| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | cancellation fees Thread poster: Libero_Lang_Lab
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I was offered a job yesterday afternoon - one day onsite this coming Monday. Today at 4.30 I received notification that the job was cancelled. i.e. less than one working day before I was due to do the job. The agency has asked me to quote my normal cancellation fee. My question to you is: what is normal? The most annoying thing about this is that I have had to turn down other work that I would have done on this day.... ;-(
If anyone with advice, or experience of what to do i... See more I was offered a job yesterday afternoon - one day onsite this coming Monday. Today at 4.30 I received notification that the job was cancelled. i.e. less than one working day before I was due to do the job. The agency has asked me to quote my normal cancellation fee. My question to you is: what is normal? The most annoying thing about this is that I have had to turn down other work that I would have done on this day.... ;-(
If anyone with advice, or experience of what to do in such situations, could email me that would be great as your responses here might not appear for a while.
Cheers
Dan
[ This Message was edited by: The Tautologist on 2003-03-21 17:53] ▲ Collapse
| | | | CHENOUMI (X) 
English to French
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| The payment you would have gotten for the other job. | Mar 21, 2003 |
Given your case, I would say to charge them the price you would have gotten for the other job that you turned down to dedicate time to the cancelled one.
In other words, you would be busy on this day, performing a translation job at an X given amount of money. Your cancellation fee should be for that X given amount you would have earned today.
Hope you find this suggestion, useful.
*Sandra*
P.S. If the invoice fo... See more Given your case, I would say to charge them the price you would have gotten for the other job that you turned down to dedicate time to the cancelled one.
In other words, you would be busy on this day, performing a translation job at an X given amount of money. Your cancellation fee should be for that X given amount you would have earned today.
Hope you find this suggestion, useful.
*Sandra*
P.S. If the invoice for the other job is a substantial one (more than $500, for instance), you may negotiate a percentage amount as a compensatory cancellation fee. If less, ask for full compensation. It\'s all up to you, but make it a principled statement, and produce proof and amount to the agency regarding the job that you declined because of their promised assignment.
[ This Message was edited by: CHENOUMI on 2003-03-21 18:28]
[ This Message was edited by: CHENOUMI on 2003-03-21 18:35] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Libero_Lang_Lab
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:11
Russian to English
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TOPIC STARTER | thanks a lot | Mar 21, 2003 |
appreciate your advice
given that 142 people have read this posting and only one has replied, i guess that either most people don\'t have this problem (a good thing) or there\'s a lot of people out there not in the habit of sharing advice (not so good)
| | | | Massimo Gaido
United States
Local time: 08:11
English to Italian
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Hi Dan,
For interpreting assignments that were cancelled less than 24 hours in advance I charge my clients a two hour fee. I believe this is standard practice here in the US.
Buon lavoro.
Ciao,
Massimo
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Libero_Lang_Lab
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:11
Russian to English
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TOPIC STARTER
that seems very low to me! it in no way reflects the loss of earnings and is certainly not on a par with other industries - in many cases, based on my research, anything within a week would require payment of the full fee e.g. travel industry. In journalism - the other industry that I know reasonably well - failure to publish a piece of commissioned work would mean a \"kill fee\" of at least 50%. While that is not directly comparable to the translation industry, where the piece of work has not y... See more that seems very low to me! it in no way reflects the loss of earnings and is certainly not on a par with other industries - in many cases, based on my research, anything within a week would require payment of the full fee e.g. travel industry. In journalism - the other industry that I know reasonably well - failure to publish a piece of commissioned work would mean a \"kill fee\" of at least 50%. While that is not directly comparable to the translation industry, where the piece of work has not yet been produced, there is still the issue of real loss of earnings.
But it also begs the question - what will the agency be charging the client company for the cancellation? I would fully expect them to be charging 100% at such short notice, in which case you charging them for what amounts to about 25% of your original projected fee is actually increasing their profit margin on the job.
