Terms and Conditions.

Acceptance of Terms

The Terms and Conditions outlined below are intended to avoid misunderstandings, and provide clarification in the unlikely event of a dispute. If you hire me to write for you, you confirm that you have read and agree to them. All terms and conditions apply unless otherwise agreed in writing.

 

1. Definition of terms

In these T&Cs the following words and phrases shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:-

The 'Client' means the person or company that has formally entered into the agreement.

'Rutledge Copywriting' (here shortened to RC) refers to the business entity run by freelance Copywriter Patrick Rutledge

'Proposal' means the document submitted to the Client at the beginning which includes; Scope of Work, Projected Time-frames, Quotation and T&Cs

'Quotation' means a detailed price estimate provided via email and normally contained within the proposal

'Approved copywriting brief' means the materials from which the work is to be based upon, subject to the approval of the Client.

'Urgent work' means copywriting work needed (finalised) within 7days.

'Larger projects' mean projects requiring more than 25 hours of work.

2. Quotations/Proposals

  • Before starting work on your project, I will provide a quotation with a full breakdown of costs within a formal proposal. Quotations are valid for 30 days from the submission date.

  • The proposal will include the Scope of Work, Projected Time-frames, Price Quotation, as well as T&Cs. Also included in the price are:

  • All necessary briefings on the phone / video call, and follow ups

  • Research and reading

  • Outline of the stages of work for the agreed number of pages

  • Two rounds of revisions.

  • All quotations are provided on my understanding of the project and on the basis that the scope of the work doesn’t change during the course of the job. In the event that it does, I will discuss any potential changes in costs with you in advance of carrying out the work to which the new charges relate. 

 

3. Confirmation of a project

  • Before starting work RC requires written approval of the Proposal document, payment of the 50% commencement fee (see also section 5) and written approval of the Project Brief. If necessary the Client will also provide any background material or assets. All materials provided by the Client are assumed legal and accurate.

4. Point of contact for Project.

  • The Client is asked to nominate one primary contact to centralise all revisions and contact throughout the project.

5. Fee and payment terms 

  • Jobs up to the value of €300.00 require payment in full before start of the work.

  • Jobs above €300.00 require a non-refundable commencement fee of 50% of the total quoted amount.

  • Payment is due 14 days after the final draft is delivered.

  • Payment may be made by direct bank transfer or PayPal.

  • Unless prior arrangements are made, payments not received within the specified payment terms will attract a late fee charge of 10% accruable monthly 

  • In the case of larger projects which will take longer to complete, RC may request staged payments in the quotation. Same payment terms of 14 days apply.

 

6. Rush fees 

  • Any work deemed urgent and required to take priority over other projects will be subject to a Rush Fee charged at 30% of the full fee rate of the Total Quote. 

  • If the project is deemed urgent partway through completion of the project, a Rush Fee of 30% will apply to the remaining portion of work to be completed. Rush fees are subject to a minimum 50% Engagement Fee and proof of payment (such as a payment transfer receipt) must be supplied prior to any work starting.

7. Change of scope  

  • Changes or additions to the Scope of Work set out in the proposal may be subject to additional fees (see also section 2) 

  • Where this occurs RC reserves the right to draft a new quote outlining the revised or additional Scope of Work with prices charged accordingly at an hourly rate.

 

8. Copyright and ownership 

  • It is agreed that the copyright for any work delivered to the Client remains the intellectual property of RC until all final fees have been received. 

  • Until all outstanding fees are received, the Client is prohibited from publishing, reproducing, altering or redistributing any material produced by RC 

  • Once final payment has been received the Client secures copyright to the material, however RC retains the right to use any portion of the material, including screenshots or logos, for self-promotional interests, unless the Client explicitly denies this request in writing, prior to completion of the project.

 

9. Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements

While RC agrees to sign any non-disclosure agreement or confidentiality clause the Client deems necessary, the client agrees to indemnify RC against any action resulting from the accidental disclosure or loss of this information.

10 Cancellation policy

  • The Client may terminate the job at any time. In this instance, RC shall invoice for the time spent and work completed to date and the Client will forfeit the 50% commencement fee. 

  • In the event RC is required to cancel a project, the Client will be under no obligation to make a payment for any work not completed. Any payments already made to RC will be refunded in full to the Client within 14 days. 

  • Should the Client wish to use any completed material and secure Copyright to that material, the Client may pay for all or any work completed to date in accordance with the standard payment terms.

11. Errors, Omissions and Indemnity

  • RC shall make every effort to ensure the copy is free of errors or omissions – including errors in spelling and content – but cannot warrant this. Early drafts may contain such errors but RC shall make every effort to ensure these are removed before the final draft. Any such errors that are overlooked by RC at the time of the final submission will be corrected free of charge without acceptance of liability for any costs you incurred as a result of those errors. 

  • It is the responsibility of the Client to ensure the accuracy of all content and that all information provided to, or produced by RC, is factual and correct. The Client will indemnify RC against any costs, liabilities, damages, expenses or losses incurred as a result of civil claims or proceedings brought against RC based on any work prepared for you and approved by you before publication. 

  • In the event of any breach by RC of the express obligations under these terms and conditions, your remedies will be limited to damages, which in any event, shall not exceed the fees and expenses paid by you under the Contract. 

  • Where RC has created original brand/product names or company slogans, RC will take all due care to ensure that no existing copyright or trademarks apply, however any applicable search fees will be charged to the Client.

 

12. Illness or injury policy

  • In the event of RC being unable to complete the work either through illness or injury, RC reserves the right to either outsource the work, postpone it for a set period of time or offer a partial or full refund to the Client. (see also section 8)

13. Deadlines for edits and revisions

  • All edits from the Client should be submitted within 14 days (2 weeks) after submission of first draft, unless another time frame is agreed. This will then be stated in the proposal. 

  • Two free rounds of revisions are covered in the project fee. Further revisions will be charged based on an hourly rate. 

  • If edits are not received after 21 days (3 weeks) and there has been no communication from the Client despite RC contacting the Client via the given mail address, approval of the copywriting will be assumed and the project finalised and the final invoice will be issued.

14. Project deadlines

  • The project deadline will be detailed in the quote. While every effort is made to meet this deadline, in the event of RC being unable to meet the deadline, RC will inform the Client in writing as soon as this is known.

15. Final Invoice

  • The final invoice will be issued once the Client has approved the final copy or the Client has failed to respond to the draft submission within the required time frame (see section 11)

16. Guarantees of results

  • Due to the many factors contributing to the success of a piece of copywriting, RC cannot make any guarantees as to the performance of the copy created for the Client.

  • Due to the complex nature of search engine ranking, RC cannot guarantee any specific ranking as a result of publishing optimised copywriting.

  • RC accepts no responsibility or liability for any actions taken by the Client that cause the website of the Client to be penalised or banned from any Search Engine.

     

17. Exclusions

  • The proposal doesn’t include liaising with other agents such as graphic designers or web developers unless specified, or meetings outside of the initial creative brief. Participation in meetings (onsite or remote) outside of the initial creative brief will be charged per the hourly rate. Travel time will be itemised on invoices for additional onsite meetings 

  • Any costs that are added to the services ordered (including couriers, other media and travel costs) are in addition to the amount quoted and shall be charged to the Client as required. These costs will be itemised separately in the invoice.