Only Corporate members may post in this forum | Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Geoworkz Lionbridge rip off Thread poster: Harmen Rijks
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Harmen Rijks 
Біріккен Корольдік
Member (2004)
English to Dutch
Has anyone had the same experience with the Geoworkz workspace from Lionbridge?
I signed up for the free trial, only to discover that if I wanted to bid for a new job I had to have a proper account. I duly signed up, only to discover that jobs were few and far between and thus the chance of winning one was extremely small. I decided to not waste a tenner a month and cancel my account. To my horror Lionbridge now wants to charge me another €30 for cancelling my account. So I have w... See more Has anyone had the same experience with the Geoworkz workspace from Lionbridge?
I signed up for the free trial, only to discover that if I wanted to bid for a new job I had to have a proper account. I duly signed up, only to discover that jobs were few and far between and thus the chance of winning one was extremely small. I decided to not waste a tenner a month and cancel my account. To my horror Lionbridge now wants to charge me another €30 for cancelling my account. So I have wasted €50 on getting no work through them whatsoever.
So moral of the story: Don't waste your money on trying their Geoworkz 'service'. It simply is not worth the money. (It's a bit like those scams non-Europeans get involved in trying to find work in Europe. They pay middlemen for their service of getting them a job in Europe, which jobs of course never materialise......)
Stick to proper agencies and don't waste your time shoring up their balance sheet with dubious practices. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tony M
Франция
Local time: 16:53
French to English
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SITE LOCALIZER | Discussed before | May 28, 2013 |
It's shame you didn't do a forum search before getting yourself into this unfortunate situation, as this practice has been described before in these pages.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Нидерланды
Local time: 16:53
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Agree with Tony | May 28, 2013 |
Tony M wrote:
It's shame you didn't do a forum search before getting yourself into this unfortunate situation, as this practice has been described before in these pages.
Yes, the GeoWorkz scam has been discussed in this forum a few times. It's an example of a scam that is perfectly legal. They know that translators won't read the fine print (and often the relevant fine print isn't even on the same page), and that's where they catch them and make their money.
| | | | Harmen Rijks
Біріккен Корольдік
Member (2004)
English to Dutch
TOPIC STARTER | Company of some repute | May 28, 2013 |
No, unfortunately I didn't do a search. I did not expect a company of that size to be engaged in small scale scams like this one. How wrong can one be?
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Christophe Delaunay (X)
Франция
Local time: 16:53
Spanish to French
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| Is that the same Lionbridge... | May 29, 2013 |
that is involved in Translators without Borders' activities, as we can read here?
http://translatorswithoutborders.org/node/52
I'm asking because this company is quite dispersed and one wonders if they are all the same company.
| | | | Harmen Rijks
Біріккен Корольдік
Member (2004)
English to Dutch
TOPIC STARTER | Translators without borders | May 29, 2013 |
Yes, looks like the same lot.
Donating your time after you've made money from translators paying for non-existing jobs seems to be an easy decision. Good for one's public image!
Doesn't take anything away from the great initiative of training locals to translate medical info into obscure local languages, for which there often is no business case.
| | | | | More generally | May 29, 2013 |
Paying for the potential prospect of possibly getting work opportunities is not logical.
When serious companies advertise job vacancies, THEY pay the media where it is published.
Schemes where job seekers PAY to access job offers usually don't deliver.
In this same vein, some people seeking places to rent in large cities pay estate agencies to get lists of outdated/non-existing contact details of flat owners.
But when there is more demand than offer,... See more Paying for the potential prospect of possibly getting work opportunities is not logical.
When serious companies advertise job vacancies, THEY pay the media where it is published.
Schemes where job seekers PAY to access job offers usually don't deliver.
In this same vein, some people seeking places to rent in large cities pay estate agencies to get lists of outdated/non-existing contact details of flat owners.
But when there is more demand than offer, I suppose these things are bound to happen. It is really easy money if the targeted pool is naive enough.
And nowadays, being naive usually costs.
Philippe ▲ Collapse
| | | | | An insane business model | May 29, 2013 |
Try to envision this...
I have a 500-page book in some language I don't understand, so I want it translated. Then I post a message on social media that I need a translator between that language and mine, however each candidate should send a $10 processing fee with their application/CV. The amount looks quite reasonable, compared to the possible income from this translation (while the idea of paying it isn't).
