Blacklisted Translation Agencies

Dear Translator,

Before accepting a translation job, you should be sure you will be paid for it. We want to assist you in making correct decisions regarding cooperation with translation agencies.

With the help of freelance translators we are creating a list of agencies which have not lived up to their agreements with translators and didn't pay her/him on time for the completed translation(s) or other freelance job(s).

If you have worked with such companies and want to warn other translators, please send us the detailed report of your experience with the translation agency according to the following format:

1) Agency name and address.

2) Did you meet the deadline?

3) Did the agency complain about the quality of your work?

4) Was payment delayed or not received at all?

5) What did the agency answer to your inquiries about payment?

6) Would you work for this agency again?

7) Other comments (if any).

Please note that we will post an agency only in the case you have not broken the agreement from your side (have provided a high-quality and in time job etc). Submit info to us here.

If you have successfully worked with any of the following companies and believe them to be trustworthy and reputable agencies, please let us know. We will update the list according to your recommendations.

Your name/address will not be published with the list, but we will keep your correspondence in case it is needed for disputable issues.

The reports will not be published with the list either, but they will be stored in our computer and they can be forwarded to interested parties on request.

We will list only those translation agencies reports on which are submitted to us directly. No agencies will be listed here on the basis of the reports from other payment practices resources - our list is absolutely independent.

Disclaimer: The author and publisher of the above mentioned list make no warranties of any kind with regard to the accuracy of the list content and accept no liability of any kind including but not limited to performance, fitness for any particular purpose, or any losses or damages of any kind caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the use of or inability to use this list. No liability will be accepted by the author and publisher of the list for the way in which subscribers or other entities interpret and/or use the list's content.
 

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Dear Translators,

We have received letters "suggesting" that we remove the list of untrustworthy agencies from here "to avoid future problems". The list has been deleted from our portal.

Nevertheless, we continue collecting the untrustworthy agencies and here are the ways to receive them:

1) Receive the latest entries to the list FREE OF CHARGE by SUBSCRIBING TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER. We already have about 20,000 subscribers - don't hesitate to join!

2) Receive the full list of 300+ blacklisted translation agencies by ORDERING IT HERE.

The list is not published by us anywhere, also it does not include any words/phrases implying the list includes untrustworthy / unreliable translation agencies - it is simply a list of translation companies delivered directly to your mailbox and updated from time to time.

Thank you for your support,

Sincerely,

TranslationDirectory.com

P.S. Please understand that some translation agencies placed on the blacklist may not necessarily be untrustworthy. They are the agencies that have been reported to us as such, but it is often impossible to verify the genuineness of the reports. Please use our list just as a guide and do your own verification before declining the orders from these agencies.
 

Testimonials

Thank you so much, I have received, downloaded and opened both Word and PDF documents.

I had an Indian agency sending me big amounts of texts to proofread and others to translate, and I was afraid they'd be one of these untrustworthy agencies.

After checking the list I feel more quiet and can go on collaborating with them with no worries.

Congratulations for the hard work you are doing. Keep it up!

Kind regards,
Fady Abou Nakkoul.
French/Spanish/English to Arabic Translator & Proofreader
fadyabounakkoul at gmail.com
Madrid, Spain

Thanks alot for the list - I had heard about it reading your site.

It's about time we free-lancers got some defense!

I have worked with three agencies on the list - I was paid, though very late, and after having mailed and called several times, and one agency in the US never paid me.  As I live in France, there was not too much I could do about it.

Thank you very much for managing the list. I think it is the best and most detailed one you can find anywhere.

I am absolutely sure the agency I reported deserves its place on it.

Yours cordially,

Susanne Schoof
Dutch to German translator
susanneschoof @ home nl
Groningen
The Netherlands

Your site is very useful and I always read what you publish, even though I don't now lack clients, partly through the mailings I made initially.

But the most continuously useful item is The List, which I check carefully every issue as I have lost considerable sums to defaulters in the last few years and this is one of the few ways for freelances to protect themselves.

Best regards

Mike Shields
Technical Translator, Scandinavian languages into English
SMkShlds @ aol com

It's a great, great thing you are doing with these lists. As a translator, I have been exploited a few times, so having someone look out for us in this way is wonderful.

As a translator who works with other translators, and pays them well and, if not on time, then early, I appreciate the efforts you're making to make life difficult for those who give the industry a bad name.

Keep up the good work!

Paul de Havilland
www.absolutelychina.com
paul dehavilland @ gmail com

Dear All,

Thank you very much for this splendid List which already saved me from being trapped by an agency that's somewhere on the list.

