Terms & Conditions

Scope and status

The terms and conditions herein apply to any work done for the client by Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services (part of Robert B. Davis OÜ), which is also referred to in this document as “we”, “our” and “us”.

The client is not obliged to offer us work and similarly neither are we under any obligation to accept work offered by the client.

The client is strongly advised to read these terms and conditions carefully as they must agree to having read, understood and accepted these upon submitting a document for proofreading to Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services.


Services and costs

Payment for our proofreading services is considered agreement for proofreading work to be done.

The minimum cost of a single job is €10.00 (excluding VAT), regardless of word count or turnaround time requested.

The work will be carried out at times and places as determined by Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services, using Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services’ own equipment.

Completed work will be provided with all changes or suggested changes clearly marked.

The client will pay Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services a fee based on the word count and requested turnaround time for the work as stated on the Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services website.

The word count is done by Robert B Davis Proofreading Services on receipt of a submitted document and all words in the submitted document are considered in need of proofreading.

It is the client's responsibility to submit only text that needs checking. Anything submitted will be charged for.

A deadline for the completion of the work will be received with receipt of payment and the turnaround time for work will be based on this and not the document submission time and date.

The completed work will be delivered on or before the date agreed, unless the client is otherwise informed.

If it becomes apparent that significantly more time is required than had been anticipated following payment, Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services will contact the client to renegotiate the deadline and a partial refund.

If additional tasks are requested by the client, then these are considered to be separate jobs and will be treated as such, even if related to a previously submitted document.

If additional work on the same document is required after the work is completed, up to 10 sentences can be considered via email free of charge as long as a reference number relating to the original submission is provided. We will cross-check such sentences with the previously submitted document. Anything more than 10 sentences must be resubmitted as a separate job and we recommend only problematic parts of the document be sent.


Terms of payment

100% of the invoice fee must be paid in order for proofreading to commence. Along with receipt of payment via email, the expected completion date for the work will be stated.

A payment due date will be indicated on the invoice and should be adhered to. Failure to pay may result in a fine for delayed payment

All work is subject to VAT (20%) for clients within Estonia (with a VAT number or not). For other EU countries, unless a VAT number for your business is provided, you must pay VAT. For clients outside the EU, the work is not subject to VAT.

Refunds for completed documents will not be given.

Refunds cannot be negotiated for text included in a submitted document that, following commencement of proofreading work, the client later decides does not or did not need checking. This includes, for example, references, tables, and directly quoted passages.

Partial refunds are negotiated in cases where more time is required than had been anticipated regardless of the reasons for this.


Termination of work

If the client wishes to cancel their arrangement with Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services following payment this will not result in a full refund. A refund may be obtained, but will be subject to how close to the expected completion date the work is.

Either the client or Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services has the right to terminate the proofreading of a document if there is a serious breach of terms and conditions.


Liability and errors

Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services aims to provide an accurate and reliable proofreading service. While aiming to provide the best service possible, we guarantee a high standard but not 100% accuracy (simply because of human error) and very occasionally we may miss an error.

Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services cannot be held responsible for direct, indirect, special or consequential losses or costs incurred by any errors remaining in your work, be they factual or grammatical. The final responsibility for complete accuracy of your document remains with you.

Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services will not be held liable for errors or omissions caused by your failure to communicate your requirements clearly.

Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform any obligation under these terms and conditions and both parties shall be released from their respective obligations if the delay or failure is caused by any circumstances beyond both parties’ reasonable control, including, but not limited to: fire, explosion, flood, war (or similar events such as national emergency or civil unrest), industrial disputes, technical failure, or any other similar event that renders the performance of obligations impossible.

In the case of illness or sudden unforeseen unavailability of the Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services' proofreader responsible for a particular document, Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services will notify the client as soon as possible and offer these choices: a) an extended deadline with a partial refund based on time lost, b) cancellation of work and a total refund, or c) the partially completed document, with a partial refund.

Each of the paragraphs of these terms and conditions operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services reserves the right to change the terms and conditions at any time without notice and without liability arising from such an action. Your use of our website and services will be deemed as acceptance of any amended terms and conditions.

It is recommended that you regularly check the terms and conditions, particularly when submitting a new document for proofreading. Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services has complete discretion to modify or remove any part of the website without warning and without any liability arising from such an action.

Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services reserves the right to alter pricing without notice, although any prices previously confirmed will remain valid and work already being undertaken will not be affected.

If you are a student, we recommend that you check that the use of a proofreading service is permitted by your academic institution before engaging our services and, if so, whether it is a requirement that this be referenced in your work. Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services will not check your academic institution’s policy on proofreading and accept no liability if you fail to make adequate enquiries.

Plagiarism and breach of copyright are very serious offences and there are usually severe penalties if plagiarism or breaches of copyright are proved to exist in your work. Avoiding plagiarism remains your responsibility at all times. Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services does not check your document for any possible plagiarism issues.

If Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services has evidence to suggest that you are guilty of plagiarism, then we can immediately terminate the contract and refuse to do further work for you and your fee will not be refunded.

The success of your final document, whatever its purpose, is not within Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services’ control. We cannot be held legally responsible for lack of success relating to a document that we return. While we aim to ensure that your work is free from errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and syntax, and is consistent in style and formatting, we cannot guarantee that using our proofreading service will guarantee success.


Confidentiality

The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the client without prior written permission.

Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services does not subcontract to others.

Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services may use the client’s name and institution in promotional material, but only after first gaining the client’s express consent.


Data protection and website cookies

We will use the personal information you provide us with, to provide the proofreading service, to process payment for proofreading services and inform you about similar products or services that we provide, but you may stop receiving these at any time by contacting us.

The website of Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services uses cookies that allow us to see how the site is used. The cookies cannot identify you. If you continue to use this site, Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services will assume that you are happy with this.

You agree that you will not use the Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services website for illegal purposes and will respect all applicable laws and regulations. You agree not to use the website in a way that may impair the performance, corrupt the content or otherwise reduce the overall functionality of the website. You also agree not to compromise the security of the website or attempt to gain access to secured areas or sensitive information.