Terms and Conditions
General
1. These terms and conditions apply to any work done for you (the client) by me (Emily Dorschler, trading as Sound Proofreading).
2. If you use my services you are accepting these terms and conditions; I do not need you to sign these terms and conditions.
3. You are under no obligation to offer me work and I do not have to accept your work.
How Work is Done
4. I will provide the service(s) we agree I should do. That will normally be set out in writing, but if we agree terms by telephone I will keep a written record of what we agree.
5. I will do the work unsupervised and do not need to work in a particular place or (subject to whatever we agree, such as in priority projects) at particular times of day. I will use my own equipment.
6. I confirm that I am self-employed and a sole trader. I am responsible for my own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and will not claim benefits as an employee. Any work I do and agree to do will be under a contract for services; it does not make me your employee.
7. I am happy to come to your premises or elsewhere, if you ask me to, for necessary meetings, but you must pay for my time and expenses. All meetings are to be arranged in accordance with my own schedule.
8. You must pay me for agreed reasonable expenses over the usual expenses incurred in editorial work.
9. You will pay me a fee per hour OR a fee per printed page OR an agreed flat fee for the job. I may charge an additional fee for a priority project.
10. I will return the completed work to you on or before the date agreed, for the agreed fee.
11. When I quote a fee for your work, that will be based on what you have told me needs to be done. If, however, when I receive your work, or at an early stage, it becomes clear that significantly more work will be needed than we had anticipated – or if you ask me to take on additional tasks – I may renegotiate my fee and/or the deadline.
12. Any content I create as part of my work will be your copyright, unless otherwise agreed.
13. I will keep the nature and content of the work strictly confidential and I will not disclose that to anyone other than you (and your contractors) without prior written permission.
14. I guarantee that if I subcontract your work on your behalf I will do all I can to make sure it will be completed to the same standard, schedule and budget, and with the same conditions of confidentiality.
15. If my work is unsatisfactory, I will rectify it in my own time and at my own expense. If you have concerns about the quality of my work, please tell me immediately.
16. I am compliant with GDPR regulations. The data I keep (name, postal and email address, phone number and any work files) are kept in a secure, password-protected account. Your data is not shared with anyone other than HMRC (if audited). I keep your personal details for seven years in accordance with HMRC regulations.
17. Either of us has the right to terminate a contract if there is a serious breach of its terms.
18. I may use your name (for a company, your full company name; for an individual, your first name) and any comments or feedback from you in my promotional material. Please try to give me feedback; it tells me that I’m doing a good job or where I need to improve.
19. Unless you specify otherwise, I will edit in British English using Collins Dictionary, the Guardian Style Guide and New Hart’s Rules.
20. This agreement is subject to the laws of England and Wales, and both parties agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
21. I cannot accept work from you, or contact you by email, if you are aged under 16.
Payment
22. Unless we agree otherwise at the outset, full pre-payment will be made in advance of any work commencing. In such instances where payment post-finalisation is agreed, payment will be made within 30 days of receipt of my invoice, according to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (amended 2002 and 2013).
23. If you do not pay within that time, a statutory interest of 8% p.a., in addition to the Bank of England base rate, will be applied to the debt on a pro rata daily basis. In addition to interest, a debt recovery cost will be applied for recovering a late payment. You may be charged a higher hourly rate for further work or I may refuse to conduct further work for you until the debt has been cleared.
24. Methods of payment will be provided in advance.
Liability and Errors
25. I aim to provide an accurate, thorough and reliable proofreading and editing service. Although I aim to provide the best service possible, I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy and occasionally I may not correct an error.
26. I cannot be held responsible for direct, indirect, special or consequential losses or costs incurred by any errors, factual or grammatical, remaining in your work. The final responsibility for your work remains with you.
27. I cannot be liable for errors or omissions caused by your not communicating your requirements clearly.
28. I shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform any obligation of these terms and conditions, and both parties shall be released from their obligations if the delay or failure is caused by any circumstances beyond both parties’ reasonable control. In those circumstances, you will immediately pay me all arrears of payments due, as applicable. If any money is owing, this shall be reimbursed within 14 days.
29. If I am ill or suddenly and unforeseeably unavailable, I will notify you as soon as reasonably practicable. I will use my best endeavours to ensure that the agreed deadline is met, but, if it can’t, an extended deadline will be agreed by the parties. Such an extension will not affect the agreed fee payable.
Academic Liability (Students and Academics)
30. If you breach any of these terms and conditions, I will hold you responsible for any legal claim for expenses, liability and financial losses (including legal fees) I incur caused by your breach.
31. Each paragraph in these terms and conditions operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them is/are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
32. I can change the terms and conditions at any time without notice and without liability arising from such an action. If I do it, I will send the new terms and conditions to you. If you use my services I will deem that acceptance of the amended terms and conditions.
33. I can change my prices without notice, but if I have already given you a quote that quote will be valid for 28 days from the date of the quotation and if I have already agreed to do work any price change will not affect you. Prices on work agreed and being undertaken will not be affected.
34. You are responsible for checking that the use of a proofreading/editing service is permitted by your academic institution before engaging my services and, if so, whether you have to obtain your supervisor’s permission and/or acknowledge my involvement in your work. I will not check any academic institution’s policy on proofreading/editing and I cannot accept any liability if you do not make adequate enquiries.
35. Avoiding plagiarism remains your responsibility at all times. I will not check the document for any possible plagiarism issues.
36. I will not proofread your document in any way that breaches the academic community’s usual rules concerning plagiarism and cheating. This means that, for example, I will not rewrite your essay or substantial parts of it, add text (or paraphrase) from anyone else’s work and insert it into your essay, or make any other change that would be plagiarism.
37. Please check whether your institution has guidelines on the use of my services; if so, please provide these to me so that I can work to them.
38. If I have evidence to suggest that you are guilty of plagiarism, then I can immediately terminate the contract and refuse to do further work for you.
39. The mark or grade that you are awarded by your academic institution is not within my control. I cannot provide advice or guidance on predicted grades and cannot be held legally responsible for a lower than expected mark or grade in relation to any material I return to you. While my aim is to ensure that your work is free from errors of spelling, grammar and punctuation and is consistent in style, I cannot guarantee that using my services will result in improved marks.