Dear Colleagues,
If a Company (or an agency or individual on its behalf, such as Dr. József Kiss) called Renful (and managed by Mrs. Anita), incorporated in the UK, contacts you in order to offer you a translation project run away!
We were two PMs (Dr. József Kiss and I) involved in two huge English>German projects for this Company named Renful.
First, I have to say that their rates are ridiculous, not just because they are not adapted to the context, which is very technical, but also because they only pay what they call new words, when everybody knows that there are repetitions and repetitions. In other words, you work four hours for the price of two. By the way, it was very complicated to find translators willing to work with such rates, which is absolutely comprehensible.
I had, in the middle of Easters holidays, to contact another translator, because, given to the Companys proofreader (whose existence I doubt), the translator in charge was not meeting the quality levels.
A few weeks later, came the second project and I was asked to search for a third translator, as the second did not convinced them either. Moreover, the other PM and I were asked for huge discounts on our invoices (more than a month and a half after delivery!) because, given to the same proofreader, the translation was again full of mistakes and of poor quality. I asked for the corrected files with track changes and explanations for such corrections, which I think, was absolutely normal and is the way to work. The client was unable to provide them. I never knew what was corrected and why the said proofreader does not exist or does not know how to work, I thought.
The third translator was asked to take a test the test came back corrected: some words left in English (I asked for a Glossary or some Guidelines to know what had to be left in English and what not, the reply puzzled me: no Glossary, no Guidelines, but you can ask), some other words were replaced by expressions which do not even exist in German!
Meanwhile, another complaint about the work of the second translator. I asked again for the corrected files with track changes and explanations for such corrections again the same maneuver, disordered files where it was impossible to know what was modified and why.
At last, the cherry on the top of the cake: they ask me to convey to the third translator to modify sentences which were too long in German. He did not even have the time to finish two days later, the project was cancelled and the client confirmed what I already suspected, she would not pay.
To ease our hearts, we asked a third-party proofreader to revise the work done by the second and the third translators. The results spoke for their selves: both translations were correct, no grammatical or orthographical mistakes, just stylistic modifications of course! Every translator has its own way of wording.
A few weeks later, I received an e-mail from Dr. József Kiss saying that the client would eventually pay, he told me he would hire a proofreader (another) and ask me to talk to mine, to see if she was willing to take a test in order to finish the second project (which is absolutely ridiculous, having already proofread some of the files).
Then, Dr. József Kiss told me his proofreader was distressed about the translations done (the documents have to be completely retranslated, he said) and ask me to share the payment of his invoice, which amount was pretty close from the cost of the translators invoices? Do you pay the same tariff to translators and proofreaders? Did I ask it sounds very suspicious to me.
I asked for the corrected files and contact my proofreader again she told me the same again, the translations were correct, no grammatical or orthographical mistakes, just stylistic modifications in fact they did not need any correction. Besides, two or three little corrections by file do not mean that the files needed to be completely retranslated (I have smoothed some sentences in order not to retranslate everything) let us be consistent, the translation needed to be retranslated or not, smoothing a sentence in order not to retranslate sounds ridiculous.
Now I can say that these people who manage Renful are crooks and miserly, their proofreader does not exist, they simply do not want to pay using the oh so well-known method: the proofreader said the quality was poor, the translator was not native, bla, bla, bla
As for myself, I paid my translators and proofreaders immediately, as all PMs should do, and I also have to say that Dr. József Kiss paid the first project, but not the second Renful and Dr. József Kiss owe me 697,69.
By the way, I was told that they had the same problem in Spanish with a colleague and friend of mine definitely, this problem is not due to the translators! Three bad German translators, a Spanish one who is Philologist we have a saying I my country: when all pupils fail, the teacher is the one who has a problem.
I am sorry not to have the email of the client, Dr. Jószef Kiss will be the person to whom this complaint is addressed (here, in the Hall of Fame and Shame, as well as other sites), I just hope he will know how to convey it to Renful, the client, and defend his translators.
Dear Colleagues, I am sorry for the length of this complaint, but it reflects the situation, therefore, run away or you will end bankrupt and with a nervous breakdown!