TERMS OF SERVICE
Interpreting
1. The client (that’s you!) only engages the services of Red Tape Translation for translation and/or interpreting once payment has been transacted.
2. The translation and/or interpreting services may be provided by Kathleen Parker or by another translator and/or interpreter instructed by her.
3. Different types of appointments attract different hourly rates. In most cases, there is a minimum callout fee of one hour. If you are going to a notary office, please see point 13. Appointment types that involve complex terminology, require advance preparation or require a court-sworn interpreter will attract a higher hourly rate.
4. The client and Red Tape Translation must agree upon a proposed date and time for the appointment in advance.
5. Red Tape Translation will travel to any address within the Berlin AB Metro area, within the Frankfurt am Main city zone, and within the Münich Inner District. Extra fees may apply for appointments held outside of this area.
6. If the appointment takes longer than the duration mentioned in your quote, Red Tape Translation calculates additional time in blocks of 15 or 30 minutes and charges it at the same hourly rate.
7. The client is made aware that Red Tape Translation only offers translating/interpreting services. Red Tape Translation does not offer legal, insurance or tax advice. Red Tape Translation therefore accepts no liability for the outcome of the client appointments with German authorities or for the further progress (or lack thereof) of the client’s case.
8. If necessary, the client should seek his or her own legal advice.
9. The client must pay the minimum callout fee prior to the appointment.
10. Payments made to Red Tape Translation are non-refundable, except if Red Tape Translation is unable to attend and no suitable alternative appointment can be found.
11. Cancellation conditions vary according to the type of appointment. For general appointment types (not appointments at notaries), the following applies: if the client cannot attend an appointment or reschedules the appointment, the client has to inform Red Tape Translation at least 1 full working day before the scheduled time of the appointment. The client can then use the pre-booked payment for another appointment. If the client fails to inform Red Tape Translation at least 1 full working day before the scheduled appointment, the payment will be forfeited. Working days are Monday – Friday. This means appointments scheduled for Mondays must be cancelled or rescheduled during the day on the Friday prior, or the fee will be forfeited. Appointments at notary offices have different cancellation conditions: see point 13.
12. Some German authorities may request a power of attorney which authorises the interpreter/translator to be present while a case being discussed. In this case, Red Tape Translation will provide the client with a suitable power of attorney. If the client does not sign it, the case worker may refuse to allow the interpreter/translator to attend. In this case, the minimum callout payment won’t be refunded to the client.
13. The following only applies to appointments at notary offices: Contract read-through appointments at a notary’s office require a large amount of intensive advance preparation. Interpreters don’t just show up on the day and wing it, they have to prepare thoroughly first in advance of your appointment. Interpreters are often booked many weeks in advance. A short-notice change of date or cancellation usually means a complete loss of work for that day. For these reasons, notary appointments have stricter conditions for cancellation or postponement than appointments for everyday matters:

The Deposit
50% of the fee quoted is to be paid in advance and is a non-refundable deposit.
Any remaining fees are to be paid after the appointment is complete.

If you have to change the date:

More than 8 calendar days (including weekends and public holidays) in advance of the original appointment: You can use your prepaid deposit to secure a new date at no extra charge as long you can find a mutually convenient time. An additional change of date fee of 25% of the total fee will also apply, along with any additional time accrued on the day (see below). This will be invoiced after the appointment has finished.

7 calendar days before the original appointment or sooner: Your deposit will be retained by Red Tape Translation. A new appointment will be made at the same cost as the original appointment. 100% of the new appointment fee, along with any additional time accrued on the day (see below), will be invoiced after the appointment has finished.

3 calendar days before the original appointment or less: the deposit will be retained by Red Tape Translation and a change of date fee of 25% of the total fee will apply. A new appointment will be made at the same cost as the original appointment. 100% of the appointment fee, the change of date fee and any additional time accrued on the day will be invoiced after the appointment has finished.

Cancellations

More than 8 calendar days before the original appointment: Red Tape Translation retains your deposit.

7 calendar days before the appointment or sooner: Red Tape Translation retains the deposit and charges an additional 25% cancellation fee.

3 calendar days of the appointment or sooner: the entire fee for the appointment is payable.

Additional time

Should the appointment run longer than the quoted amount of time, additional time will be charged per additional 30-minute block at the hourly rate communicated to you in the quote we sent you. This amount will be invoiced once the appointment has finished.

Terms and Conditions: Life Admin

1. The client (that’s you!) engages the services of Kathleen Parker for telephone interpreting and/or translation help by Skype or phone.
2. The Life Admin service may be provided by Kathleen Parker or by another interpreter or translator instructed by her.
3. Life Admin is suitable for general communication by phone, email or post in German and/or English. For matters that are legal or highly technical in nature, or that involve a legal dispute, Kathleen recommends consulting a lawyer, or a specialised, court-sworn interpreter.
4. The fee for Life Admin is 49 EUR per hour, with a minimum purchase of one hour, paid in advance.
5. If the client uses Life Admin to make three-way phone calls at a mutually convenient time and schedules this with a telephone interpreter, a minimum of 15 minutes will be used for this purpose per session.
6. The fee is non-refundable. However, clients may use remaining Life Admin credit towards other Red Tape Translation services such as written translation, Take a Translator or Skype Coaching.
7. Life Admin services are performed at a convenient time for Kathleen Parker. If the client requires the work to be performed by a specific deadline, this will be agreed upon in advance.
8. Kathleen will do her best to accommodate urgent requests but cannot guarantee round the clock or immediate availability to make phone calls or perform admin services. Telephone calls do not take place on weekends, public holidays, or outside the hours of 8am and 6pm on weekdays unless agreed upon in advance.
9. If, in the case of three-way phone calls, a client cannot be reached at the agreed time for making phone calls, Kathleen will keep herself available by phone or Skype for 15 minutes. If the client does not make contact within 15 minutes, Kathleen will deduct 15 minutes of time from the client’s prepaid hour. The client can then contact her to reschedule an appointment to use any remaining minutes of the prepaid hour.
10. Kathleen Parker only offers translating/interpreting services. Kathleen Parker does not offer legal advice or any other sort of advisory services under Telephone Time. Kathleen Parker therefore accepts no liability for the outcome of client phone calls.
11. Some German authorities or organisations (for example, the Agentur für Arbeit or banks) may ask identity questions while on a call. They may also request a verbal power of attorney statement from the client, authorising the interpreter to participate in the conversation. If the client does not give verbal consent, the third party may refuse to continue with the call while the interpreter is on the line. In this case, minutes used to make the call will not be refunded to the client.
12. Telephone or Skype conversations in which Kathleen Parker is present must not be recorded for any purpose without Kathleen Parker’s express written consent.

