General Terms & Conditions

1. Scope of application

1.1 The following terms and conditions for work orders shall apply for contracts concluded between the WORTwelt translation agency and its customers, unless explicitly agreed upon otherwise or laid down irrevocably by law.

1.2 The customer's general terms and conditions of business shall only be binding for the WORTwelt translation agency if they were explicitly acknowledged by the latter.

2. Scope of translation work orders

Translation work is carried out with due care according to the principles of proper professional practice. The customer receives a copy of the translation as agreed upon by contract.

3. Written form

Both work orders and, if applicable, work cancellations must always be made in writing.

4. Customer's obligation to assist and inform

4.1. The customer shall inform the WORTwelt translation agency in good time about any special requirements for the execution of the translation (translation on data carriers, number of copies, readiness for printing etc.). If the translation is intended for printing, the customer has to provide the translation agency with a copy of the proofread text.

4.2 The WORTwelt translation agency must be provided, in good time and voluntarily, with any information and documents necessary for carrying out the translation (glossaries, illustrations, drawings, tables, abbreviations etc.).

4.3 Errors resulting from the disregard of these obligations are not the responsibility of the WORTwelt translation agency.

5. Interpreting services

Interpreting services are charged by the hour (60 minutes). Time spent travelling and waiting on a home to home basis is charged at the regular interpreter service rate. Expenses and payments incurred are charged separately.
Prices do not include incidental expenses; necessary supplementary costs incurred for things such as telephone, fax, postage, travelling and other general expenses are charged separately according to expenditure.

6. Professional secrecy

The WORTwelt translation agency is committed to maintain silence about all factual information of which it becomes aware in connection with its services to the customer.

7. Remedial action

The WORTwelt translation agency reserves the right of remedial action. The customer has the right of removal of deficiencies which may be contained in the translation within 14 days.
The claim for remedial action must be asserted by the customer, with a precise description of the deficiency. In the event of failure of correction or a replacement delivery, the statutory warranty rights shall become valid again, unless agreed otherwise.

8. Remuneration

8.1. Invoices issued by the WORTwelt translation agency must be paid immediately after receipt. Should the deadline for payment stated in the invoice be exceeded, the translation agency shall be entitled to charge the customer a reminder fee of up to € 10.00 per reminder letter plus interest on arrears.

8.2. If the price is not fixed in advance, an adequate and customary payment must be made, corresponding to the nature and the degree of difficulty of the work carried out. The rates considered as adequate are at a minimum equivalent to those rates stated in the German Law for the Reimbursement of Witnesses and Experts (ZSEG).

9. Preparation of quotations

Since charges are determined on the basis of the translated text, estimated costs are always binding. Deviations from the estimated number of lines usually result from different printing formats and the linguistic characteristics of the target language. As soon as it becomes apparent that the estimated costs will be considerably and unavoidably exceeded, the WORTwelt translation agency is committed to inform the customer of this fact immediately. In such a case, the customer is entitled to demand the immediate stoppage of the translation work in progress, and is obliged to pay only the costs which have been incurred up to that point in time.

10. Reservation of proprietary rights and copyright

The translation shall remain the property of the WORTwelt translation agency until payment has been received in full. The customer has no right of use until that time.

11. Court of jurisdiction

For any disputes which may arise from the contractual relationship, legal proceedings must be instituted at the court responsible for the location of the WORTwelt translation agency. The court of jurisdiction is Regensburg, Germany. The WORTwelt translation agency is also entitled to institute legal proceedings at the location of the customer's headquarters.

12. Warranty, liability, compensation

The translation agency is liable, in the event of gross negligence and intent, to a maximum level of the value of the work order. Liability in the event of slight negligence shall apply only if obligations which are essential for the purposes of the contract are infringed. A guarantee that translations are ready for printing can only be provided in the event that the customer
- has expressly informed the translation agency of these requirements in the written work order and
- has submitted to the translation agency the proofs for proofreading (also relating to content) and it was possible to carry out a check within a reasonable period of time. In particular, liability for loss of profits, lost savings, damages as a result of having recourse to third parties, indirect damages and consequential damages are excluded.

13. Work carried out by third parties and non-solicitation agreement

The translation agency is entitled to use third parties in order to carry out all activities where it considers that this is expedient or necessary. In this case, the translation agency is liable only for a careful selection. The duty to take due care when selecting shall be deemed to have been met if the third party enlisted is a legally sworn/empowered translator/interpreter for the language in question. Contact between the customer and a third party appointed by the translator may only be made with the agreement of the translation agency. The business relationship always exists only between the customer and the translation agency.
In the event that an auxiliary person is named, the customer is forbidden to make direct business contact with this auxiliary person. This shall apply for a period of one year after the work order has been completed. The customer shall pay the translation agency compensation in the event that this rule is not complied with. At the option of the translation agency, up to a maximum amount of € 25,000.00.

14. Official certifications

Unless the customer has requested to the contrary, translations of certificates will always be certified in order that they be recognised by the competent authorities. An additional fee will be levied for these certifications. No liability is accepted for the correct reproduction of names and addresses in handwritten certificates. This also applies to illegible proper nouns and numbers in certificates of birth, marriage and death or other documents.

15. Cancellation

In the event that the customer cancels an order which has been placed without being legally or contractually entitled to do so, the costs incurred until the cancellation must be reimbursed and any work which was carried out up until this point paid for. At the option of the translation agency, a flat rate amounting to 25% of the order value will be payable immediately.

In the event that firmly booked interpreters and/or translators are cancelled, we shall charge a cancellation fee of 50% for cancellations made up to 5 days before the booked appointment and 75% for cancellations made up to 3 days before the booked appointment. In the event that cancellations are made at a later point in time, we must invoice the full fee owing to the fact that we have concluded identical contracts with our translators/interpreters.

16. Place of performance and court of jurisdiction

The place of performance and court of jurisdiction is Regensburg, Germany.

17. Severability clause

The invalidity of one or more provisions in this contract shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. A valid provision which comes closest to the legal and economic intention shall then be deemed to have been agreed. This shall not apply where adhering to the contract would represent an unreasonable hardship for a party.

18. Amendments to the terms and conditions of business

The customer shall be notified in writing of any amendments to the terms and conditions of business. The amendments shall be deemed to have been accepted if the customer does not oppose them in writing within two weeks following notification. Amendments shall apply only to future business.