Terms of service
Last updated: September 8, 2026
1. Introduction
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) apply to your use of the Proof-Reading-Service.com website and to the professional language and document services supplied by Proof-Reading-Service.com Ltd.
By using this website, requesting a quotation or placing an order, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree with them, please do not purchase or use our services.
2. Our Services
We provide professional document and language services, which may include:
- Proofreading
- Academic editing
- Copy-editing
- English-language editing
- Dissertation and thesis editing
- Journal manuscript editing
- Book editing
- Formatting
- Reference and citation formatting
- Translation
- LaTeX proofreading and editing
- Rewriting and other language-related services offered through our website
Our services are supplied electronically. We do not supply physical goods.
3. Scope of Proofreading and Editing
The work carried out depends on the service ordered and may include improvements to grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, clarity, readability, consistency, academic or professional style, headings, tables, figures and general presentation.
Unless expressly included in a quotation or order, standard proofreading and editing do not include:
- Writing new content
- Conducting research
- Checking the accuracy of facts, data, calculations or research findings
- Plagiarism checking
- Complete conversion of references or citations into another referencing style
- Substantial rewriting
- Legal, medical, financial or academic advice
- A guarantee of publication, acceptance, a particular grade or another specific outcome
Reference lists, footnotes, endnotes, tables, figures or other sections may be excluded from the quoted word count unless otherwise agreed.
4. Customer Responsibilities
By submitting a document or placing an order, you confirm that:
- You own the document or have authority to submit it.
- The material is lawful.
- The information and instructions you provide are accurate and complete.
- You have selected a service appropriate to your requirements.
- You will provide any necessary style guides, author instructions and deadlines before work begins.
- You will review the completed document before submitting, publishing or otherwise using it.
You remain responsible for the content, research, arguments, conclusions and final submission of your document.
5. Quotations and Orders
Quotations are based on the document, word count, requested service, deadline and instructions available when the quotation is prepared.
We may revise a quotation where:
- The submitted document differs from the version originally assessed.
- The actual word count is higher than stated.
- The work required is substantially greater than originally described.
- Additional services or a shorter turnaround time are requested.
An order is normally accepted when payment has been received, unless another payment arrangement has been agreed by us in writing.
We may refuse or cancel an order where we cannot provide the requested service, the instructions are unclear or unlawful, or the work may involve academic misconduct.
6. Prices and Payment
Prices are displayed on the website or provided in a written quotation. We may change prices at any time, but a price change will not normally affect an order that has already been accepted.
Unless otherwise agreed, payment must be made in full before work begins.
You are responsible for any charges imposed by your bank, card provider or payment service, including foreign-exchange and transfer fees. We must receive the full amount stated in the quotation, payment request or invoice.
VAT will be charged where required by UK tax law.
7. Deadlines and Delivery
We will make reasonable efforts to complete and return your document by the agreed deadline.
The deadline depends on our receiving the complete document, payment, clear instructions and any necessary style guide or supporting information.
If any of these are delayed, incomplete or changed, the delivery deadline may need to be adjusted.
Completed work is normally delivered electronically by email or another agreed digital method.
We are not responsible for delays resulting from inaccurate contact information, email filtering, technical failures outside our reasonable control or the customer's failure to provide required information.
8. Customer Changes After Work Has Started
Changes made by the customer after work has begun are not automatically included within the original order.
New text, replacement sections, additional references or other amendments may require an additional quotation, additional payment and a revised completion date.
9. Revisions and Complaints
If you believe that the completed service does not meet the agreed instructions, please contact us within 30 days of delivery using our contact form.
Please describe your concerns clearly and identify the relevant parts of the document. We may ask you to provide the version returned by us and any relevant feedback from a university, journal, publisher or other organisation.
Where appropriate, we may:
- Explain the changes made.
- Correct errors falling within the original scope of work.
- Provide one reasonable round of revisions relating to the original instructions.
- Offer a partial or full refund where justified.
Revisions do not cover new instructions, newly added content, a change of referencing style, a change of target journal or amendments made after delivery.
10. Cancellations and Refunds
You may request cancellation before work begins.
If work has already started, we may deduct the value of work completed and reasonable costs already incurred before issuing any refund.
Once the agreed service has been completed, a refund will not normally be available merely because you have changed your mind.
Further information is available in our Returns & Refunds Policy.
11. Consumer Cancellation Rights
If you purchase our services as a consumer, applicable law may provide a 14-day cancellation period.
By asking us to begin providing the service during that period, you expressly request that performance starts before the cancellation period expires.
If you cancel after work has begun, you may be required to pay for the proportion of the service already completed. Where a service has been fully performed following your request for immediate performance, your statutory cancellation right may end where permitted by law.
Nothing in these Terms affects statutory consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
12. Confidentiality
We treat customer information and submitted documents as confidential.
Documents may be shared with employees, proofreaders, editors, translators, contractors or service providers where this is reasonably necessary to provide the service ordered.
