OUTLET 29 Terms & Conditions
We are Outlet 29 Limited (“O29”) incorporated in the UK 10689392 These are our terms and conditions. They tell you what we do and how we do it.
By using our site, you indicate that you accept these terms and conditions, and the referenced policies, and that you agree to abide by them.
1. The cheat sheet
O29 operates a platform linking Freelancers to Buyers.
Services
Services are offered on O29 through either Offers, which are fixed price services; or custom projects, which can be fixed price, price per hour or price per item. Services delivered in these ways on O29 are collectively referred to in these terms as “projects”. Whether or not a project is offered and/or accepted is entirely at the discretion of the Freelancer/Buyer. O29 has no control over this process. Services are provided by Freelancers directly to Buyers, who determine the deliverables, price and all other requirements.
On Commencement of a project the Buyer pays funds into the Escrow Account, and the Buyer must confirm their requirements upfront in the WorkStream.
The Freelancer must provide regular progress updates and respond within one (1) working day to all messages from the Buyer, in the WorkStream.
Freelancers must deliver work within the delivery times either defined in their Offer, or agreed with the Buyer upfront in the WorkStream for custom projects. Freelancers' rankings will be penalised for late delivery.
Freelancers must fulfil their projects and Buyers agree to pay for work delivered. Users will be penalised for cancellations or refunds caused by them, without just reason. Freelancers must provide, and be given the opportunity by the Buyer to provide, at least two further iterations on the work delivered if the Buyer is not initially satisfied.
Once the project has been completed the Freelancer will raise a request to receive payment, including the release of funds held in the Escrow Account. Freelancers must not request payment upfront before work has been completed. Buyers must pay within the 7day payment terms.
Funds
O29 IS NOT A BANK and only holds funds for the purposes of settling the provision of services and specific invoices of Freelancers. We strongly recommend that all users do not hold dormant balances on the platform. No user is permitted to hold a dormant balance on the platform for more than 30 days. O29 reserves the right to apply Admin Fees or write downs to dormant balances until they are withdrawn or become zeroed. Funds held by O29 on the platform are not insured nor covered by any Financial Services Compensation Scheme or any other government agency. O29 holds the funds in a separate client account.
Payments
O29 acts as an Agent of Payment between the Buyer and Freelancer. In return for full invoice payment by the Buyer for the project, O29 agrees to discharge the Buyers obligations relating to debts owed to the Freelancer under this agreement. O29 agrees to make such funds available to the Freelancer balance within 24 hours, subject to fraud an AML procedures. Freelancers are then able to withdraw those funds subject to the setting up of a valid withdrawal account. O29 takes its obligations to prevent fraud and money laundering seriously and reserves the right to delay payments to Freelancers if fraud or money laundering is suspected. All payments for work completed must go via O29 unless O29 has given its express written permission otherwise in relation to a specific payment or invoice; attempts to pay outside of O29 will lead to sanctions not limited to immediate account suspension. Users must immediately report to O29 any offers to pay outside of O29 made by their Buyer or Freelancer.
Rights
Once payment has been made, Buyers are granted all rights for the delivered work.
Contacting
For purposes of service messages, notices, offers and news about O29, Users receive alerts on certain pages and emails to the email addresses associated with their accounts. If you do not want to receive newsletters, announcements, or other communications and/or services from our Site, please do not opt-in for those communications or services at the time of registration. If you have opted-in and, at a later time, wish to opt-out, please click on the relevant link inserted in our communications. In every Interesting and Important e-mail communication sent to you, we provide you the opportunity to discontinue receiving future communications (i.e., unsubscribe). Simply follow the unsubscribe process or directions provided in these emails. For the orderly operation of the platform, users cannot opt-out from Essential emails such as when receiving an invoice or when a buyer requests a refund.
By accepting these terms, Freelancers automatically opt-in to receive emails from O29.
O29 takes privacy and data security extremely seriously and users may opt out from receiving project invites and email notifications from O29 by logging in to their O29 account and unsubscribing from the Settings > Notifications page.
2. O29 user accounts
To access the full O29 site, Users have to register for an account, provide accurate and complete information, and keep their account information updated. Both Buyers and Freelancers undergo the same account registration process.
Each account must be a personal account, but Users may trade as a sole trader, company or any other legal entity (whether incorporated or unincorporated).
Users cannot register for more than one account.
The information that Users supply in the public profile of their account must comply with O29 profile policies.
O29 reserve the right to restrict your access, temporarily or indefinitely block your account, stop any projects you have in progress, warn other Buyers and Freelancers of your actions or issue you a warning if:
· you breach the letter or spirit of these terms and conditions or the referenced policies;
· we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us;
· we believe that your actions may cause any loss or liability to our Users or to us
Users are solely responsible for any activity that occurs on their account, unless it is a result of actions beyond their control (such as hacking or if someone steals their password when they have taken reasonable steps to keep it secure). Users may never use another person's user account or registration information for the Website.
You confirm that you are not economically barred/limited under sanctions rules of any country worldwide. If your circumstances change to be included in such lists, please cease using O29 immediately.
As per UK AML regulation, O29 is unable to support users from North Korea, Iran, Syria, Sudan (Republic of Sudan or North Sudan), South Sudan (Republic of South Sudan) and Region of Crimea.