Just keep up doing this great job for the translating community!

Best wishes

Marcus Geibel, Germany
info (at) sprachen-geibel de
www.sprachen-geibel.de

Thank you for the great service you are doing for translators everywhere, especially in making available a list of deadbeat agencies.

This service alone will justify your existence and make you a valuable tool to all free-lance translators.

Your continued courage in doing this is a lifesaver for those of us who have to depend on getting paid for the work we do and do not have our translations subsidized by some other full time job.

Thank you again!

David Grant Stewart, Sr.
http://72languages.com
http://angelfire.com/co4/translations
USA
dstewart @ amnix com

I have been a subscriber of the list since its inception and it safely kept me at bay from notorious non-payers.

However, I have found most useful its power of the argument. I would have needed to report over the years more than one non-payer but just the mere mention that a large international community of colleagues has a perfectly unofficial list has been enough to make clearly fraudulent firms pay sometimes within the day.

Naturally, I am using this tool without the mention of the address of the list and only as the very last resort, having tried before all other possible means of getting paid.

Thank you very much!

Maria Bolgar
Budapest, Hungary
mjbolgar @ mail datanet hu

I do wish to express my thanks for your e-mail subscription service. We translators work so hard to provide quality work. When we are not paid in full and within the proper time period for our services, we certainly want others to know so that they can avoid losing income, as we did.

I plan to continue to subscribe to your service and to participate constructively in future.

With all best wishes,

Linda Marianiello
beakspeak @ earthlink net

I absolutely would like to thank you for your useful newletter and assure that the first thing I have done (last week) with my new email address is a new subscription to Translation Directory!

Yours sincerely,

Miriam

E-mail: miriamterzi @ e-nay com

I would like to congratulate you on your continuous updates and cross-referencing of the list. Your list is a welcome supplement to other well-known, existing review boards, as it is presented without comments.

Getting work is one thing, but finding out if you will actually be paid is another.

Keep up the good work!

Natasha Cloutier
Chez Natasha
The Netherlands
E-mail: natasha @ cheznatasha nl

I have been receiving the TranslatortinDirectory for several months now and am always surprised at the wealth of highly useful and extremely practical information that is being conveyed to translators worldwide. The indication of different articles encompassing the most varied subjects within the realm of the world of translation is really an outstanding feature, because it opens up so many new horizons to us, who are always wishful to graps more knowledge within our specific area of activity.

Secondly, the List is also extremely helpful, in providing safe guidance to avoid translators getting into problems in collecting payments. What could be expanded in TranslationDirectory though, is a more encompassing indication of sources of (specialized and multilingual ) dictionaries, CAT-tools, etc.).

Greetings from Rio.

Sincerely,
Adolpho J Silva
Accredited Translator
www.sadhana.net/translator
translator @ sadhana net

This list has been extremely helpful to me. I always look through it before I accept a job from a new client. The people who run this list had an open ear when I first reported an untrustworthy agency. I found them very supportive and effective. They react quickly whenever I approach them with a question or a problem. You are a "must have" for every translator and I have and will happily pass/ed you on to my friends and colleagues.

Thank you very much!

Julia

Julia Baker
English>German Translator
Never Lost For Words ...
2635 University Court #3
Cincinnati, OH 45219
Phone/Fax (513) 281 2794
Cell (513) 235 7048

I've just discovered your service and think it is absolutely brilliant. As individuals and small businesses, we are widely dispersed and economically weak, so anything that helps bring us together for mutual support is more than welcome. I will certainly be recommending you to as many of my colleagues as possible.

Mike Shields, FITI, MTA, FSFO
Literary and Technical Language Services
(Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German to top-class, tailored English)
Tel +44 (0)191 489 7055
E-mail: SMkShlds @ aol com

Thank you very much for your reply to my e-mail and for your valuable
services to the translators' community. I consider myself fortunate to have found your site.

Kind regards,

Vickie Dimitriadou
English > Greek Translator/Consultant
Thessaloniki, Greece
E-mail: vdim59 @ otenet gr
 

As you can see through my mails to Adith Multilingual with copy to you they have finally paid. I want to thank you very much for your effort and efficient work. I am sure they would never have paid me if you hadn't taken part in this matter.

In my opinion these people should keep as blacklisted though they pay all the translators as I think this is the way they work and they will continue doing all the time.

Thanks again for your cooperation. Be sure I will recommend your web site; you are very necessary in our industry.

Best regards,

Alicia Nicotera
English - Spanish - English translator
Argentina
info at alntraducciones.com.ar
www.alntraducciones.com.ar