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 just wondered if anybody had noticed the quantity of work dropping off? I only type for one specialty and most days it is very quiet. Occasionally I might get one or two full days of typing and I do spend a lot of time checking as I’m home all day. I wish I could be added to other specialties but last time I emailed and asked they said no as I didn’t have recent experience.

@minicat79 - I noticed the quantity dropped off a couple of weeks ago when it was half term and also the following week. I also noticed that there seems to be hardly any dictations from the Royal Marsden anymore; most of them seem to be Warwickshire or Lancashire or Kent and Canterbury. The quality of some of the dictation is very poor - mumbling as English not their main language, or too faint or even holding too close to the mouth so it is muffled/reverbs. A real struggle.

You could try asking about about increasing specialties as they may be looking with summer holidays looming and people taking a break (if they can afford to!) It all depends on what they are looking for at the time you ask.

Yet ANOTHER day where all five of the task options I am offered are dictated by men who even with my volume on 100% I can make out only one word in five - if that! I have struggled through two letters marking where I cannot hear due to the quietness of the dictation, the background noises ( which are much louder) but still all I am offered is more of the same!

It amazes me that these intelligent doctors (and nurses but I think the quiet ones who leave their handsets on the table and walk around as they talk are doctors) do not play back their dictation and listen to what they have recorded - but then I have worked in hospitals where more than once a doctor dictated a full clinic, did not listen or check once and the whole thing was blank.

I wonder if DICT8 would allow me just to mark these dictations impossible to type? Certainly in the hospital we would on occasion request a poor dictator to redo their letters.

It is unfortunate that some people are only given all the crp to type and others like the person who posted recently manage to earn the same as when they worked in a hospital - complete then with sick pay, holiday pay and a company pension, which we do not get now, while others struggle to make ends meet - and it is not for want of trying but such poor dictation, task after task after task is dreadfully unfair when there must be something on the system they could mix it up a bit. I don't mind doing my fair share of such sht - but not with no relief with something manageable in between.

Hi. Can I be so bold and ask what rate you are charging Accuro per dictated minute. I’m currently doing work for them, which I thoroughly enjoy, but I think I need to increase my rate per dictated minute. I was unsure what to charge so Accuro suggested a rate that would get me plenty of work.
It is doing but it’s working out approx £5 per hour which is not a lot for my experience.
Thank you

For Gally123 - post 27 June 2019
You are not alone. Look back through all the previous posts and you'll see there are plenty of complaints about being offered rubbish all the time. I can't remember when I got something that was really worth doing.

I think I had a lucky escape and can only feel sorry for the people that have no choice other than home working. You could earn more cleaning with cash in hand or selling Avon which would fit around taking children for a walk.

Hi. I’ve just applied to work for Dict8. I am noticing a few bad things i.e. late payment - a few of you say you work for someone else too; please could you enlighten me, so I can see if they are recruiting too. Many thanks. Lisa

I'm thinking about taking on work from another company as the volume of Dict8 work seems to have dropped off and I can't rely on it for an income. Also, despite asking for more specialties I have been told I don't have recent enough experience which I don't accept as I am extremely well qualified and have many many years' experience across a broad spectrum of specialties and things don't change that much. I know we are not their responsibility but they certainly don't look after their best assets. Can anyone recommend another agency?

Hi, just found this. I've been working for Dict8 for years and have been a proofreader for about a year. I'm surprised at the people saying they don't earn much - I started with two specialities (but I suppose they both generate a lot of work) and live fully on my Dict8 earnings. I average £12-15 an hour. One of my specialities does have 90% English doctors though, so I'm certain that helps, and sometimes they do quite long letters. I used to do 1,000 lines a day but now I have to spend two hours a day proofreading but it was usually achievable.

With the proofreading, I try to look at it as advice rather than a telling off, though there are specific options for specific mistakes that I have to choose from a list so some of the feedback you receive has standard wording and isn't necessarily given by a proofreader. I do try and say please when I give feedback, and if someone spells a clinician's name wrong I'll put it as general advice rather than a spelling mistake. But I've been a victim of petty crap feedback myself, such as typing "10-11" and getting back that it should have been "10 or 11".

