Translation - art & business » Money matters »
Pages in topic:   < [1 2]
Late payments - What would you do? I am tempted to withhold my next translation until they pay me
Thread poster: Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD
Charlie Bavington
Charlie Bavington  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:01
French to English
Find out Nov 3, 2023

Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD wrote:

!...We are undergoing management changes and it is not up to me."


I think you need to persist and find out who it is up to, and find out what the situation is.

In contracts I have translated where payment by instalments is part of the deal, there is usually a clause whereby the supplier can, indeed, act as you are being advised in this thread.
Does your contract state as much?
I would point out that the fact that these contracts expressly state this option for the supplier is a clue that, although it might seem "fair" to do so, a kind of natural response to the situation, the law might not hold the same view.

I remember reading some fairly pertinent advice years back, probably on here. If a client fails to pay you as agreed, that is breach of contract. Legal remedy exists for breach of contract. If you do not deliver as agreed, that is also breach of contract. Two wrongs don't make a right. You don't resolve a breach of contract by another breach of contract. All you've done is create two breaches of contract.

I'm not a lawayer. Different rules can and do apply in different jurisdictions. If you're entering a deal that involves payment by instalments, fergawdsake draft a small clause that stipulates what happens if an instalment is missed.
Good luck resolving it.
 
Daryo
Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:01
Serbian to English
+ ...
Too soft Nov 11, 2023

Dan Lucas wrote:

Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD wrote:
What would you do? I am tempted to withhold my next translation until they pay me, but would not want to risk losing even more by this.

You are heading in exactly the right direction to lose much more.
Not sure why this is so hard to understand.

Let's say there are 12 instalments and you get paid 1,000 euro for each. You have delivered one of these but had to chase, and you want to be paid on time for the next one.

Currently your exposure is one unpaid instalment, or 1,000 euro. If you keep on working without being paid it will soon be two, or three or five instalments, so 2,000, 3,000 or 5,000 euro. With every extra bit of unpaid work you do for them your position gets weaker, not stronger, because your potential loss - should they refuse to pay, or should you walk away - gets bigger. So it becomes psychologically more difficult for you to stand up to them. By continuing you are giving them a stick to beat you with, if they want to.

Once you have submitted all the instalments, your position will be at its weakest.
At that point they have everything they want, right?

Email them and say, politely and clearly, "I am stopping all work until I am paid for any outstanding invoices, and until you confirm that I will be paid 30 days after submission of each instalment."

They may huff and puff, but if they are located in Europe, remind them they are subject to the European small claims procedure. Unless they are going broke, there's a good chance they will pay you and instead delay payments to some other freelancer, one who doesn't stand up for themselves.

If this agency is located outside Europe and out of your legal reach, I would seriously considering withdrawing from the project once you get paid for the next instalment, because already the omens are not good. That probably means more trouble down the road. Have you seen this thread? Read it and have a ponder.

Regards,
Dan


I would stop translating until paid in full for what was done and ask for next instalments to be paid before delivery. There is no point in putting yourself again in the same situation.

Years ago I was working as tour leader few weeks for a tour operator that got itself such a bad reputation as extremely late payer that no hotel or restaurant would accept to be paid the usual 30 days on invoice. In every place I would take my group I had to pay first before the group would be allowed in the hotel or restaurant, no ifs, no buts, no maybes. IOW, nothing hypothetical, that's what happens to bad payers in "normal" businesses.
 
Pages in topic:   < [1 2]


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

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jorge Rodrigues[Call to this topic]
Andriy Bublikov[Call to this topic]
Rita Pang[Call to this topic]
James Heppe-Smith[Call to this topic]

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

Late payments - What would you do? I am tempted to withhold my next translation until they pay me







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 »
Protemos translation business management system
Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!

The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.

More info »