Translation - art & business » Interpreting »
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Interpreters beware!!!
Thread poster: Mary Stefan (X)
Orsolya Mance
Orsolya Mance  Identity Verified
Hungary
Local time: 09:56
Member (2004)
English to Hungarian
+ ...
UK "agency" Nov 30, 2007

I received a phone call the other day from an agency who informed me that they are looking for interpreters and asked me if they could send me an application form. So far, so good - it arrived in the post the next day.

But when I read their "contract" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry - according to the terms payment is only after they get paid by their clients, £5 charge and a payment delay of 10 working days if I ring them up on the wrong day of the week/talk to the wrong de... See more
I received a phone call the other day from an agency who informed me that they are looking for interpreters and asked me if they could send me an application form. So far, so good - it arrived in the post the next day.

But when I read their "contract" I didn't know whether to laugh or cry - according to the terms payment is only after they get paid by their clients, £5 charge and a payment delay of 10 working days if I ring them up on the wrong day of the week/talk to the wrong department, warnings about not to discuss anything and not to give your and the best one of all: "For all work that you carry out as a freelancer or otherwise with clients introduced to you by XXXX at any time now and in the future, you will be personally liable for 20% of all your gross income without exception" - on another page they also add £1000 to this...

Of course they would like me to sign this agreement and send it back to their PO Box(!)address. Of course I won't do that. However, it left me completely baffled: what is the point in all of this? I checked, they are a registered company, but the whole contract is utter nonsense, full of grammar and spelling errors, so I am sure that even if anyone was naive enough to sign it, the "agency" would not be able to enforce it. It even occurred to me that it might be a joke when I read their warning to "make sure you read the contract"! Oh, and they also used picures on the documents, with the watermarks still on...

Has anyone encountered anything like this?

Regards,

Orsolya ▲ Collapse
 
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Interpreters beware!!!







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