Things like that I wouldn't bother. I correct minor typos like "an" for "any" that wouldn't come up on spellcheck, and incorrect or absent apostrophes, and if you make grammatical changes to improve the flow, I don't feedback on that either - only if it changes the context. I can't speak for any other proofreaders, of course.

However, some people seem to just not read what they're typing. I come across ridiculous mistakes where people have typed utter nonsense which is obviously wrong and doesn't make any sense.

I suspect this thread has come to the attention of DICT8 management who are concerned it might be putting off new transcribers!

Personally I don't have a problem with receiving feedback, I like to have a high standard too. However, I believe the reason DICT8 are so strict is due to the high cost they charge NHS trusts - the transcription needs to be perfect to justify what they charge. If only transcribers were paid more than a tiny fraction of what the company makes there would be far less complaints.

Yes it is possible to eke out a living on full time DICT8 wages, and I suppose you could say the same for someone working in an Amazon warehouse or any gig economy job for that matter. But does that make it right? All that is being asked for is a fair wage for a fair day's work. I believe an increase from 8 to 9p per line is entirely justified, especially given the rise in cost of living over the last few years. I believe this would encourage better quality of work and attract new transcribers. Unfortunately I don't believe DICT8 see it this way.

I don't think we should be likened to Amazon workers or 'gig' economy. We are highly skilled and experienced, many of us with high level qualifications. This is what gives Dict8 its good reputation and allows it to charge its high prices. But I fully agree that it's time the rate was increased. I'm sure other companies are catching up in terms of what they pay their workers who are, as I have said before, their most valuable assets!

Exactly, we are highly skilled so our wages should reflect that

Hi everyone. I just started with dict8 this week and worried about the emails I am getting. I get one nice one a day saying the typing I have done is to a high standard, then an hour later I get one listing mistakes. Should I be concerned? I don’t want to lose this job.

Hi, if you get a message saying "well done" it means no amendments were needed on a letter you typed. This is sent automatically. If you've only just started, the majority of your work will be checked so you are likely to get more feedback. Once you're established as low risk, you'll find the feedback emails will reduce, especially if you take on board what is being said. If you're getting daily "well done" emails you probably don't need to worry.

Where gAl the work gone o. Dict8? Seems to have dried up

Sorry for typos. I meant where has all the work gone. Seems to have dried up

I would love to do this full time but really worry in case Dict8 turn round and say there is no work or the company decide to sell up because of voice activated software etc. Does this concern anyone else or am I being a bit paranoid. I would love to hear your views on this. Thanks.

I feel the same. At present there is so little work in my speciality. I would say the work has dropped by 80% currently. Not sure what is going on at present.

Maybe they've just taken on more typists and so there's less work to go round? Currently there are 189 tasks on my list (but that's for four specialities).

Yes I have those worries too although the quality of output via voice recognition that I have been witness to has been dreadful and it involved no less input from the doctors or the secretaries. I am also aware of centres that have tried it and gone back to transcription services because they suddenly appreciate the quality of the work being produced by the latter.

I get the impression they have taken on more transcribers recently. I guess they just want to get the work through and don't lose any sleep about others getting less work.

Thank you for your replies. I am glad it is not just me who has these worries. I am at a turning point in life at the moment and would love to do this full time but cannot rely on Dict8 being there indefinitely (although I certainly hope they are) :)

Practically no work in the last couple of days. It is worrying. Thursdays and Fridays are usually my busiest but barely anything! Would be even more so if it was my only source of income, but I do tend to organise my life around it. Missed the switching on of our town's Christmas lights and all the accompanying festivities to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs!

Lincoln35 That does not sound right as normally there is lots of work on this time of year coming up to Christmas. I have plenty on mine but I do have two specialities. Perhaps you need more (not sure how many different specialities you type for). It is frustrating at times though just sitting and refreshing the page. Hopefully it picks up for you. Good luck

Thanks flutterby. I'll persevere for a little longer!

I have a few specialties and have also noticed gaps this week when there is no work. I know it does ebb and flow - when I first started with DICT8 Fridays were the quietest day of the week, then when there was the Isle of Man stuff it became the busiest as they regularly downloaded on a Friday; now they no longer use DICT8 it has gone quieter again. The Christmas period when everyone seems to try and get work out before the holiday normally starts the beginning of December.