Douglas Translations

At Douglas Translations we believe that publishing corporate policies is critical to its business objectives, reputation, and maintaining client satisfaction. As part of our commitment, we have adopted the following policy statements:

Confidentiality

Douglas Translations has on file a signed Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) stating that all information attained in the course of our professional duties will remain strictly confidential. This information will not be communicated, published or in any way disclosed to any organization or person, other than Douglas Translations staff who have a need to know and the organization or person(s) engaging the services of the Douglas Translations' Interpreter or Translator.

Impartiality

Every Douglas Translations' Interpreter and Translator is required to abide by the Code of Ethics, which outlines the procedures, requirements and moral code of conduct while they are performing their duties. Furthermore, for governmental and legal requirements, some of our Interpreters and Translators are required to pass a complete background investigation.

Our Interpreters and Translators limit themselves specifically to interpreting and translating. While performing their professional duties, they will not give advice, express personal opinions, or engage in any other activity that may be construed to constitute a service other than interpreting or translating.

Our Interpreters and Translators render, to the best of their ability, a complete and accurate interpretation or translation without altering or omitting anything that is written or stated, and do not add to what is written or said, nor provide unsolicited explanation.

Our Interpreters and Translators are impartial, unbiased and refrain from conduct that may give an appearance of bias. They do not allow personal opinions to interfere with duties nor add unsolicited comments or make recommendations except to assist with communications.

Our Interpreters and Translators will disclose any real or perceived conflict of interest and will not take personal advantage, financial or otherwise, of information obtained in the course of his/her work.

Cancellation

We understand that things don’t always work out as you planned, and sometimes a cancellation of services is necessary. All regional interpreting service cancellations require 24-hour (unless stated otherwise) notice prior to the assignment to avoid the minimum charge. Outside of Southern California, cancellation terms for interpreting assignments vary and will be outlined within your Terms & Conditions Agreement. Translation projects and regional simultaneous conference interpreting assignments can be canceled, however no reduction in fees is possible once the Terms & Conditions Agreement has been accepted and signed or authorization has been provided.

Payment

Douglas Translations is a professional language services firm and we work on a fee-for-service basis, where fees are incurred based on the volume of words translated or the hours/days worked. We forecast fees based on anticipated scope of work, with adjustments as necessary based on actual volume. If we find, for example, that we are working fewer hours than anticipated in our estimate, we will charge you commensurately less. On the other hand, if we find that our activities will require work over and above our original estimate, we will ask your permission before proceeding. In this way, we can ensure that an appropriate financial discipline is applied to your business.

Douglas Translations accepts all major credit cards including MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. We also accept payments via PayPal. For wire transfer instructions please contact us.

With all new clients we usually work on a POD (payment on delivery) basis. If you are a new client, you will be requested to sign a credit card authorization form, allowing us to charge your credit card for a specified amount immediately after delivering the work to you.

For regular clients our standard payment terms are 30 days from the date of our invoice. As soon as an invoice becomes overdue, no further work will be accepted from the client until the invoice is paid and the funds have cleared. A reminder will be sent. If the account remains unpaid, we will send a final demand before referring the invoice to our debt collection agent.

Douglas Translations will refer all outstanding invoices of more than 60 days to our collection agent to save on administration and ensure timely payment. This may adversely affect your company's credit rating.

Customers who continually pay late will be asked for a deposit on any future projects, with the balance payable on delivery of the work. We may also ask for full payment in advance.

Habitually late payers or non-payers may have their details published on translation payment practices lists.

To avoid further action, we ask that any company that is having real trouble paying invoices contact us as soon as possible, preferably before the due date. If all of the above measures fail, we will have absolutely no hesitation in taking appropriate legal action.

Rush Services

Douglas Translations can respond to the need for assistance with urgent matters and consequently offers Rush Services, Last Minute Requests and 24-Hour Emergency Support. These services are available at additional percentages above standard rates, depending on the specific circumstances and what service is needed. We will do our best to accommodate your unique situation.

Our policies