1. Statement of Agreement

2. Scope of Services

3. Confidentiality

4. Turnaround

5. Submitting Work Orders

6. Content

7. Image Formats & Design Quality

8. Transcription Audio/Video Formats

9. Document Formatting

10. Proofreading/Revisions

11. Making Payments

12. Balance Due

13. Delivery

14. Discounts

15. Refunds/Termination

16. Storage

17. Testimonials

18. Disclaimer

 

I. Statement of Agreement. The Client agrees that all contact information and information about a work order submitted to MELANIE WEST and her team (hereinafter referred to as “MELANIE”) is accurate to the best of his or her knowledge. The Client agrees to abide by all terms of service as listed in this document and on MELANIE’s website(s). The terms of this written agreement supersede all other agreements between MELANIE and the Client, whether verbal or otherwise, unless MELANIE signs and approves an amendment in a special case. MELANIE may update these terms of service in the future. It is the responsibility of the Client to stay up to date with the terms of service by periodically checking the website for updates and viewing this terms page. Any terms modifications can be found on the main website and/or MELANIE will notify clients in writing. The Client agrees to pay MELANIE the full quoted price for any and all work performed on his or her own or his or her company’s behalf when payments are due.

 

II. Scope of Services. All services are administered by MELANIE, her officers, contractors, and/or employees according to the Client's specifications on or shortly after the agreed upon deadline. Design services include one (1) design layout (unless otherwise requested for a small additional fee), one (1) digital PDF proof (before printing, if applicable), and the finished product/image files (digitally or in print, where applicable). Document Services include proofreading (See "Proofreading/Revisions" section). Both Document Services and Design Services include up to three (3) minor revisions at the Client’s request (See "Proofreading/Revisions" section). MELANIE is not for hire for unlimited revisions and maintenance of design projects, nor for any ongoing contract arrangements, but fulfills each request on a per-project basis.

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III. Confidentiality. Client contact information and the contents of Client documents will be kept confidential, and any materials submitted by Clients will be returned to the Client, stored for future use as needed or destroyed at the Client's request. However, completed designs, which may contain Client contact information, may be used as samples in marketing materials and on MELANIE’s website(s) for promotional purposes. Please see our website Privacy Policy for other security measures by which we abide.

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IV. Turnaround. Standard turnaround is 5-7 business days for all jobs, with a 3-day grace period (See “Discounts” section). Delivery time varies when printing is included. RUSH jobs, if accepted, will incur additional charges. Turnaround time for RUSH jobs is 1-3 business days. Turnaround times for document services are based on a certain predetermined number of words submitted and/or lengths of recordings. Standard turnaround time for transcription is based on 5 hours of audio or less. Standard turnaround time for word processing is based on 75,000 words or less. For bulk orders that exceed our standard turnaround audio length or word count limit, we will call or email you with an estimated delivery date based on other pending work orders and our staff availability on a case by case basis. Please call or email us regarding any bulk orders (75,001+ words or 5+ hours of audio) prior to submitting the Document Services Request Form. Sometimes our workload is too great to accept work orders or to complete them in our standard time frame or otherwise. We will let you know in advance if yours is a special case such as this. If MELANIE exceeds the agreed turnaround for delivery of completed work, Client may be entitled to discounts and other relief (See “Discounts” section).

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V. Submitting Work Orders. Forms (Document Services Request Form, Design Services Request Form, Technical Services Request Form and Kreative Products Order Form) are provided to submit the details of Client projects and orders, which Client must complete and submit in order to obtain a price quote and before the work can begin.

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VI. Content. Client agrees to NOT submit documents, files, images, text, video, or audio that may contain profanity, nudity, vulgarity, or offensive material.
 

VII. Image Formats & Design Quality. Client understands that any pictures submitted to MELANIE for inclusion in a design or “kreative” project must be of excellent quality (preferably 300 dpi or studio quality) to produce a great finished product, minimizing distortions, pixelation, etc. Service may be refused if submitted images are substandard and could negatively affect finished product.

