Proofreading & Editing Terms and Conditions of Service

Terms and Conditions of Service

About Peter Haigh / Technical Editorial

I am registered as self-employed in the UK and pay my own income tax and national insurance contributions.
I do not charge VAT and do not have a VAT registration number.

Acceptance of terms and conditions

By agreeing to my quote, the Client accepts these terms and conditions unless otherwise stipulated in writing.

Payment

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all fees are payable in GBP by bank transfer within 30 days of invoice to the Client.
I reserve the right to charge interest on overdue invoices in accordance with the terms set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended and supplemented by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002.

Storage of work

Unless otherwise agreed, I will keep files on my system up to a maximum of six (6) years. If you want me to delete the files from all systems at an earlier date, please advise and I will happily do so. While working on files, I may use password-protected cloud-based back-up storage; however, if you would rather I don’t do this with your files, let me know and I will back up the files on an external drive. I do not guarantee that I will store a copy of the completed work once it has been returned.
I do not pass work or Client details to third parties. The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client and its contractors without prior written permission.

As a sole trader, to fulfil my legal obligations to HMRC (the UK tax authority), I need your name and address for my invoice; if the company/organisation you are working for is to pay, I need the address of their accounts department. This is the only personal information I will request and the data will only be used on the invoice. I have to keep these invoices for seven (7) years for tax purposes but if after that period you want me to delete the details, please get in touch. Your details will also be stored in the email you sent to me, but will not be put into a database, will not be passed to any third parties and will not be used for any marketing purposes by me.

Terms of work

The Client will pay the fee quoted and will receive the work as per the agreed schedule unless:

on receipt of the file or at an early stage, it becomes apparent that significantly more work is required than had been anticipated in the preliminary discussion/brief, in which case I may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline or choose not to proceed with the work;
during the work, additional tasks are requested by the Client, in which case I may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.

Cancellation/Amendment of schedule

If I have blocked out time for work for the Client and the Client cancels the work or changes the schedule within 5 working days of the original schedule’s due start, I reserve the right to charge for some or all of the time.

Liability/Responsibility

I do my utmost to ensure all files are correct and free of errors; however, I can offer no guarantee of this. I cannot be held responsible for direct, indirect or consequential losses or costs incurred by any errors remaining in your work, be they factual or related to spelling or grammar. Responsibility, liability and copyright for the file rest with the Client.
In no way do I endorse the contents of Client files and do not assume responsibility for any threatening, libellous or obscene material contained therein, any infringement of third-party intellectual property rights arising therefrom, any crime facilitated thereby or any subsequent use thereof upon completion of work by me.

Acknowledgements

I do not want to be acknowledged in the work unless agreed in writing in advance. With e-publications, if I am acknowledged and the Client goes on to amend the publication, all mention of my name and input must be removed.

Jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions are governed, interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and therefore shall be subject to exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts without reference to rules governing choice of laws.

Privacy Policy

I, Peter Haigh, am registered as a sole trader, operating as Technical Editorial, offering freelance editing, copy-editing and proofreading services to a variety of clients.

This privacy policy describes what data I require and how I use it to show how I am compliant with GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulations in force from 25 May 2018.

This privacy policy was last updated on 9 April 2018.

What information do I collect from you and why?

When you contact me, I request the following:

your name
your email address for me to respond to you
project details and sample (though sometimes this is not provided at this stage)

If we agree to work together, I collect the following additional information:

postal address to be used on invoices to fulfil my contractual obligations to HMRC (the UK tax authority)
file(s) required for the work

Where do I store the data?

Emails are stored on my password-protected email account. I do not have an external address book.

Files are stored on my password-protected Dropbox account, though if you do not want me to do this, I can store the work files on my computer's hard disk until I have returned the work and can then delete it when you ask me to.

How long do I keep the data for?

Your personal data, i.e. name and address, is kept for a minimum of seven years to comply with my obligations to HMRC, the UK tax authority.

Unless requested otherwise, I will keep your files for seven years. Ask me if you would prefer me to delete them sooner and I will. I can also provide proof of deletion.

Do I share your data?

Unless I am subjected to a tax audit by HMRC, I will not share your data with anyone. Ever.

If you agree to provide a testimonial for my website, I will include the name and details you provide.

I do not subcontract work, nor do I discuss your project with third parties or on the internet/social media without prior permission. If I cannot take on a project, I might provide details of other editors or proofreaders for you to contact and I might pass on the details you shared with me to them.

I use Google Analytics to track traffic volume to my website and to see what search terms are being used. I do not place cookies on your computer, nor do I use any paid-for Google advertising features to gain obtain any of your personal data.