Terms and Conditions
The Terms and Conditions outlined below are intended to avoid misunderstandings, and provide clarification in the unlikely event of a dispute. If you hire Brave & Bright Communications or other associates from Brave & Bright Communications (BBCOMMS), you confirm that you have read and agree to these terms. All terms and conditions apply unless otherwise agreed in writing.
**If you are not happy with these terms please do not engage our services**
Hereafter, Brave & Bright Communications and associates will be referred to as BBCOMMS.
These terms may be modified from time to time so please check before starting a new project with BBCOMMS.
Last updated Oct 2017
1. Proposals
Proposals and quotations provided by BBCOMMS will be based on the information made available at the time by the client and shall remain open for acceptance for 10 days after issue.
Price estimates and brief proposals are free of charge. Some initial consultancy is also free of charge while fact-finding. However, BBCOMMS will charge for consultancy when the job has officially begun; this includes branding, marketing and writing advice.
If the project is very large or complex, or work is required in order to clarify its scope and time-scale, BBCOMMS may ask that the creation of the proposal be regarded as a chargeable task in itself, to be invoiced separately from the main project if the client decides not to proceed.
2. Service agreement
Before beginning work on a new project BBCOMMS will require the client to complete a service agreement provided by BBCOMMS. This usually takes the form of a formal document, but it can also be a clear email confirming the scope of the work and fee if time is short.
3. Acceptance and completion of commissions
The written acceptance of a proposal or quotation shall be subject exclusively to these terms and deemed as a contractual agreement between the client or agency and BBCOMMS.
Client or agency briefs will only be accepted when supported by an official purchase order, service agreement or other written confirmation.
Acceptance of commissions, written or verbal, is made only on the understanding that these terms, which override any client or agency’s own terms, have been fully read, understood and accepted by the commissioning client or agency.
A commission is regarded as complete once it has been delivered and the client or agency has not asked BBCOMMS to carry out any further work on the commission within 10 working days of delivery by BBCOMMS.
4. Revisions
BBCOMMS will include revisions in each project. However, in the event of any significant changes to the brief, BBCOMMS reserves the right to adjust fees accordingly to cover any additional costs or time involved - see 'Extra work' below. Any additional fees will be quoted and agreed at the time.
5. Extra work
BBCOMMS reserves the right to make additional charges in some situations, for example:
Changes: if BBCOMMS has executed the brief, as it was given by the client, then reasonable changes (affecting up to 30% of the text) are included as part of the charge for writing text. However, changes that affect over 30% of the text, or are different to the original brief may incur additional charges. If the client requests change to an agreed structure or running order, such as the shortening of a deadline, they may also be charged extra.
Resubmissions: the charge for editing supplied text may be re-applied if you supply a new version that supersedes a version previously understood to be final.
Unused/deleted material: no cost reduction is applicable in the event that you delete, request that we delete or decide not to use text that we have created as previously agreed.
6. Invoicing and payment
BBCOMMS will submit an invoice to the client for each project. This will not differ from the estimate given without prior agreement.
Jobs (up to £500) BBCOMMS will require payment up front in full.
Jobs with a value higher than £500 require a 50% payment up front. The remainder is then to be paid within 30 days of the submission of the final draft and final invoice.
On high priced or longer term projects, the client may request to pay in intervals, or at agreed project milestones.
BBCOMMS will advise the client on the invoice of the exact terms. This may be subject to change.
Payment can be made either by direct bank transfer or Paypal. Using Paypal will incur a 2.5% fee and the client will be responsible for any bank charges incurred.
BBCOMMS reserves the right to cease work if payments are not provided within given time-frames and/or if more payment is required for continuation of the project.
7. Late payment
If payment is not made in full within 30 days of receipt of the final invoice the client may face a late payment charge (10% of the outstanding amount).
8. Expenses
Fees for a project will usually be quoted and agreed in advance. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all fees are inclusive of consultation, research, writing, evaluation, reasonable revisions (assigned within 10 working days) and ordinary communication costs. They are exclusive of travel: rail, taxi, air (at cost) and car (45p per mile); subsistence (£10 per day); time spent travelling to and attending meetings (£15 per hour); extraordinary expenses and communications, which will be agreed beforehand and charged at cost.
