Pay with Dict8

[juju1507]

I have been working s/e with Dict8 for 3 years now and my payment by cheques are arriving later and later. My last cheque arrived 8 days after it was issued and I noticed they are now sending cheques second class. Does anyone else work for Dict8 on here and, if so, are you finding that your cheque is arriving much later than it used to? I have direct debits set up deliberately for the middle of the month in order that my cheque would have cleared in time but now I am worrying that even by 15th of each month the cheque will not have cleared. Sorry for the ramble but just curious if others have noticed this.

I have spent a day in the NHS today phoning patients advising them not to attend the hospital but they will receive a telephone consultation instead. A letter will still be generated from that clnic tel. con.

So, I didn't have time to do any typing as was ringing patients all day and our need for having our letters typed with outsourcing is greater during this time not less.

I did quite a few telephone clinic letters today so the work is still being generated, at least.

I did a test for TPro over a week ago but they have not got back to me. Is this a normal waiting time do you know?

I was just thinking the same, I did mine last Thursday and haven't heard a thing

@Lucylizzy123 @Chrissols The work has completely dried up at T-Pro now as well. It went from well over 2000 tasks last week on the specific hospital I am typing to zero yesterday. I have messaged them and it is purely down to clinic cancellations. They are doing some telephone clinics which pop up. Up until yesterday I had earned much more than with Dict8 just in two weeks. Now nothing again. .

Well there's one thing I suppose, I think we will be very busy once things get back to some normality as there will be loads of catch up clinics I am guessing

Accurro have no work at the moment either

I think it is just a question of hold on tight as I have a feeling when things return to normal, which they will, there will be stacks of work. I know that doesn't help us in the here and now but trying to stay positive!

Just had word from T-Pro saying any new hiring has been put on hold temporarily, which is understandable.

I too have had the same message.

Morning ladies. Just thought I would post that I have emailed DICT8 this morning to see if they would consider paying our invoices via bank transfer, if not BACS, as this would avoid unnecessary trips out to the bank. The DICT8 cheque is generally the only reason I need to visit the bank these days, so it would seem sensible to give an option that avoid this. Wondered what your thoughts were, and whether you could back this up with requests yourselves. Lucy

I asked them that a couple of years ago and they said they were looking into it - but you're absolutely right, if we're meant to be staying in and we all have to go to the bank, that would put ourselves and others at risk. Banking my cheque is also the only reason I ever set foot in the bank these days.

Also would be nice if we could email in our invoices - I do not have a printer and usually go to the local library, however these are now closing, the bus services into town are being reduced and I am having to ask around, friends and family to see if anyone can help out.

I've just found an old email from a friend who emailed Dict8 a couple of years ago about being paid through BACS and she was told that the financial team would have to have special training and this would cost them! I also googled whether Coutts Bank did BACS payments - they don't. This is what their website says: "It is not possible to make a BACS payment online however, for payments under £250k you can make a Faster Payment which can be sent as a same day payment or as a future dated payment." I don't imagine any of us will be earning over £250k and the way things are at present we'll be lucky to earn £250! However, payment of salaries can be set up whereby a company can set up a payment group. Surely that, once set up, would be an easier and quicker option than going through the process of filling in cheques, getting them signed and posted, not to mention the cost of postage.

They emailed me back: "No plans are in place to change the payment method." This was in response to me pointing out that we're not meant to go out etc. I hope the banks stay open then. I work full-time for Dict8 and have no other income.

Hope the banks - and post offices, as I use that to send my cheques to the bank - and the postman work to deliver the cheques.
Also I need to find a way to print an invoice now the libraries are all shut if they will not accept emailed invoices.
I wonder how DICT8 pay their proof readers and other office staff? Last heard they were paid a fixed salary like any other regular employee, ie not contract workers like us.

The proof readers get a fixed hourly rate but we still have to send a separate invoice and get a cheque - we get a single cheque for checking and typing though. Plus there's a set amount of hours per month.

@IamVictoria - so the proof readers don't get a £26,000 per year salary anymore like they used to?

I wish!! Maybe if we did it full-time but I have a contract to do 40 hours a month. The rest of the time I'm frantically refreshing the task list like everyone else!

@IamVictoria - maybe that explains some of the very strange feedback that people get these days with conflicting messages, if the proofreaders are no longer full time workers based in the London office, although if that is the case, surprised DICT8 needed to move to bigger premises.

Considering one of the founders is a doctor and the company is healthcare based it seems completely hypocritical and irresponsible to potentially put people working for them at risk by having to go out to find somewhere to print off invoices, post them, handle cheques, go out to a bank or post office (if they remain open) to pay said cheque into their account then having to wait for funds to clear. If we have to go into lockdown this is possibly going to be a massive problem for some people. Dict8 is the only company I've ever worked for that pays by cheque. Very strange!

I totally agree with that, I cannot understand why it is still paid by cheque, but they must be benefiting from it somehow.

Well the 'goodish' news is that I have heard that postal workers have been classed as 'key workers' for delivering items. To ensure this happens for as long as possible people are urgent not to get too near them, including when opening the door to them etc.

This means we should continue to receive our pay cheques via the post okay and also presumably the post offices will remain open - don't forget that since banks closed many high street branches you can use the post office to send off cheques to be paid into your account - the post office supplies the special envelop but you do need a paying in slip. When I pay take mine in for posting on a Saturday morning I can see it normally in my account on the following Thursday. This covers many banks - First Direct, HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays etc, so if you cannot get to your bank to pay your cheque in try your local post office. (I normally ensure I have a couple of envelops in case the post office runs out).

Did everyone get that email from Dict8 today about offering their digital system free of charge to the NHS doctors and secretaries so they can work from home with the COVID-19 situation ... there will be even less typing now for a while ... so tighten your belts even more so.

So Boris is now closing down all non essential shops (damn - not bought all my Easter cards yet) - does this ban include banks and post offices? Other services like libraries are closing. BBC news does not specify.