General Terms & Conditions

Updated October 2023

At Berba, we’re committed to offering you versatile and reliable language services through various service models tailored to meet different needs. Our Terms and Conditions are crafted to provide a clear and secure framework for our collaboration, ensuring that all parties involved – whether you’re a buyer, a translator, proofreader or seller – can operate with confidence and clarity.

Our services unfold through two primary business models:

Direct Service Model: In which clients engage with us, and we manage all aspects of the translation and proofreading projects, utilising our experienced network of freelancers to deliver top-quality results (also known as Berba Agency or the Agency).

 

Marketplace Model: An open platform where clients can directly engage and transact with freelance translators and proofreaders, while we ensure a smooth, secure, and quality-assured transaction, earning a commission in the process (also known as Berba Marketplace).

 

Below, our Terms and Conditions are segmented and clearly defined to cater to both models. We encourage all users to carefully read, understand, and consider these terms before utilising our services, ensuring that our collaboration is built on mutual understanding and trust. The following terms and conditions of service (these “Terms”), govern your access to and use of the Berba website and mobile application, including any content, functionality and services offered on or through www.berba.com or the Berba mobile application (the “Site”) by Berba Translations SL (Buenos Aires Kalea 12, 48001 Bilbao, Spain). Berba may be referred hereto as the “Site”, “Berba”, “we” or “us” and “you” or “user” means you as a user of the Site.

 

You must be 18 years old or older to use this Site. If you are between 13 and 18 years old, you can use the Site with the permission of a parent or legal guardian. If you are under 13, you are not allowed to use the Site.

Table of contents

Section A: General Terms and Conditions

  • A.1 Privacy and Data Protection
  • A.2 Intellectual Property Claims Policy

Section B: Terms Specific to the Direct Service Model

  • B.1 Service Provisions and Limitations
  • B.2 General Sales Conditions
  • B.3 Supplier Contract

Section C: Terms Specific to the Marketplace Model

  • C.1 How the Marketplace Works
  • C.2 Transactions and Commissions

Section D: Dispute Resolution, Liability, and Miscellaneous

  • Section D.1: Limitation of Liability
  • Section D.2: Legal and Payment Terms
  • Section D.3: Exclusions

Section A. General Terms and Conditions

This section covers all aspects that apply to all users regardless of the business model they engage with — including, but not limited to, privacy, data protection, user conduct and dispute resolution.

Section A.1 Privacy and Data Protection

Berba is dedicated to safeguarding the personal information of its users – sellers, buyers and other visitors on the Site (”users”), but also influencers, affiliates and other collaborators that may interact with Berba. Our aim is to give you access to our practices regarding the information we collect when you visit and/or use the Site. The privacy practices for the Site and services provided by Berba are explained in this Policy – this also includes practices that apply to affiliates, influencers, and other collaborators who are individuals. By accessing and/or using the Site, related sites, applications, services, goods, and/or for an account and/or registering for our affiliate or influencer program, you acknowledge that you understand our process for handling your personal data in accordance with this Policy. This includes our collection, processing, disclosure, use, and retention of personal information, and explanations on how to limit the sharing of your information in this Policy.

 

Which information do we collect?

 

When you use the Site, we ask you to provide personal information, including a valid email address, or login data from third party websites, including but not limited to Google and/or Facebook. You may be asked to provide additional information, such as your name, physical address, billing information, telephone number or other contact details, payment details, tax information, details about your education, profession, and/or expertise. We also collect information in or about your communications with Berba or other users of Berba.

 

We automatically collect information while you use the Site, and we collect personal information on your usage of the Site, including transactions and communications with other users through the Site, your searches, visited pages, and other actions. Information relating to such usage is also collected, used and processed, including but not limited to geo-location information, IP address, device and connection information, browser and web-log information, and URLs you have viewed before or after using the Site. We also collect and process information relating to the use of cookies and similar technologies, as detailed below. We use that information to provide you our services, enhance user experience, personalise your browsing experience as well as monitor the Site for preventing fraud and inappropriate content or behaviour.

 

We receive information from third party vendors who provide data to supplement the information we collect about you, in accordance with applicable laws. For example, we may receive fraud warnings from service providers for our fraud prevention and risk assessment efforts. We also may receive information from enrichment service providers to enhance your experience as well as from advertising and marketing partners in order to manage and measure our campaigns.

 
  • If you connect or login to your account with a third-party service (e.g. Google, Facebook, LinkedIn), we receive information such as your registration and profile information from that service. This information varies and is controlled by that service or as authorised by you via your privacy settings at that service.

  • We also receive certain information about you, if you are invited to Berba by another user (for example, as part of our collaboration tools and referral program), in such case we will receive limited information, such as your email address or other contact information, and we will use it for the same purpose it was provided and in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

 

We combine your personal information with information we collect automatically or obtain from other companies and use it for the purposes detailed in this Policy.

