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+44 (0)1892 824833 
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions...

We hope we can answer your questions on this page. If not, please contact us

1.         What can we do for you?
We break through barriers! Our unique combination of translation skills enables you to concentrate on your core business of developing new opportunities, new markets, new profits.  

2.         How do we do it?
We provide a one-stop translations solution service of assured quality covering all major European languages: Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Welsh and Maltese 

3.         What don’t we do? 
If we can’t provide a service, we will try to refer clients onward. What clients want is a job well done: they don’t want to spend half the day trying to find somebody to do it.

4.         How do you get your work to us, how do we get it back to you?  
By email, fax, post, courier or in person. We accept drafts, disks, fax, scans and file attachments. We can return your finished work to you by email, fax, express post, courier and as an email attachment, on disk and/or paper, whatever is most appropriate for you. 

5.         Why use us instead of employing somebody direct?
We save you time, trouble and money. Setting up an in-house translator in an office means you have to provide everything for them: space, a computer, printer, desk, chair, reference materials, office supplies, etc., etc. Also, you would need to provide training, maintain equipment, upgrade software on a regular basis, not to mention on-costs such as employment insurance contributions, paid holidays and sick leave. If the work flow slackens, you may also be paying for idle time and getting no return.

Using PBSS on an ‘as & when’ basis simply eliminates all this.

6.         How much do we charge?  
Translations from £12.00 per 100 words, depending on the language (minimum charge £40.00) more details
Certificates, statutory declarations, etc. from a minimum of £40.00 plus any legal fees
Please note:  VAT (sales tax) is payable in the UK on the invoice total.  

7.         How fast can we turn work around? 
Translations usually take between 2/5 days, unless long or technical. Typical turnaround times are 1-2 working days for 500-800 words, 4-5 working days for up to 3,000 words, and 7-8 working days for up to 10,000 words. Larger projects will be assessed individually. However, if the text is complex and/or very technical or a specialist translator is handling other work, then these guide times may have to be amended.

We will confirm the delivery time at the time of accepting an assignment. We tend to be conservative when estimating delivery times – clients are usually delighted by delivery a little ahead of schedule!

8.         What languages do we translate?
Most European languages, including (in alphabetical order) Czech,  Danish,  Dutch,  Estonian,  Finnish,  French,  German,  Greek,  Hungarian,  Italian,  Latvian,  Lithuanian,  Maltese, Norwegian,  Polish,  Portuguese,  Romanian,  Russian,  Slovak,  Slovene,  Spanish,  Swedish,  Turkish,  Welsh.  

Asian-Pacific languages via our partner company (in alphabetical order) : Burmese, Chinese (Simplified Mandarin, Traditional Mandarin and Cantonese), Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Malay, Tagalog (Philippines), Thai and Vietnamese.

Other languages, especially Albanian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, etc. are available via our partnership companies.

More about translations and translation pricing structure  

9.         What areas does our translation service cover?

Our pre-translation English proof-reading service ensures your original source text is as accurate and clear as possible. £25.00 per hour plus VAT.  

10.        How do we ensure quality? How do you know you will get a good job done?
Our philosophy is: confidentiality, efficiency, reliability. To achieve this, we only use well-qualified mother-tongue professional people with many years’ experience in their particular field.

Professionally qualified mother-tongue translators and editors ensure that you receive the highest quality translations in the natural idiom. Before any translator is accepted on to our panel their qualifications, experience and effectiveness are thoroughly checked. All are normally graduates and members of the Institute of Translation & Interpreting, the Institute of Linguists or an equivalent accredited overseas organisation. Moreover, they have several years’ experience in their specialist fields, often having gained second degrees and/or diplomas in a technical field.

Moreover, we belong to and operate under the Code of Professional Conduct of the Association of Translation Companies which represents the majority of leading translation companies in Britain with affiliate members from other European and overseas countries.

We are also an Official Contractor for Central and Eastern European languages to the European Commission Translation Service.

More about our quality policy (.pdf format)

11.        What are our payment terms?
Payment for translations is due 14 days from delivery of finished work.

We can invoice in pounds sterling (GBP), euros or US dollars (USD). Payments from overseas clients can be received into our standard GBP account or our Euro account. Please ask us for more details.  

We can also accept most standard credit cards using PayPal as processor  more information

Please note: We retain full intellectual property rights over any translations or other work we have created or produced until full payment for that work has been received.

A note for the anti-social:
We strive to keep costs down, but late payment by some clients unfortunately forces prices up for all. Our standard terms are 14 days from date of invoice. Invoices outstanding for more than 30 days from date of invoice will be charged interest at 5% above the prevailing National Westminster/RBS base rate for every day until payment is made. We always pursue debtors and notify non-payers to our professional and representative organisations. Legal and administrative costs incurred by pursuing late invoices and debts will be payable by the defaulting client.  

13.        Who are our clients?
Clients range from multi-national organisations to single traders, European and international NGOs to UK national interest groups, European consultants and engineers, national and local companies to private individuals.

Some of our typical contracts (.pdf format)
Some of our clients' activities (.pdf format)
If you do not have software to read .pdf files, click on the icon below for a free download)

14.        What hardware do we use?
Wireless LAN with HP and Compaq Pentium 4 PCs, HP mono laser and inkjet colour printers, HP scanner/fax, ADSL Broadband with Dray and Dynamode modem/routers. 

16.        What organisations do we belong to?
The West Kent Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Association of Translation Companies; our director is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (ACIL), an Associate of the Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI) and belongs to the Institute of Directors. We are also members of the Regional Languages Network (South East).

Our service marks are registered at the British Patent Office and we are registered with the UK Information Commissioner (formerly Data Protection Registrar).