Terms and Conditions
1. Website Terms and Conditions
By choosing to use this website, you are agreeing to abide by its Terms and Conditions, as set out on this page.
This website is for your personal use only and is designed for the sole purpose of providing information and services relating to Sarah Barter’s proofreading and editing services.
You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information, software, products or services obtained from this site unless Sarah Barter grants you specific permission in writing. Email addresses posted on this site are not to be used by any seller of services, any compiler of mailing lists, or for any other non-authorized use without prior written approval by Sarah Barter.
These terms and conditions shall be governed by the relevant United Kingdom law, and by agreeing to be bound by them you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the relevant courts of the United Kingdom.
Sarah Barter reserves the right to make reasonable modifications to the terms and conditions described here insofar as they are listed on this website. Changes to terms and conditions will take effect thirty (30) days after they are posted on this website.
Cookie Policy
This website uses cookies; small files of letters and numbers that are automatically placed on your machine – if you agree – to help the website provide a better user experience. Cookies do not typically include identifying personal information but cookies may also be linked to personal information which is stored about you.
The website uses cookies to retain your user preferences, to store information from elements of the website such as shopping carts, and to provide anonymised tracking data to third-party applications such as Google Analytics. These cookies are likely to be analytical/performance cookies or targeting cookies. Sarah Barter has no control over third-party cookies.
In general, cookies should make your browsing experience better. You may prefer to disable cookies for this website which you can do by disabling cookies in your browser (follow the steps via the Help tool of your browser). Visit www.allaboutcookies.org for more information about cookies and how to disable them.
Please note that if you change your browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies), you may not be able to access some or all of the website.
Except for essential cookies, all cookies expire within a reasonable period of time.
Links to third-party sites
This website may contain links to other websites. Because Sarah Barter has no control over these websites and their resources, Sarah Barter is not responsible for the availability of these external websites and cannot be held responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from these websites.
No unlawful or prohibited use
As a condition of your use of this website, you agree that you will not use the website for any purpose that is unlawful under any law or prohibited by these terms and conditions. You may not damage, disable, overburden, or impair this site. You may not obtain, or attempt to obtain, any materials or information not intentionally provided for through this website.
Indemnity
Sarah Barter cannot be held responsible for any losses, damages, expenses, claims, demands, suits, or actions, including reasonable legal fees made by any third party, due to or arising from your use of this website, information obtained from the website, information which you provided to the website, your connection to the website, your violation of these terms and conditions, or your violation of any rights of another.
Copyright notice
All information available from this site may be protected under United Kingdom and foreign copyright laws. Permission to reproduce may be required. Sarah Barter retains all rights to the information provided by this service, including, but not limited to, the right of distribution.
All third-party trademarks are acknowledged and are the property of their respective owners.
Company
This website is owned by Sarah Barter of 58 Clouds Hill Avenue, Bristol, BS5 7JE, a registered sole trader.
2. Terms and Conditions of Service
These terms and conditions apply to any work done for you (the Client) by me, Sarah Barter (the Service Provider). The contract of service requires that you acknowledge you have read, understood and agreed to these terms and conditions. The person accepting these terms and conditions must do so in writing and, if acting on behalf of an organisation, be authorised to do so. If anything is unclear, please ask me to clarify.
Having had these terms and conditions drawn to your attention, completing and submitting the Booking Confirmation form, a verbal-only or a non-response will be interpreted as acceptance of the terms and conditions in full.
You are under no obligation to offer me work; neither am I under any obligation to accept work offered by you.
I will provide a proofreading and editing service as mutually agreed upon and confirmed in writing by you and me.
The terms of the project will cover the medium in which the proofreading and editing service will be carried out (e.g. in Word, on PDF, in InDesign, on paper) and how the material will be annotated (e.g. Track Changes in Word, comments on PDFs, BSI correction symbols on paper). Following my evaluation of the material and the time frame required to complete the job, a fee for the project will be based on a quotation supplied by me. The terms will also include the date by which the material will be delivered by you to me and the latest date by which the completed project will be returned, following my advice to you.
