjoy the protections offered by your local laws, you should keep to local clients.
| | | | Robert Rietvelt
Local time: 04:54
Member (2006)
Spanish to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
[quote]Samuel Murray wrote:
If you want to be able to enjoy the protections offered by your local laws, you should keep to local clients.
I would love to, but unfortunately it is not always up to me, and there are bills that have to be paid.
[Edited at 2020-09-29 15:54 GMT]
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