3. Project delivery
3.1 Offers
On purchase of an Offer the Buyer's funds will be held in the Escrow Account.
The Buyer will then need to provide their requirements (as specified in the Offers description page) in the WorkStream so that the Freelancer can get started.
Once the requirements are provided in the WorkStream by the Buyer, the Freelancer must:
· respond in the WorkStream within one (1) working day to confirm work has started otherwise the Buyer may request and will be entitled to a refund in accordance with Section 6;
· provide regular progress updates in the WorkStream and respond within one (1) working day to all messages from the Buyer;
· complete the project within the delivery timescales indicated in their Offer description including handover of all deliverables in the WorkStream. Failing to deliver within those timescales may mean the Buyer requests and is entitled to a refund in accordance with Section 6;
· Late or non-delivery will negatively affect the Freelancer's rankings on O29.
All direct communication between Buyer and Freelancer must go via the WorkStream to keep both parties protected in case of a Dispute.
Once the Offer has been completed the Freelancer will raise an invoice and:
· the Buyer is then able to leave feedback for the Freelancer, upon which the funds held in the Escrow Account will be automatically released to the Freelancer as payment;
· alternatively, if the Buyer is not satisfied with the deliverables they can reject the invoice and provide the Freelancer with detailed feedback on what work remains outstanding. The Freelancer must provide, and be given the chance to provide, at least two revisions of the deliverables based on detailed feedback from the Buyer;
· if the Buyer does not either i) leave feedback for the Freelancer, nor ii) reject the invoice, the funds held in the Escrow Account will be automatically released on their behalf to the Freelancer as payment after seven (7) days.
· if the funds held in the Escrow Account are released to the Freelancer in accordance with a) or c) above, O29 and the Freelancer will be entitled to assume that the Buyer is satisfied with the project and does not have a dispute of any kind in relation to the project. The Buyer agrees that they will not file a dispute or seek to reverse payment through their credit card provider, bank or PayPal.
3.2 Custom Projects
The Freelancer's payment for custom projects are either agreed as fixed price, price per item or as a per hour rate project:
· for a per hour rate custom project the Buyer agrees to pay the Freelancer based on the time spent, not on the real or perceived quality of any deliverables provided. The Freelancer must provide the Buyer, on request, with a breakdown of their billed hours as evidence;
· for a fixed priced custom project the Buyer agrees to pay the Freelancer based on deliverables. The parties should agree upfront in the WorkStream whether to divide the project into milestones, with associated milestone payments. If milestones have not been agreed, then the Custom project will only be invoiced on full completion of all deliverables.
· for price per item custom project the Buyer agrees to pay the Freelancer for all items delivered.
On acceptance of a Proposal the Buyer will pay into the Escrow Account the agreed deposit amount.
The Buyer must then provide their detailed requirements in the WorkStream so that the Freelancer can get started. These requirements should include (but not be limited to):
· timeframe for delivery of the project or milestones;
· description of any subjective elements of the project like aesthetics providing similar examples;
· breakdown of all expected deliverables;
· any other expectations for the work.
Once requirements have been received from the Buyer, the Freelancer must:
· respond in the WorkStream within one (1) working day to confirm commencement of work. Failing to respond within one (1) working day may mean the Buyer requests and will be entitled to a refund in accordance with Section 6;
· provide regular progress updates in the WorkStream and respond within one (1) working day to all WorkStream messages from the Buyer;
· complete the project, including handover of all deliverables in the WorkStream, within the delivery timescales agreed with the Buyer,
1. if missing a previously agreed deadline is unavoidable then the Freelancer must inform the Buyer immediately in the WorkStream and provide a revised delivery date.
2. failing to deliver the work within agreed timescales, or repeatedly revising previously agreed deadlines, may mean the Buyer requests a cancellation of the custom project and will be entitled to a refund of any funds in the Escrow Account.
3. late or non-delivery of a project will negatively affect the Freelancer's rankings on O29.
All direct communication between Buyer and Freelancer should go via the WorkStream to keep both parties protected in case of a Dispute.
When the Custom project is completed (or an agreed milestone has been reached) the Freelancer will raise an Invoice:
· the fees charged in the Invoice should be as has been explicitly agreed upfront in the Proposal. If requirements/ scope changes materially during a custom project the Freelancer may need to propose a change to a previously agreed price. This must be explicitly agreed in the WorkStream before any extra work is undertaken so that the Buyer can confirm whether they wish to proceed with the additional scope for the extra cost;
· the Buyer must pay the Invoice within seven (7) days of the Invoice being raised;
· alternatively, if the Buyer does not agree that the project has been completed then the Buyer can reject the Invoice. The Buyer must then provide the Freelancer with detailed feedback in the WorkStream on what work remains outstanding. The Freelancer must provide, and be given the chance to provide, at least two iterations of the deliverables based on detailed feedback from the Buyer;
· if the Buyer does not either i) pay the Invoice or ii) reject the Invoice within such seven (7) day period O29 will provide assistance to the Freelancer to chase payment and may temporarily or permanently restrict the Buyer's account. If the Invoice remains unpaid after fifteen (15) days a final 24-hour notification will be issued to the Buyer. If after 24 hours the Buyer has not responded to this notification the funds in the Escrow Account, up to the unpaid Invoice amount, will be automatically processed and will remain at the discretion of O29 for approval.
