Take a Translator

Terms of Service: Interpreting

The client (that’s you!) only engages the services of Red Tape Translation for translation and/or interpreting once payment has been transacted.
The translation and/or interpreting services may be provided by Kathleen Parker or by another translator and/or interpreter instructed by her.
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.
The client and Red Tape Translation must agree upon a proposed date and time for the appointment in advance.
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.
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.
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.
If necessary, the client should seek his or her own legal advice.
The client must pay the minimum callout fee prior to the appointment.
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.
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.
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.
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:

13a. 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.

13b. 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.

13c. 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.

13d. 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.

14. Appointment bookings by Red Tape Translation

If the client asks Red Tape Translation to book an appointment on the client's behalf, this will incur an extra cost of either 19 or 55 EUR.
Red Tape Translation will generally only book appointments for clients who have also booked Take a Translator for the occasion.
Appointments at the Standesamt, Jugendamt or Landesamt für Einwanderung (foreigner's office) in any city automatically attract a fee of 55 EUR. 
Red Tape Translation will only begin searching once the appointment booking fee of 19 or 55 EUR has been paid.
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 those documents are complete.
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.
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.
If a client's criteria for appointment booking are too narrow for success, Red Tape Translation will offer the client a choice of either a refund or an adjustment of expectations.
If Red Tape Translation books an appointment successfully based on the pre-determined criteria and the client requests a change of date, a new appointment booking fee is due (either 19 or 55 EUR).

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.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.