1. General

1. Governing law and jurisdiction: the terms of this Agreement shall be governed and construed in accordance with the law of India, and the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the Courts of India.
2. Where these Terms and Conditions differ from an existing contract or service agreement, the conditions of the contract or service agreement take precedence.

2. Definitions & Interpretation

1. Alliance Transcription/We/Us means Alliance Transcription, any employees, agents, or contractors of Alliance Transcription.
2. Client/You means anyone by whom Alliance Transcription has been engaged in the provision of services.
3. Transcript means the typewritten version of the audio provided by the Client to Alliance Transcription, and Transcription means the production of a transcript by Alliance Transcription.
4. Confidential Information means information that:
   • 4.1 is by its nature confidential,
   • 4.2 is identified (whether in writing or not) as confidential by the client to Alliance Transcription,
   • 4.3 is personal information.

3. Provision of Services

1. Alliance Transcription may be engaged in the provision of services by verbal and written negotiation or by the provision of audio to Alliance Transcription by the client.
2. By engaging Alliance Transcription in the provision of services, the client acknowledges that the Client has read and accepted the Terms and Conditions set out herewith. These Terms and Conditions are freely available on request.
3. Alliance Transcription reserves the right to decline to engage in the supply of services to any Client. This will usually be as a result of very poor quality audio. If Alliance Transcription declines to engage in the supply of services to a Client, the Client will be notified.
4. The supply of services may be carried out by an authorised Alliance Transcription contractor.

4. Rates

1. Upon providing Alliance Transcription with audio for transcription, it is deemed that you have accepted the agreed rates and are liable for all subsequent transcription costs incurred by us.
2. Itemised price indications for the cost of services are provided in good faith, and are an approximation of anticipated charges based on information provided by the Client. Alliance Transcription reserves the right to alter the final charges made to Clients, where circumstances change.
3. Pricing is based on a rate per audio minute, dependent on quality. Audio minutes refer to the total minutes of transcribed audio per file, with each file rounded up to the nearest whole minute. Audio quality is rated from low through to high, with “low” audio charged at a higher rate in line with our standard rates.

5. Invoicing

1. An invoice for work completed is issued monthly or at the end of the project.
2. Alliance Transcription reserves the right to require payment of outstanding invoices before continuing to provide services.

6. Payment

1. Alliance Transcription reserves the right to charge late fees at a rate of 5% of the outstanding balance, per month, after an invoice remains outstanding for 30 days from the date of the invoice.
2. In the event of a cheque from a Client being refused by the bank, the Client will be responsible for all bank charges resulting from the returned cheque.
3. In the event of invoices that remain unpaid, Alliance Transcription has the right to commence legal proceedings to recover the debt.
4. Overseas clients should note that invoices are issued in their respective currency.

7. File Retrieval/Archiving

For security and confidentiality purposes, Alliance Transcription purges all Client transcripts from our system two months after completion of the assignment.

8. Turnaround

Turnaround times detailed are a guideline only and may vary depending on audio quality and volume of work. Turnaround times are not enforceable in any way. Alliance Transcription endeavours to meet all reasonable requests for specific turnaround times.

9. Trials

Where requested and at the discretion of Alliance, we may offer a free trial of services for ten minutes of audio for the purpose of confirming template and style requirements and quote particulars.

10. Cancellation

1. Where the transcription of a standard turnaround cancelled file has not yet been commenced, there is no fee for cancellation.
2. Where the transcription of a cancelled file has been started, the client will be charged for the audio minutes transcribed at the time of cancellation.
3. Where transcription of a cancelled file has been completed, the full amount of transcription of the file is payable.

11. Dispute Resolution

1. Although all transcripts are quality assured prior to return to the Client, it must be noted that the final checking of transcripts is the responsibility of the Client.
   • Alliance Transcription will comply with any reasonable request for correction of typing without charge.
   • A request for the correction of a transcript must be made within 14 days of issuance of the invoice for the transcript.
   • Alliance Transcription is not liable for any charges the Client might incur correcting a transcript.
2. Alliance Transcription endeavours to resolve all disputes to the satisfaction of the Client. If any dispute or difference arises out of, or in connection with, these Terms and Conditions which are unable to be resolved by negotiation, then Alliance Transcription and Client agree that the dispute shall be submitted to an independent mediator appointed by agreement between Alliance Transcription and Client. Costs for mediation are to be shared by the parties. In the event that either Alliance Transcription or Client should fail or refuse to agree to, or participate in, this dispute resolution procedure, then either party shall be free to seek to resolve matters by obtaining independent legal advice.
3. Clients of Alliance Transcription are able to lodge complaints in the following ways: Via email: to the Chief Executive Officer.
   • The complainant will be notified within 10 working days from the notification of the complaint as to the process being undertaken to reach a resolution and will be informed as to the final outcome and/or updated as appropriate.