 

Our Legal Basis for Using Your Personal Information

 

Where relevant under applicable laws, all processing of your personal information will be justified by a “lawful ground” for processing. In the majority of cases, processing will be justified on the basis that:

  • you have agreed to let us use your personal information for a particular reason;

  • we need to use your personal information to do things that are part of a contract we have with you, such as providing services you have paid for;

  • we must process the information in order to follow the law or regulations, such as to prevent fraud; or

  • we need to process data to make our services better for you, but we will always make sure it is done in a way that respects your rights and is not too extreme.

How Do We Use The Information Collected?

 

We will use your personal information for the following purposes:

  • to make sure we give you a good service and keep you safe. We use it to set up your account, make sure you can log in, talk to other people, get help and hear from us. We also use it to make our service better, understand how it works and make sure it fits your needs. This includes giving you ideas for promoting your services, ranking search results and making sure you have a good experience.

  • to ensure the Berba marketplace is safe and secure. This includes preventing fraud and making sure people follow the rules. We also use this information to check that content is accurate, investigate security issues, and make sure people are giving us correct information. We use analytics to help us do this. If we think someone is doing something that could be dangerous, we may limit what they can do on Berba. If you disagree with this, please contact us at info@berba.com.

  • to contact you, as requested by you or as otherwise approved by you or permitted according to this Policy.

  • to let people know about the Site, our services, and the Berba marketplace. This includes sending messages to tell you about things that might interest you, organising programs and activities to get people to join, and running contests or other promotional activities.

  • to promote and advertise the Site, our services and the Berba marketplace. For example, we use the information collected from you for the purpose of sending direct marketing messages (as detailed below), to show you information that may be of interest to you, to organise and facilitate referral programs, contests or other promotional activities or events.

  • to help us advertise and spread the word about the Site, our services, and the Berba marketplace. This information is also used to send you messages about things that may interest you, to organise and help with referral programs, contests, or other promotional activities or events.

  • to maintain appropriate business records, to comply with lawful requests by public authorities and to comply with applicable laws and regulations or as otherwise required by law.

  • to keep accurate records of the business activities, and provide them to government authorities if requested to comply with applicable laws.

We will ask for your permission before using your information for anything other than what is listed in this Policy. We may send you emails, post, text messages, or show you ads online about our products, services, or promotions that may be of interest to you. We will only do this if we have your permission, or if it is allowed by law. You can stop us from sending you these messages at any time by clicking the link in the message. We will only send you messages that we think are relevant to you.

We keep personal information for as long as it is needed for our operations, like to remember what happened in case of any complaints or challenges. We also keep personal information from closed accounts to follow the law, stop fraud, collect money owed, solve problems, help with investigations, follow our website rules, and do other things allowed by law.

This Site is only available to people who are 18 years old or older. People who are 13 to 17 years old can use the website with permission from a parent or guardian. People under 13 years old are not allowed to use the Site. We do not collect information from minors under 13. Parents should always watch what their children are doing on the website. If we find out that we have collected information from someone under 13, we will delete it. If you think we have information from someone under 13, please contact us at info@berba.com.

Third Parties. Sharing Personal Information

 

We do not provide third parties with your personal information for any marketing purposes unless we have your explicit consent.

Your information may be shared in the following ways:

When you register, your username, country, and other information related to your activity is publicly visible to all Site users. This includes photos you upload, examples of jobs you have completed, ratings, and any additional information you choose to add to your profile.

Please be aware that certain information, including your user name and profile, along with the content you upload, will be viewable by other users when you use such features. Additionally, when you message or communicate with other users, your information will be shared with them.

When sharing your information and/or data with other Berba users, it is done at your own risk. If you choose to share personal information with other users, including sellers providing you a service through Berba, such personal information is shared with other users as separate controllers. While Berba’s terms of service require sellers to keep the information shared with them confidential, Berba cannot ensure that all users will do so, and it is your responsibility to ensure that other users comply with your standards.

We share personal information with service providers that provide us with services for the purpose of operating the Site, opening and operating your account, and providing other essential services and solutions. This includes, but is not limited to, session recording, vendors and payment processors, data enrichment services, communication systems, CRM systems, data optimisation and marketing services, hosting services, legal and financial advisors, forum hosting, IT SaaS services, translation tools, web analytics and performance tools, community management services, and mailing systems. We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure that third parties adequately safeguard your personal information and only process it in accordance with our instructions.

We may share personal information with law enforcement agencies, public authorities or other parties in order to respond to a court order, judicial process or to regulatory authorities, if we believe we are required to do so by law or that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with legal processes; when we believe it necessary or appropriate to disclose personal information to law enforcement authorities, such as to investigate actual or suspected fraud or violations of law, breaches of security, or breaches of this Policy; to respond to claims against us; and to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Berba, our customers, or the public. We may also share personal information with payment processors, fraud detection agencies and similar third parties for the purpose of facilitating payments made through the Site and securing the Site and protecting it against fraud, unauthorised transactions (such as money laundering), claims or other liabilities.

We may share limited personal information with social media platforms and marketing partners, such as Facebook and Google, to promote our services or the Berba marketplace, if you choose to sign in through their platform. Such features and third-party services collect certain information about you and may set a cookie to enable their functionality. These third parties’ features are governed by their policies.

