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Buyer Asks me to Sign a Certification (certificate for accurate translation)


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Have you ever been asked to sing a declaration for a translation, claiming that the translation I’ve done is accurate etc.

I translate texts and documents as I am bilingual but obviously I don’t want to sign any forms or certificates online. Even if my translations are accurate, I have never been asked to do something like this before. I’ve done it only in real life and it is understandable since I am aware of the situation. What experiences do you have on this kind of topic?

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I’d say it was against terms of service - you’d have to give personal details, which is not allowed.

If buyers want that kind of thing, they should be getting their translations from translation companies, not Fiverr …

Thank you very much. I have never faced this problem on fiverr and I wanted to ask here first. So should I reply the buyer that it’s against fiverr’s Terms Of Service?

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Your buyer is basically an idiot. It sounds like they are probably reselling your service as a fancy certified translation service of their own.

With a certified translation, people do receive a certificate of accuracy. However, this is only worth anything if it is also signed by a notary and/or the end client has a means of verifying your identity and credentials.

Explain to your buyer that you cannot sign what they are asking, as you only sign certificates in the presence of an independent notary.

This would have been something that your buyer would have needed to discuss with you before placing an order. - And is something you would charge a lot extra for.

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I had a buyer asked me to sign NDA and I denied stating fiverr don’t allow any kind of documents signed separately…
When I talk to CS they said I am not allowed to sign when contract is through fiverr…( Ofcourse its throught fiverr as we are not allowed to talk out side and exchange personal details )

They said that the confidentiality and its terms between seller and buyer is clearly stated there and are solid…so no documents required…I am not sure this would help in your case but probably it would ?

My buyer also went to CS and he got prompt and similar reply…so better ask buyer to contact CS and clear him self…but from your side - Don’t sign it !

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Your buyer is basically an idiot. It sounds like they are probably reselling your service as a fancy certified translation service of their own.

With a certified translation, people do receive a certificate of accuracy. However, this is only worth anything if it is also signed by a notary and/or the end client has a means of verifying your identity and credentials.

Explain to your buyer that you cannot sign what they are asking, as you only sign certificates in the presence of an independent notary.

This would have been something that your buyer would have needed to discuss with you before placing an order. - And is something you would charge a lot extra for.

Well, even if he wanted to pay me more for… I don’t know how to call it - this extra personal legal service, I wouldn’t accept. You never know how creative can a scammer be of making you sign something, and finally how would I know that one day I wouldn’t have thousands of debs for something I have signed. I want to sleep healthy and without anxiety 😃

It is just strange how people require so much but at the same time they want to pay almost nothing.

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But now another question. Should I report him?

I explained him and I refused but he will probably keep asking until someone accepts.

I had a similar experience with a buyer asking to sign a NDA.

If the buyer asks me to sign any kind of document, I would:

  1. try to explain/prove to him that he is already covered by TOS or ToS doesn’t allow it
  2. If he doesnt accept, tell him to ask CS or even you can open a ticket to CS and see how they’ll react.
  3. If he still doesnt like to do that, report him and block him.

But there might be a problem if you have just delivered and he/she hasn’t left a review, and now he/she is asking for you to sign just after you delivered. If you block him or report him behind his back, he may leave you a bad review (the buyer has 10 days to leave a review). So you need to be careful.

With my client, it all ended at step one, he understood everything by me pointing out what is writen in the ToS. Its worth trying.

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Well, even if he wanted to pay me more for… I don’t know how to call it - this extra personal legal service, I wouldn’t accept. You never know how creative can a scammer be of making you sign something, and finally how would I know that one day I wouldn’t have thousands of debs for something I have signed. I want to sleep healthy and without anxiety 😃

It is just strange how people require so much but at the same time they want to pay almost nothing.

Yes, the entitlement itself alone is enough reason to not work with said buyer.

I understand the apprehension because Fiverr doesn’t vet and as we’ve seen in forum posts don’t necessarily take down translation gigs that turn out to be Google Translate, but breaking the ToS solves nothing. And as if a certificate is proof or gives you legal backing… No.

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