| 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
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I am a little bit speechless right now.
I am unfortunately in the middle of a huge project, billed in monthly installments, for an agency that seems to take invoices not very seriously lately. I had to chase the last payment for months and another one is overdue now, too.
So I told them to make sure to pay within the agreed 30 day period.
The reply:
"I'm sorry, I can't confirm that. We are undergoing management changes and it is not up to me."... See more I am a little bit speechless right now.
I am unfortunately in the middle of a huge project, billed in monthly installments, for an agency that seems to take invoices not very seriously lately. I had to chase the last payment for months and another one is overdue now, too.
So I told them to make sure to pay within the agreed 30 day period.
The reply:
"I'm sorry, I can't confirm that. We are undergoing management changes and it is not up to me."
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.
I have never applied late payment fees and am frankly not very optimistic it will be helpful anyway.
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2023-11-03 11:49 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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There are no simple solutions to these kinds of problems. I only applied late payment fees once or twice. In my opinion, they are useless: first of all, they are so low that they will not make a client pay quicker. Anyway, if a client has no intention of paying, he/she couldn’t care less about those fees. Some 20 years ago, one of my clients was very honest about his money problems, so I decided to wait for better days and was paid in full (4 months later). He is still my client, although not ... See more There are no simple solutions to these kinds of problems. I only applied late payment fees once or twice. In my opinion, they are useless: first of all, they are so low that they will not make a client pay quicker. Anyway, if a client has no intention of paying, he/she couldn’t care less about those fees. Some 20 years ago, one of my clients was very honest about his money problems, so I decided to wait for better days and was paid in full (4 months later). He is still my client, although not so regular as he once was. In over 35 years I only had 6 non-payment issues (4 agencies and 2 direct clients). One of these was a dodgy agency (they pretend I never worked for them) and the amount was too small for me to bother any more with it; all the remaining invoices have been paid, though I needed the help of my lawyer for 2 of them. If I was in your shoes and assuming you wish to keep on translating the huge project you are in the middle of, I’d say with next order: "I'll accept this job only after receiving your late payment!” ▲ Collapse
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I would stop until they pay – as simple as that. I start sending emails if the payment is a day late. It seems to work – for me at least. Late payments are an absolute no-go for agencies and you have to show them or tell them.
Good luck.
[Edited at 2023-10-31 15:50 GMT]
| | | | Dan Lucas 
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:27
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| You're in a hole. Stop digging. | Oct 31, 2023 |
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
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finnword1
United States
Local time: 08:27
English to Finnish
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| 30-day payment | Oct 31, 2023 |
I think 30 days might be too soon to expect a payment. In my case, my by far best customer may take as much as 70 days to pay. Still I would not harass them. I had another customer who was honest about it, and told me up front that he won't be able to pay until he gets paid first by his client.
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Dan Lucas wrote:
(...)
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.
(...)
You know what, Dan, I think you wrote just exactly what I needed to hear!
I am far from being a newbie, but this degree of impertinence is actually new to me.
In over 15 years, I had one non-payer that actually went bankrupt. Other than that, I always got paid - sooner or later.
(They are based in Europe. I know why I only have European clients.)
So thanks again!
| | | | Daniel Fernandes
Brazil
Local time: 09:27
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| That depends... | Oct 31, 2023 |
I had late payment issues twice with a same agency years ago. Despite that, I still work with them and they reach me out very regularly. Interestingly, both of the issues were related to their accounting employee or — more likely — intern leaving the agency... the excuse back then was that this accounting intern hadn't left things prepared for the next intern. Despite the several emails I sent them, I just had to wait... wait... and wait... patiently.
In my case, however, this a... See more I had late payment issues twice with a same agency years ago. Despite that, I still work with them and they reach me out very regularly. Interestingly, both of the issues were related to their accounting employee or — more likely — intern leaving the agency... the excuse back then was that this accounting intern hadn't left things prepared for the next intern. Despite the several emails I sent them, I just had to wait... wait... and wait... patiently.
In my case, however, this agency was and still is a very regular client.
Is this the same for you?
Depending on your relationship with them, it's worth the wait.
My relationship with the agency I mentioned was and is good. They reply very quickly to my questions.
