Red Tape Translation

Terms of Service


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. Interpreting services are generally grouped in the category called Take a Translator.
  3. Interpreting includes Take a Translator as part of the Red Carpet Registration service.
  4. The translation and/or interpreting services may be provided by Kathleen Parker or by another translator and/or interpreter instructed by her.
  5. 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.
  6. The client and Red Tape Translation must agree upon a proposed date and time for the appointment in advance.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. The client is made aware that Red Tape Translation only offers translating/interpreting services. Red Tape Translation does not offer legal, tax or insurance 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.
  10. If necessary, the client should seek his or her own legal advice.
  11. The client must pay the minimum callout fee prior to the appointment.
  12. 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.
  13. Cancellation conditions vary according to the type of appointment. See the cancellation conditions for each individual product for further information. Unless otherwise specified when booking, 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 complete payment will be forfeited. Working days are Monday – Friday. Services with cancellation conditions that deviate from these: appointments at notary offices: see point 15.
  14. 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.
  15. The following applies only to interpreting 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:

15a. The Deposit

50% of the fee quoted is be paid in advance and is a non-refundable deposit.

Any remaining fees are to be paid after the appointment is complete.

15b. If you have to change the date:

  • At least three working days in advance of the original appointment: A change of date fee of 50 EUR applies. There is no further cost to reschedule.
  • Fewer than three working days before the original appointment: You pay the entire cost of the original package for the new appointment date plus 250 EUR to cover loss of work on the day of the original appointment.

15c. Cancellations

    • More than 3 working days before the original appointment: Red Tape Translation will stop preparing your documents and retain your deposit.
    • Fewer than 3 working days before the original appointment: Red Tape Translation will stop preparing your documents and retain your deposit. The remaining 50% is also due.

15d. 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 of Service: Appointment bookings

  1. Appointment bookings may be a component of a larger service package, such as Red Carpet Registration.
  2. Red Tape Translation will begin searching once the appointment booking fee has been paid. This may be a component or a larger service package.
  3. If Red Tape Translation has sent the client a list of documents to provide in advance of booking, we reserve the right to only begin looking once we have received the documents.
  4. The client cannot determine the office location but Red Tape Translation will always choose an office at which it is possible to get the matter sorted in the client’s city. E.g. a Bürgeramt appointment to convert a driver’s license to a German one might be in Spandau or Hellersdorf, even if the client lives in Neukölln, but we won’t book it in Hellersdorf if the office doesn’t provide the right service.
  5. Red Tape Translation will choose the next available appointment, keeping the client’s availability or non-availability in mind, which must be determined before we start searching for the appointment. If the client’s availability or non-availability changes, they should update it with Red Tape as soon as possible.
  6. If Red Tape Translation determines that a client’s criteria for appointment booking are too narrow for success, we will offer the client a refund or suggest parameters that are more suitable for success and wait for approval of these before searching.
  7. If Red Tape Translation books an appointment successfully based on the pre-determined criteria and the client then requests a change of date, a new appointment booking fee is due.

Terms and Conditions: Coaching

  1. The client (that’s you!) only engages the services of Red Tape Translation for coaching and/or translation once payment has been transacted.
  2. Coaching and consulting may be provided by Kathleen Parker, Lioba Grunow or another suitable relocation coach instructed by Red Tape Translation.
  3. The fee for coaching is charged per hour with a minimum purchase of one hour, paid in advance. Bürgergeld or ALGI recipients and registered students can use coaching at a reduced price upon request.
  4. The client uses no fewer than 30 minutes of coaching time in one scheduled online session.
  5. The fee for coaching is non-refundable. However, clients may use coaching credit no longer needed for other Red Tape Translation services.
  6. Coaching takes place at a mutually convenient time, organised in advance by the coach and the client.
  7. To cancel or reschedule a coaching without forfeiting the fee paid, Red Tape Translation UG requires at least 1 full business day’s notice.
  8. Red Tape strives to accommodate urgent requests but cannot guarantee round-the-clock or immediate availability to coach a client. Coaching does not take place on weekends, public holidays, or outside the hours of 9am and 5pm on weekdays unless agreed upon in advance.
  9. If a client cannot be reached at the agreed time for the coaching, the coach will remain available by phone or online for 30 minutes. If the client does not make contact during this time, they forfeit the entire fee paid for the entire scheduled duration.
  10. Red Tape coaches only offers general information on topics related to German bureaucracy and life in Germany. They do not offer legal advice, tax advice, insurance advice or any other sort of advisory service governed by § 2 Abs. 1 RDG (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz). Red Tape Translation UG 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.
  11. Telephone, in-person or online conversations in which a Red Tape Translation coach is present must not be recorded for any purpose without Red Tape Translation UG’s express written consent in advance.

Written Translation – Terms of Service

  1. The client (that’s you!) only engages the services of Red Tape Translation for written translation once payment has been transacted.
  2. Translations requiring certification will be completed by a qualified, court-sworn translator.
  3. Work commences only once payment has been received in full, unless otherwise agreed.
  4. If you have booked and paid for a written translation and then decide you no longer need it, please let us know as soon as you can. We will stop working on it. In some cases, we can refund you a percentage of the fee that you paid to complete it depending on our progress. If the translation is complete or near complete, we cannot refund you at all.
  5. Electronic copies of translations may be stored on computer or cloud systems by a Red Tape Translation UG employee or contracted 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. Read more about data privacy.