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VIII. Transcription Audio/Video Formats. Client agrees and understands that MELANIE only transcribes audio/video that fits the following description: 1) Any well-recorded source consisting of 3 speakers or less (i.e., single-person dictation, one-on-one interview, 3-way phone call, etc.) recorded in popular digital audio or video formats; 2) Audio whose speakers have little or no accents and speak very clearly; AND 3) Audio that can be transmitted via the internet (we no longer transmit or receive audio/video items via mail or courier). Note: Depending on sound quality, your audio/video requests may or may not be accepted.

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IX. Document Formatting. MELANIE uses a default format for some document types, which will be used for Client documents unless the Client clearly states otherwise or provides his/her own formatting guidelines or templates (in Microsoft Word).

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X. Proofreading/Revisions. Service includes up to three (3) minor revisions at the Client’s request prior to final approval (This includes fixing typos and grammatical errors; color changes; and resizing, rearranging and replacing images and text). Requesting multiple changes all at once counts as one (1) revision. As a rule of thumb, anytime MELANIE is required to re-access files to make new changes counts as a single revision, so it is best to send all corrections and/or additions at once to avoid additional charges. [For example: If you send typo corrections in the morning, followed by a color change that evening, followed by an image replacement the next day; you will have used up all three (3) of your allowed revisions.] Additional revisions beyond this (as well as future revisions to stored files [See “Storage” section]) are charged by the hour ($40 base minimum covers up to an hour, then $40 per hour thereafter). MELANIE is not for hire for unlimited revisions and maintenance of design projects, nor for any ongoing contract arrangements, but fulfills each request on a per-project basis.

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For Document Services (except proofreading-only jobs), all documents will be proofread by MELANIE upon completion of work at no extra charge; but it is the responsibility of the Client to note and/or make any and all final changes. MELANIE will not rephrase or reword your documents unless you grant permission to do so, but only grammar, format and punctuation will be corrected.

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XI. Making Payments. Clients must pay 1/2 of the quoted price for work orders up front once a work order is submitted, and the remaining balance will be due on the day of work completion in most cases (except in the case of Design Packages, which require 3/4 of the quoted price up front, or where otherwise noted in these terms) . Payments may only be made via credit cards, debit cards, and electronic checks via PayPal online; via Cashapp (upon approval); or in cash (in special cases). PayPal handles all of our online money transactions, so please send payments to melsdesignspace@yahoo.com using this secure service. Sorry, no personal checks.

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XII. Balance Due. Immediately following job completion, an invoice, payment link or Cashapp request will be submitted to the Client for the balance due. The final payment is required before the final design or document is submitted to the Client with the watermark removed. Only in special circumstances, in which there is a written agreement between both parties stating that payment can be made at a later specified time, will payments be allowed and received after the design or document is completed and returned to the Client in final form with the watermark removed. Any Clients who breach the service agreement by failure to pay any remaining balances will no longer receive our services until the balance is paid, and any future service requests will have to be paid for in full prior to our doing the work. Delinquent accounts with balances beyond 30 days may be turned over to collections and/or legal action taken, as failure to pay is a breach of our service agreement.

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XIII. Delivery. Delivery of completed documents will be returned via email or the internet, and completed designs (when printing is involved) will be returned to the Client via regular mail, courier or hand delivered (in special cases). Discussion about projects must be by email (preferred) or phone (by appointment only).

  

XIV. Discounts. If Client's work is not completed within 3 days after the agreed upon deadline, he/she is entitled to a 10% discount (on monies paid) on that assignment. If the Client is willing to allow more time to complete his or her work past the 3-day grace period, due to conditions out of MELANIE's control, this 10% discount will suffice. Otherwise, MELANIE will return Client's materials and any partially complete work, and issue this Client a 15% partial refund on monies already paid and a 15% discount entitlement for the next service request by this Client, if any. Any discounts that the Client is qualified for will already be reflected in the quoted price prior to starting a Client's work order.