[ This Message was edited by: The Tautologist on 2003-03-22 02:07] ▲ Collapse
| | | | OlafK
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:11
English to German
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Since you were complaining that nobody replied I just did a quick search on the net. I found that some take 20 USD, some 50 USD and some take a percentage that varies depending on how far in advance the job is cancelled, up to 100% for cancellation the day before.
It has never happened to me. But I think if they were a good regular client I\'d be generous and charge nothing.
| | | | PEDRO RAMOS
Local time: 14:11
Portuguese to English
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| I know the feeling but I have learned my lesson | Mar 22, 2003 |
After going through the same situation long time ago I have taken steps for this never to happen again.
The best way to avoid this situation is to reach an agreement beforehand regarding minimum payment conditions and confirmed in writing.
I normally charge 50% of the original fee and I think this is fair for both parts.
I hope this helps.
Regards
Pedro
| | | | Libero_Lang_Lab
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:11
Russian to English
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TOPIC STARTER
it seems that there are hugely differing views on what is normal protocol/good practice. i understand that the scenario might vary, if for example it is a trusted and regular client - personally i think to charge nothing, even in this case, is not on - it sends all the wrong signals. a translator\'s time should not be taken for granted. would you really write off the fee if, as in my case, you had turned down another job? forgive the analogy, but that strikes me as being like bending over, dropp... See more it seems that there are hugely differing views on what is normal protocol/good practice. i understand that the scenario might vary, if for example it is a trusted and regular client - personally i think to charge nothing, even in this case, is not on - it sends all the wrong signals. a translator\'s time should not be taken for granted. would you really write off the fee if, as in my case, you had turned down another job? forgive the analogy, but that strikes me as being like bending over, dropping your trousers and saying thankyou very much while they give you a good caning...
i hope that others will post their thoughts here too, as it strikes me that it is a useful exercise to try and assess as widely as possible, what people do in this situation. it might even be worth trying to work towards some sort of loose template that those wishing to could use as a standard set of terms.
[ This Message was edited by: The Tautologist on 2003-03-22 06:22]
[ This Message was edited by: The Tautologist on 2003-03-22 06:28] ▲ Collapse
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| I'm surprised | Mar 22, 2003 |
that this doesn\'t seem to be a current situation. It happens all the time to me, and forget about any cancellation fees. The only thing the client or the agency says is: thank you, the client doesn\'t need it any more or has changed his mind...Not even we\'re sorry we made you waste your time or loose another job, that would be recognizing their responsability.
| | | | kbamert
Local time: 15:11
French to German
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| translation or interpretation work? | Mar 22, 2003 |
Hello
I found this:
Quote:9. Cancellation
9.1 Cancellation fees shall apply if a commission is cancelled after work has commenced.
9.2 In the event of cancellation of the commission by the Client after it has been placed, the Client shall be liable for all work completed up to the cancellation date and for all other costs and expenses which may accrue as a result of such cancellation in add ... See more Hello
I found this:
Quote:9. Cancellation
9.1 Cancellation fees shall apply if a commission is cancelled after work has commenced.
9.2 In the event of cancellation of the commission by the Client after it has been placed, the Client shall be liable for all work completed up to the cancellation date and for all other costs and expenses which may accrue as a result of such cancellation in addition to 50% of the agreed fee based on the rate specified in 7.3, unless otherwise agreed.
9.3 If a Client goes into liquidation (other than voluntary liquidation for the purposes of reconstruction) or has a Receiver appointed or becomes insolvent, bankrupt or enters into any arrangement with creditors the Translator shall have the right to terminate a contract.
source:
http://www.kestranslate.co.uk/terms.htm
Regards,
Kurt ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yolanda Broad
United States
Local time: 09:11
Member (2000)
French to English
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MODERATOR | Reposting message from Massimo Gaido - with apologies | Mar 23, 2003 |
My most sincere apologies: I was pulling the sidebar down with my cursor, and my finger slipped on my trackball. I promise that from now on, I will *only* use the \"page down\" function to read forum postings, since, as a moderator, I have that \"hide\" box sitting there, evidently all too easy, at least for me, to accidently click on. Here is Massimo\'s message, restored to its place in this thread.
