Terms and Conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to any work completed for the Client by Ditchfield Editorial.

Definitions

• The terms ‘work’, ‘document’ and ‘project’ refer to the material being proofread by Ditchfield Editorial.

General

1. The Client is under no obligation to offer Ditchfield Editorial work; neither is Ditchfield Editorial under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client.
2. Ditchfield Editorial will provide service(s) as mutually agreed, confirmed in writing by the Client.
3. Ditchfield Editorial reserves the right to decline any work that may be conceived as containing offensive, threatening, defamatory, abusive, racist or discriminatory material.
4. The work will be carried out unsupervised at such times and places as determined by Ditchfield Editorial, using her own equipment.
5. Ditchfield Editorial guarantees that she will carry out all agreed work personally and that the work will not be subcontracted out to a third party.
6. Ditchfield Editorial confirms that she is self-employed and is responsible for her own income tax and National Insurance contributions. Ditchfield Editorial will not claim benefits granted to the Client’s employees.
7. Ditchfield Editorial is not VAT registered.
8. The Client is advised to keep a copy of the work that they have submitted for proofreading as Ditchfield Editorial can accept no responsibility for loss of the work. Upon receipt of the work, Ditchfield Editorial will save a copy of the work in its original form.
9. Ditchfield Editorial may use the Client’s name in her promotional material.

Project terms

10. Before starting the project, the Client and Ditchfield Editorial will agree, in writing, the following terms:
    • the editing service to be provided by Ditchfield Editorial (a brief)
    • the date that the Client will deliver the work to Ditchfield Editorial
    • the file format of the work (if digital) or whether the work will be carried out on paper
    • an estimate of the time required to complete the work, as advised by Ditchfield Editorial; please note that this timeframe includes one pass of a text, the time required for Ditchfield Editorial to familiarise herself with the Client’s brief (or house style, if supplied) and the time spent writing up any queries
    • how the edits to the Client’s text will be annotated (e.g. track changes in Word, on PDF)
    • the return date for delivery of the completed project back to the Client
    • any expenses (e.g. postage) that the Client will incur in addition to the cost of the editing service
11. If, on receipt of the material 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, Ditchfield Editorial may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.

Fees and quotations

12. Ditchfield Editorial will provide the Client with a quotation for the work following evaluation of a typical sample of the text.
13. The Client will agree to pay Ditchfield Editorial a fee per 1000 words OR per hour OR an agreed flat fee for the work as mutually agreed in writing prior to commencement of the project.
14. In the case of lengthy projects, Ditchfield Editorial may invoice the Client periodically for completed stages of the work.
15. If, during the term of Ditchfield Editorial’s work, additional tasks are requested by the Client, Ditchfield Editorial reserves the right to renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
16. The completed work will be delivered on or before the deadline date agreed, for the agreed fee. 
17. Upon return of the work to the Client, Ditchfield Editorial will invoice the Client immediately.
18. The Client will agree to reimburse Ditchfield Editorial for agreed reasonable expenses over and above the usual expenses incurred in the process of editorial work.
19. In the unlikely event that the Client finds the completed work unsatisfactory, Ditchfield Editorial will rectify it in her own time and at her own expense. However, Ditchfield Editorial will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions occurring as a result of the Client failing to clearly communicate their requirements at the outset of the project.
20. For company clients, unless agreed otherwise at the outset, payment will be made within 30 days of receipt of Ditchfield Editorial’s invoice. For private clients, part payment is requested in advance. Payment is accepted by bank transfer. Payment must be made in pounds sterling. If it is agreed that the Client may pay in another currency, then any  bank charges incurred for currency transfer will be charged to the Client.
21. Ditchfield Editorial reserves the right to charge interest for late payments according to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (amended 2002 and 2013).

Disclaimer

22. Ditchfield Editorial makes every effort to ensure that all deadlines for completion of the work are adhered to. However, in situations where a delay may be unavoidable (e.g. due to technical failure, acts of God or personal issues, such as illness or bereavement) Ditchfield Editorial will contact the Client at the earliest opportunity to notify them of the situation. If a satisfactory solution cannot be agreed upon, the Client may then terminate the contract. However, the Client will agree to pay Ditchfield Editorial the agreed rate for any work completed thus far.

Cancellation

23. If the Client delivers the work later than the agreed delivery date and the work arrives too late for Ditchfield Editorial to complete it to professional standards, or if the late delivery will impact on other work in Ditchfield Editorial’s calendar, then Ditchfield Editorial reserves the right to refuse or cancel the contract.
24. In the event that the Client cancels the contract once Ditchfield Editorial has begun work on the document, the Client will agree to pay Ditchfield Editorial the relevant percentage of the agreed rate for the work already completed.
25. Either the Client or Ditchfield Editorial has the right to terminate a contract for services if there is a serious breach of its terms.

Confidentiality and Copyright

26. The Client retains ownership and copyright of any work submitted to Ditchfield Editorial for proofreading. Any content created by Ditchfield Editorial as part of the proofreading process will become the copyright of the Client, unless otherwise agreed.
27. The Client agrees to indemnify Ditchfield Editorial from any third-party claims and expenses as a result of copyright or other intellectual property rights infringement.
28. The nature and content of any work undertaken by Ditchfield Editorial will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client and its contractors without prior written permission.
29. The information that the Client and Ditchfield Editorial may keep on record is covered by the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). No more 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 the Client and/or Ditchfield Editorial. Both the Client and Ditchfield Editorial 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.

Plagiarism

30. It is the responsibility of the Client to ensure that their document is free from plagiarism. Ditchfield Editorial reserves the right to refuse any work that is believed or found to contain plagiarised material.
31. During the proofreading process, Ditchfield Editorial will not check the work for any issues with plagiarism.

Quality Assurance and Liability

32. Ditchfield Editorial aims to ensure that all proofreading work is completed to the highest possible standard. However, as proofreaders are only human, even with the best of intentions, mistakes can occasionally be made. Therefore, Ditchfield Editorial cannot guarantee that all work that has been proofread will be 100% perfect and error-free.
33. Upon completion of the work, the Client is responsible for reviewing all amendments made to their document. Ditchfield Editorial will accept no liability for any legal action, losses or costs incurred as a result of inaccuracies, errors or omissions remaining in the document.
34. The Client remains responsible for the content of their work at all times. Ditchfield Editorial accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, validity or legality of the content of the work.
35. Ditchfield Editorial accepts no responsibility for any further amendments made to the document once it has been returned to the Client.

Legal Jurisdiction

36. This agreement is subject to the laws of England and Wales, and both Ditchfield Editorial and the Client agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.

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Last updated 27/11/2023