GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

General conditions governing procurement and provision of services.

The following clauses lay down the general conditions for the provision of services offered by Blue Translations S.L., a translation and interpretation agency with its registered address at calle San Fernando 16-2, 4º G, Santander, Cantabria (Spain), holder of Spanish Tax ID No. B39746441 and VAT No. ESB39746441. Moreover, these clauses lay down the legal framework for dealings between Blue Translations S.L. and the party contracting the services of the former, whereby it represents a legally binding agreement.

The general conditions regulated hereunder will be understood as accepted by the client from the time this party accepts a Quotation for any of the services provided by Blue Translations S.L.

Blue Translations S.L. hereby reserves the right to amend the following general conditions whenever it deems such action appropriate, simply by publishing the amended conditions on the website of Blue Translations S.L., in replacement of these conditions. These changes will not affect procurement carried out prior to publication of the amended conditions.

 

Terminology.

For the purposes of this Contract, ‘Quotation’ will be understood as the document unilaterally issued by Blue Translations S.L., specifying the offer or performance proposal by Blue Translations S.L. in response to a certain inquiry concerning the provision of services. The quotation, duly signed and stamped by the client, represents the ‘Order sheet’.

‘Contract’ is hereby understood as the written document signed by and between Blue Translations S.L. and the client, which lays down the agreed conditions under which the contracted services will be provided.

The term ‘Original documents’ is hereby understood to be whatsoever documents or files, whether on a physical or electronic medium, that the Client sends to Blue Translations S.L. to be translated, whether these documents are sent by fax, e-mail, conventional post, uploaded to a website or through FTP.

‘Translation’ or ‘Translations’ is hereby understood as the document(s) sent by Blue Translations S.L. to the client in compliance with the contract signed between both parties, and which contains the translation of the original documentation.

 

Procurement procedure.

  1. Request for quote. The client, duly specifying the services required, may request Blue Translations S.L. to prepare a quotation laying down the specific conditions governing the provision of the service for a particular project. The conditions laid down in the quotation are binding upon Blue Translations S.L. for seven calendar days, calculated from the time the quotation is issued. Under all circumstances, it will be understood that the contract for the provision of the service is executed when the order sheet is received by Blue Translations S.L., duly signed and stamped (in the event of companies) by the client, together with proof of having paid 50% of the quoted amount.
  2. Quotation acceptance by the client. In order for the quotation to be understood as accepted by the client, this party must send the order sheet to Blue Translations S.L. within the aforementioned 7-day period. This sheet must be appropriately signed and stamped (if the contracting party is a business), together with proof of having paid 50% of the quoted amounts. The contract will be understood as executed at the time when this documentation is received by Blue Translations S.L. The quotation duly signed, stamped and sent by the client likewise represents the order sheet.
  3. Acknowledgement of receiving the assignment. Blue Translations S.L. hereby undertakes to send the client acknowledgement of receipt within 24 hours from receiving the order sheet, duly signed and accompanied with proof of payment of 50% of the amount quoted. If necessary, the acknowledgement will be stamped, duly certifying receipt of said documentation.
  4. Contract language. Blue Translations offers its clients the possibility of executing valid contracts and sending and receiving documentation concerning the same -whether through an exchange of e-mails, sending of quotations, etc.-, in Spanish, English, German and Arabic.
  5. Correcting mistakes in contract details. Clients of Blue Translations may contact Blue Translations by sending a fax to +49 911 521 926 17, or an e-mail to info@blue-translations.com, for the purposes of identifying and/or requesting the correction of mistakes in data sent by Blue Translations S.L.
 

 Contract performance.

