Terms and conditions

By using the services offered by Riverstone Editing, you agree to the terms and conditions set out below.

Definition of services
1. Riverstone Editing’s proofreading and copyediting services are limited to clarifying English expression, eliminating spelling, grammatical and word use errors, improving sentence and paragraph structure, ensuring consistency in style, formatting papers and checking and correcting referencing. Our services do not include rewriting documents, altering content, correcting factual errors or performing major structural changes.
Request for services
1. Clients must place a request for Riverstone Editing’s services by completing the online Order Form.
2. Services will be provided subject to availability of editors. Within 24 hours of sending the Order Form, the client will be notified by email whether Riverstone Editing agrees to perform the service requested by the deadline. Riverstone Editing is not obliged to perform the services requested by the client unless and until it has been confirmed in writing.
3. After receiving acceptance of a job and an invoice, the client is under no obligation to proceed with the services. However, once the client has agreed to the services in writing and paid the fees, the client may cancel the order only according to the provisions under Clause 5.
Provision of services
1. Riverstone Editing agrees to perform the requested services in a professional manner according to industry standards and by the deadline requested by the client.
2. Riverstone Editing may withdraw from providing services at its discretion or in the event of unforeseen circumstances (e.g. power blackouts, natural disasters, corrupted files). In this case, Riverstone Editing will notify the client as soon as reasonably practicable with any or all of the following proposals:
  1. a revised deadline by which the service is to be performed
  2. a revised fee to be charged for the services
  3. a full refund of any fees paid by the client within 2 business days.
3. If the client receives an email in accordance with clause 3.2, the client must notify Riverstone Editing in writing within 5 business days whether or not the client accepts or rejects the revised deadline and/or fee or requesting a refund for any fees already paid.
  1. If the client accepts the revised deadline and/or fee, the Order Form will be amended accordingly, and Riverstone Editing will perform the services in accordance with the amended Order Form.
  2. If the client rejects the revised deadline and/or fees, Riverstone Editing is under no obligation to provide the services and will return any fees paid by the client within 2 business days.
  3. If the client requests a full refund of any fees paid, Riverstone Editing will return the fees to the client within 2 business days.
4. Unless specified otherwise in writing, if the client requests British/Australian English, Riverstone Editing will follow the Snooks & Co. Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers (6th ed.) and the Macquarie Dictionary. If the client requests American English, Riverstone Editing will follow the Chicago Manual of Style and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. When applicable, Riverstone Editing will follow the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies ‘Guidelines for the ethical publishing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors and research from those communities’ and the Australians Together ‘Language and terminology guide’.
5. Riverstone Editing reserves the right to refuse to provide services for work that is reasonably perceived to be offensive or objectionable.
6. Riverstone Editing will not provide services for plagiarised work. It is the client’s responsibility to ensure that any material submitted to Riverstone Editing is original. If any or all of a document has been plagiarised, the plagiarised section(s) will not be edited. No refund will be given for any sections not edited due to plagiarism.
Fees
1. Upon receipt of an Order Form and in the event that Riverstone Editing agrees to provide the service, Riverstone Editing will email the client an invoice for the service according to Clause 4.2.
2. Fees may be paid in one of the following ways:
  1. The client pays the full fees prior to the service being commenced.
  2. In the case that a third party (e.g. university) has agreed to make payment, the client will be issued with a 30-day invoice.
3. If an invoice is issued in accordance with Clauses 4.2.1 or 4.2.2, Riverstone Editing will commence work only once the fees have been paid. Riverstone Editing is under no obligation to commence work until fees are paid in full.
4. In the event the fees are not paid in accordance with Clause 4.2.3, the client shall remain personally responsible for the payment of fees.
Cancellations and contract termination
1. By making a payment to Riverstone Editing, the client is confirming that work is to commence.
2. If a client wishes to cancel an order, a minimum of 24 hours’ notice must be given in writing to Riverstone Editing. Payment is required for any services already rendered prior to receipt of the cancellation notice. Riverstone Editing will return the edited and unedited sections to the client and refund only the unused portion of the fees within 2 business days.
3. Riverstone Editing reserves the right to terminate services at any time and for any reason. The client will be notified in writing and the work in progress and the unused portion of the fees will be returned within 2 business days.