Information may also be disclosed where required by law or another lawful authority.
Further information about personal information is available in our Privacy Policy.
13. File Retention
We may retain submitted and completed documents for a limited period for administration, quality control, complaint handling, legal or backup purposes.
You are responsible for maintaining your own copies of all original and completed files. We do not guarantee indefinite storage or future availability of documents.
14. Intellectual Property
You retain ownership of your original document and the intellectual property rights in your content.
By submitting a document, you grant us a limited right to access, copy, edit and process it only as necessary to provide the requested service.
Our website content, branding, templates, service descriptions, quotations and other proprietary materials remain our intellectual property and may not be copied or reproduced without permission.
15. Academic Integrity
Our services are intended to improve language, clarity, consistency and presentation. They must not be used to misrepresent authorship or facilitate academic misconduct.
We do not:
- Write assignments, dissertations or theses on behalf of students.
- Fabricate research, data, references or evidence.
- Complete examinations or assessments for another person.
- Guarantee a grade, qualification or academic outcome.
You are responsible for ensuring that your use of our services complies with the rules of your institution, employer, publisher or journal.
16. Publication, Submission and Academic Results
Proofreading and editing do not guarantee that a document will be accepted by a journal, publisher, university, funding body or other organisation.
Decisions may depend on matters outside the scope of our service, including research quality, originality, methodology, argument, subject matter, suitability for a publication and reviewer opinion.
We are not responsible for rejection, requested revisions, loss of marks, missed opportunities or other decisions made by third parties.
17. Translation Services
Translation work is prepared on the basis of the source material and instructions provided by the customer.
You are responsible for ensuring that the source text is complete, accurate and suitable for translation.
Unless specifically agreed otherwise, translations are not certified, sworn, notarised or intended for official legal purposes.
18. Formatting and References
Standard proofreading or editing does not automatically include full document formatting or complete conversion of references, citations, footnotes or endnotes into another style.
Where these services are required, they must be requested separately and may involve an additional charge and additional time.
We rely on the style guides and instructions supplied by the customer and are not responsible for inconsistencies caused by incomplete, outdated or contradictory guidance.
19. Website Use
You must not use our website:
- For an unlawful or fraudulent purpose.
- To infringe the rights of another person.
- To upload malicious software or harmful material.
- To obtain unauthorised access to our systems.
- To disrupt the operation or security of the website.
- To scrape, reproduce or copy website content without permission.
- To provide deliberately false or misleading information.
We may suspend access to the website or our services if these Terms are breached.
20. Third-Party Services and Links
The website may use or link to third-party providers, including payment processors, hosting providers, analytics services and external websites.
We are not responsible for the content, availability, privacy practices or security of third-party services.
Your use of third-party services may be governed by their own terms and policies.
21. Errors and Website Information
We make reasonable efforts to keep the information on our website accurate, but prices, descriptions, turnaround times and other information may occasionally contain errors or omissions.
We reserve the right to correct errors, update information or cancel an order affected by a significant pricing or description error. Where we cancel an order for this reason, any payment received will be refunded.
22. Limitation of Liability
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
Subject to that limitation, we are not liable for:
- Loss of profit, revenue, business, opportunity or anticipated savings.
- Loss of data where adequate backup copies have not been retained.
- Indirect or consequential losses.
- Rejection by a journal, publisher, university or other organisation.
- Loss of marks, grades, funding, employment or publication opportunities.
- Errors in facts, data, calculations, references, research findings or specialist subject matter outside the agreed scope of the service.
Where permitted by law, our total liability arising from an individual order will not exceed the amount paid for that order.
23. Events Beyond Our Control
We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by circumstances outside our reasonable control, including internet or email outages, power failures, illness, fire, flooding, severe weather, industrial disputes, government action, war, civil unrest or failures of third-party systems.
Where such circumstances affect an agreed deadline, we will take reasonable steps to minimise disruption.
24. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be treated as removed to the minimum extent necessary, while the remaining provisions will continue to apply.
25. Waiver
If we do not immediately enforce any provision of these Terms, this does not mean we have waived our right to enforce it later.
26. Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with the applicable quotation, order confirmation, Privacy Policy and Returns & Refunds Policy, form the agreement between you and us in relation to the service ordered.
If specific written terms agreed for an individual order conflict with these general Terms, those specific written terms will take priority for that order.
27. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time by publishing a revised version on this page.
The Terms applying to an order will normally be those in force when the order was placed.
28. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms and any dispute or claim arising from them are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
If you are a consumer, you may also have rights under the mandatory laws of the country in which you live.
Subject to applicable consumer rights, the courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction over disputes arising from these Terms.
29. Contact Information
If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, please use our contact form.
Proof-Reading-Service.com Ltd
Allia Future Business Centre
King's Hedges Road
Cambridge CB4 2HY
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 20 3150 0431
Company Registration Number: 08391405
VAT Registration Number: GB 911 4788 21