  1. Sending documentation to be translated. The original documentation, on which the contracted translation is based, must be forwarded to Blue Translations S.L., preferably together with documentation concerning acceptance of the quotation. The foregoing may be sent by fax, e-mail or uploaded to the FTP site of Blue Translations S.L.
  2. Format of the documentation to be translated. Certain formats, such as non-editable images, entail an additional workload. Therefore, if the original documentation is in one of these formats, Blue Translations S.L. may apply a surcharge proportional to the time and cost of converting it into a format in which it can be processed and translated.
  3. Delivery deadlines. The deadline for delivering the translation will be given in working days, and will start from the time that the signed and stamped order sheet is received, providing that the base documentation to be translated accompanies this order sheet. Business days will be from Monday to Friday, except for national holidays, between the hours of 9 a.m. (GMT +1) and 7 p.m. (GMT +1). Acceptances received after 7 p.m. will be understood as accepted at 9 a.m. on the next business day, for the purpose of calculating the deadline delivery date and time of the translations contracted.
  4. Delivery methods. The method of delivering the translation will be the method agreed between the parties and, in the absence thereof, the translation will be understood as validly delivered if it is sent to the e-mail address or fax number used in contract formalisation communications.
  5. Delivery of sworn (certified) translations. Sworn translations will be delivered through a courier service. The price of this will be passed on to the client. Blue Translations S.L. will not be liable for any delays in delivery of sworn translations by the company commissioned with providing this service.
  6. Rates. The price of the services contracted will be the price laid down in the quotation validly issued by Blue Translations S.L. and accepted by the client. However, in the event that the number of chargeable words has not been determined accurately, or does not match the real size of the original document, the agreed rates will be applied to the actual number of words.
  7. Invoicing. Blue Translations S.L. will send the client an invoice corresponding to the services provided. This invoice will be sent within one month from delivery of the contracted translation.
  8. Payment. The client must pay all outstanding amounts to Blue Translations S.L. (payments for the service provided less the amount paid on accepting the quotation) within a deadline of two months from delivery of the commissioned translation.
  9. Late payment. Breach of the payment deadlines laid down in the previous points will mean that the debtor automatically defaults, and must pay the corresponding default interest. In this event, there is no need for Blue Translations S.L. to provide notice of debt maturity or any payment demand whatsoever.
  10. Default interest. The default rate of interest that the debtor is obliged to pay will be the result of adding seven percentage points to the interest rate applied by the European Central Bank to its most recent major financing operation performed prior to the first day of the natural calendar six-month period in question.
  11. Compensation for collection costs. Blue Translation S.L. hereby reserves the right to claim compensation from the debtor for all duly substantiated collection. In determining these collection costs, the principles of transparency and proportionality will be applied to the main debt, and cannot exceed 15% of the amount of the debt, except in those cases in which the debt does not exceed 30,000.00 euros, in which the compensation will be set as the amount of the debt in question.
  12. Reservation of ownership. Blue Translations S.L. will retain ownership over the intellectual property rights of the translations carried out until full payment of the price agreed for the translations has been received.
  13. Filing the contract. Blue Translations S.L. will proceed to file and keep the documentation related to the contracts executed, and this documentation will not be available to clients on the website of Blue Translations S.L.

 

Contract cancellation.

Acceptance of the quotation by the client entails the obligation to make full payment of the same, even if this is subsequently cancelled. Only in those cases in which the deadline stipulated for the provision of the service exceeds 48 hours, and providing the cancellation has been carried out within this deadline, could there be a reduction in the amount payable by the client. Under no circumstances will this reduction reach 50% of the amount agreed and paid on accepting the quotation and, under all circumstances, the client must pay for the work already performed if this exceeds the amount paid. In this event, Blue Translations S.L. will send the client a copy of the works carried out.

 

Quality in service provision.

  1. Quality. Blue Translations S.L. hereby warrants that the translations will be carried out by professional translators who, guided by the principles of faithfulness and concordance with the original document, and employing a suitable level of technical precision, perform top quality translations. However, Blue Translations cannot guarantee a completely error-free translation. Consequently, Blue Translations S.L. will correct the following mistakes free of charge: omissions, spelling and grammar mistakes, or failure to include terms from the glossaries or references provided.
  2. Correcting mistakes in the original documents. Blue Translations S.L. is not obliged to correct the mistakes, omissions or other faults that may exist in the original documents sent by the client, unless there was a previous agreement for Blue Translations S.L. to review the original text.
  3. Terminology predetermined by the client. Should the client want specific terminology to be used in the commissioned translation, the corresponding reference document or glossaries must be provided together with the original documentation to be translated. Otherwise the translator will use the terminology considered most appropriate.
  4. Checking the translation. Blue Translations S.L. gives its clients ten working days to check the translation, calculated from the receipt thereof. If there is any disagreement with the content or quality of the translation, the client must notify this in writing to Blue Translations S.L. within the aforementioned deadline, giving full details of the reasons for disagreement. Blue Translations S.L. hereby undertakes to analyse and respond in a reasoned way to any such notification and, if appropriate, correct any flaws in the translation at no cost whatsoever to the client.

 

Obligations of the client

  1. Quality of the original documents. The client must make sure that the documents sent are of sufficient quality to enable easy reading of the same, and that they have an appropriate level of syntax and spelling.
  2. Intellectual property rights of the original documents. By procuring the translation service, the client is treated by Blue Translations S.L. as the assumed holder or licensee of the intellectual property rights that enable translation of the texts sent. The client therefore accepts liability for ensuring that the translation or use thereof does not infringe third-party copyright, patents or trademarks.

 

Liability of Blue Translations S.L.