I will carry out the work unsupervised at such times and places as I determine, using my own equipment.
I confirm that I am self-employed, responsible for my own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and will not claim benefits granted to your employees.
I am not VAT-registered.
You will pay me a fee per hour OR per 1000 words OR an agreed project fee for the job, according to our prior agreement.
I agree to attend your or other premises for necessary meetings. You will reimburse me for the time spent travelling to and from the meeting and attending the meeting, plus all agreed reasonable expenses incurred.
You will reimburse me for agreed-upon reasonable expenses (e.g., postage) over and above the usual expenses incurred in carrying out editorial or design work.
The completed work will be delivered on or before the date agreed and for the agreed fee, which will be based on the description of the work required and the brief agreed upon by you and me.
If, however, on receipt of the item(s) to be worked on or at an early stage, it becomes apparent that significantly more work is required than had been anticipated in the preliminary discussion/brief, I may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
Similarly, if you request additional tasks during the work or project, I may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
If the project is lengthy, I may invoice periodically for completed stages.
I will stop working on a project immediately if it, or any part of it, appears to contain offensive or defamatory content, breaches copyright, promotes illegal activities, or promotes practice or ideas that may cause physical or mental harm to those who read the content.
You own all content delivered to me for the project. You warrant that the materials delivered to me are your original work and do not violate any copyright, trademark, or other protection of intellectual property.
If any part of the text provided by you for me to work on has been generated by (or translated by) artificial intelligence (AI) powered software (for example, software including, but not restricted to, ChatGPT, DeepL, Jasper, etc.), you bear full responsibility to disclose this and are also responsible for any outcomes that could result from not doing so at project commencement. If I suspect that the manner in which such AI software has been applied has compromised the integrity of the text, you will be informed by me as soon as possible, along with any adjustments required to the project timescale and the fee payable by the client.
IMPORTANT: If you do not disclose this information prior to project commencement, I reserve the right to withdraw from the project at any time, regardless of whether you have paid a deposit or made any other payments.
I will not be responsible for legal actions arising from your unlicensed use of copyright material. Any content created by me as part of the editorial process will become your copyrighted material upon full payment of my final invoice unless otherwise agreed.
The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than you and your contractors without prior written permission.
You are required to complete a booking confirmation form or to confirm the terms in writing via email. This constitutes an agreement to the contract of services between me and you.
A non-refundable deposit is required to secure my proofreading and editing services under the mutually agreed-upon project terms. This will be either 50% of the total agreed fee for the project or the agreed fee in full if this is £100 or less for students and for all new clients. An invoice for the deposit will be issued upon receipt of either a completed booking confirmation form or an email confirmation of mutually agreed-upon project terms. This deposit will be deducted from the final invoice issued when the work is completed.
The deposit should be paid upon receipt of the invoice. My receipt of your payment secures my proofreading, editing and any other services described under the mutually agreed-upon project terms. The booking will be cancelled without notice if your deposit is not received within three working days of the invoice due date.
By completing and sending the booking confirmation form or emailed confirmation of terms, you confirm that you have read and agreed to the terms and conditions herein. From thereon, the terms of the cancellation policy apply.
Unless otherwise agreed, I will supply you with the final invoice immediately upon completion of the proofreading and editing project.
Unless otherwise agreed, the final invoice will be due on submission and payable on receipt.
I reserve the right to claim statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England Base Rate from the date the debt becomes overdue in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and to claim an additional sum for pursuing the debt as provided for in the 2002 revision of the Act. I retain the copyright in the work until payment has been made in full.
The information that you and I may keep on record is covered by the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). No more such information will be held than is necessary, at any time, to comply with those terms and with any compliance statement or privacy policy published by you and/or me. Both you and I agree that where consent is required to hold or process such data, such consent has been requested and obtained, and both facts can be demonstrated. Either may view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct and up to date.
I may use your name and/or your company name in my promotional material.