· if the Buyer pays the invoice or funds are utilised in accordance with d) above, O29 and the Freelancer will be entitled to assume that the Buyer is satisfied with the project and does not have a dispute of any kind in relation to the project. The Buyer agrees that they will not file a dispute or seek to reverse payment through their credit card provider, bank or PayPal.
3.3 Per Hour Contracts
The Freelancer's payment for Per Hour Contracts is set as a per hour rate project using the per hour rate as stated on the Freelancer’s profile at the time of the Per Hour Contract setup. The Buyer agrees to pay the Freelancer based on the time spent, not on the real or perceived quality of any deliverables provided.
On acceptance of a Per Hour Proposal and on hire request, the Buyer must place a valid payment method on file and gives authorization to O29 to charge it repeatedly per O29’s Terms and Conditions.
Every seven (7) days an invoice will be automatically raised by the system on behalf of the Freelancer according to the number of hours tracked by the Freelancer during the last seven (7) days and the per hour rate of the Per Hour Contract.
Upon invoice raise:
· The Buyer can pay the Invoice manually within three (3) days of the Invoice being raised.
· If not paid manually by the Buyer within three (3) days, the invoice will be automatically paid by the system charging one of the payment methods of the Buyer on file at any time.
3.3.1 Protection for Freelancers
In the rare event that a Buyer refuses payment for legitimate services performed by a Freelancer, O29 will provide limited payment protection to the Freelancer as mentioned below (“Per Hour Payment Protection”). Per Hour Payment Protection will be provided only if all of the following criteria are met:
· Buyer must have an Account in good standing and at least one valid and authenticated Payment Method, and Buyer must agree to automatically pay for hours billed by the Freelancer.
· Freelancer’s Account must be in good standing.
· The number of hours billed must not exceed the weekly limit of hours as defined in the Per Hour Contract.
· Within ten (10) days after invoice raise, if the invoice is rejected the Freelancer must submit a Dispute specifically identifying the details of the work that should be paid. Within ten (10) days after invoice raise, if the invoice is not rejected and not paid the Freelancer must contact O29 Customer Support identifying the details of the work that should be paid.
Per Hour Payment Protection is available with a maximum rate per hour protected by O29 to Freelancer the lesser of
· the rate defined in the Per Hour Contract terms;
· the usual per hour rate billed by Freelancer on the Site across all Buyers; and
· the going rate for the same skills on the Site in Freelancer’s area (such determination to be made in O29’s sole discretion).
3.3.2 Protection for Buyers
O29 will adjust the invoice to Buyer for work that is not clearly related to either the project requirements or Buyer instructions in the Workstream and within the hours authorized for the week, subject to and conditioned on the following terms:
· Buyer must have an Account in good standing and at least one valid and authenticated payment method, and Buyer must agree to automatically pay for hours billed by the Freelancer.
· Freelancer’s Account must be in good standing.
· The Buyer rejects the invoice within three (3) days of the Invoice being raised identifying the time billed and screenshots of the Freelancer’s screen that are not clearly related to either the project requirements or Buyer instructions in the WorkStream.
3.4 Quality
All Freelancers on O29 must strive to deliver a high standard of work, appropriately meeting their Buyer's needs.
Specifically, Freelancers must ensure that all deliverables are:
· error free;
· fully address each of the Buyer's defined requirements;
· are a complete set of deliverables as defined in the Offer description or as agreed in the WorkStream as part of the requirements for custom projects;
· and, for Offers and projects, are of a standard consistent with the level of expertise indicated in the Freelancer's profile and proposals.
3.5 The heavy but important bits:
The Buyer and Freelancer decide on the type of project, Hourly, custom or fixed price. They determine the terms and conditions of “projects”, including deliverables, any specific requirements, and for “projects” the price, directly between them. The Buyer and Freelancer create a direct service contract between themselves and O29 are not party to that contract ('the Service Contract').
Subject to this being varied as part of the Service Contract, ownership in and to any materials and or deliverables arising from a project and any intellectual property rights therein, will be assigned to the Buyer upon successful payment to the Freelancer. If the Buyer and Freelancer wish to include any special terms of the contract (for example, in relation to the ownership of the work produced, ownership of intellectual property rights or special rights of termination), the Buyer and Freelancer should negotiate and document these terms in the project WorkStream.
Subject to variation in the Service Contract, the terms and conditions of each project shall be deemed to incorporate a term that in consideration of the fee paid for the project the Freelancer thereby assigns to the Buyer absolutely with full title guarantee the following rights throughout the world:
· the entire copyright and all other rights in the nature of copyright subsisting in the project
· any database right subsisting in the project and
· all other rights in the project of whatever nature, whether now known or created in the future, to which the Freelancer is now, or at any time after the date of Commencement of the project may be, entitled by virtue of the laws in force in the United Kingdom and in any other part of the world,
in each case for the whole term including any renewals, reversions, revivals and extensions and together with all related rights and powers arising or accrued, including the right to bring, make, oppose, defend, appeal and obtain relief (and to retain any damages recovered) in respect of any infringement, or any other cause of action arising from ownership, of any of these assigned rights, whether occurring before, on, or after the date of Commencement of the project.