  1. Exclusions. Blue Translations S.L. does not answer for any negative consequences caused to the client through delay in delivery, when this stems from acts or omissions by the client or which are a consequence of force majeure.
  2. Liability. Blue Translations S.L. is subject to the regulations laid down in the Spanish legal system to regulate contractual and extra-contractual liability as a consequence of its business activity.

 

Non-disclosure.

  1. Non-dissemination. Blue Translations S.L. treats the information, documents and data supplied to this party within the framework of the contractual relationship as confidential. Consequently, this party undertakes not to disseminate or transfer these to third parties unconnected to Blue Translations S.L., unless there is authorisation from the client or a court order.
  2. Exceptions. For these purposes, it will be understood that employees and professionals subcontracted by Blue Translations S.L. to carry out the contracted translation will not be considered third parties, and Blue Translations S.L. is obliged to specify this non-disclosure clause in their respective contracts and to oversee compliance with the same.
  3. Diligence in safekeeping information. Under all circumstances, Blue Translations S.L. will process these documents, data and information with the same care and diligence as it would with its own, using reasonable and appropriate efforts to protect them.
  4. Undertaking not to use. Blue Translations S.L. hereby undertakes not to maintain any professional or commercial relationship whatsoever with companies or individuals with which it becomes familiar as a result of the commissions and documentation provided within the framework of the contractual relationship, and not to use this information to its own benefit.
  5. Specific non-disclosure agreement. Blue Translations S.L. has a detailed non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that the client may request to check and guarantee the non-disclosure conditions. Specific conditions may be agreed to cater to the needs of each client.

 

Protection of personal data.

  1. The client hereby consents to his personal data being included on a file belonging to Blue Translations S.L., the sole purpose of which is the use of this information within the framework of the business and professional relationship described herein. The holder of the data may exercise the rights to access, rectification, cancellation and opposition (ARCO rights), in accordance with Spanish legislation governing personal data protection.
  2. Blue Translations S.L. hereby undertakes to maintain the measures laid down in Spanish legislation governing personal data protection. This is to ensure the security of personal data of which it becomes aware as a consequence of the business and professional relationship laid down herein. Blue Translations S.L. also undertakes to keep this data secret.

 

Applicable legislation. Express submission.

Both parties hereby accept that the contractual relations regulated in these general conditions will be governed by Spanish legislation. By the same token, any litigious issue or controversy that arises between Blue Translations S.L. and its clients will be submitted to the jurisdiction of the Spanish courts, more specifically the courts of Santander.

 

Specific conditions governing the interpretation service

The aforementioned conditions will apply to the interpretation service to the extent that they do not contradict the following clauses established for this service, given the particular nature of the same:

  1. Inquiry. Given the complexity that providing an interpretation service can at times involve, it is appropriate for the client to make an inquiry or request a quotation specifying his need beforehand and to the extent possible. This involves giving dates, venues, number of interpreters required, technical materials, scheduled working times, methods of interpretation, languages to be interpreted, support documentation, and any other issues that could have an effect on the appropriate rates or provision of the service, thus assisting interpreters in preparing and providing the service. This inquiry is of vital importance, as it enables Blue Translations S.L. to submit a quotation that properly takes into consideration the client’s needs.
  2. Quotation validity. The procedure for contracting the interpretation service is no different from the provisions laid down in the general conditions, except that Blue Translations S.L. cannot, in general, guarantee a period of validity and a binding nature of the quotation issued for this kind of service. Consequently, the provisions laid down in the quotation itself will apply with regard to the validity of the conditions tendered. Unless expressly laid down, it will be understood that there is no such period.
  3. Rates. Blue Translations S.L. will invoice the interpretation services by hours, half days or full days. Given its variable nature, the subsistence, travel and/or accommodation expenses may be passed on to the client as an independent entry on the invoice, and they cannot be understood as included in the rates corresponding to interpretation per se.
  4. Technical means. Blue Translations S.L. will only be liable for the existence and proper performance of technical materials that have been planned and included in the inquiry, quotation and corresponding order sheet. The client is responsible for the existence, for obtaining and/or for the quality of means other than those expressed in the aforementioned documentation and which are required for the appropriate provision of the service.
  5. Proof of attendance and provision of the service. On finalisation of the service provision, the client must sign a sheet provided by the interpreter, expressing agreement with the service provided and that it is in accordance with the contract executed. The reasons for any disagreement must be noted down. The client will keep a copy of the sheet. If the client refuses to sign, and once 48 hours has elapsed from provision of the service without the client notifying Blue Translations S.L. in writing of any agreement or disagreement with the service provided (with reasons given in the case of any disagreement), it will be understood for all purposes that the service has been provided in the agreed manner and that the client recognises this.

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