This agreement is subject to the laws of England and Wales, and both you and I agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
3. Student Terms and Conditions
You should seek permission from your university to use my proofreading and editing services. I require the name and contact details of your supervisor before commencing any proofreading of your work.
I DO NOT offer an essay writing service. Your essay, dissertation or thesis MUST be your own work. (See Terms and Conditions of Service 15–16 for more details.)
I will not alter your content unless it is a simple typographical error that needs correcting.
I will not advise on the content of your work, rewrite the text or reduce your word count.
I will not fact-check your work.
I cannot guarantee that your grades will be improved by using my proofreading services.
The deadline for submission is your responsibility. When booking my proofreading or editing services, you should make sure to leave plenty of time to allow for a final read-through of the returned document before the submission deadline is due. I take no responsibility for any missed deadlines due to the turnaround time requested by you.
A non-refundable deposit is required to secure my proofreading services under the mutually agreed-upon project terms. The remaining balance is payable on completion. (See Terms and Conditions of Service 19-22 for more details.)
4. Cancellation Policy
If you cancel the work during the project, I reserve the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee (less any deposit payments).
If you cancel the work prior to the project commencing but after making a booking and agreeing to the terms and conditions of service herein, I reserve the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee (less the deposit payment) if the cancellation occurs with less than one month's notice.
If you wish to cancel with more than one month's notice, your deposit payment will not be refunded, but no other charges will apply.
If I must cancel the work due to previously unforeseen circumstances outside of my control (e.g. illness, bereavement, etc.), I will contact you in writing at the earliest opportunity and do my best to renegotiate the time frame of the project. If a new project time frame cannot be mutually agreed upon, I will invoice you for work completed at the point that work ceases. Any overpayment made will be refunded to you. If work has not yet commenced, you will receive a full refund of any deposit payments made.
If either you or I are the victim of extraordinary events beyond our control (for example, crime, flood, strike), liability and obligation may be cancelled.
Both you and I retain the right to terminate a contract for services if there is a serious breach of its terms.
5. Acceptance and Complaints
As an Intermediate Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), I have the training, experience and knowledge to give you a high-quality service. I will do my best to return an error-free document to you. However, you accept that no job done by one human, however skilled, can ever be completely error-free. You accept that, particularly with copyediting, proofreading and proofediting services, there will always be scope for a difference of opinion rather than right or wrong.
You will promptly confirm the receipt of the job (or instalments) sent back to you, and you must, within seven days of the receipt of a completed job, confirm that you are happy with it; a non-response will be interpreted as satisfaction.
If you have reason to complain, please do so in writing within seven days of receiving a completed job. Your complaint will be dealt with in a confidential manner, and I will endeavour to resolve things to your satisfaction. As a member of the CIEP, I am bound by its Professional Practice Code. The CIEP also has a complaints procedure. Please see the CIEP General Code of Conduct document for more details.
6. Disclaimers
The information on this website is intended for information and entertainment purposes only. The information on this website is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied. Although reasonable efforts are made to update the information on this website, I make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content on the website is accurate, complete or up to date.
Viewing the information on this website does not constitute a contractual relationship between you and me.
This website may contain links to other websites. These sites are not under my control and I cannot be responsible for any actions or events arising from you following any links from this website. Links are provided for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as approval or endorsement by me.
Any comments on my blog or social media channels are not endorsed or verified by me, and neither am I responsible for any comments on the website made by third parties. Should I become aware of comments which are likely to be distressing, I will remove them from the website. Removal of comments does not indicate that any compensation will be awarded; it will not be. Comments are removed to ensure enjoyment for website users.
Nothing in this disclaimer will:
(a) limit or exclude any liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence;
(b) limit or exclude any liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
(c) limit any liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law; or
(d) exclude any liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law.
7. Affiliations
From time to time, I may partner with third parties and recommend their products and services for which I may receive commission or payment in kind.
In all circumstances, I will make full disclosures as to my affiliate partners and will never charge you more.
8. Discrimination Policy
I stand against inequality, injustice, hate, discrimination, and racism. I work with people from all backgrounds, beliefs and experiences.