Your personal information may be shared with other users with whom you have a business relationship in connection with transactions or services you have requested through the Site.

This Site is also protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply with respect to data collected by reCAPTCHA. The use of Google reCAPTCHA is required in order to prevent fraud and misuse of the Site by use of automated machines. To learn more, please see Google’s privacy policy.

Storage of Personal Information

 

We may store or process some of your personal information with third party suppliers and data processors, which may be located in other countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). These countries may have different laws than the country you live in. When we transfer your personal information from the EEA to countries outside of the EEA that do not provide an adequate level of data protection, we will make sure to provide appropriate safeguards. We will take steps to make sure your personal information is treated securely and in accordance with this policy.

Berba’s website has links to other websites. If you click on one of these links, any data you give to that website and how it is used is not controlled by Berba. You should read the privacy policy of each website you visit. This policy only applies to information collected by Berba’s website. If you post personal information on a social network and tag Berba’s website, it will be subject to the social network’s terms of use and privacy policy. Berba does not control these terms of use and privacy policies, so you should read them before submitting any personal information.

Security

 

We use industry standard technologies and internal procedures to keep the Site, our services, and your personal information secure and to prevent unauthorised access, misuse, destruction, alteration, loss, or damage. We also have a certification to make sure credit card payments are secure. We can’t guarantee the security of your data when it’s sent over the internet, but we use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access. If you have registered to the Site, you should keep your password a secret and not share it with anyone else. We can provide more information about our data security practices upon request.

Get in touch

When asking questions about your personal information, please include all the details related to your request. We will process your request according to the laws and policies in place. You can also email us at info@berba.com.

 

Section A.2: Intellectual Property Claims Policy

We value and respect the intellectual prowess and creativity of our suppliers, freelancers, and clients alike. This Intellectual Property Claims Policy is designed to safeguard the intellectual property rights and establish clear boundaries related to IP ownership and claims in the context of our two distinct business models: the Direct Service Model and the Marketplace Model. Please read carefully to understand your rights and obligations regarding IP matters.

Direct Service Model (Berba Agency)

When participating under the Direct Service Model, the following IP rules apply to suppliers (translators and proofreaders) and clients:

  1. Ownership of IP:
    • All intellectual property produced by suppliers in the course of a project managed by Berba Agency, including translations, adaptations, and other derivative works, will be the sole property of Berba upon submission and payment.
  2. Transfer of Rights:
    • Upon receiving payment for the project, suppliers expressly waive and transfer any moral and economic rights to the translated material to Berba, who may relinquish IP rights to the client as per the contractual agreement.
  3. Use and Reproduction:
    • Suppliers shall not use, reproduce, or claim ownership of any part of the translated materials outside the scope of the assigned project without explicit written consent from Berba.

Marketplace Model (Berba Marketplace)

For transactions under the Marketplace Model, the ensuing IP norms are instituted:

  1. Ownership of IP:
    • Intellectual property generated through the services in the Marketplace Model, such as translations, shall directly be the property of the client upon submission and payment, with no claims by suppliers or Berba.
  2. Relinquishment of Rights:
    • Upon payment confirmation, suppliers agree to cede and forgo any intellectual and economic rights to the client, pertaining to the translated material produced during the transaction.
  3. Confidentiality:
    • Suppliers and clients must adhere to confidentiality norms, ensuring that materials exchanged are not used, disclosed, or reproduced outside the confines of the specific transaction.

General Provisions

  • Confidentiality: All parties are obliged to handle project materials confidentially and ensure non-disclosure of content to third parties, except as required by law.
  • Indemnity: Suppliers agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Berba and its clients against any claims, damages, costs, or losses related to IP claims or violations, resultant from the materials they produce.
  • Legal Action: Berba reserves the right to take legal action against any party that violates these intellectual property provisions, which may include seeking damages, injunction, and recovery of legal fees.
  • Updates to the Policy: Berba may revise this IP Claims Policy periodically. Suppliers and clients will be notified of significant changes, but are encouraged to review it regularly.

By engaging with Berba and utilising our platforms for translation services, both suppliers and clients agree to adhere to the stipulations laid out in this Intellectual Property Claims Policy.

Section B: Terms Specific to the Direct Service Model

Section B.1: Service Provisions and Limitations

Berba offers explicit guarantees on quality and delivery dates. Berba shall, as far as possible, comply with agreed delivery deadlines, subject to cases where Berba awaits input / material. If no timetable has been agreed, the assignment shall be performed at the rate which, in addition, is considered reasonable by the scope of the assignment. For products where the service is to be delivered within a certain time interval, e.g. within 30 minutes, the time interval is counted only from the time Berba has received the document in the correct and final format.

 

If you are not satisfied with a job, we will provide another version as quickly as possible at our expense. If the second version is still unacceptable, you shall have the right to a partial or total reimbursement. The conditions and procedure for contesting a job are described below.

