| On January 10, 1999 Mr. Cruysen delivers a small translation to Vitex Brazilian Portuguese Technical Translations headquartered in Houston, Texas, USA, owned and managed by Mr. Lars Bradley, with an invoice of US$ 299.43.
Apparently satisfied with the work, on January 20, 1999 Mr. Bradley authorizes Mr. Cruysen to do a larger job, which is delivered on February 11, 1999 with an invoice of US$ 4,443.19. On this occasion, Mr. Bradley agrees to pay in 30 days.
On February 12, 1999, Mr. Bradley makes a payment for a previous job done by Mr. Cruysen, and promises to pay the $ 299.43 (by then in arrears) together with the larger job, but changes the terms previously agreed upon and now promises payment "45 days + banking time" from the second invoice (or 75 days from the first invoice).
When Mr. Cruysen reminds Mr. Bradley of the original terms agreed upon, in an e-mail dated February 16, 1999, Mr. Bradley refers him to his client to confirm the payment conditions agreed on between Vitex and the client.
Alarmed by the evasive responses given to him by Mr. Bradley and by his complaints about not having been paid, Mr. Cruysen calls the client on March 23, 1999, introducing himself as Mr. Bradley's "project partner." To his surprise, he learns that the client paid Vitex in full on March 15, 1999, i.e., within the 30 days agreed upon.
On March 29, 1999, claiming to be angered by the fact that Mr. Cruysen contacted his client (as he was encouraged to do by Mr. Bradley himself earlier), having by then ignored Mr. Cruysen's several emails and phone calls since their last contact, Mr. Bradley posts a message to the said discussion list, publicly refusing to pay the two outstanding invoices, which by now are long past due.
At the time of this writing (December 23, 1999), Mr. Cruysen has received no payment for either the $ 299.43 job delivered in January or the $ 4,443.19 job delivered in February, 1999. He has now retained an international debt collection firm to represent his interests. Also, at the initiative of the 600-member trad-port mailing list, a legal expense fund has been set up by Tom Whittaker (Tom@Whittcorp.com) in the U.S. and Ana Maria Mayer-Singule (asingule@mandic.com.br) no Brazil to defray the expenses of the legal action that now seems to be all but inevitable. Contributions to this Fund can be sent to the following address:
The Cruysen Legal Expense Fund
P.O. Box 16029
Alexandria, VA 22302
Or, in Brazil, to the bank account:
Ana Maria Mayer-Singule
Banco Bradesco
Agęncia 895-8, c/c 60916-1
Please make checks payable to: The Cruysen Legal Expense Fund.
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How does one feels about business ethics? How serious do you apply on your daily practice? Well, I underwent a irreversible episode by trusting someone that I thouhgt was not only a "partner" but also a friend.
Indeed Mr; Cruysen was hired as a free-lance translator by Vitex translation Services. .
The point I want to make that Mr. Cruysen may be considered a professional translator, but he seriously infringed the Translator's Business Ethics Code and Business Practices by imposing himself as an employee of my company and gaining access to trade secrets without the Principal's written or verbal consent. .
The question remains: How many of you would "cross the line" and call your employer's" client to gain trade secrets?
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ot getting paid for services rendered is a sobering experience to a translator who applies his or her intellect and best effort to produce a unique piece of writing within the parameters established by the customer. More than by the financial loss, the translator is wounded in his self-esteem by the apparent lack of appreciation for his work and the betrayal of trust in one of the few industries where non-repossessable merchandise is custom-produced and often delivered on the basis of a phone call from a stranger. This is exactly what happened to Billy Cruysen, an English-to-Portuguese (and vice-versa) translator living in Santos, Brazil. Below is a summary of events by Mr. Cruysen and Mr. Bradley's unedited response.