You promise that:
· you are able to pay for the services if you are a Buyer and perform the services if you are a Freelancer;
· you are not in breach of any applicable laws, rules or regulations or obligations to any other person;
· you have made and will make all required legal and tax filings. If relevant, you will file all necessary legal documentation relating to your self-employment required by any governmental body, and pay all applicable taxes including without limitation PAYE or other income tax and national insurance;
· you shall not (and shall not permit) any third party to either take any action or upload, download, post, submit or otherwise distribute or facilitate distribution of any Content, project, or Proposal on or through the services O29 provide, including without limitation any User Content, that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other right of any other person or entity or violates any law or contractual duty.
3.5.1 Proposal categorisation
Using historical data, our Data Science team have created machine learning models that try to predict which proposals a buyer will most likely want to accept. We can therefore organise proposals into different categories:
· a. Recommended proposals
· The proposals that a buyer will very likely want to accept.
· b. Low Relevance proposals
· The proposals that a buyer will very likely not want to accept.
· c. Everything else
· The rest of the proposals. By choosing the default 'Recommended' sort option, the proposals higher up in the list are the ones a buyer will most likely want to accept.
Outlet29 only predicts the probability of a Recommended proposal being accepted. If a refund is processed, Outlet29 is not liable for the outcome.
4. Payments
Payments are made as described in Section 3, for a project agreed by the Buyer as successfully completed. The payment terms are seven (7) days except for Per Hour Contracts which is three (3) days.
For projects, the Freelancer must not request a release of funds from the Escrow Account prior to project completion; the purpose of funds being held in the Escrow Account is to provide the Freelancer with the security needed for them to undertake the work. Buyers must report such cases immediately. In such cases the Freelancer's account may be temporarily or permanently suspended.
Regular payments may be made utilising the Auto Pay feature or Per Hour Contracts. O29 provides this facility solely to simplify the payment process. Use of this facility does not alter the nature of the relationship between O29 and its Users or between Buyers and Freelancers.
All payments between Buyer and Freelancer must be processed through O29 as described in Section 3, both for work sourced on O29 and for any follow on work between the Buyer and Freelancer, either for the same project or another project. A Freelancer may seek express written permission from O29 to allow payment by alternative means for a specific invoice or payment if the Freelancer intends to issue proceedings or pursue legal action against the Buyer.
Payment (or attempt of) outside of O29 is a breach of these terms and conditions unless the prior express written consent of O29 has been obtained. Such payment (or attempt of) and will lead to temporary and/ or permanent suspension of the Buyer and/ or Freelancer's account. The Freelancer will be liable for any loss of business and legal expenses that O29 may incur in recovering it. O29 reserve the right to sanction funds held in the Freelancer's Account in order to recover lost fees. Moreover, O29 will not mediate any Disputes or be liable to either the Buyer or Freelancer's loss of business as a result of violation of this clause. Users must report attempts or offers to make payment outside of O29 by their Buyer or Freelancer to O29 immediately.
Payments by Buyers are routinely checked by O29 for fraud prevention purposes, before any payments are released to the Freelancer. O29 aim to process these payments and credit funds to the Freelancer's O29 User Account within three (3) working days, however O29 reserve the right to take up to ten (10) working days.
To withdraw funds from their O29 User Account a Freelancer needs to request a withdrawal on an authorized withdrawal account. An authorized withdrawal account can be either:
· a bank account under the user's name as registered on his profile
· a Paypal or Payoneer account with the same name and email address as registered on the user's profile
· a Paypal or Payoneer account with the same name as registered on the user's profile and an email address that has been verified by the user
O29 process payments daily and will send the money to the Freelancer via their selected payment preference. Once O29 has processed payments, they are then subject to timescales imposed by the banking clearing system (BACS in the UK).
For security reasons, O29 reserves the right to request additional information from Buyers and Freelancers, including original documents, and to verify documents with issuing institutions. Therefore, we reserve the right to request the following proofs of identity:
· a copy of a Government issued ID (Passport, Driver's License or National ID Card);
· a copy of a recent utility bill showing your name and address (less than 3 months old);
For credit/debit card users (one of the following):
· a copy of the front and back of the card used. For Security Compliance we recommend that you blank out the central 8 digits of the card number digits, and the last three digits from the number on the back;
· Credit or Debit Card Bank Statement of the card used on your O29 User account (less than 3 months old). For Security Compliance you must blank out the central 8 digits of the card number digits;
For PayPal users:
· PayPal Account statement showing your PayPal registered name, email address and verification status along with any relevant transactions.
For international Bank transfers, credit to the beneficiary may be delayed by factors such as local bank holidays, delays by an intermediary bank or other local conditions. Please note that some countries have been designated as “slow-to-pay” countries, and transfers made to those countries may take several days or even weeks in crediting the receiving account. Please see a complete listing of slow-to-pay countries.