12. Warranties & Liability

1. Alliance Transcription warrants that services will be provided using reasonable care and skill, and that all transcriptionists sign confidentiality agreements.
2. Alliance Transcription shall not be liable for any loss, damage, costs, expenses, or other claims for compensation arising from:
   • Any breach by Client of these conditions;
   • Any Client material or instructions supplied by Client which are incomplete, incorrect, inaccurate, illegible, out of sequence, or in the wrong form, or arising from their late arrival or non-arrival, or any other fault attributable to Client;
   • Any use by Client of the transcribed or typed material for illegal or libellous purposes;
   • The production by Alliance Transcription of any transcript, or the use by Client or anyone else of any transcript.
3. Alliance Transcription shall not be liable for any loss, damage, costs, expenses, or other claims arising from any Client material which is lost or damaged through the postal system or of which Client has not retained a copy.
4. Force Majeure: Alliance Transcription does not accept liability for failing to supply services due to Acts of God, fire, flood, earthquake, electrical or telecommunications problems or any other reason beyond our control.
5. Alliance Transcription will endeavour to scan all email attachments sent to customers. However, it is the responsibility of all recipients to check attachments prior to opening the file, as no responsibility or liability will be accepted by Alliance Transcription.

13. Confidentiality

1. The Client warrants that it has the right to disclose any confidential information that it discloses to Alliance Transcription.
2. The Client agrees to save, protect, defend, indemnify and hold Alliance Transcription harmless from and against any and all claims and/or financial losses of any type whatsoever arising from any third party claim that use of the information disclosed by Alliance Transcription hereunder in accordance with these Terms and Conditions violates or infringes any third party’s property or proprietary rights of any kind.
3. Alliance Transcription and its operations will at all times adhere to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
4. Alliance Transcription, at all times, acknowledges that confidential information remains the exclusive property of Client and this agreement does not convey any proprietary or other interest in the confidential information to Alliance Transcription.
5. Alliance Transcription will use the confidential information provided by the Client only for the purpose of providing the services to the Client.
6. Alliance Transcription agrees that during and after the provision of services:
   • It will only disclose the confidential information on a “need to know” basis to its directors or contractors for the purpose of providing the services.
   • It will inform its directors and contractors of their obligation under these Terms and Conditions and will ensure they sign any confidentiality agreements which are necessary to ensure their compliance with these Terms and Conditions and the standards required by the Privacy Act 1993.
7. The obligations of Alliance Transcription under these Terms and Conditions will not be taken to have been breached where the confidential information:
   • 13.7.1 is legally required to be disclosed, provided the Client is notified promptly in order to contest such a disclosure;
   • 13.7.2 is or becomes generally available to the public through no wrongful act, omission, or breach of these Terms and Conditions by Alliance Transcription;
8. Term and Termination: Obligations as to the non-disclosure of confidential information are ongoing and will survive the expiration or termination of the provision of services.

14. Changes to Terms

Alliance Transcription reserves the right to change these terms on notice by posting a change of terms on the Alliance Transcription website.

15. Signing

All Clients are taken to have read, understood, accepted, and agreed to the Terms and Conditions set out above. For clients who require a signed agreement for their administrative purposes, please email us.

16. Style

Alliance Medical Transcription’s standard (sometimes known as “intelligent verbatim”) style will be used for all transcripts of interviews/focus groups (and other multi-speaker recordings, unless otherwise agreed). In order to improve the readability of transcripts, Alliance Transcription style excludes repeated words, false starts, repetitive speech habits, over-talking and trailing off, and verbal acknowledgements (when not pertinent to the meaning of the transcript). Unless instructions are given to the contrary, dictation will be transcribed using the exercise of reasonable skill, care, and discretion by the typist with regard to spelling of words, capitalisation, and punctuation.