 

If the delivery late and the amount of the delay expressed in business days is more than one-third of the translation’s total time budget expressed in business days (i.e.33% late), and if the delay is directly and only the fault of Berba, we shall reimburse up to 100% of the cost of the job.

 

Section B.2: General Sales Conditions

These general sales conditions apply to all jobs carried out by Berba for its clients in the direct service model. All translation requests must be accompanied by an order including the price established by the parties. This order must be sent to us by regular mail, email or fax; we reserve the right to refuse to start a job without an order.

 

Technical documents shall be accompanied by reference documents supplied by the client and/or drawings or diagrams that provide a better understanding of such documents.

 

The cost of a translation shall be calculated using a count of words in the source language, unless otherwise previously established in writing.

 

In the event that a client cancels an order, all work already affected shall be billed at 100%, while work which is suspended shall be billed at 50%.

 

Unless otherwise specified, all invoices must be paid within five working days from the date they are issued.

 

Any late payment or failure to pay shall be cause for immediate collection of the entire amount due from the client, without previous notice or other formalities. Berba reserves the right to request interest calculated according to the official rate in effect as of the date that such late payment is made. Moreover, the client must reimburse any expenses Berba incurs to settle the case.

 

All work in progress and all orders in progress shall be suspended in the event of late payment.

Section B.3: Supplier Contract

The terms in this section (“Section B.3”)  shall apply to the agreement between the Supplier (“the Supplier”) and Berba, provided nothing to the contrary has been expressly agreed in writing or is mandatorily prescribed by applicable law.

 

The Supplier Services

The Supplier agrees to carry out certain services for Berba. The services to be delivered by the Supplier are defined by the order confirmation in connection with each delivery and shall be governed by the terms in Section B.3.

 

The Supplier acknowledges that the services will form part of a delivery to Berba’s customers (the “Customers”). Accordingly, the Supplier acknowledges that Berba shall be entitled to make such reasonable amendments and/or additions to the Services in order to meet the requirements of the Customer. The Supplier undertakes to loyally seek to accommodate any reasonable request from Berba.

 

The Supplier warrants that he/she has the necessary qualifications, experience and training to deliver the Services, and that the Supplier will comply with all applicable laws and regulations in connection with the delivery of the Services.

 

Berba is entitled – at any time – to provide the Customer with all relevant information about the Supplier, including personal data on name, contact details, qualifications and experience etc., which is necessary for the performance of the terms in Section B.3 or which is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by Berba or the Customer in relation to the delivery of the Services. The Supplier hereby accepts such transfer of data and information from Berba to the Customer.

 

All Services must be at a high professional level, free of errors and deficiencies, and must meet Berba quality standards at all times. Berba will routinely conduct quality assessments of the quality of the Services.

 

Services must be delivered by the Supplier within the specified deadline so that they can be delivered to the Customers on time. If the Services are not delivered on time and the Customer demands a cancellation or reduction of price, the Supplier’s payment shall be reduced accordingly.

 

Supplier Restrictions

The Supplier agrees that any collection, storage and/or use of Customer data will be in accordance with the at all times applicable personal data regulations and agrees not to use any Customer data for any other purpose than fulfilling its obligations pursuant to the Agreement. The Supplier accepts and acknowledges that Berba and/or the Customers shall have all rights and titles to the Services delivered by the Supplier under the terms in Section B.3, including copyrights (if any) and that the Supplier may not use any of such work without the prior written consent of Berba. The Supplier is not authorised to enter into any agreements or obligations on behalf of Berba.

 

Berba’s Obligations

aBerba shall provide the Supplier in a timely manner with the necessary information in order for the Supplier to deliver the Services, including but not limited to intended use, delivery on data carriers, number of copies, readiness for printing, translation format, etc.

 

Berba shall make information and documents that are required for the preparation of the translation available to the Supplier upon order placement, including but not limited to terminology of the client, images, drawings, tables, abbreviations, internally used terms, etc.

 

Independent Contractors

The Supplier is engaged as an independent consultant. The Supplier shall not be considered as an employee, principal or agent of Berba, and shall not be entitled to any other compensation than those specifically agreed upon in the terms in Section B.3.

 

The Supplier is responsible for obtaining relevant and adequate insurance in regard to the services provided by the Supplier. Berba shall not be liable for any losses incurred by the Supplier due to insufficient insurance coverage, and reserves the right to terminate the Agreement immediately if the Supplier has not obtained the necessary insurance.

 

Errors or Deficiencies

If Berba or the Customers identify errors or deficiencies in the services, the Supplier shall be obligated to correct such errors and deficiencies within a reasonable deadline set by Berba. The Supplier shall not be entitled to additional payment for time spent on such corrections.

 

If the Supplier fails to correct errors or deficiencies within a reasonable time frame, if the Supplier refuses to correct errors or deficiencies, or if the errors or deficiencies have not been corrected to the satisfaction of the Customer, Berba may – at its own discretion – have such errors corrected by another Supplier at the Supplier’s expense or demand a reduction in the Supplier’s fee for the translation.

