1. General clause
These Terms and Conditions form an integral part of our price quotations. By accepting a price quotation from Blue Lines, the Client also accepts these Terms and Conditions.
The Terms and Conditions of Blue Lines take precedence over those of the Client and, unless stipulated otherwise, the Client waives his own terms and conditions.
2. Delivery terms and rates
The Client shall enable Blue Lines to assess the degree of difficulty of the text to be translated. Any telephone orders taken by Blue Lines shall always be immediately confirmed in writing by Blue Lines, stating the agreed rate and delivery period.
Quotations are only binding if Blue Lines has received the complete document to be translated. If Blue Lines has only received a part of the document to be translated or if changes have been made since the quotation was drawn up, Blue Lines will have the right to change the quotation (i.e. price and delivery period).
Translations are generally charged at a word rate. Clients are informed of the rate in advance.
With regard to the services charged by the hour (revision, copywriting, translation, interpretation, etc.), the amounts are agreed in mutual consultation between the parties. Each hour started is counted as a full hour.
Blue Lines has the right to increase the rate for urgent work, evening work, weekend work or night work. In that case, Blue Lines will explicitly state the additional price in its offer to the Client.
3. Liability
A. Liability of Blue Lines
Blue Lines will do everything possible to meet the agreed deadline. Blue Lines shall not be liable, however, for late delivery of work as a result of illness, accident, temporary inability to work, or force majeure in general. However, Blue Lines must report this to its Client within a reasonable period of time. Furthermore, Blue Lines shall not be held liable if the delay is the result of late delivery by third parties (e-mail provider, courier services, post, etc.), or if the source text and/or the translation itself was damaged during sending. Neither will Blue Lines be responsible for the loss of the source text or translation by third parties (e-mail provider, mail, courier services). Blue Lines shall not be held liable for any flaws in the text supplied by the Client.
Late delivery as a result of force majeure or acts of third parties shall under no circumstances constitute grounds for cancelling the order or for obtaining any discount or compensation.
Blue Lines accepts liability for the quality of the translation done, provided it is used in its entirety and without modification. The liability of Blue Lines is in any case limited to the invoiced amount paid for the translation up to a maximum of 5,000 EUR.
B. Liability of the Client
The Client undertakes to provide Blue Lines with all the information necessary for the proper and timely performance of the requested services, either before or during the performance of the contract.
4. Complaints: deadline and justification
Any invoice that has not been contested within eight days shall be deemed to have been accepted. A complaint shall not affect the payment terms.
Any complaints or disputes about the non-conformity of the translation, which are formulated within the time stipulated in the contract, must be thoroughly substantiated with dictionaries, glossaries, and equivalent text material written by competent native speakers. The unjustified refusal of a translation shall in no case constitute grounds for non-payment of the invoice.
5. Cancellation of the translation order
In the event of unilateral cancellation of the translation order by the Client, the Client shall remain liable for the full amount of the invoice. If not all translation work has been carried out, Blue Lines will be free to offer a discount. The discount shall be determined on the basis of the work (including preparatory work) already carried out.
6. Capacity of the client
The client is deemed to be acting in the capacity of author of the text to be translated and expressly authorises the translation of the text in accordance with Article 12 of the Belgian Act of 22 March 1986 concerning copyright.
7. Payment
Our invoices must be paid within 30 calendar days of the invoice date, unless a different due date is explicitly stated on the invoice. In the event of failure to pay our invoices by the due date, the amount shall, by operation of law and without formal notice, be subject to late payment interest equal to 12% per year as well as an additional lump-sum compensation for damages of 10% on the amounts owed, with a minimum of 150 euros.
8. Competent court
In the event of a dispute, the Business Court of Ghent, Ghent division, the Justice of the Peace Court of the fourth district in Ghent and the court of first instance in East Flanders, Ghent division, shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
9. Professional confidentiality and ethics
Blue Lines is bound by professional confidentiality. This implies confidentiality about the identity of the Client, the content of the source text and of the translation itself. Blue Lines undertakes to provide high-quality translation services at all times.
Blue Lines cannot be held liable for violation of the confidentiality obligation by third parties.
10. Privacy Policy
Blue Lines undertakes to use the Client’s personal data only within the context of constructive cooperation, and shall under no circumstances pass it on to third parties, unless this is necessary for customary business operations (accounting, translations etc.).
The Client is aware that Blue Lines uses external suppliers (translators, interpreters, copywriters, etc.) for the performance of the assignment entrusted to us. Blue Lines concludes processing agreements with these suppliers to ensure that they comply with the obligations set out in the GDPR. The Client agrees to this working method and undertakes to inform the data subjects accordingly, in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the GDPR.
For more information on the use and protection of personal data, please refer to our privacy policy.