Agency asking contract to be sent online and by common mail, with both scanned and by hand signature Thread poster: Joao Gabriel de Lima Pereira Silva
|
|---|
I have been recently called to work with an agency. They've called me and all, and I've done a job interview by phone.
I've researched the Blueboard, and (although there is the agency data) there is no score for such agency, either positive or negative. Still, on the agency's Facebook page, there is a lot of positive comments about such agency.
They have sent me contracts to be printed. After that, I should scan the contracts and send them in one version by the Internet, and the othe... See more I have been recently called to work with an agency. They've called me and all, and I've done a job interview by phone.
I've researched the Blueboard, and (although there is the agency data) there is no score for such agency, either positive or negative. Still, on the agency's Facebook page, there is a lot of positive comments about such agency.
They have sent me contracts to be printed. After that, I should scan the contracts and send them in one version by the Internet, and the other version by common mail service: the latter with my signature written by hand (by pen).
I have already sent to them the details of my bank account, because they only pay by wire transfer.
It is a foreign agency, and I am a bit worried about sending my signature on a paper - written by my hand, that is - by mail to another country.
As it is the first time that I've been through a situation like this, is it scam or not?
[Edited at 2014-05-12 03:48 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Two things you should tell them | May 12, 2014 |
1. I'll sign a contract when you send my first job.
2. I'll send it by mail or email, but not both. What's the point of sending it twice?
It doesn't sound like a scam, but they're being very bureaucratic.
| | | | Nicole Schnell 
United States
Local time: 05:00
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam | Worried about sending a signature on paper | May 12, 2014 |
Are you serious? I wouldn't even lift a finger without any handwritten signature on a contract for any major project. What is wrong with this generation of yours? All gone insane? Paranoid? Signatures are meant for your own safety.
| | | | Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 20:00
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
| What's the problem here? | May 12, 2014 |
It's a huge bother yes, but I don't see any actual risk.
| | |
|
|
|
| My problem with paper documents | May 12, 2014 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
Are you serious? I wouldn't even lift a finger without any handwritten signature on a contract for any major project. What is wrong with this generation of yours? All gone insane? Paranoid? Signatures are meant for your own safety.
And some generations before you, only a handshake was needed to do business
Took me a while to get used to pointless paper documents in other parts of the world after having http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_signature_in_Estonia for 10 years.
Ink and paper alone do not make an agreement "safe".
| | | | | Electronic is not necessarily safer | May 12, 2014 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
Are you serious? I wouldn't even lift a finger without any handwritten signature on a contract for any major project. What is wrong with this generation of yours? All gone insane? Paranoid? Signatures are meant for your own safety.
Indeed I agree that we have grown a bit paranoid. Having said that, I also think that it's best to sign contracts when there is one first job at hand.
Many agencies have huge collections of contracts signed with translators just as work their PMs do when they have little actual work to do. I have had cases where I signed a contract and no job at all came from the agency for many years. I finally terminated the contracts, and now I only sign when it's for an actual job with a PO etc.
| | | | | It’s rather bureaucratic... | May 12, 2014 |
... but I see no problem and I have been asked more than once. On the other hand, if the contract sent to me is not already signed by the potential client I always ask to be provided with a signed copy by them (either scanned or by mail post) for my records.
| | | | | Better safe than sorry | May 12, 2014 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
Are you serious? I wouldn't even lift a finger without any handwritten signature on a contract for any major project. What is wrong with this generation of yours? All gone insane? Paranoid? Signatures are meant for your own safety.
Well, all the serious agencies that I have worked for so far have only asked for my digital signature. I guess we have reasons to be paranoid. Right now we have, for example, six girls in Nigeria who were kidnapped while happily having classes, that's the burden of being in the 21st century, and I had said that there was no Blueboard record for such agency. Also, my generation also has the electronic tools that make our job easier, which nowadays we cannot live without, and not just typewriters (and handwritten signatures).
But thank you all for replying me.
| | |
|
|
|
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
Many agencies have huge collections of contracts signed with translators just as work their PMs do when they have little actual work to do. I have had cases where I signed a contract and no job at all came from the agency for many years. I finally terminated the contracts, and now I only sign when it's for an actual job with a PO etc.
Surprisingly, I had several cases last April (2014) where a bunch of agencies approached me, each saying they had a particular job in my specific specialty area and language pair, gave enough details to make it appear that such a job actually existed, some dropped the name of the client, and that they had selected me as their first choice to do it. When I had been through all the red tape hoops and loops they had, I got a message saying that their PMs would contact me if they ever had a need for my services. No further communication ensued.
| | | |
Snail mail's all right, but if they're in the same country and it won't take long for the letter to travel, and there's no urgent project for you to work on, the scanning and e-mailing is a bit over the top.
| | | | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Agency asking contract to be sent online and by common mail, with both scanned and by hand signature | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
| | TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