 

Pricing and Payment

Prior to starting a new assignment, the Supplier and Berba shall agree upon the amount to be paid for the Services. The Supplier may not initiate any work until a price has been agreed to in writing. All prices are exclusive of VAT. 

 

The Supplier will not receive payment until the Customer has approved the completed Services. Upon completion and approval of the Services, Berba will initiate payment to the Supplier. The Supplier shall not send an invoice to Berba.

 

The Supplier shall only be entitled to reimbursement of expenses if the expenses have been preapproved in writing by Berba.

 

The Supplier is responsible for reporting and payment of all applicable taxes to the relevant tax authorities. Berba will not report or pay any taxes on behalf of the Supplier. Any tax consequences of the terms in Section B.3 are of no concern to Berba.

 

Payments will occur on the next two months after your task’s deadline, provided the job has been confirmed by the client.

 

Minimum ticket payment: the amount of all projects below €50 will be accumulated in the translator’s profile at our database and the payment will be processed once it surpasses the minimum ticket of €50 or in the case that three months have passed since the delivery of the project. The payment of projects will be reclaimable during the 3 months after the delivery of the payment id to the translator, to be reviewed, through the email account that was established by the translator.

 

Payment expiration: There will be payment reminders established and issued every end of the month to the translator. In case Berba would not receive any confirmation by the translator in 3 months after payment id reception, whether it being positive or negative, this payment will not be reclaimable by the translator.

 

Use of Sub-suppliers

The Supplier is obligated to perform the Services personally and shall not be entitled to make use of any sub-suppliers.

 

Confidentiality

The Supplier must observe unconditional confidentiality regarding all confidential information pertaining to Berba, the Customers and Berba’s business partners and may not use this information for any purpose other than fulfilment of the service provided. Confidential information includes information of any kind not intended to be passed on, including business strategies, business concepts, prices and rates, data, drawings, images, specifications, manuals, instructions, accounting information, etc. Further, the confidentiality applies to all business strategies, business concepts, prices and rates, data, drawings, images, specifications, manuals, instructions, accounting information, etc. related to the Customers.

 

This obligation of confidentiality shall be applicable without time limitation, therefore also after termination of the Agreement, regardless of the reason for the termination.

 

Section C: Terms Specific to the Marketplace Model

This section explores the intricacies of the marketplace model, covering payment terms, interaction guidelines between clients and freelancers, commission rates, dispute resolution between freelancers and clients, etc.

C.1 How the Marketplace Works

Key Terms

 

“Buyers” are users who buy the services offered on Berba.

“Sellers” are users who sell services on Berba, including but not limited to translators, proofreaders, transcribers, interpreters and any other type of service offered on the Site. Sellers may be referred to by additional terms including, but not limited to, freelancers, translators, transcribers, interpreters or content writers.

A “Package” includes translation, proofreading, sworn translation, interpretation or content writing. The list of Packages provided on the platform may be updated as Berba decides to grow its portfolio.

“Orders” are the formal agreements between a Buyer and a Seller after a purchase was made on Berba. An order may include one Package plus any additional fees.

A “Project” refers to a collection of source materials that necessitate the completion of one or more services. One Project may include several orders.

Overview

To use Berba’s services, users must register for an account on the Site. By registering, users agree to provide Berba with accurate and up-to-date information, and represent and warrant that they will not use the services for any fraudulent or misleading purposes. Users are solely responsible for their account activity, and must keep their password and other account information confidential and secure. Berba is not liable for any acts or omissions committed by users regarding their account. Only registered users are permitted to buy and sell on Berba, and registration is free.

Buyers pay Berba in advance to create an order. Sellers must fulfil their orders, and may not cancel orders without cause. Berba has the right to ban a Seller from offering their services on the Site. Users may not offer or accept payments using any method other than placing an order through any website under the domain of berba.com. Berba retains the right to use all published and delivered works for Berba marketing and promotion purposes. 

Buyers

Buyers are prohibited from making direct payments to Sellers using payment systems other than the Berba platform.

Special services may be requested on Berba as long as the comply with our guidelines on approved services. Services not allowed on the platform include:

  • Illegal or Fraudulent services

  • Copyright or Trademark Infringement, and violation of a third party’s terms of service reported through our Intellectual Property Claims Policy

  • Adult oriented services, Pornographic, Inappropriate/Obscene.

  • Spam, nonsense, violent or deceptive materials.

Sellers

Basics

  • Sellers create a Package on Berba to allow Buyers to purchase their services.

  • Sellers may also offer additional services which may result in additional fees.

  • Each Order you sell and successfully complete, accredits you account with revenue equal to 85% of the purchase amount.

  • Berba accredits Sellers once an order is completed. See our “Orders” section below for a definition of a completed order.

  • The Seller’s rating is calculated based on the order reviews posted by Buyers. In certain cases, exceedingly low ratings may lead to the suspension of the Seller’s account.