Terms and Conditions: Hire a Coach

The client (that’s you!) only engages the services of Red Tape Translation for coaching and/or translation once payment has been transacted.
Coaching and/or translation may be provided by Kathleen Parker or by another coach instructed by her.
The fee for coaching is 75 EUR per hour, with a minimum purchase of one hour, paid in advance.
The client uses no fewer than 20 minutes of coaching time in one scheduled session.
The fee for coaching is non-refundable. However, clients may use coaching credit no longer needed towards other Red Tape Translation services such as written translation, Take a Translator or telephone interpreting.
The use of Hire a Coach takes place at a mutually convenient time, organised in advance by Kathleen Parker and the client.
Kathleen will do her best to accommodate urgent requests but cannot guarantee round the clock or immediate availability to coach a client. Coachings do not take place on weekends, public holidays, or outside the hours of 8am and 6pm on weekdays unless agreed upon in advance.
If a client cannot be reached at the agreed time for the coaching, Kathleen will keep herself available by phone or Skype for 30 minutes. If the client does not make contact within 30 minutes, Kathleen will deduct 30 minutes of time from the client’s prepaid hour and the client can then contact her to reschedule an appointment to use up any remaining minutes.
Kathleen Parker only offers general information on topics related to German bureaucracy and life in Germany. Kathleen Parker does not offer legal advice, tax advice, insurance advice or any other sort of advisory service governed by § 2 Abs. 1 RDG (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz). Kathleen Parker therefore accepts no liability for the outcome of client appointments with government authorities or for the further progress (or lack thereof) of a client’s case.
Telephone, in-person or Skype conversations in which Kathleen Parker is present must not be recorded for any purpose without Kathleen Parker’s express written consent.

Written Translation – Terms of Service

The client (that’s you!) only engages the services of Red Tape Translation for written translation once payment has been transacted.
Translation may be completed by Kathleen Parker or by a translator instructed by her.
Translations requiring certification will be completed by a qualified, court-sworn translator.
Documents sent to Red Tape Translation for quote may only be viewed by Kathleen Parker, the translator performing the translation (if not Kathleen Parker) or a translator engaged to proofread the translation, and any employee of Kathleen Parker’s that may be responsible for part or all of its administration.
Work commences only once payment has been received in full, unless otherwise agreed.
Electronic copies of translations or their source documents may be stored on computer or cloud systems by Kathleen Parker or another translator. These documents can be deleted upon request once payment has been received and the client has acknowledged receipt of the translation. This means, however, that if a client requests a copy of a previous translation at a later date, the translation must be completed from scratch and paid for accordingly.

First, some definitions

1. Personal data: any piece of information concerning an identifiable person, including their factual circumstances. These may include name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, communication ID (e.g. Skype, Hangouts), and other details you leave in notes or send as attachments. The personal data may be sensitive in nature (e.g. you might attach a medical report for translation).

2. Processing: this means working with these pieces of personal data on your behalf. This could include collection, storage (including cloud-based), amendment, transfer, translation, proofreading, discussion or deletion.

The Data Protection Policy

1. Kathleen Parker takes data protection issues seriously and strives to protect customer rights.
2. Kathleen Parker processes personal data only with customer consent or if a legal provision allows it. Personal data, including that of a sensitive nature, is only processed in a way necessary for responding to inquiries and processing orders, and only after the client has consented to this voluntarily. When you tick the box agreeing to the privacy policy before you submit information on this contact form, you consent to the processing of your personal data in a lawful, fair and transparent manner.
3. Personal data will be stored for as long as necessary to perform service or maintain the relationship desired by the customer. The customer can request deletion of personal data at any time following delivery of the service requested. Mandatory data retention periods (e.g. for tax purposes) remain unaffected by this provision.
4. Personal data is processed by Kathleen Parker, her employee/s and/or other authorised representatives or translators commissioned by her, all of whom are contractually obligated to treat personal data in compliance with this policy and with statutory provisions.
5. Kathleen Parker has set up organisational and security measures to protect your data from unauthorised access or misuse. These measures are updated regularly in line with relevant statutory provisions.
6. To find out more about how this website processes your personal data, read my Data Privacy Policy (https://www.staging1.redtapetranslation.com/data-privacy-policy/).
7. At any time, the customer can request information at no charge about the information stored or the security measures taken by Kathleen Parker. Incorrect entries can be rectified. Data stored unnecessarily can be deleted upon customer request. A simple email request is fine.

For more information, please contact Kathleen Parker: e-mail info@redtapetranslation.com, tel: 030 2089 6634, postal address: Red Tape Translation, c/o Factory Berlin, Rheinsberger Str. 76/77, 10115 Berlin.