In using the Escrow Account O29 act, subject to these terms and conditions, on the User's behalf. O29 hold the funds in a separate client account. O29 IS NOT A BANK and only holds funds for the purposes of settling the provision of services and specific invoices of Freelancers. We strongly recommend that all users do not hold balances on the platform. Funds held by O29 on the platform are not insured nor covered by any Financial Services Compensation Scheme or any other government agency. Users will not receive interest or other earnings on the funds in their Escrow Account or O29 User Account. O29 will endeavour to ensure that the funds in the Escrow Account or O29 User Account are available to the User in accordance with these Terms and Conditions but do not guarantee that they will be available to the User in circumstances which are unforeseen or beyond our control.
If O29 has to return funds to the Buyer due to the Buyer (contrary to these Terms and Conditions) filing a dispute or requesting a payment be reversed through its credit card provider, bank or Paypal then O29 will be entitled to recover any such amount from the Freelancer’s O29 User Account (and if insufficient monies are in the Freelancer’s Account), credit card or other previously made payment method if available. If O29 is unable to recover the amount returned to the Buyer from the Freelancer in full then the Freelancer agrees to pay to O29 any outstanding sums within 48 hours of O29 making a request.
To prevent funds being held indefinitely in the Escrow Account, O29 will notify the Freelancer in the event of funds being held in an Escrow Account for a project that i) does not have an unpaid Invoice nor an open Dispute; and ii) has not had any activity in the WorkStream for a period of one (1) calendar month or longer. Activity is defined as any action by the Buyer or Freelancer in the WorkStream such as: a message posted, an Invoice is raised, a deposit into the Escrow Account made or a Refund Request raised.
· The Freelancer will be asked to confirm either i) that the project is still in progress by posting a message to the Buyer in the WorkStream with an update on progress; ii) that the project has been completed by raising an Invoice in accordance with the terms defined in Section 3; or iii) that the project was cancelled and issuing the Buyer with a refund in accordance with the terms in Section 6.
· If no action is taken by the Freelancer within seven (7) days it will be assumed that the project was not delivered by the Freelancer and the funds held in the Escrow Account will be automatically refunded back to the Buyer's O29 User Account. In this event the Freelancer's rankings will be affected in accordance with the terms in Section 6.
O29 uses third-party service providers including Adyen, Worldpay, Payoneer and Paypal to process payments by Buyers and to transfer funds to Freelancers. These third-party payment service providers are regulated and authorised to provide payment services in the countries where they operate. O29 may share your personal or transactional information with third-party payment service providers when it is necessary to process payments.
5. Leaving Feedback
When the project is completed and the Freelancer has been paid by the Buyer, both parties are asked to provide both qualitative feedback and a rating from 1-5 for the other party. This rating influences each User's ranking on O29. In order for a user to read a received review, they have to submit their feedback as well. A review (feedback) is published on the member profile page when both parties (Buyer and Freelancer) leave their feedback within the first 60 days since invoice payment (funds released / amount paid). In case 60 days have passed, any submitted review is disclosed and users that haven't left any review will no longer be able to do so.
Both parties should complete the feedback honestly. Users must not falsify feedback, manipulate or coerce another User by threatening negative feedback or offer incentives in exchange for feedback. Any attempts of this nature should be reported immediately to O29.
Feedback comments that are reported to us as defamatory, abusive or offensive will be reviewed and may be removed at our discretion.
6. Cancellations and refunds
6.1 Cancellation of a project
After the Commencement of a project, the Buyer may request a cancellation:
If there are funds in the Escrow Account and the Buyer believes they are entitled to a refund, the Buyer can notify O29 of the cancellation by requesting a refund by emailing refunds@outlet29.com.
6.2 Project Refund policy
A Buyer is entitled to receive a refund of funds held in the Escrow Account under the following circumstances:
· no response: the Freelancer has not responded in the WorkStream within one (1) working day of the Commencement of the project;
· non-delivery:
1. for Offers, the Freelancer of an Offer did not deliver the scope of work within the delivery timescales indicated in the Offer.
2. for fixed price or price per item Custom projects, non-delivery means agreed scope of work was not delivered within the agreed timescales;
3. for per hour rate Custom projects no time has been spent.
· poor quality: with the exception of per hour rate Custom projects, the deliverables provided by the Freelancer do not meet the terms defined in Section 3.2.
Buyer and Freelancer may mutually agree to a refund for reasons other than the previous clause however authorization of such refunds will be subject to a review by O29, as defined in Section 6.2.1 .
Refunds are only applicable to funds held in the Escrow Account. As per Section 3, funds should only be paid out of the Escrow Account once the Buyer is satisfied that the project (or any agreed milestone deliverables) has been completed. By releasing funds from the Escrow Account the Buyer accepts that this money is non-refundable.
Buyers must avoid filing a dispute or reversing payment through their credit card holder, Bank or PayPal. Attempts to seek a refund in this way will lead to the Buyer's account being automatically suspended.
6.2.1 Requesting a refund
A Buyer can request a refund of the funds held in the Escrow Account using the “Request Refund” action in the WorkStream and specifying a reason for their request.
O29 will process refund requests subject to a review of the refund reason and circumstances to ensure that both parties have complied with these terms and conditions, and that the purpose of the refund is not to avoid any of the parties' obligations under these terms and conditions. If O29 reasonably believes that the parties have not complied with these terms and conditions or are seeking to avoid any such obligations O29 shall not be obliged to make the refund.