  • Berba reserves the right to temporarily suspend a Seller’s ability to withdraw revenue in order to prevent fraudulent or illicit activity. This may occur as a result of security concerns, improper behaviour reported by other users, or linking multiple Berba accounts to a single withdrawal provider.

  • Sellers are responsible for obtaining a general liability insurance policy with coverage amounts that are sufficient to cover all risks associated with the performance of their services.

Packages

  • Sellers can only offer Packages once the have been validated as being able to perform the services as defined in the Package. The validation process may or may not include exams or interviews.

  • Packages and/or users may be removed by Berba from the Site for violations of these Terms and Conditions and/or our Community Standards, which may include (but are not limited to) the following violations and/or materials:

  • Illegal or Fraudulent services.

  • Adult oriented services, Pornographic, Inappropriate/Obscene

  • Intentional copies of Orders

  • Spam, nonsense, or violent or deceptive Packages

  • Packages misleading to Buyers or others

  • Promoting Berba and/or Berba Packages through activities that are prohibited by any laws, regulations, and/or third parties’ terms of service, as well as through any marketing activity that negatively affects our relationships with our users or partners.

  • The removal of any Packages that are found to be in violation of the aforementioned terms and conditions may lead to the suspension of the Seller’s account.

  • Packages may be removed from our Search feature due to poor performance and/or user misconduct.

Additional fees

Additional fees may be added to an Order when additional services pertaining to the completion of the Project and to meet Buyer’s requests, including but not limited to:

  • cases where a document may need a heavy amount of pre-processing, such as document transcription and Optical Character Recognition,

  • cases where a document may require post-processing, such as document reformatting,

  • cases where the Buyer has requested a rushed delivery,

  • cases where shipping is required,

  • cases where the Buyer has requested the wrong Package and the fee comprises the difference in the price of the Package.

Berba reserves the right to deem whether an additional fee has been added to an Order for a reasonable cause. Berba may remove a Package or Seller from the platform for abusive use of additional fees.

Orders

  • Once payment is confirmed, your order will be created and given a unique order number.

  • Sellers are required to deliver completed files within the Berba platform, in accordance with the service that has been purchased and advertised in their Package. An exception to the requirement is made in cases where a physical deliverable is required to be sent to the buyer. However, in such cases, a digital copy of the completed work must be uploaded to the platform as proof of work. Failure to comply with this requirement and, in particular, delivering the package outside of the Berba platform would result in Berba having no record of the completion of work and therefore, Berba will not remit payment.

  • Order delivery may not be abused by Sellers to circumvent Order guidelines described in these Terms and Conditions. Submitting an Order as delivered when it was not fulfilled may result in a cancellation of that Order after review, affect the Seller’s rating and result in a warning to Seller.

  • An Order is marked as Complete 14 days after it has been marked as Delivered. Even after an order has been marked as approved, the Buyer reserves the right to raise an issue with Customer Service within this 14-day period. An Order will be automatically marked as Complete if not approved and no request for modification was submitted within 14 days after the Order was marked as Delivered.

  • If the Buyer requests changes within this 14-day period, the status of the project will be changed to “Changes requested”. Upon delivering the updated files, the order will be marked as Delivered and the 14-day period will restart.

  • We encourage our Buyers and Sellers to try and settle conflicts amongst themselves via the comments on the Project detail page. For the purpose of record-keeping and to facilitate potential dispute resolution, all communication must take place on the Berba platform. If for any reason this fails or if you encounter non-permitted usage on the Site, users can contact Berba’s Support Team for assistance here. For more information about disputes, Order cancellations and refunds please refer to the Payment Terms.

Handling Orders

  • When a Buyer orders a Package, the Seller is notified by email as well as notifications on the site while logged into the account.

  • Sellers are required to meet the delivery time they specified in the quote. Failing to do so will allow the Buyer to cancel the Order when an Order is marked as late.

  • Users are responsible for scanning all transferred files for viruses and malware. Berba will not be held responsible for any damages which might occur due to site usage, use of content or files transferred.

Reviews

  • Berba’s rating system relies on feedback reviews that Buyers leave after completing an Order. These reviews reflect the Buyer’s overall experience with the Seller and their services. Berba encourages Buyers to communicate any concerns they have experienced during the active order regarding the service provided by the Seller.

  • All feedback reviews must come from legitimate sales executed exclusively through the Berba platform from users within our Community to prevent misuse of our Feedback system. Purchases arranged to artificially enhance Seller ratings or abuse the Berba platform with purchases from additional accounts will result in a permanent suspension of all related accounts.

  • The feedback comments that Buyers leave are displayed publicly on a Seller’s profile.

  • Users are allowed to leave reviews on Orders up to 7 days after an Order is marked as complete. No new reviews may be added to an Order after 7 days.

  • Reviews left by the buyer and seller will be made public only after both parties have left their respective reviews, or after a period of seven days has elapsed, whichever comes first.

Disputes and Cancellations

Berba encourages Buyers and Sellers to resolve conflicts among themselves using the comment section on the project page. If they are unable to resolve it or if there is non-permitted usage on the Site, users can contact Berba’s Support Team for assistance. For more information about disputes, order cancellations, and refunds, refer to the Payment Terms.

