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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

So, I was approached by this agency, and at first it all seemed to be going well. I sent all the required documents and paperwork. The administrator was from India, not even based i... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I have been trying to get set up with The Big Word and it is an absolute nightmare. I wanted to utilise their services as it would be a benefit to my business, but I am giving up trying to continue.... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

-4* . This company are actually useless. My workplace (Government run) use these idiots and can never fulfill requirements. PLEASE, PLEASE find someone else, these people will let you down. Absolute... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

This business pockets £95 out of every £100 charged to their customer; the interpreter gets hardly ££12 per hour; since the customer pays around £280 per hour, you can see that the interpreter acts as... See more

Company details

  1. Business to Business Service

Written by the company

As one of the largest language service providers globally, we utilise the greatest minds and boundary shattering technology to deliver phenomenal quality at scale to both our clients and linguist network. We provide the best translation, interpretation, localisation and language technology solutions for businesses, the public sector and individuals – handling up to 50,000 worldwide assignments every day.


Contact info

1.3

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

55 reviews

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Hasn’t replied to negative reviews

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

A company with no prospect for…

A company with no prospect for promotion. Pay is less than the minimum wage. No pay increase for 11 years. Keep away from them if you can. One star should be minus 10. Although they have the contract, waiting times is more than 20-30 minutes. They make the interpreter work so hard for that little money. Exploitation.

27 February 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The Corruption of The Big word and MOJ

I had to give them one star as there was no option for 'NO STAR'I have no words to describe what a fatal blow that was to the system of Justice when the Moj decided to hire these companies, when it wasn't even needed. Just to please some MP this contract was awarded to some of their friends/ family. That day was beginning of our journey as Interpreters , down the hill.I don't know how , introducing a 3rd party in the chain MOJ thought it could save money.What a fat lie!!
There was so much work for us before this contract shift but now it's just nothing.I am qualified Interpreter working since 2006 after my diploma in DPSI.I had so much work experience with police too.Pay was cut , incentives taken away ,all put in some one else's pocket.we are not fools.MOJ and big word sharing what was ours n it's going in their personal pockets.Hence I decided to start doing something else as I wasn't getting enough , even to pay my bills.
One thing which is redicolously stupid , that they can book you for all day, you get excited n take the booking n driving miles away to find out , that it's not going ahead or some other mysterious Interpreter is sitting there.You come back n only paid a £20..
Would any one travel 100 miles just to get a £20.what a bad joke!!
Worst was to hit me, when I was booked for 20 day trial for 10th of Jan 2022 ,after a year, with email confirmation from BW . Was taken by surprise when I got there ,as there was another Interpreter booked ,and I was sent back. I called them everyday till today, and they can't give me any explanation as who booked that Interpreter, as he was surely from big word, wearing their badge.but BW can't find out how he was there n who booked them ,wow really???it's been 2 weeks as they have sent inquiry to READING county court and they can't get through to them over the phone. They say they left voice messages n emails but no one is replying.They also admit , it's very strange for the court to do that..
Let me tell you what is strange.The booking officers get a bribe from dishonest Interpreters for giving them all good jobs and trials.How did I know that? Some Interpreter told me. Now you tell me if its not true!!
How come one Interpreter living close by me , get trials all lined up one after the other n me with nothing.What do I get ? I get £24 job for an hour to travel down 30 miles 😠 😡 Am I a fool.How come I'm sitting at home while someone else is doing my job,and My name showing in their system for this trial.I will surely take them to court for this ,as its not the first time it happened to me.
There was no platform provided by MOJ to complain about BW.
Sad part is that I loved this job and I had full status on national Register n soo much experience worth of so many years.All gone wasted. So changing my career to be able to pay my bills.
Big word n MOJ are both filled up with corruption .But no one will ever check or just criminal silence,unfortunately !!

1 February 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The worst agency ever

The worst agency ever. They exploit interpreter, they dont pay you. You try to contact them, they have customer service from india they dont even understand uk system and I always struggle to understand them and they struggle to understand me. I have no idea why the government uses their services without Auditing them how they operate and how they treat their employers

14 January 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible attitude towards employee

Working as a telephone Interpreter for them for more than 12 years. They didn't pay all my calls for September 2021, locked my account and I wasn't able to invoice. Send messages and emails and no one is taking responsibility. There is no complaints department. Absolutely disgraceful attitude towards employee.

6 January 2022
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

it's just bad and lazy

it's just bad and lazy. i have been working w them since when they got the contract but I am deeply dissatisfied. No one ever talks to you if you have a problem with invoicing and sometimes you have to hang on the phone for 40' to speak to someone when you have an urgent matter. They are keen to cover up for their mistakes, and they never assume any responsibility for their errors.

11 November 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

avoid !!!

I cannot understand how this entity sneaked into the new dynamic booking system and how they can keep any long term government endorsed contracts.
They have the most ridiculous registration process I have ever experienced and an army of staff whose jobs are mainly to shuffle papers; there has been non-communication across the board (unless you come across an HR worker who knows what they are doing although based in a remote call centre abroad) there is no point trying to contact them via the standard or recommended communication channels about anything, I was shocked to learn a lot of my colleagues who worked for them for a few years had a similar experience:
IT system very inefficient; one department does not know what another is doing. Urgent messages hanging in thin air or being passed around from one department to another, people being sent from pillar to post on regular basis; the helpdesk is very efficient in issue problem ticket numbers while not providing any advice. The foreign remote workers who pick up the phone are underpaid exploited undertrained staff who have standard replies in front of them and in case of a specific issue they just keep re-reading them until you threaten them with a serious complaint.
It took one of my colleagues ten months to get their registration noticed and processed and even them they got stuck on some online course which was not accessible in full and presentation slides were in low resolution so he was unable to read most of them.
Huge overheads create enormous pressure on all contracts and most free-lance professionals are as a result treated like modern slaves; the hourly rates and travel are a bad joke. You can get offered a job that is 150-200 miles away without any travel supplements and on occasions someone will reply to your email explaining that if you do not request travel supplements they cannot issue them back dated !?!
If you are a qualified expert / professional who studied towards one or two applicable degrees and completed a postgraduate training specific to LAW and linguistics please avoid these 'global cowboys'.
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Over the years I have become more aware this is not an isolated issue - the lack of appropriate legislation creates this huge minefield and and enormous potential to what I would call 'well hidden corruption'. Most self employed professionals are too scared to let TBW know (or anyone else) about their reviews or do them anonymously or do not share anything with anyone that could identify them as whistle blowers.

TBW is just another entity indirectly supporting global exploitation of qualified professionals using and abusing the legislative void to bring the professional rates to the lowest level possible in order to maximise their profits.

21 March 2021
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I was a translator for them

I was a translator for them. They have an online platform where you have to deliver the translation. After delivery they simply do not approve it for payment so you cannot invoice it. You have to chase it up repeatedly. No responses

10 March 2021
Unprompted review
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