TERMS & CONDITIONS
BB collaboration requirements
TERMS & CONDITIONS
With mutual respect & trust, together we will go far . . .
BLACKBIRD BERATUNG CLIENTS
1. Acceptance of These Terms and Conditions
As a Blackbird Beratung client and user of Online English Editing services provided by our Freelance Editing Consultants, you agree to comply with and be bound by the following Terms and Conditions. Together with our Privacy Policy and Non-Disclosure Agreement, these Terms and Conditions govern Blackbird Beratung’s relationship with you and the https://www.blackbird-beratung.de website.
The term ‘Blackbird Beratung’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ or ‘our’ refers to the Freelance Consultants, Linda Rethwisch, M.A. and Kira Knoll, M.A. Ms. Rethwisch’s Freelance Consultant Tax ID number is 238 209 20449. Ms. Knoll’s Freelance Consultant Tax ID number is 220 237 80813.
The owner responsible for the website ‘Blackbird Beratung.de’ content according to § 55 Abs. 2 RStV is Linda Rethwisch, M.A. Maxtorgraben 45, 90409 Nuremberg, Germany.
Your access to and use of https://www.blackbird-beratung.de (hereafter referred to as “this Website”) and agreement to purchase our Online English Editing Services (hereafter referred to as “our Services”) is subject exclusively to these Terms and Conditions. You will not use this Website or our Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms and Conditions. By using this Website and our Services, you fully accept the terms, conditions, and disclaimers contained in these Terms and Conditions. If you do not accept these Terms and Conditions, you must immediately stop using this Website and our services.
2. Advice
The content of this Website and our Services do not constitute advice and should not be relied upon in making, or refraining from making, any decision.
3. Change of Use
Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants reserve the right to:
3.1 change or remove (whether temporarily or permanently) this Website or any part thereof without notice, and you confirm that Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants shall not be liable to you for any such change or removal; and
3.2 change these Terms and Conditions at any time. Your continued use of this Website and our Services following any such changes shall be deemed to be your acceptance of such changes.
4. Viruses and Malware
While we employ antivirus software and endeavor to ensure that any files originating from this Website, or via email correspondence or any other communications with us, are free of known computer viruses, we make no warranty or guarantee that such files are virus-free. We strongly encourage recipients to check all emails, attachments, and other files before accessing them, and any and all risk of virus contamination remains the sole responsibility of the recipient.
5. Privacy Policy and Confidentiality
We respect the privacy of your personal information. Your personal information will not be passed on to any third party. Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants will endeavor to keep all submitted information and files strictly confidential. However, online communications carry inherent risk; therefore, the security of your files remains your sole responsibility.
Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants employ third-party software, including, but not limited to, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Publisher, InDesign, Gmail, Google Analytics, Google Docs, Google Email, United Domains Webmail, and Asana. While this software is considered secure, Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants cannot be held liable for any security breaches or other issues that the providers or users of such software may experience. Client files are automatically deleted from our online system 21 days from the date of return to the client. It is possible that copies of the files will still be on a local USB drive longer than this timeframe. Please contact us if you wish for us to ensure the local saves are also deleted within 21 days.
To ensure client confidentiality, all Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants agree to work under a Non-disclosure Agreement and maintain the security and confidentiality of all client documents, including but not limited to non-disclosure of client documents and the deletion of all copies of client documents after 21 days of the date of return of such documents.
If you would like a copy of our Non-disclosure Agreement, please contact us at info@blackbird-beratung.de or visit https://www.blackbird-beratung.de/non-disclosureagreement.
Please note: With extremely sensitive material, you should think twice before sending it to Blackbird Beratung. Blackbird Beratung cannot be held liable for the leaking of any material in any shape or form.
Blackbird Beratung Freelance Consultants accept no liability for individual editors’ non-adherence to or breach of their contractual obligations. Our full Privacy Policy and Non-disclosure Agreement should be read in conjunction with these Terms and Conditions and can be accessed on our website: https://www.blackbird-beratung.de.