6.2.2 Refund and cancellation penalties
Users are strictly discouraged from causing cancellations and refunds. Refunds will impact Users standing in the PPH marketplace as follows:
· where the Freelancer is at fault for the refund (for example, due to no response, poor quality of work or they have cancelled the project), it will negatively impact their Freelancer status and rankings;
· where the Buyer is found to be the cause for the refund (for example, an early cancellation due to a change in their business need) it will negatively impact their Buyer status;
· multiple refunds attributed to a User will lead to temporary and/ or permanent restrictions on their account depending upon the severity.
7. Disputes
O29 encourage our Freelancers and Buyers to try and resolve any disagreements between themselves. However should that not be possible O29 Customer Services can provide Dispute resolution.
A Dispute can be raised:
· by the Freelancer manually after a Buyer has rejected an invoice;
To raise a dispute, the Freelancer is required to pay a non-refundable fee as per section 8.2
Disputes are available to Freelancers that have qualified as trusted members of the O29 community.
For Invoice Disputes specifically, the amounts taken into consideration for the Dispute are the lower of the escrow balance or invoice amount.
If the amount disputed is £100 (or €130 or USD $160) or above, O29 may reach out to both parties in order to mediate and try and bring the Dispute to resolution.
O29 will aim to make a resolution decision on behalf of both parties within seven (7) days. If a mutual resolution has already been agreed between both parties on the workstream, then the dispute will either be cancelled or resolved in line with the mutual agreement.
In the event of having to make a resolution decision, O29 will use only the communication in the WorkStream as sole evidence, and consider:
· if both parties are acting in good faith and have tried to resolve the issue between themselves before contacting us, including at least a second attempt made between both parties to complete or rectify the project;
· if the project was delivered (or the milestone was met, if the Dispute is for a milestone payment) in accordance with the terms in Section 3;
· for Disputes concerning the quality of the work delivered: O29 will consider whether the Freelancer has met general quality standards as defined in Section 3.3. Assessments on quality i) down to perceived taste, or ii) requiring specialist technical or subject matter expertise, will not form part of the resolution decision;
· if the Buyer and Freelancer have complied with these terms and conditions.
· In the event of having to make a resolution decision on behalf of the parties, O29 will notify both parties within fourteen (14) days of the Dispute. The disputed funds shall be dealt with in accordance with the resolution decision and these terms and conditions. Our involvement with the Dispute ends once the resolution in relation to the Dispute has been communicated
Users agree and accept that any payments and/or other actions made by O29 in accordance with the resolution decision of a Dispute are made in good faith and Users shall have no cause of action against O29 (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) in respect of the resolution decision or any such actions or payments made pursuant to it. Users further agree and accept that they have no right to seek to hold O29 liable for a Buyer or Freelancer’s alleged actions or failures.
8. O29 fees
8.1 Buyer Fees
The Buyer fees are for the use of O29 as an intermediate platform, they do not reflect the outcome of any Freelancer collaboration and will not be refunded. Buyer fees are broken down as follows:
|
Payment method |
Service Fee |
|
Paypal |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
Credit / Debit card |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
Skrill |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
Alipay |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
Qiwi Wallet |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
TrustPay |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
GiroPay |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
Paysafecard |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
Unionpay |
£0.6 + 20% |
|
Bank transfer - Gold Members* |
0% |
|
Bank transfer - Silver Members* |
2.5% |
|
Bank transfer - Bronze Members* |
5% |
We may make changes to our service fees from time to time. These changes will be reflected in updated terms issued by us, which will apply to any transactions which take place after the updated fees come into force.
There is an optional listing fee of £ 10 (or € 14 or USD $ 15) where a Buyer may choose to mark a project listing as ‘urgent' with a prominent symbol that will make it stand out.
Important details
· If you've used a paysafecard to complete a O29 transaction, we cannot refund this amount. However, if you have an unused balance on your paysafecard, you might be able to cash it in. To do this, you need to contact paysafecard directly.
· Furthermore, funds from Trustpay cannot be refunded either.
*Available to Premium Programme members only as of the 3rd of April, 2019.
8.1.1 NDA Fee
O29 shall make available, upon payment of an optional fee of £ 26 (or € 29 or $ 34) , a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for the Freelancer and the Buyer to use in relation to a project. In providing the NDA we exclude all warranties in respect of and all liability for the following:
· The enforceability or otherwise of the non-disclosure agreement
· The fitness of the NDA for the purposes of either the Buyer, the Freelancer or both
· The compliance with the NDA by the Buyer or the Freelancer
· Any breach of the NDA by the Buyer or the Freelancer
· The storage and/or retrieval of the signed NDA by O29
· Any loss of the signed NDA.
8.1.2 Talent Scout Fee
O29
shall make available upon an optional fee of £ 50 (or € 55 or $ 60), a Talent
Scout project Upgrade. Said fee will not be refundable and includes the time
and effort spent by our team to offer help to each Buyer in order for them to
make a more informed decision.
Specifically:
· Correspond with the Buyer in order to help them specify their project requirements and offer help where needed
· Filter and review proposals received for the upgraded project
· Invite new Freelancers where necessary
· Make up to 3 recommendations on received proposals.