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XV. Refunds/Termination. MELANIE reserves the right to decline or terminate service at her discretion for any reason. MELANIE has the right to reject any bad audio, video, documents or images that might result in the following: 1) a difficult or impossible job completion process or 2) the inability of MELANIE's equipment and/or resources to handle and allow for efficient completion of the project. In such cases, MELANIE will contact the Client and discuss this discrepancy and a possible increased rate. Clients will be notified right away when work is finished and ready for delivery, or if service has been declined.

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Either party may terminate this Agreement for a particular work order by giving written notice (by designated email) to the other party within 24 hours after any required files, down payments, and materials are delivered to and received by MELANIE. In the event of termination on the Client's part for any reason, the Client will be charged a $10 handling fee, or 2% of the total cost of the work order, whichever is greater; but all other monies paid to MELANIE for this work order will be refunded in full, less any shipping and delivery charges. If MELANIE terminates this agreement or returns Client materials at her own choosing prior to completing the job for reasons other than bad audio, illegible handwriting, unclear Client instructions, or a Client's noncompliance with any other terms of our agreement, the Client will be entitled to a $10 credit or 2% of the total cost of the work order, whichever is greater, towards the Client’s next work order, if any; and all monies paid to MELANIE for this work order will be refunded in full, less any shipping and delivery charges. If termination by MELANIE is due to a Client’s noncompliance with any terms of service, the Client will be charged a $10 handling fee, or 2% of the total cost of the work order, whichever is greater; and all other monies returned to the Client, less any shipping and delivery charges.

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In the unlikely event that MELANIE is unable to complete a work order for any reason after this 24-hour period, the Client will be notified immediately and arrangements made to have the Client's materials and any partially completed work returned (MELANIE will pay for return delivery, if applicable). The Client will only be responsible for paying for any charges that have accrued up to that point on the work order ($40 hourly rate for design jobs will apply here), and any monies overpaid will be refunded in full, less any shipping and delivery charges. Client will also be entitled to a $10 credit or 2% of the total cost of the work order, whichever is greater, towards the Client’s next work order, if any.

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Any issues the Client may have with the finished product should be addressed prior to final approval and final payment; once Client has reviewed the final product, final payment is due. Payment in full at the completion of service is evidence that a Client is satisfied with his or her work and, therefore, will not be refunded.  When full payment is made up front, you must indicate your approval of the finished project in writing via email once your design proof is received.

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XVI. Storage. Client files will be stored on file up to 90 days following job completion in case any revisions need to be made. If any necessary corrections are not submitted within this time frame, MELANIE will not be able to make the changes for you, and MELANIE will not be held liable for any inconvenience this may cause. Revisions requested after final approval/final payment of a job – or in the future to stored files – will be billed at the $40 hourly rate ($40 base minimum).

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XVII. Testimonials. Any testimonials or wording transmitted by a Client or his or her company online or offline, which clearly praises the service received from MELANIE, may be used on MELANIE's website(s) or in marketing materials. No personal contact information will be disclosed, except for the Client's first name, last name initial, company name (if applicable), city, and state. 

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XVIII. Disclaimer. While we strive for a smooth process, excellent service and 100% accuracy (for document services) when the Client abides by all terms, the Client agrees that MELANIE, her officers, contractors and employees will not be held liable for damaged/deleted/lost files (the Client must save a back-up copy), typographical omissions and errors, printing errors, postal mail and shipping delays (and other situations out of MELANIE's control), nor any damages that may result from any of these. Client agrees that it is his or her responsibility to confirm the accuracy of a transcript, document, or design before any portion of a transcript, document, or design is published or printed and will not list or imply MELANIE, her officers, contractors or any employees as a defendant in any litigation or ongoing legal cases. In the unlikely event litigation is commenced between the parties of this Agreement, the party prevailing shall be entitled, in addition to other relief, to a reasonable sum for attorney's fees.