Client rights and responsibilities
1. The client retains full ownership, copyright and intellectual property over their work.
2. The client is solely responsible and liable for:
  1. making full payment of the fees in accordance with Clause 4
  2. ensuring that all details provided on the Online Form, including contact information, are complete and correct
  3. submitting the correct file for editing
    1. If the client submits the incorrect file, they may replace it with the correct file but must make an additional payment to cover the editing that has already taken place on the original file (if any).
  4. keeping backup files of all documents submitted to Riverstone Editing
  5. the originality of their document and ensuring that it contains no plagiarism
  6. complying with all university or journal policies and guidelines and local laws
  7. carefully checking all changes made to their document and taking full responsibility for accepting or rejecting them
  8. the content, presentation and quality of all documents.
Quality assurance
1. Riverstone Editing aims to provide high-quality professional services that meet industry standards and practices.
2. Riverstone Editing will uphold the highest standards of academic integrity according to the Australian Standards for Editing Practice and, where applicable, the Institute of Professional Editors ‘Guidelines for editing research theses’.
3. Riverstone Editing does not guarantee that edited documents will:
  1. be 100% free of errors
  2. result in improved or passing grades
  3. result in acceptance by a university, journal or publisher.
4. Riverstone Editing takes no responsibility for file corruptions or bugs that cause changes (e.g. formatting changes) to documents.
5. Riverstone Editing takes no responsibility for work that was not previously edited by Riverstone Editing or for corrections outside of the scope of the original service.
6. In the event that a client finds errors in the edited document, the client may notify Riverstone Editing in writing of the errors within:
  1. 30 days for documents of fewer than 50,000 words
  2. 60 days for documents of 50,000 words or more.
7. Subject to the client complying with Clause 7.6, Riverstone Editing will correct any errors at no further charge to the client.
On-time guarantee
1. Riverstone Editing guarantees that it will complete the services by the deadline specified on the Order Form or in accordance with Clause 3.2.
2. Services are deemed to have been completed once the edited work or a link to the edited work has been emailed to the email address stipulated on the Order Form.
3. If Riverstone Editing fails to complete the services by the deadline, it will:
  1. complete and return the edited document as soon as possible.
  2. provide the client with a full refund of any fees paid within 10 business days after the deadline.
4. Riverstone Editing will not be responsible for circumstances outside of its control (e.g. power blackouts, natural disasters, corrupted files) that prevent the return of documents by the deadline. In this case, Riverstone Editing will act in accordance with Clause 3.2 as far as is reasonably practicable.
5. Riverstone Editing will not have failed to have completed the services by the deadline if:
  1. the client has supplied an incorrect email address, the email inbox is full or the email is blocked for any reason (e.g. a spam filter)
  2. Riverstone Editing sends the email to the client by the deadline, but the client does not open the email or access the link until after the deadline
  3. Riverstone Editing sends the email to the client by the deadline but the email does not download to the client’s computer until after the deadline
  4. the client requests that Riverstone Editing complete additional work that was not originally contained in the Order Form
  5. the client agrees to an extension to the deadline (in which case the guarantee applies to the varied deadline.
6. The onus will be on the client to prove that Riverstone Editing failed to deliver the services by the deadline.
Confidentiality
1. Riverstone Editing agrees to keep all client information, including contact information, strictly confidential.
2. Riverstone Editing guarantees that it will never share a client’s work with any third party except for the editor contracted by Riverstone Editing to provide the service.
3. Riverstone Editing guarantees that all documents will be stored in a secure, password-protected computer.
4. On request, Riverstone Editing will sign a non-disclosure agreement with the client.
5. All client documents will be deleted from our system within 90 days.
Client complaints
1. Clients can make a complaint by emailing info@riverstoneediting.com.
2. The managing editor will independently review the client’s edited document, determine the corrective action required and inform the client of the outcome within 2 business days.
3. Corrective actions may include any of the following:
  1. correction of any identified errors
  2. partial or full re-edit
  3. no action
4. The client may not take legal action against Riverstone Editing until the complaints process has been completed.
Variation
1. Riverstone Editing may vary these Terms and Conditions at any time by service of written notice to the client.