Shamefacedly yours,
Yolanda Broad
... See more My most sincere apologies: I was pulling the sidebar down with my cursor, and my finger slipped on my trackball. I promise that from now on, I will *only* use the \"page down\" function to read forum postings, since, as a moderator, I have that \"hide\" box sitting there, evidently all too easy, at least for me, to accidently click on. Here is Massimo\'s message, restored to its place in this thread.
Shamefacedly yours,
Yolanda Broad
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Me again [i.e., Massimo Gaido]
3:27pm
Hi Dan,
Yes, 2 hours seems low. I guess it depends on the situation. I get an average of 16-18 interpreting jobs a month so if a job gets cancelled usually I am able to \"replace it\" with another one. As I said before, the 2 hour cancellation fee, for jobs cancelled less than 24 hours in advance, is a standard practice with agencies (or direct clients) I work for, both here in Chicago and around the US. I know several other interpreters in the area and I know they apply the same rule. But of course it depends on your location and situation. It even depends on the language. For instance, I know that in Chicago, for SpanishEnglish interpreting, the cancellation fee is still 2 hours, but only for jobs cancelled FOUR hours in advance (not 24 hours). Another thing to consider is that most (not all of them) of my jobs last about 2 to 3 hours (I have a minimum fee of 3 hours), so sometimes it is even better for me if a job gets cancelled because I get paid for 2 hours anyway, and probably I can get another job to replace the lost job.
I guess it is the market that can answer to your question……it is all about demand and supply.
If you feel like you can get more than two hours, then go for it………if there is no written rule, write it.
Ciao
Massimo
IP: 12.250.208.93 ▲ Collapse
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Yuri Geifman
Canada
Local time: 09:11
English to Russian
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| My standard practice, if it helps: | Mar 23, 2003 |
For 2-3 hours assignments, the cancellation fee is 2 hours. For full day assignments (4-6 hours), it\'s 3 hours or 50% of the fee, whichever is greater, if cancelled within less than 24 hours of the date (more than 24 hrs - there\'s no charge). The rule is the same whether I work with an agency or my own client.
| | | | | 1 or 2 hours seem to be reasonable in this case | Mar 23, 2003 |
I think the cancellation fee should correspond to time and effort spent for preparing the project.
On one hand you missed the other job, but on the other hand you did not need to work for the other job  . Since you were not acting as an agency, there was no lost profit for a business, only lost workload for a translator.
And a client who offers you to pay a cancellation fee instead of you having to ask ... See more
| | | | | missing dollar | Mar 23, 2003 |
I just found this joke, possibly adressing the same problem:
Three guys go to a hotel. They tell the man behind the desk that they want 3 rooms. He says, \"10 dollars per room so that\'s 30 dollars.\" So they pay and go up to their rooms. Then, the deskman remembers that there is a special for 3 rooms for $25. He gives the bellhop the $5 change and tells him to take it up to them. On the way, the bellhop realizes that he doesn\'t know how to split it 3 ways so he keeps 2 and... See more I just found this joke, possibly adressing the same problem:
Three guys go to a hotel. They tell the man behind the desk that they want 3 rooms. He says, \"10 dollars per room so that\'s 30 dollars.\" So they pay and go up to their rooms. Then, the deskman remembers that there is a special for 3 rooms for $25. He gives the bellhop the $5 change and tells him to take it up to them. On the way, the bellhop realizes that he doesn\'t know how to split it 3 ways so he keeps 2 and gives 1 to each man. My question is: If after the dollar refund each man paid 9 dollars and $9 x 3 men equals $27 and the bellhop only has $2, then what happened to the other dollar?
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him for that, merits goodwill 
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