Following the article on Capita, written a few weeks ago, I would like to share a frightening report with you before it gets "blended" in this blog's blacklist. I thought it deserved a little bit more attention that the rest of the updates and hope it will be a wake up call for anyone still working with this agency. Such behaviour is absolutely disgraceful and should not be tolerated by the community of translators. It becomes apparent that this company is desperate and is trying to intimidate and shut down anyone rebelling against their dodgy ways. This is quite unbelievable.
Here is an email received yesterday, 6/1/14:
"Capita translation and interpreting UK.
I have been contacted by a lady working for this company asking me for
collaboration. I accepted. Then another lady from the same company
replied to my email and asked me to do a test first of 1035 words. I
said yes. Then I was contacted by a third lady who asked me to be added
to their database and I did. At that very moment, I had doubts about the
company so I checked many websites and found your blog with two other
negative feedbacks about this company. The following day one of the
ladies contacted me about the 1035 word-test i was supposed to
accomplish but I did not answer. Another lady called me on my mobile
late in the evening more than SEVEN times. I did not answer. One of them
sent me a BOSSY email asking me to submit the "translation" because due
time was exceeded. I did not answer. They sent me another email asking
me to send the TRANSLATION because it was urgent!!! In reality, what
they gave me to translate was a test and not a translation but since
they insisted on it I understood they divided a big project over many
translators and asked them to do it as a test while they had no
intention to pay them for it. It is not over, one of the ladies tried to
call me again and again but I ignored her. She sent me two or three
emails asking me to urgently provide the translation. At that moment, I
replied saying she had confirmed my doubts. Strangely enough, she told
me that the "translation" was assigned to another translator and that
she needs explanations about what I mean by "doubts". I understood I
was the one who is questioned not them!!! I sent them an email with
links to the negative feedback about their company but they did not
answer!
after
more than three weeks, a fifth person from Capita sent me an email,
before that he tried to reach me by phone, asking to speak with me and
to make me speak with someone senior in the company who is going to make
things clearer about the "defamation" and "negative press" made about
their company.
So, instead of paying their translators and interpreters, these people are harassing me with emails, phone calls, Skype calls!!!
Shame on Them!
SJ
Nota bene: the Test was 980 words long. A normal test should be 250 words max and you should be able to decide for yourself when you do it. They are not allowed to impose a deadline for a free test. 1000 words is the equivalent of 3 hours work and it should be paid. Asking for payment for a test is good business practice and if everybody respected this simple rule it should prevent this kind of abuse.
Nevertheless, whether this was a test of not, this kind of behaviour from Capita is sickeningly out of line.
This
website is intended to keep track of the multiple online agencies and
identify quickly what to expect from some of them, regarding quality and
pay.