DICT8 Plus (new November 2022)

[Whitestar55]

Hi, Here we go again, anyone else set up a new thread yet? Hope to find everyone 🙂

@Raisingboys22 - Tpro like a minimum amount of work per month. Perhaps if you specified something like four hours per evening they might reconsider, maybe they feel you would only be able to do a small amount of work each night.

I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and got on to the subject of work ! I was telling her about the weird proofreading comments I had received over the past six months and she said anyone can be a proofreader as they all use Grammarly or some other AI tool, "makes them look more intelligent than they are" 😂This has never occurred to me before (old school) but she is office based and said most of the young people rely on it these days.

Anyone on here use AI ? I did say to her if we start using it it might make the proofreaders redundant !!!

Some of these companies take the piss with their so called contracts and rules on the premise that we are unaware/ignorant of actual law. They are merely intermediaries and cannot demand that you do a specific number of hours or that you are available at specified times, as you do NOT have a contract as an employee.

What they appear to do is filter freelancers who are available any time to do a certain amount of work and those with experience in multiple specialties, or with experience in a specialty in demand, which is understandable, but they cannot demand that specific hours or a specified amount of work is undertaken on a regular basis, because they do not contract you for that and would not pay you if they were unable to provide that work for any reason. So you are not signing a contract to say you will do a certain amount of work. So they have to take their chances with your availability and cannot hold it against you if you don't complete the amount they would like you to do.

I don't see how they can demand that you do not approach Trusts etc for your own freelance work either, because surely as freelancers and not employees, you are free to contact anyone who might require transcription services regardless of whether they use another company or not.

Getting seriously fed up. Hardly any work on Dict8 and when I do scrape through enough drivel to make some money, they don’t pay you.
invoice submitted Monday morning. 24 hours later it’s ‘processing’. Now 72 hours later, it’s still processing! Even if they post the cheque today, I doubt I’d get it tomorrow, so that’s at least Tuesday before I receive it (and at the end of the day as I’ll be out). Normally takes 3 days to clear, so if I don’t get it by Tuesday then it’ll be the following Tuesday that it clears due to the bank holiday!
Gah, just feeling very grumpy with it all today.

There’s got to be another company like dict8 who have a good flow of work but no restrictions on x amount of work you have to complete.

I checked throughout the day yesterday and there was nothing, nothing this morning either yet dict8 claim there’s consistent levels of work!

Just a question to those already working for T-pro - If you don't mind:

If you don't complete the amount of work you are expected/requested to do so by them, do they pick up on this and try to persuade you to do it?

Hello, back on Tpro now, still under physios so not doing that much. I suspect they are open to discussion and would be a bit more flexible if they like your work. Last Christmas I said I couldn't do the full amount because visitors holidays etc. Did not seem to be a problem. I think they should be glad to get skilled professionals at those prices. They just don't want a load of tiny invoices to process.

@YellowBellyLola I feel your pain !!! It is unbelievable we are still being paid by cheque along with snail mail in 2023 ?????? What is actually wrong with this company ? I think we should all go up there and stick ourselves to their office door in protest 😡It's like they deliberately make it as hard as possible to work for them ? Or they are so rich they cannot comprehend that people need their money asap ??? My only comfort is that at least I don't have go to work and be around such superior beings, could you imagine !!!

@Lunnuni Thanks for the info. I hope you're feeling better.

They take transcribers on as freelancers, so they can't really stipulate how much work you do for them and when you do it and you don't have to notify them if you are unable to do it at any time, as they would have to take you on as an employee, with the full range of benefits, for that. They basically run a platform where you can pick up the work as a freelance gig and they don't have any legal authority over how much work you do or when you do it. Which, I must admit, DICT8 do appear to comply with this, while others don't.

I think they just take their chances on this knowing that the ball is in their court as there are plenty of transcribers out there that want the work, who are unaware of the differences between the categories of freelancer, worker and employee criteria, so the transcribers are more likely to comply with their demands.

.....in other words, some companies want a commitment from you, but you get none from them as it enables them to run on a cheap, extensive labour force, and is the reason we never get a guaranteed minimum wage or a rise in rates.

@Whitestar55 - I fail the amount sometimes they say is needed and I questioned this if it was okay as I am hit and miss looking after my grandchildren but say Il try my best and sometimes have hit a large volume for them and my team lead has said just do as much as you can as she said my standard of work is excellent so perhaps they are happy with me as they dont have to come back with feedback and can rely on my work being accurate. Nice to have comments like that when Dict8 always found the time to slag me off! When I do good quantities I can achieve a much higher pay cheque than I ever did with Dict8 too as the work.is so much clearer to understand and VR is quicker. Yes you get asked to help out with backlogs which are dire dictations that are left and Tpro know why they are left for just that reason but if you do a bit to help then they appreciate it. So I always try as the majority of other work is not bad and I even type many different specialities as well as they are so clear you can understand what they say and you have the benefit of looking back at previous letters that can help.with diagnoses and medications that arent familiar to you. Plus you can copy and paste, plus have a facility they call text replacement which works the same as auto text and you can build up a good dictionary for yourself which again in turn speeds up you work. Im happy with Tpro I really am.

