1. Confidentiality 1.1 Virtual Secretarial Service has a strict confidentiality policy. No details regarding our clients or information relating to work carried out will be disclosed or passed to a third party without prior consent unless we are legally obliged to do so. 1.2 Virtual Secretarial Service will sign a confidentiality agreement if requested by the client and can provide such an agreement if necessary. 2. Acceptance of Assignments 2.1 Virtual Secretarial Service will accept work by telephone, fax, email, post or courier as hard copy, electronic mail, floppy disk or CD. 3. Quotations & Deposits 3.1 Written quotations can be provided on request. Please see our Rates page for a guide to our service fees. 3.2 The Booking Form enables clients to provide details of any task or specific requirements. Completion of the Booking Form also indicates the client's acceptance of our Terms & Conditions. 3.3 Any assignment in excess of £20.00 or more of the original Quotation will be discussed with the client before work commences. 3.4 A minimum 50% deposit is required before work commences for a new client. Virtual Secretarial Service reserves the right to request full payment of the quotation for work prior to starting an assignment if the estimate exceeds £150. 4. Rates 4.1 Virtual Secretarial Service rates are billed in increments of 15 minutes with time rounded up to the nearest quarter of an hour. 4.2 Rates are meant as a guide only and can be tailored to your individual requirements. 4.3 Any additional expenses (including but not limited to: postage, printing, stationary, peripherals and consumables) will be charged in addition to the quotation. It may be necessary for large amounts to be paid in advance. However these will only be charged at cost. 4.4 Where the client causes delay, changes the specification, requires extra work or meetings or changes previously accepted work, we shall be entitled to a reasonable extension of time and rate increase and/or advance payment. 4.5 Virtual Secretarial Service is not currently VAT registered. 5. Invoices 5.1 An invoice will be produced on completion of work undertaken and dispatched to the client. 5.2 Payment is strictly due within 14 days from the date of the invoice. 5.3 If payments are overdue, a reminder will be sent. Payments that are not received within 5 days of the reminder date will incur a 10% late payment fee. 5.4 If a cheque is returned by the Bank, the client will be responsible for all bank charges resulting from the returned cheque. 6. Payment Methods 6.1 Virtual Secretarial Service accepts payments in the following ways: (a) By cheque (made payable to Virtual Secretarial Service)
(b) By Bank Transfer (BACS). Details will be provided on invoice.
| | 7. Completed Assignments 7.1 All completed assignments can be returned to the client by fax, email, post or courier as hard copy, electronic mail, floppy disk or CD. 8. Retainer 8.1 Monthly retainers are to be paid for in advance by the 1st day of the month. Invoices are issued on the 20th of each month for the subsequent month and are payable by the 1st of the month. 8.2 Any unused hours of a monthly retainer package will be credited to the following month. 8.3 Clients may cancel a retainer package at any time by giving 14 days notice. 9. Loss/Damage of Client Property 9.1 Virtual Secretarial Service cannot be held responsible for any loss, damage, theft etc of data, projects, equipment or any items relating to assignments, during transit to/from Virtual Secretarial Service premises. 9.2 Virtual Secretarial Service recommend that clients obtain a proof of postage as we will not accept responsibility for loss or damage to items going through the postal service. 10. Proof Reading/Editing 10.1 Final responsibility for proofreading errors in completed work (including manuscripts, dissertations) rests with the client. Virtual Secretarial Service can accept no responsibility for errors found after submission but will gladly correct any found within a reasonable time scale. If errors are found in the work, they will be rectified free of charge but they must be notified within 24 hours of receipt of completed work or within 14 days for work of more than 3,000 words. 11. Insurance 11.1 For insurance and safety reasons, we cannot permit personal visits to our premises. 12. Virus Protection 12.1 In the current climate of prolific computer viruses, all incoming emails, files or disks will be scanned. However, even after scanning we will still not open unsolicited attachments to emails or emails containing no message alongside the attachment. 13. File Back-Up 13.1 Virtual Secretarial Service will keep all assignments for a period of 6 months after which time they will be deleted from our system. On request back up copies can be provided on disk for a small fee. 14. End User Responsibility 14.1 Virtual Secretarial Service is not responsible for the end use of any document produced or edited by us. Clients are solely responsible for its appropriate use, including abiding by any copyright laws, plagiarism laws and publishing requirements. Virtual Secretarial Service is not responsible for the content of any document supplied to them. Clients should not pass off plagiarised material as their own original work. Virtual Secretarial Service will assume no responsibility for any plagiarised material supplied by a client and reserves the right to return the work, should Virtual Secretarial Service become aware of such inappropriate use. Virtual Secretarial Service retains the right to reject work for any client who involves material Virtual Secretarial Service finds to be illegal, immoral or objectionable. 14.2 Virtual Secretarial Service cannot be held responsible for price changes to quotes given by suppliers, (i.e. Travel Agents, Hotels etc.) prices given are as at the date of receipt of the assignment. |