C.2 Payment Terms

Key Terms

Purchase”: transaction where a buyer pays a seller for a translation service. The buyer sends a project request with the necessary details, and the seller provides a quote for the service. Once the buyer accepts the quote, they make a payment through the Berba platform, and the seller completes the translation service. After the project is marked as complete, the seller receives revenue for their work, and the buyer receives the completed translation.

Revenue”: amount earned by a seller for completing a translation project. The revenue is credited to the seller’s account on the platform after the project is marked as complete and can be withdrawn by the seller through various payment methods.

Project” / “Order”: translation service requested by a buyer. The buyer sends a project request with the necessary details, and the seller provides a quote for the service. Once the buyer accepts the quote, they make a payment through Berba platform, and the seller completes the translation service. After the project is marked as complete, the seller receives revenue for their work, and the buyer receives the completed translation. Then, the project can be considered as complete.

Quote” is what the Seller sends with their Seller Takehome Price and the price for the buyer.

Seller Takehome Price” is the total amount the Seller will receive minus the commission for Berba.

Payments to Seller

Each Order you successfully complete will credit your account with revenue equal to 83.25% of the total amount paid by the buyer. 15% of that commission will go to Berba and 1.75% corresponds to transaction fees — the minimum transaction fee is 1€.

Berba credits Sellers only after the project has been successfully completed.

Sellers are responsible for paying any direct or indirect taxes, which may apply depending on residency, location or otherwise, under provisions of their jurisdiction. Sellers represent and warrant that they comply, and will comply at all times, with their obligations under income tax provisions in their jurisdiction. The price displayed on the accepted Quote is inclusive of all such taxes and charges that may apply to the Sellers.

Berba is appointed as the authorised payment collection agent of the seller. The payment from the buyer to Berba is considered to have been made directly to the seller. 

Berba is responsible for remitting the funds to the seller in the manner described in these Payment Terms. If Berba does not remit the amounts to the seller, the seller will only have recourse against Berba and not the buyer. Berba may describe or reflect the terms herein in any terms of service, receipts, disclosures, or notices including receipts provided to buyers that Berba deems necessary or prudent.

The credited amount associated to your account will be paid to you at the end of each month for the projects that have been completed only after the 14-day limitation.

The Seller may only receive their Revenue after the order has been marked completed.

Revenues may be withdrawn only via these options:

  • Withdraw to your PayPal Account – fees apply depending on country. Check this link for more information.

  • IBAN Transfer – starting at 0.41% per transfer, fees vary depending on currency.

  • Wise transfer: you can check this link for information regarding the commissions.

If it is a SEPA transfer from Euro to Euro, commissions will be 0€.

Berba reserves the right to temporarily disable a Seller’s ability to withdraw revenue if there are concerns about fraudulent or illicit activity. This may be due to security issues, reported improper behaviour by other users, or if multiple Berba accounts are associated with a single withdrawal provider.

Withdrawals are final and cannot be reversed. They can only be made in the amount available to the seller, and their fees vary depending on the withdrawal method used. Once the process is started, it cannot be undone.

At the end of each month, Berba will transfer the sum of revenue earned from completed projects to the Seller’s designated payment method. If there is no defined payment method, the transfer will not occur and the sum will be rolled over to the next month’s payment.

If at the time of processing monthly invoices, the sum of all completed projects from that month and/or prior months is less than 40€, the amount will not be transferred to the Seller. If the Seller would like to request this total amount they will need to request payment from our Support Team and the Seller will be responsible for any fees required by the Payment Service Provider. Please, see fees above.

Payments from Buyers

Buyers pay Berba to create an order after receiving quotes from Sellers. Berba partners with Payment Services Providers for purposes of collecting all payments from Buyers and transferring such payments from Buyers to Sellers. All payments services in connection with the collection of funds on the Berba platform are performed by Berba’s Payment Services Providers.

Purchasing can be made via Credit/Debit Card and only in Euros.

You may not offer Sellers to pay, or make payment using any method other than through the Berba.com site. In case you have been asked to use an alternative payment method, please report it immediately to Berba’s Support Team. You agree to receive invoices and/or payment receipts from Berba in electronic form as PDF documents, by email or through the Site.

To protect against fraud, unauthorised transactions (such as money laundering), claims, or other liabilities, payment information in connection with withdrawals is collected by either Berba or Berba’s Payment Services Providers. Payment Services Providers may also collect such other information as necessary for the purpose of processing withdrawal payments. Berba is not exposed to the payment information provided to Payment Services Providers, and this information is subject to the privacy policy applicable to the Payment Service Provider.

When you use a payment method or provide payment details to make purchases on Berba, you guarantee that: (a) you have the legal authority to provide the information; (b) you have legal authorisation or permission to make payments using the payment methods; (c) if you are an employee or agent of a company or person that owns the payment method, you are authorised by that company or person to use the payment method to make payments on Berba; and (d) your actions do not violate any applicable laws.