Okay, so I get 100 applications, hence $1K. This leads me to ... See more Try to envision this...
I have a 500-page book in some language I don't understand, so I want it translated. Then I post a message on social media that I need a translator between that language and mine, however each candidate should send a $10 processing fee with their application/CV. The amount looks quite reasonable, compared to the possible income from this translation (while the idea of paying it isn't).
Okay, so I get 100 applications, hence $1K. This leads me to decide that, instead of having the book translated, I'll invest that $1K in a language course, so I'll be able to read it myself. I never said I needed it in a rush.
Does it make any sense? Well, about as much as paying to learn who - if anyone - needs my translation services. Some kind of a supply chain in reverse gear. ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Нидерланды
Local time: 16:53
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| LionBridge Inc versus Geoworkz Inc | May 29, 2013 |
Christophe Delaunay wrote:
[Some text missing after I clicked "reply"] ... that is involved in Translators without Borders' activities, as we can read here? I'm asking because this company is quite dispersed and one wonders if they are all the same company.
On the one hand, Geoworkz is mentioned as "business unit" of LionBridge, but on the other hand, LionBridge Inc and Geoworkz Inc are two separate entities. I don't think we should judge the other endeavours of LionBridge by the morals of Geoworkz.
| | | | | Quoting from elsewhere | May 29, 2013 |
"With these subscription policies, you have already fallen beneath the standards of the porn and gambling industries."
| | | | | Going Taborite, I see ;) | May 29, 2013 |
Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
"With these subscription policies, you have already fallen beneath the standards of the porn and gambling industries."
You're going quite Taborite on them, if I may say so.
Christophe Delaunay wrote:
that is involved in Translators without Borders' activities, as we can read here?
http://translatorswithoutborders.org/node/52
I'm asking because this company is quite dispersed and one wonders if they are all the same company.
It may be a franchise, I suppose. That's what makes one million different shops with the same décor but sometimes different ways of doing business.
***
Free legal advice: Never sign anything from a translation agency without reading it very carefully. If you don't understand, ask. But not only them, rather also someone who knows how small print works. And get any changes etc. to be put on paper with signatures.
And I'd pay for listings in catalogues or things like Proz membership perhaps, but only really on a value basis (cost of human work/upkeep of the thing), not per potential whatever.
[Edited at 2013-05-29 15:07 GMT]
| | | | | Actually, it's rather a crusade... | May 29, 2013 |
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz wrote:
Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
"With these subscription policies, you have already fallen beneath the standards of the porn and gambling industries."
You're going quite Taborite on them, if I may say so.
...since I am a Roman Catholic.
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Samuel Murray
Нидерланды
Local time: 16:53
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| What makes you think that? | May 29, 2013 |
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz wrote:
Christophe Delaunay wrote:
[Is this not the same company] that is involved in Translators without Borders' activities, as we can read here?
It may be a franchise, I suppose.
What is your guess that it is a franchise based on, Łukasz? Or is it just a wild guess?
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Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
Łukasz Gos-Furmankiewicz wrote:
Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
"With these subscription policies, you have already fallen beneath the standards of the porn and gambling industries."
You're going quite Taborite on them, if I may say so.
...since I am a Roman Catholic.
What an epic fail of a joke on my part, Stanislav! Glad to meet another one, by the way, especially among the southern neighbours.
| | | | Ana Naglić
Кроатия
Local time: 16:53
English to Croatian
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I wish I read this before.
They did get me on the trial (sucker!) and I continued with supscription for a while.
While it is legitimate to bill for a supscription, it's NOT legal to keep billing me after I specifically told them that I wanted to CANCEL my supscription after the expiry of the present billing period.
That's a FRAUD.
In addition, I'm unable to bid as that part of the webpage won't accept my credentials.
Also, I can reset my password but it cannot send ... See more I wish I read this before.
They did get me on the trial (sucker!) and I continued with supscription for a while.
While it is legitimate to bill for a supscription, it's NOT legal to keep billing me after I specifically told them that I wanted to CANCEL my supscription after the expiry of the present billing period.
That's a FRAUD.
In addition, I'm unable to bid as that part of the webpage won't accept my credentials.
Also, I can reset my password but it cannot send me my username (it doesn't accept the same email address that I successfuly use for resetting my password?!) ▲ Collapse
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