If a Buyer who purchased the “Talent Scout” upgrade, is not satisfied with the recommended Freelancer, the O29 Team will offer another recommendation. When recommended Freelancers, complete the project successfully, they will be added to a Scouted Freelancers network and invited to bid for similar projects in the future. For Talent Scout projects, Freelancers will not be able to feature their proposals as all proposals will be equally reviewed by our O29 team.
8.1.3 Featured project Fee
O29 shall make available upon an optional fee of £15 (or €17 or $20), a Featured project Upgrade Said fee will not be refundable and includes the time and effort spent by our team to review these projects, ensure they're suitable to be featured and given high levels of exposure by O29.
O29 guarantee no level of success from featuring a project, in terms of any metric associated with a project - including but not limited to: proposals received, views received, likes the project received, and awarding the project to a Freelancer.
8.2 Freelancer fees
O29 reserves the right to charge Freelancers a Service Fee in accordance with the Service Fee Structure they are assigned to.
Over
£5000 | $7000 | €6000 lifetime billing per Buyer: 3.5% (excl. VAT) Service Fee
Between £250 | $350 | €300 and £5000 | $7000 | €6000 lifetime billing per
Buyer: 7.5% (excl. VAT) Service Fee
Below £250 | $350 | €300 lifetime billing per Buyer: 20% (excl. VAT) Service
Fee*
The minimum payment made using Auto Pay or Outlet 29 Contracts is £6| €7 | $10 (excl. VAT).
The minimum Service Fee per invoice is £1 | €1.2 | $1.4 (excl. VAT).
All Users are provided with a statement at the end of each month showing their net effective commission fee in their ‘Payments' section on the Website.
For quality control purposes, Freelancers have an allotment of fifteen (15) Proposal credits per month for free but can purchase extra credits when the free allotment has been used. The charge for extra proposal credits is:
|
credits |
GBP |
EUR |
USD |
|
5 |
5.95 |
7.95 |
8.95 |
|
10 |
8.95 |
12.95 |
13.95 |
|
25 |
14.95 |
19.95 |
21.95 |
|
50 |
19.95 |
27.95 |
29.95 |
When a Freelancer withdraws funds from their O29User Account, O29 pass on any fees incurred to process the payment by third parties as a withdrawal fee, as follows:
|
Withdrawal Currency |
Withdrawal Method |
Fee |
|
GBP |
UK bank transfer |
No charge |
|
GBP |
SEPA/Local Currency* |
£1.99 |
|
GBP |
India bank transfer |
£14.99 |
|
GBP |
International bank transfer |
£19.99 |
|
USD |
US bank transfer (ACH) |
No charge |
|
USD |
SEPA/Local Currency* |
$2.99 |
|
USD |
India bank transfer |
$23.99 |
|
USD |
International bank transfer |
$29.99 |
|
EUR |
SEPA/Local Currency* |
€1.99 |
|
EUR |
India bank transfer |
€14.99 |
|
EUR |
International bank transfer |
€19.99 |
|
GBP | USD | EUR |
Paypal |
1.9% |
|
GBP |
Payoneer |
£2 |
|
USD |
Payoneer |
$3 |
|
EUR |
Payoneer |
€2.5 |
*SEPA / Local currency bank transfer: - If your country is included in the SEPA/Local Currency countries list and you choose the local currency bank transfer option, our banking partner will automatically convert (at wholesale foreign exchange rates) and pay your withdrawal directly to your local bank account
Bank transfer reversal fees - If your bank transfer gets reversed due to incorrect banking information, wrong bank account type or foreign currency bank account settings limitation, you will be charged a reversal fee of £2 | €3 | $3 as well as the currency exchange difference (if applicable).
If a Freelancer decides to purchase optional features to further increase their chances of winning work on O29 they will pay a feature fee.
If Freelancer decides to raise a dispute as per section 7, they are required to pay a non-refundable fee equal to 10% of the invoice or refund amount, subject to a minimum charge of £ 5 (or € 7 or $ 8) per dispute.
Bank transfer investigation fee - Please note that if there is a delay in payment from the banking institution, a formal investigation can be initiated with the bank to determine transaction issues. There is a 25 GBP fee that is issued which must be applied by the customer in order to initiate this process.
Chargeback
or RFI (Request for Information) fee - A chargeback is a
disputed card transaction filed by a buyer with their card issuer when they
dispute a payment or when their card is being used without their authorization.
An RFI is a Request for Information the bank raises asking O29 for additional
information regarding a particular transaction, which may be in dispute or
unauthorized. The buyer’s bank charges O29 a fee in both of these instances and
as a result, we are passing these fees to Freelancers whose buyer filed a
Chargeback or RFI with their bank for a particular project/payment. The Fee per
Chargeback is £15.00 and £7 per RFI.
In case of chargebacks, if the buyer’s credit card company decides in the
Freelancer’s favour, the Freelancer will be refunded the money to their O29
User account. If the decision is in favour of the buyer, the transaction will
be cancelled, the buyer will receive a full refund, and the Fee amount will be
deducted from the Freelancer’s O29 User account.