6. Links to Third-Party Websites
This Website and our Services may include links to third-party websites that are controlled and maintained by others. Links to third-party websites do not constitute endorsements of such websites, and you acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the content, availability, or security of any such third-party websites.
7. Copyright
All copyright and trademarks and all other intellectual property rights in this Website and its content (including, without limitation, the design, text, and graphics, and all software and source code connected with this Website) (together, the “Content”) are owned by or licensed to Linda Rethwisch, M.A., Blackbird Beratung Founder and Freelance Editing Consultant, or otherwise used by Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants as permitted by law.
7.1 In accessing this Website and our Services, you agree that you will access the Content solely for your personal, non-commercial use. None of the Content may be downloaded, copied, reproduced, transmitted, stored, sold, or distributed without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. This excludes the downloading, copying, and/or printing of pages of this Website or our Services for personal, non-commercial, home use only.
8. Services
Blackbird Beratung is an online consulting service that copyedits or proofreads your English writing projects. It is essential to us that you know what to expect and what we deliver.
When sending content to Blackbird Beratung, we will review it and email you a preliminary and final price quote based on the editing you request (copy editing or proofreading). All quotes are non-binding.
We work from a standardized set of editing guidelines for each editing service.
8.1 Copy Editing
Copy Editing corrects grammatical errors and improves the flow and readability of your text or project. Blackbird Beratung Copy Editing includes line-by-line text evaluation of language use, descriptive consistency, grammar, and tense handling. It also includes identification of incorrect word usage and odd phrasing, improvement of sentence structure and text flow, rewrite recommendations, and proofreading services (see below: 8.2 Proofreading).
8.2 Proofreading
Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process that identifies minor errors and polishes your text or project. Blackbird Beratung proofreading of your text includes a review of the layout, color consistency, and image labeling of your text; examining headings, sub-headings, pagination, indentation, and fonts; punctuation corrections; and the identification of typos, missing words, and capitalization errors.
9. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability
This Website and our Services are provided on an AS IS and AS AVAILABLE basis without any representation or endorsement made, and without warranty of any kind including a guarantee of being published, whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, and accuracy.
9.1 To the extent permitted by law, Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants will not be liable for any indirect or consequential loss or damage whatsoever (including, without limitation, loss of business, opportunity, data, or profits) arising out of or in connection with the use of this Website or our Services.
9.2 Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants make no warranty that the functionality of this Website or our Services will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that this Website or the server that makes it available is free of viruses or anything else that may be harmful or destructive.
9.3 Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall be construed so as to exclude or limit the liability of Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants for death or personal injury arising from the negligence of Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants or that of its agents.
10. Indemnity
You indemnify and hold Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants and its agents harmless from and against all liabilities, legal fees, damages, losses, costs, and other expenses in relation to any claims or actions brought against Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants arising out of any breach by you of these Terms and Conditions or any other liabilities arising out of your use of this Website or our Services.
11. Severance
If any of these Terms and Conditions should be determined to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction, then such Term or Condition shall be severed, and the remaining Terms and Conditions shall survive and remain in full force and effect and continue to be binding and enforceable.
12. Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the European Commission, and you hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the European Commission courts. The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (OS): https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. We are not willing or obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
13. Modification
We reserve the right to change any part of these Terms and Conditions without notice, and your use of this Website and our Services will be deemed to constitute your acceptance of the revised Terms and Conditions. We advise users to regularly review these Terms and Conditions. Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants have complete discretion to modify or remove any part of this Website without warning and without any liability arising from such action. By purchasing Services from Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.
14. Limited Warranty
Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants’ aim is to reduce the number of errors present in your text document. While we take reasonable measures to ensure the quality of our work, it is unlikely that it will be possible for us to remove all errors that may be present in your document. Our editors are human and therefore subject to human error. By ordering Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants’ services, you acknowledge that copy editing and proofreading is a subjective undertaking and that our Freelance Editing Consultants are capable of both forming and overlooking errors. You accept sole responsibility for the use of any version of your edited document for any purpose (e.g., publishing, submission, or printing). This includes, but is not limited to, any financial, brand, and other consequences of any such errors.