Order Cancellation Policy

Berba encourages Buyers and Sellers to resolve service disputes between themselves. If a request is made to cancel an order, Berba’s Support Team will assess eligibility for cancellation based on factors including violations of Berba’s Terms of Service or Community Standards, general misconduct, or improper usage of the Berba delivery system.

If the Seller cancels the project while it is still active, the buyer will be able to find another Seller. If the new price is higher, the Buyer will pay the difference. If the new price is lower, Berba will refund the difference latest 46 days after official resolution. Berba will analyse the case and the Seller may be penalised by Berba for future projects.

Orders can be cancelled up to 14 days after they are marked as complete, subject to review by our Support Team. Please note that orders cannot be partially cancelled; only the entire order can be cancelled if necessary. In rare cases, our Support Team may cancel a completed order even after 14 days have passed. If an order is cancelled in such cases, the amount paid for the order will be returned to the buyer and will not be paid to the seller or deducted from future revenues.

If you have any concerns or issues with the service provided, please contact our Support Team to discuss possible resolutions. Berba reserves the right to cancel any order that involves non-permitted usage, such as harassment, unlawful behaviour, or other violations of our Terms of Service, as determined by our Support Team.

Berba’s Support Team may cancel orders for various reasons, including but not limited to the following:

  • If the Seller is unresponsive and late for more than 24 hours when the order is marked as Late.

  • If users are abusive towards each other through threats of low ratings or leveraging order materials (such as logins, personal information).

  • If users supplied or included copyright/trademark infringing materials as part of their requirements or the Seller’s delivery.

  • If the user is no longer an active Berba user due to Terms of Service violations or closure of their account.

  • If the Seller delivers no files and/or proof of work related to the agreed-upon order requirements. Note: Subjectivity of the materials in question will be reviewed by Berba’s Support Team.

  • If the Seller requests additional payments, on or off the Berba platform, by withholding the final delivery of services directly related to the agreed requirements.

  • If the Seller is withholding the final delivery of services for improved ratings.

  • If users abuse the Cancellation Policy to gain more services from Sellers beyond the agreed-upon requirements.

  • If users threaten to leave a damaging review to gain more services from the Seller not related to the agreed requirements.

The following reasons apply to completed orders (after the order is marked as complete and before the 14-day limitation):

  • Users who have been found to use materials that infringe on copyright or trademark rights, after verification and with evidence.

  • If a user is found to have used materials commercially without purchasing commercial use rights, and such use is reported, the user will not be eligible for a refund.

Refunds for cancelled orders will be provided by Berba to the payment provider within 46 days of official resolution. If a user requests a refund directly to their payment provider, Berba’s Support Team can perform a deposit refund based on the original payment amount and currency. To prevent fraud and abuse, Berba limits the number of times users can request a payment provider refund, subject to review by the Support Team. Such refunds may be subject to an additional fee.

Disclaimer of Warranties

Berba and its affiliates do not provide any warranties, express or implied, for the Site, its content, or any services or items obtained through the website. The Site and its content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Users assume all risks associated with the use of the Site and its content. Berba assumes no responsibility for the completeness, security, reliability, quality, accuracy, or availability of the Site and its content.

This statement does not affect any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Section D: Dispute Resolution, Liability, and Miscellaneous

Section D.1: Limitation of Liability

General Limitation

  • Berba is not liable for stylistically unsatisfactory translations or discrepancies in style for specialized materials, such as advertising, unless specific style requests are made. 

  • Liability is limited to the invoice amount.

Technical and Delivery Issues

  • Berba is not responsible for delays or issues caused by malfunctioning communication devices or carriers not under its direct control.

  • For delays exceeding one-third of the agreed delivery time, solely attributable to Berba, reimbursement (up to 100% of the job value) may be negotiated.

Quality Assurance and Revisions

  • Complaints must be submitted via email within seven days of job delivery, accompanied by original documents, disputed translations, and an explanatory letter.

  • If a timely complaint is filed, Berba will provide a revised translation within a timeframe equal to one-third of the original plus one business day, and may adjust reimbursement accordingly.

Defects and Revisions

  • Issues in one part of a translation do not invalidate the entire work.

  • Berba retains the right to amend translations as necessary.

Section D.2: Legal and Payment Terms

Jurisdiction and Disputes

  • All agreements must be written, and any disputes will be settled by the Commercial Court of Bilbao under Spanish law.

Payment and Copyright

  • Failure to pay allows Berba to demand immediate payment and, if applicable, compensation for copyright infringement for unauthorised use of the translation.

Protection Against Claims

  • In the event of a Supplier’s breach as per section B.3, Berba shall be indemnified against related claims, liabilities, damages, and expenses.

Section D.3: Exclusions

Use of the Website

  • Berba and its associates are not liable for damages of any kind related to your use of the site or its content under any legal theory.

Unauthorised or Unpaid Use

  • Berba is not responsible for actions or inactions of the seller as a limited authorized payment collection agent.

Applicable Law

Some liabilities cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law and are not affected by this statement.