8.3 Zero Service Fee scheme
8.4 Admin fee for inactive User accounts
O29 IS NOT A BANK and only holds funds for the purposes of settling the provision of services and specific invoices of Freelancers. We strongly recommend that all users do not hold dormant balances on the platform. No user is permitted to hold a dormant balance on the platform for more than 30 days. If a User has held dormant funds in their O29 User Account for a period of sixty (60) days or more then O29 reserves the right to charge a monthly administration fee of [£6.70/€9.33/$9.95] (excl. VAT) for holding those funds on behalf of the User. This fee will be automatically collected each month from the funds in the User's O29 User Account starting from the sixty first (61st) calendar day. The collection of this fee will end when either i) funds held are less than 60 days old, ii) the balance is cleared.
8.5 Currency Conversion
If you require a transaction within the O29 site which involves a currency conversion, it will be completed at a foreign exchange rate determined by an official institution, which is adjusted on a regular base. Exchange rates fluctuations are not under O29 control.
A Currency Conversion Fee of 2.5% will be applied every time O29 performs a currency conversion. When a currency conversion is available by O29, you will be shown the exchange rate that will be applied to the transaction before you proceed with authorising the payment transaction. By accepting this transaction, you also agree to the exchange rate currency conversion terms.
9. Privacy Policy
By proceeding to use the O29 service, Users consent that O29 may process the personal data (including sensitive personal data) that O29 collects from them in accordance with the O29 Privacy Policy and the terms of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679.
O29 may use your personal data to gather feedback regarding your experience you may have with our platform. This helps our business grow by assembling useful information from our end-users.
O29 is not a party to any Service Contract between Buyer and Freelancer. Any Service Contract between a Buyer and Freelancer shall be in accordance with such Freelancer's privacy policy and the terms of the EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679.
10. Governing Law
These terms and conditions and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales shall have non-exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with these terms and conditions or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).
11. Definitions
In these terms and conditions:
1. 'Billing' is the total invoices paid during the month;
2. 'Buyer' means a person buying services from a Freelancer on O29;
3. 'Commencement of the project' means either the purchase of an Offer by the Buyer or acceptance of a Proposal for a custom project by the Buyer in the WorkStream;
4. ‘Content' means such things as data, text, photographs, videos, audio clips, written posts and comments, graphics, User content and interactive features generated, provided, or otherwise made accessible on or through O29;
5. 'Custom Project' is a piece of work that commences with the acceptance of a Proposal by a Buyer or the acceptance of a Hire request by a Freelancer. This work is agreed either after the Buyer has posted a request on O29 or in direct communication between a Buyer and a Freelancer in the WorkStream. A custom project can also be agreed as a follow on piece of work after an Offer purchase;
6. 'Guest' means an unregistered user of O29;
7. 'Per Hour Contract' is a piece of work that commences with a Buyer placing a valid payment method on file that can be charged repeatedly by O29 and the acceptance of a Per Hour Proposal by the Buyer or the acceptance of a Hire request by the Freelancer
8. ‘Dispute' means a dispute raised in relation to a rejected Invoice;
9. 'Escrow Account' means the virtual account where money is deposited on Commencement of the project and is only released in accordance with these terms and conditions;
10. 'Offer' means a pre-packaged service, that is offered on O29 by a Freelancer for a fixed price and delivered within fixed timescales.
11. 'Invoice' means a bill for a completed project which is raised by the Freelancer in the WorkStream or in the O29 payments dashboard;
12. 'Project' means a piece of work that a Freelancer and Buyer agree via O29 is to be provided by the Freelancer to the Buyer. Project refers to work either agreed when the Buyer purchases an Offer, or when a Proposal by a Freelancer is accepted by the Buyer for a custom project;.
13. ‘O29' means the website with the domain name www.Outlet29.com or Outlet 29 Limited as the context so requires;
14. ‘O29 User Account' means a User’s O29 persona, profile, settings, activities, invoices, transactions and funds balance available for you to withdraw;
15. 'Proposal' means an offer made by a Freelancer to a Buyer to provide a custom project and which must contain a fee quotation;
16. ‘Freelancer' means a person selling services to a Buyer via O29;
17. ‘User' means any registered person who uses O29;
18. ‘User Content' means all Content uploaded, submitted, distributed, or posted to the services by Users, including without limitation, Proposals and communication via the WorkStream. User Content does not include any materials or deliverables, or intellectual property therein arising from a project, which shall be assigned to the Buyer on successful payment for the project. User Content is the sole responsibility of the person who originated it;
19. 'WorkStream™' is where all the communication between Buyer and Freelancer is conducted in private. Via the WorkStream, the parties can exchange information including attachments, send a Proposal or raise an Invoice, make payments, request a refund or raise a Dispute in relation to a project.
SEPA/Local Currency Countries List
|
Local currency bank transfer |
|
|
Country |
Account currency |
|
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ARS |
|
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AUD |
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BRL |
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CAD |
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CHF |
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CLP |
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CZK |
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DKK |
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GBP |
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HKD |
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HUF |
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IDR |
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INR |
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LVL |
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MXN |
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MYR |
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NOK |
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NZD |
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PLN |
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RON |
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SEK |
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SGD |
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EUR |
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URU |
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ZAR |
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SEPA Countries for EURO transfers |
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Account currency |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
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EUR |