15. Limitation of Liability
In no circumstances will Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants be liable for any indirect, special, or consequential damages, including any loss of business, revenue, customers, or data, in relation to your use of this Website, our Services, or any material returned by us. Nothing within these Terms and Conditions will operate to exclude any liability for death or personal injury arising as a result of the negligence of Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants or agents. If you are dissatisfied with any Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultant material, or with any of these Terms and Conditions, your sole remedy is to discontinue using our Services. In some circumstances, refunds or partial refunds may be offered, but any such remedy is at our sole discretion.
16. Academic Liability
Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants acknowledge that the academic evaluation of work depends on considerations beyond our control. We cannot be held legally or otherwise responsible for any disappointing or unsatisfactory outcomes, howsoever arising, including as a result of the negligence or alleged negligence of our Freelance Editing Consultants.
17. Use of the Term “Guarantee” or “Guaranteed”
Use of the term “guarantee” or “guaranteed” on this website or in communications with Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants refers to our undertaking to deliver certain standards of service based on our own internal evaluations. Our “guarantee”, should we determine that we have failed to meet these standards, may be a sum equivalent to a partial or full refund, at our sole discretion, of the original amount paid by the client to engage the Service. In no circumstances will the refund of monies exceed the original fee paid for the service. Refunds and partial refunds remain at our sole discretion.
18. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement
It is your sole responsibility to ensure that the documents supplied to Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants for editing are free from plagiarism and do not infringe any copyright, trademark, patent, or proprietary right of any third party or of any other kind. If Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants identify potentially plagiarized material in the documents submitted for editing, it reserves the right to refuse services and to cancel any existing orders. Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultants shall assume no liability for any claims made against you for plagiarism or infringement of copyright, trademark, patent, or any other proprietary rights of any third party or of any other kind.
19. Purchases/Payments
Upon receipt of our editorial Blackbird Beratung Freelance Editing Consultant Quote and agreement to our Terms and Conditions and proposed Services, we require a 50% non-refundable deposit before any work will commence. The remaining 50% balance is due upon receipt of your edited project.
We accept bank transfers (Überweisungen). All payments are in EUR and are exclusive of customs duties and other taxes apart from Germany VAT (19%, as of 2021).
Your completed work will be returned to you electronically via email; no hard copies will be posted to you. It is your responsibility to ensure that you provide the correct contact details so that we can return your work. Should we encounter any difficulties in the course of completing the order that requires us to return the files to you by email, we reserve the right to do so and accept no liability for any adverse consequences or damages arising from this means of return.
20. Order Completion Times/Delivery Times
All dates and times provided for content delivery are approximate and based on previous orders of the same size. We reserve the right to extend the order deadline if the Freelance Editing Consultant believes that the document in question requires an “above average” number of amendments, which will require additional time to complete. While we make every effort to meet our stated turnaround times, in some instances, circumstances beyond our control may make it impossible to do so. Such circumstances include technical failures or unexpected changes in the personal circumstances of the responsible Freelance Editing Consultant. In ordering this service, you acknowledge that, in rare cases, an order may be delivered later than the scheduled delivery time (also listed as the “delivery time” or “turnaround time”). In such circumstances, we may offer a partial or full refund, at our sole discretion, which represents our “guarantee,” but we accept no responsibility for any damages or losses incurred due to any such late delivery.
21. Refunds
Refunds and partial refunds may be offered, at our discretion, in certain circumstances. If you are not entirely satisfied and can cite reasonable justifications, contact info@blackbird-beratung.de detailing your complaint. A full or partial refund may be agreed upon, provided you can supply valid reasons for dissatisfaction with the service you have received. We reserve the right to take action to address any concerns you may raise before offering to provide a refund. Any decisions about the nature or extent of such corrective actions or refunds remain at our sole discretion. Complaints must be submitted within 21 days of us returning the edited files. Complaints submitted at a later date cannot be evaluated by our quality control team because the files are deleted from our system in line with our security protocols; consequently, no refunds can be issued in relation to orders that are the subject of complaints after the expiry of this period.
22. Contact
If you have any questions or concerns about these Terms and Conditions, contact us at info@blackbird-beratung.de.