Terms and conditions

Last updated: 27/1/2026

Terms and Conditions

These terms and conditions may be altered or updated at any time. It is your responsibility as the client to ensure you have read the latest terms and agree to them before each contract you sign with GTProofreading.

By agreeing to these terms and conditions, you are also accepting my privacy policy.

General

The terms I, me, my, or GTProofreading, refer to me, Gemma Taylor, trading as GTProofreading.

The terms you, your, or the client, refer to you, the client, or any person, organisation or company accessing or contacting me on your behalf, via my website, associated social media, email or phone.

The term document refers to any written text you provide for consideration of work to GTProofreading. This could be hard copy (examples: on paper, either printed or handwritten), or soft copy (examples: word document, pdf, powerpoint, published website).

The term project refers to any piece of work I work on for you.

The following terms and conditions apply to any work done by GTProofreading for the client.

Services and projects

I provide service(s) as mutually agreed in writing.

I carry out work unsupervised at times and places of my choosing, using my own equipment.

You are under no obligation to offer me work, nor am I under any obligation to accept work offered by you.

All work is carried out by me alone; I do not subcontract projects out to third parties.

I reserve the right to decline any work offered to me if it is deemed to be plagiarised, obscene, inflammatory, illegal, or offensive.

I reserve the right to decline work, whether due to a lack of availability, the document is not ready for my services, or I do not wish to take on the work. I do not have to provide a reason in such circumstances.

If I cannot take on a project, I will delete any connected samples or documents sent to me.

Following my evaluation of the material to be worked on I will advise the client how long the job will take. I will agree with the client the date by which they should provide the project material to me, and the latest date by which I will return the project.

I work to your style guide to ensure the document keeps your style, voice and branding, or use a suitable one of my own choice if you cannot provide one.

I do not work on projects that require translating or formatting.

My preferred file type is MS Word document.

Files are transferred by email.

I do not use AI, but I do use digital tools, including: Microsoft 365 Word (for proofreading and editing your documents, and secure cloud storage), Google search (for checking facts), Squarespace (for initial enquiries, project management and invoicing), Stripe (as payment processor/invoicing), Fastmail (for email communications), online dictionaries and style guides (to research and check details whilst proofreading). You can read my privacy policy for more detail.

All clients are required to adhere to the following process when using GTProofreading services:

·        Obtain a quote by providing a sample with your quote request form.

·        Complete a booking form and sign your contract (paying a deposit where necessary).

·        Provide the document, and style guide, as agreed on time.

·        Check the returned document and sign the completion form.

·        Pay your invoice.

If you enter into a contract with me, you are agreeing to provide documents, complete and sign forms, and pay invoices in a timely manner within deadlines stated in the contract and these terms and conditions.

Copyright and data protection

Any content you provide to me is owned by you, as is the copyright to it.

Any work I do for you becomes your copyright, unless agreed otherwise.

Therefore, I cannot be held liable for any claims regarding copyright or trademark infringements made against you.

All documents and projects I work on for you are kept confidential.

I do not share your details, documents or projects with any third parties, unless required to legally by HMRC or court investigations.

Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (GDPR), I may collect and keep on record information from you. I only collect and keep legally necessary information to help me do my job.

Communications are made digitally by email. I keep a record of email conversations for the duration of the project.

Please read my privacy policy.

Guarantees and responsibilities

I guarantee that you will receive a high standard of proofreading service, however I cannot guarantee a 100% error-free document every single time. It is your responsibility as the client to review my work before using it.

I am committed to a programme of continual professional development.

If I have misunderstood the intended meaning of the document, you are responsible for letting me know so that I can make corrections. If I have made a clear basic mistake, this will be corrected in my own time and at my own expense.

I provide clear instructions when correcting errors or making improvements, but it is your responsibility as to whether these changes are accepted.

You are solely responsible for the final use and content of the document.

I accept no liability for any project I work on, including legal action arising from factual inaccuracy or defamatory information.

I do not guarantee any material gains and will not be liable for any kind of losses or damages.

I hold comprehensive insurance which covers me and all my work.

If you have a query or complaint, please contact me so I can deal with the problem and sort things out.

Quotes and bookings

I have a minimum fee of £20 for all projects.

Large projects (over 10,000 words) are subject to a 25% deposit (minimum £20). This is payable with your booking contract, and will be deducted from your final invoice. Deposits are non-refundable.

All fees include one pass of the document, plus minor amendments if returned within three days for correction. Additional passes will be charged separately.

Requests for urgent deadlines and short turnarounds, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays, will be charged at a higher rate, advised on an individual basis.

If it becomes clear that significantly more work is required than previously expected, or if you request further work, once I have started on a project, I reserve the right to renegotiate the fee and deadline with you.

To obtain a quote I will need to see a sample of your document.

Each document is quoted individually. I will advise a fee based on my evaluation of the amount of work needed, the time it will take, and the size, style and type of the document.

Once you accept a quote and I have discussed and agreed all details with you, I will issue a booking contract form. Once signed, this binds you into the contract. Please see below for cancellations.

Fees and payments

I confirm that I am self-employed, am responsible for my own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and will not claim benefits granted to the client’s employees.

I am not VAT-registered.

You will pay me a fee per hour OR per thousand words OR an agreed flat rate, as agreed in writing in the signed contract form.

I will agree with the client, any additional expenses that you need to reimburse me for (inclusive but not limited to: travelling to meetings, postage).

I will issue an invoice upon completion of the project.

Unless agreed otherwise in your contract, all invoices must be paid within 7 days.

If a project is lengthy, I may invoice in stages.

If in the unlikely event you experience an unexpected difficulty or force majeure that affects payment, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss how to proceed.

Payment of invoice is though Stripe, where you can choose your payment method.

Cancellation policy

Both the client and I have the right to cancel the contract at any time if there is a serious breach of its terms.

If in the unlikely event you experience an unexpected difficulty or force majeure that affects your ability to provide the contracted work to me, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss how to proceed with the cancellation.

Once booked (contract signed):

·        Cancelling up to one month before the start date incurs no charge (any deposit paid will not be refunded).

·        Cancelling up to one week before the start date will incur the minimum fee charge of £20 (any deposit paid will not be refunded).

·        Cancelling once work has already begun will incur a charge based pro-rata on the work already done OR a minimum of 50% of the original agreed fee OR the minimum fee of £20 (any deposit paid will not be refunded).

All cancellations must be in writing and also confirmed in writing by GTProofreading.

If in the unlikely event, I experience an unexpected difficulty or force majeure that affects me being able to carry out my scheduled work for you, I will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and arrange a new timescale if appropriate. Otherwise, I will provide a full refund of any fees already paid, and offer a discount for your next project.

Acknowledgements

You do not have to mention my name in any projects, but if you would like to, please ask my permission first. You agree to let me review any such mention prior to publication.

I may use the client’s name and project in my promotional and marketing material unless you request otherwise.

I may use testimonials, feedback, reviews or comments made by clients in my promotional and marketing material unless otherwise requested.

Legal jurisdiction

This agreement is subject to the laws of England and Wales, and both you, the client, and GTProofreading agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.

The exclusive venue for any arbitration or court proceeding based on or arising out of this Agreement shall be Leicestershire, England.