9. Dates and timelines
If proposals include information on dates and timing, clients should bear in mind that if they miss particular dates it may not be possible for BBCOMMS to meet the time commitments given later on in the timeline.
Also, please note that it may not always be possible to change the timeline by a given number of days. BBCOMMS will provide up-to-date information on timings as projects progress.
Although BBCOMMS executes a timely, organised service, we are also human and subject to illness and incident. If there is any obstruction to a deadline being met, BBCOMMS will notify the client as soon as possible and provide alternative solutions wherever possible.
10. Cancellation
The client can cancel a job up until paying the first instalment of the fee. However, once the first payment has cleared BBCOMMS will begin the work and therefore the fee cannot be refunded.
If a commission is cancelled, or delayed for more than 30 days by the client or agency before the work has been completed, a ‘kill’ fee of up to 50% may be incurred.
If the project deviates significantly from the original agreed brief and/or the client is not cooperating with BBCOMMS in any way, or indeed if BBCOMMS can no longer continue the project for reasons outside their control, BBCOMMS reserves the right to cancel the project and refund monies not used.
11. Complaints
If there is any aspect of the work or service which the client is not satisfied with, for any reason, they are requested to contact BBCOMMS. If both parties agree that proper opportunity has been given to address concerns (based on a fair and collaborative working relationship, and a minimum of two further drafts) and the client still considers the work as not meeting the brief, the contract will be cancelled and no payment will be due. This is entirely without prejudice and any implied liability or admission of failure or inability to complete the contract.
In such circumstances BBCOMMS will retain the copyright for all work completed on the client’s behalf and the client will undertake to make no use whatsoever of the material. The client will also agree to absolve BBCOMMS of any responsibility for any loss of income or for any costs or damages suffered by the client or by a third party as a result of a delay.
12. Copyright of work
Copyright of all work authored by BBCOMMS will transfer to the client following full payment of the invoice for that particular piece of work. Until payment, any unauthorised copying, modification, reproduction, distribution or publication will constitute an infringement of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and may leave the client or agency open to legal action.
In all cases BBCOMMS reserves the right to use selected extracts for promotional purposes. The client may request a non-disclosure agreement should they not want this.
BBCOMMS is not liable for any breach of copyright on materials supplied by the client or agency. The client accepts all responsibility for any copyright issues arising from the publication of content produced by BBCOMMS that summarises, rephrases or otherwise refers to third-party sources at the client’s request and as part of the agreed assignment.
13. Copyright of website
All material on this website belongs to BBCOMMS and its website designers. Images either belong to BBCOMMS or credit has been accorded to the owner. No permission is given to make any unauthorised use of this material.
14. Non-disclosure and confidentiality
All company documents materials supplied to BBCOMMS will be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed to any third party without the written consent of the client or agency. BBCOMMS will sign confidentiality agreements wherever necessary, however the client agrees to indemnify BBCOMMS against any action by the client or a third party associated with the accidental loss or disclosure of this information.
Any work produced by BBCOMMS will be considered promotable under the terms of fair dealing below, unless explicitly agreed otherwise.
15. Fair dealing
Notwithstanding the above clauses on copyright, unless explicitly agreed otherwise or explicitly requested by the client, by commissioning BBCOMMS the client grants us permission to:
refer to you on our website as a client
describe the work we have done for you on our website
quote the text we have written for you on our website
include an appropriate credit in printed or online publications produced on your behalf
Copyright held in your published materials or trademarks will be acknowledged
16. Content disclaimer
Although BBCOMMS will make every effort to avoid errors, omissions, misrepresentations, inaccurate implications and other inaccuracies in the content of publications that we manage, the final responsibility for published material remains with the client. The client agrees to review the copy thoroughly before publishing the work.
BBCOMMS cannot accept responsibility or liability of any kind for any loss or damage, whether material, financial, commercial or affecting the client's reputation, that the client incurs as a result of choosing to use materials we have worked on.
It is the client's responsibility to ensure that all claims, guarantees and information on their product or service are upheld in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, or the laws of their country. No claim for compensation due to loss of earnings or any other detrimental effect to your business can be made against BBCOMMS.
17. Governing Law
Any contract between BBCOMMS and the client or agency, written or otherwise, of which these terms of business form part, shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.