No answer from a company now banned from Proz - any advice?
Thread poster: Sophie Paterson
Sophie Paterson
Sophie Paterson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:36
Spanish to English
+ ...
Mar 11, 2020

I bidded on a job posted by this company in January, was commissioned, did the work, and... nothing since then. No confirmation of receipt of invoice (I sent two, as the job was divided into batches), no replies to my two chase-up emails, nothing...

When I got worried and tried to go back to check the original post/listing/company, it had been banned by Proz. Too late for me!

The website and the professional individual running it look legit. I'd be second-guessing mys
... See more
I bidded on a job posted by this company in January, was commissioned, did the work, and... nothing since then. No confirmation of receipt of invoice (I sent two, as the job was divided into batches), no replies to my two chase-up emails, nothing...

When I got worried and tried to go back to check the original post/listing/company, it had been banned by Proz. Too late for me!

The website and the professional individual running it look legit. I'd be second-guessing myself and concerned about badmouthing a perfectly reputable company, if not for this ban.

I don't mind so much if clients have cashflow issues - as long as they are upfront and honest, keep me updated, and pay up in the end (even if it's in instalments).

Thanks for any advice.

PS Not sure whether to "name and shame" here!



[Edited at 2020-03-11 17:02 GMT]
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Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 14:36
Italian to English
A few thoughts Mar 11, 2020

Sorry to hear about your situation.

Proz rules forbid you from naming the outsourcer.

Since you have worked for them, you can give them an appropriate score on the Blue Board.
You can also post a review on Payment Practices (which is excellent for checking out a company's payment record before you work with them.

http://www.paymentpractices.net/

A
... See more
Sorry to hear about your situation.

Proz rules forbid you from naming the outsourcer.

Since you have worked for them, you can give them an appropriate score on the Blue Board.
You can also post a review on Payment Practices (which is excellent for checking out a company's payment record before you work with them.

http://www.paymentpractices.net/

Also tell them you will take legal action against them, which has always worked for me here in Italy (it has never come to that, but a lawyer's letter has been enough to make them see sense on the two occasions I was forced to do so.
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Dan Lucas
Andrea Capuselli
Thomas T. Frost
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Laura Kingdon
 
Joakim Braun
Joakim Braun  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 14:36
German to Swedish
+ ...
If it's in Europe Mar 11, 2020

European payment order: https://e-justice.europa.eu/content_european_payment_order-353-en.do

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Laura Kingdon
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:36
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Some things to do Mar 11, 2020

Sorry to hear that. Here are a few ideas:
- contact others who have left non-payment complaints on the BB. Swap stories and share ideas.
- check their status on the register of companies for their country. Quite a number are accessible online, but you often have to pay. There's a list in a Wikipedia article. If they've already filed for bankruptcy, it's pointless doing anything other than registering your invoices with the official receiver.
- if you fear they're on the verge
... See more
Sorry to hear that. Here are a few ideas:
- contact others who have left non-payment complaints on the BB. Swap stories and share ideas.
- check their status on the register of companies for their country. Quite a number are accessible online, but you often have to pay. There's a list in a Wikipedia article. If they've already filed for bankruptcy, it's pointless doing anything other than registering your invoices with the official receiver.
- if you fear they're on the verge of bankruptcy, a debt recovery company near them may be the best bet. Most will take their fee from what they recover.
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
James Hodges
James Hodges  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 22:36
Japanese to English
A big dilemma. Mar 12, 2020

I do understand the Proz position regarding not naming the party involved. However, if the company in question has been banned, would there be some way of allowing those victims of the fraud to perhaps share their details and work together to track these deadbeats down?

 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:36
Danish to English
+ ...
There is such a way Mar 12, 2020

James Hodges wrote:

I do understand the Proz position regarding not naming the party involved. However, if the company in question has been banned, would there be some way of allowing those victims of the fraud to perhaps share their details and work together to track these deadbeats down?


There is such a way already. It's called the Blue Board. There is also paymentpractices.net. That's where suppliers look for information about agency conduct. It's no use scattering such information across the forums.


Sheila Wilson
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Sophie Paterson
Sophie Paterson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:36
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you! Mar 12, 2020

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for taking the time to read and comment. There are some useful suggestions in your posts, which I will look into. I was considering leaving a poor review (i.e. outlining the facts) on their public Facebook page, but I worry that this might be bad form. I will pursue your ideas in the first instance!

Wish me luck!


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:36
Danish to English
+ ...
Facebook Mar 12, 2020

Sophie Paterson wrote:

I was considering leaving a poor review (i.e. outlining the facts) on their public Facebook page, but I worry that this might be bad form.


First of all, have you actually tried to call them to ask what is going on? That way they can't claim that your communications ended up in a spam filter. Incredible as it sounds in this online age, sometimes a good old-fashioned phone call can solve problems.

If that doesn't solve it and they are in breach of contract, I don't see why describing their behaviour on Facebook should be any worse than describing it in the Blue Board, as long as you stick to objective facts. But they can hide it on Facebook.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Sophie Paterson
Sophie Paterson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:36
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Also a good idea Mar 12, 2020

Thomas T. Frost wrote:

First of all, have you actually tried to call them to ask what is going on? That way they can't claim that your communications ended up in a spam filter. Incredible as it sounds in this online age, sometimes a good old-fashioned phone call can solve problems.


Hi Thomas,

No, I haven't tried - sign of the times, as you say, because it didn't even occur to me! I'm so used to emailing now. I will give that a try, but I must say I also can't quite understand how a person could receive my work-related emails one week (i.e. to send me files, and reply to my emails *about* files) and then not the next. But it's not inconceivable, I guess.

Thank you!


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 13:36
Danish to English
+ ...
There are people like that Mar 12, 2020

Sophie Paterson wrote:

I will give that a try, but I must say I also can't quite understand how a person could receive my work-related emails one week (i.e. to send me files, and reply to my emails *about* files) and then not the next.


I can't understand such people either, but I know they exist. Last year one of our colleagues in the US wrote somewhere in a forum that his French agency client had somehow lost his payment when they tried to transfer it and didn't react to his emails. As I'm a fluent French speaker and had lived in France for 15 years and know their attitudes, I proposed to give them a call on his behalf, as he didn't speak French. He got his money a few days later. There were no threats or angry communication, just a friendly chat. It was just easier simply to ignore the emails. In some countries, email is still not being considered a 'serious' communication method by some people – even those who should know better.

It's also possible that a spam filter has decided to block you.


Liviu-Lee Roth
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 


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No answer from a company now banned from Proz - any advice?







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