I'm glad you're happy with T-pro and their system, as I understand the need to work from home and flexibly, but this does not compensate for the fact that we should be paid for our time and experience accordingly and enough to compensate the lack of holiday and sickness pay, otherwise that is just putting most people in a poverty trap, whilst the companies make a profit from the fact they can operate this way.

Another point I'm making is that they do not have the authority to manage and supervise you like they do, as you are not employees, and you do not have to explain and apologise and expect to be excused/approved by them if you don't meet the quota they would like you to do.

I understand you feel obliged to comply because you are happy with their treatment of you, but they really are taking the piss in other ways, as they are not employers and they are on a good thing with this pick up and drop workforce they have.

@Whitestar55 - I totally agree! We are all being exploited

E.G Asking you to do the difficult work, but knowing you will be paid less for it because of the time it takes. They should pay more for difficult work.

Would a tradesman agree to do a difficult repair job on a house that would take a few days, for the same amount of pay as something he could do in a few hours because we request him to?

The company obviously wants to take on this more difficult work as they will get the same fees for it, with no detriment to their time and income, because look who is bridging the gap for them - the freelancers via a team lead requesting them to do it.

I know you don't have to do it, but should they be supervising you and making you feel obliged to do it because they are 'nice' to you? Of course they'll be nice, it's in their best interest because you will do it even if the pay is lower for the difficult stuff, while their employees still get the market rate for their position and the benefits that go with it. It really is just exploitation.

@Whitestar55 yes I totally agree with what you day but you still type for Dict8 and they are worse to me? I prefer Tpro because they are nicer yes but ive also said its easier to make money with Tpro than Dict8 so I type for Tpro instead because Dict8 not only equally exploit you they dish up shitty task most of the time. We dont HAVE to type the crap tasks at Tpro but at least they also supply a pretty decent amount of good quality tasks. Dict8 neither provide volume or quality for me so I stick with Tpro as I can make more money a lot more easily. You should apply to Tpro because I think if you was given a chance I really think youd be a lot happier and indeed would earn a lot more money

The email from DICT8!

First of all: thank you for all of your hard work on DICT8 - it is much appreciated. We have been working hard on trying to improve the quality of the doctors dictation on the system, as some of them were pretty bad. This should have translated into the tasks being easier to type and I hope that you have found this to be the case.

At last they have admitted that the dictations were bad - but they have not improved as far as I can see (or hear).
I wonder if this is in response to that comment on the agency website, as their reply to the person who said they spent so long getting a task right for so little money was very rude and on reflection perhaps DICT8 thought it showed them in a bad light.

Anyone received the update email from dict8

@carosel2 I understand, but I'm looking to break away from transcription, I think it's an awful monotonous thankless job, and I can't tolerate it full time, I'll stick with DICT8 as a backup, as I'm actually doing ok with them at the moment, ticking over, but I don't want to put time and effort into applying to and learning the ropes of another transcription company, just to be in the same boat, unless things get desperate. I appreciate your encouragement though.

Yes I got the email. Sounds to me as if Dict8 have been looking on mumsnet at all the negative comments

Is VR editing really quicker and easier, ? Don't you have to process twice as much information for the same rate of pay? I think I would suffer from overload 😂, plus sorting through previous letters, using different templates and liaising with a team lead, no thanks, I don't know how you do it!

@carosel2 like you I’m really happy with Tpro. I can’t believe how much work is available and I dont mind doing some of the more difficult tasks to help out. The other day there must have been 60 outstanding we were asked to help if we could, 5 mins later I loaded in the outstanding tasks and only 2 were left which I did so it’s a system that works. It never gets clogged up like Dict8 and it makes sense as it clears the system. Also they are so respectful in the way they address you and approach you, which means a lot. I can easily make my full time nhs salary working for them and am better off as I have no travel costs, no work clothes outlay and lunch is cheaper eating at home. I have more time for me as I’m not travelling. This has to be taken into account when weighing up the pros and cons. I really enjoy the work as it’s so varied. Typing the same specialty gets so draining. Dict8 we’re dire to work for and I agree with all that people say about them but Tpro are in a different league. @Whitestar55 VR is do much quicker, less tiring than typing all day. The text replacement tool once you’ve built it up makes the process so quick. You get used to the different templates.

@nomadchild it's good to hear you enjoy your work and find it interesting. I'm ok for around 2 hours, then I suffer from bore out. No matter what the specialty or whether it's VR or transcription, it's just the same old thing thing to me processing letter after letter, it's not even my own creation, it's someone else's. I used to work on the clinical side, making decisions, practical work etc and writing my own reports, so to be honest transcription, even though it takes knowledge and skill, is mind numbingly tedious to me, so although needs must and I have to do it at present, I don't want to join another company, I want a different job 😜

OMG, sorry about that emoji, it posted accidentally! Was trying to send something different!

😊😁😂

@Gally123 that comment on Indeed was vicious and can only have been made by management. I winced when I read it and it definitely confirmed what has been said time and again on these threads about their attitude towards the Grade 4 medical secretaries with over five years experience they want before you can work for them !