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Client cancelled the project right after your delivery
Thread poster: Mohd Hamzah
Mohd Hamzah
Mohd Hamzah  Identity Verified
Malaysia
Local time: 18:44
English to Malay
+ ...
Nov 12, 2019

Hello everybody.

I hope you are all doing well. I would like to ask you all, what you will do when your client cancelled the project that you just completed and submit to them? The wordcount is also huge which is more than 40k.

Thanks in advance to you all for sharing your thought.


 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 11:44
English to German
In memoriam
Invoice it normally Nov 12, 2019

If you have a purchase order or another proof that they gave you the job, they have to pay the work you did before they cancelled, except if you have a contract that says otherwise (or the law)

Kay Denney
ahartje
Tom in London
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Julie Barber
Robert Rietvelt
Alison Jenner
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 11:44
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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@Mohd Nov 12, 2019

Mohd Hamzah wrote:
The wordcount is also huge which is more than 40k.


Before you go any further, see if they or their job are listed here or here.


Yolanda Broad
 
Mohd Hamzah
Mohd Hamzah  Identity Verified
Malaysia
Local time: 18:44
English to Malay
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
handsome BB record Nov 12, 2019

They actually have quite good Blueboard record.

 
Julie Barber
Julie Barber  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:44
French to English
the client Nov 12, 2019

I would expect to be paid normally of course. You completed the work as requested.

When you say client - do you mean the end client or the agency?


Morano El-Kholy
Sheila Wilson
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Vadim Kadyrov
Oleksandr Ivanov
Laura Kingdon
 
Mohd Hamzah
Mohd Hamzah  Identity Verified
Malaysia
Local time: 18:44
English to Malay
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Agency Nov 12, 2019

The agency.

 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:44
Member (2005)
Chinese to English
What is the circumstance that made them cancel it? Nov 12, 2019

I don't think they can cancel it out of the blue.

Josephine Cassar
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Mohd Hamzah
Mohd Hamzah  Identity Verified
Malaysia
Local time: 18:44
English to Malay
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Quality Nov 12, 2019

They issued the quality and as translator, I am opened for amendment and editing. In addition the domain was Arts and Creative. Instead of discussion etc, they decided to cancel it; and of course they do not pay.

[Edited at 2019-11-12 11:31 GMT]


 
Julie Barber
Julie Barber  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:44
French to English
cancelling Nov 12, 2019

I still don't see how they can simply "cancel" it AFTER the delivery of the project. Refusing to pay for reasons of quality is a different issue. Are they not willing to discuss further with you? it sounds odd on such a big job. Have they demonstrated the lack of quality to you?

Sheila Wilson
Thomas Pfann
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Morano El-Kholy
IrinaN
Philip Lees
Georgi Kovachev
 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 11:44
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Payment is a must Nov 12, 2019

Regardless of what your client's client might say or do, the contract was/is between you and your client. As it seems there were no quality issues or perhaps a late delivery. Consequently, your client has to pay you for the work you have done.

If his or her client cancelled the project after you delivered, then your client has to write off the loss, but definitely not you.

Just send in your invoice with the agreed upon due date. You might want to inform your client - of
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Regardless of what your client's client might say or do, the contract was/is between you and your client. As it seems there were no quality issues or perhaps a late delivery. Consequently, your client has to pay you for the work you have done.

If his or her client cancelled the project after you delivered, then your client has to write off the loss, but definitely not you.

Just send in your invoice with the agreed upon due date. You might want to inform your client - of course, in a professional manner - that you will not accept a non-payment and that you have binding contract that supports your unwillingness to be held liable for his/her loss.
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Sheila Wilson
Julie Barber
Josephine Cassar
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Morano El-Kholy
Philip Lees
Vadim Kadyrov
 
Mohd Hamzah
Mohd Hamzah  Identity Verified
Malaysia
Local time: 18:44
English to Malay
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
What's next Nov 12, 2019

Thanks a lot for the reply and good advice. I shall send invoice again. But what should I do if they ignore it?

 
Thomas Pfann
Thomas Pfann  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:44
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
No cancellation Nov 12, 2019

So the project was not cancelled but the client refuses payment claiming there were quality issues. That's a completely different matter and none of what has been said so far applies.

Still, your client cannot just refuse payment and end the discussion there. They need to give you a chance to fix the problems and redeliver and at the very least they should highlight specific mistakes and errors and give you a chance to respond. Sometimes it might be worth getting a neutral third par
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So the project was not cancelled but the client refuses payment claiming there were quality issues. That's a completely different matter and none of what has been said so far applies.

Still, your client cannot just refuse payment and end the discussion there. They need to give you a chance to fix the problems and redeliver and at the very least they should highlight specific mistakes and errors and give you a chance to respond. Sometimes it might be worth getting a neutral third party to review the text and provide feedback. If the quality really was below par a reduction of the invoiced amount might be an acceptable solution (to cover the cost of another review). But without knowing the details it's impossible to give specific advice.



[Edited at 2019-11-12 12:10 GMT]
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Sheila Wilson
Julie Barber
Ivana UK
Alison Jenner
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Morano El-Kholy
Tina Vonhof (X)
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:44
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Something more official than an email, perhaps Nov 12, 2019

Mohd Hamzah wrote:
I shall send invoice again. But what should I do if they ignore it?

It's easy to ignore an email. You can even swear you never received it -- and who can prove otherwise?

So I recommend sending a paper invoice to their registered office, with an accompanying "final demand" letter. You can find loads of suggested wordings on the web in English that you can adapt/translate for your purposes. Send it by registered post so they have to sign for it on delivery. Even if they refuse to accept it, there's proof of attempted delivery. Maybe you can pay the post office to have the proof returned to you, or use their tracking application as proof.

If that brings no response, or as an alternative, ask a lawyer to write and send one on their very official-looking, embossed headed stationery. They shouldn't charge very much for it as it's very little work.

These more official-looking letters might be met with a very different response. The client will see that you mean to pursue them. Of course, actually going to court costs money, so you have to weigh up the pros and cons, but it sounds as though a large amount of money is at stake here. The courts normally claim all costs from the loser, so if you win then you'll get your money refunded. Everyone has an unalienable right to payment for their labour, although quality issues may complicate things.

I have no idea what happens in courts outside Europe and anyway, I'm not a lawyer -- I've just managed to successfully sue a client for payment -- so don't take anything I say as fact; do your own research.


Julie Barber
Morano El-Kholy
Kevin Fulton
Viviane Marx
 
Julie Barber
Julie Barber  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:44
French to English
Call Nov 12, 2019

Mohd Hamzah wrote:

Thanks a lot for the reply and good advice. I shall send invoice again. But what should I do if they ignore it?


Well as they have already stated that they do not want to pay, I doubt that this will work unless you accompany it by a polite but firm letter about what YOU expect from their side in these circumstances - i.e that they demonstrate the lack of quality.

Perhaps their client pulled out for some reason but, as others have pointed out, that is not your problem. They are acting as an agent.

Personally, I would call them in these circumstances rather than going backwards and forwards by email.


Fiona Grace Peterson
Meg Mullan
 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 11:44
Italian to English
Blue Board Nov 12, 2019

The others have given good advice. You should let Proz know about the issue - outsourcers can be banned from posting jobs due to non-payment, also no agency wants a blemish on a good record.

Luckily I have risked not being paid very few times, but when it has happened, a letter from a lawyer normally gets them to sit up and take notice.
If they are claiming the quality of your work is not up to scratch, they need to prove it.


Morano El-Kholy
Magnus Rubensson
Meg Mullan
 
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