Wrapping up, I'd ask them at least half of the payment as a guarantee so I could keep working — as bills keep coming and there are other clients to serve.
Good luck. ▲ Collapse
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I do not know them very well, but I loooove their projects
Their Blue Bord has a recent entry that reminds me of my own bad experience.
I just hope they won't go down.
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30 days are their terms. I sometimes accept longer periods, but they put that into their PO.
And given the last payment came half a year later...
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 08:27
Japanese to English
+ ...
| late payments | Nov 1, 2023 |
"We are undergoing management changes". A statement that could cover a multitude of sins. Perhaps they are in administration. Most likely they are out of pocket.
| | | | | On a lighter not | Nov 2, 2023 |
It is a bit off-topic, sorry for that. I had to let it out somewhere;-)
I just received a payment (3 hrs) for a test that I finished a couple weeks ago. Can you believe it?;-)
I wasn't supposed to get paid. What a pleasant surprise.
Sooo, there are some nice agencies (and clients) around.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 14:27
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
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Axel Dittmer wrote:
I wasn't supposed to get paid. What a pleasant surprise.
So you didn't issue an invoice, but you still got paid ? That's special.
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 08:27
German to English
| Cause for concern | Nov 2, 2023 |
In normal times, even the best agencies occasionally have payment glitches; accountants really do have babies, have heart attacks or leave the company or agency. I never worried if a regular client was occasionally late with a payment (although I was fortunate that this was a rare occurrence). However, given the present conditions, delayed payments may be symptomatic of more serious issues. Getting fewer jobs from a regular customer may be an indication that the agency is getting fewer jobs or t... See more In normal times, even the best agencies occasionally have payment glitches; accountants really do have babies, have heart attacks or leave the company or agency. I never worried if a regular client was occasionally late with a payment (although I was fortunate that this was a rare occurrence). However, given the present conditions, delayed payments may be symptomatic of more serious issues. Getting fewer jobs from a regular customer may be an indication that the agency is getting fewer jobs or that the direct client is relying more on AI to meet its translation needs. In the case of the former, the agency may be having cash flow problems or, as someone has already suggested, may be in or headed toward receivership.
As much as I hate to be associated with "the sky is falling" crowd, I would be very careful if a client starts paying late or unilaterally changes payment terms. There may be trouble on the horizon. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | On the other hand | Nov 2, 2023 |
I lost a client because they were late and I sent them a reminder and included a late fee. It later turned out that these had to check 27 copies of the same lengthy text I had translated as it was to be translated in all EU languages and that took far longer than they had foreseen, and there were formatting issues they had to deal with too. I was really sorry as I had really liked the stuff they sent, so do not be too hasty unless you really fear not being paid. The agency had sent half the amou... See more I lost a client because they were late and I sent them a reminder and included a late fee. It later turned out that these had to check 27 copies of the same lengthy text I had translated as it was to be translated in all EU languages and that took far longer than they had foreseen, and there were formatting issues they had to deal with too. I was really sorry as I had really liked the stuff they sent, so do not be too hasty unless you really fear not being paid. The agency had sent half the amount due before I started the job as it was a new agency. ▲ Collapse
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but... I wouldn't accept any more jobs from them until I had been paid in full for the work already done. I can understand if a late payment happens once, but if it becomes a regular issue, having to chase down payments each month, I would be very careful.
I'm also struggling at the moment with a regular client who still hasn't paid my latest invoice even if it's overdue. It is incredibly frustrating when the due date for the invoice passes, and they ignore any emails sent with rem... See more but... I wouldn't accept any more jobs from them until I had been paid in full for the work already done. I can understand if a late payment happens once, but if it becomes a regular issue, having to chase down payments each month, I would be very careful.
I'm also struggling at the moment with a regular client who still hasn't paid my latest invoice even if it's overdue. It is incredibly frustrating when the due date for the invoice passes, and they ignore any emails sent with reminders. Being a freelancer is already stressful enough, and having to chase down payments doesn't make it any easier.
In the past I've worked with one non-paying agency - that was solved after about a year when I finally decided to report the non-payment issue here on Pro-Z. Then they all of a sudden "realized I had a few invoices that hadn't been paid" and sent me the money. That may be a last resort if they keep on refusing to pay you.
Good luck ▲ Collapse
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