Terms and Conditions

SO.RC Terms and Conditions

Last updated: 9 June 2026

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully before using this website or purchasing services from SO.RC.

By using this website, submitting an enquiry, booking a call, accepting a proposal, paying an invoice, or purchasing a service, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.

These Terms do not affect any legal rights you may have under UK law.

Who we are

This website is owned and operated by SO Research Communications Ltd, trading as SO.RC.

Company name: SO Research Communications Ltd
Company number: 17074301
Registered in: England and Wales
Registered office: 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ
Email: success@thesorc.com
Website: thesorc.com

SO.RC is not currently VAT registered. Unless stated otherwise, VAT is not added to our prices.

About SO.RC

SO.RC provides research communications, public engagement, knowledge translation, content strategy, and related consultancy services for universities, funded projects, charities, evidence-led organisations, and individual researchers.

The information on this website is provided for general information only. It does not create a client relationship unless we have agreed to provide services to you.

Website use

You may use this website for lawful purposes only.

You must not:

copy, reproduce, scrape, or reuse website content without permission;

attempt to gain unauthorised access to the website, server, systems, or connected platforms;

introduce viruses, malware, or harmful code;

use the website in a way that could damage, overload, or impair it;

misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organisation;

use the website for unlawful, abusive, misleading, or harmful purposes.

We may restrict, suspend, or block access to the website if we believe these Terms have been breached.

Website content and disclaimer

We aim to keep the information on this website accurate and up to date, but we do not guarantee that all content will always be complete, current, or error-free.

Website content is provided for general information only. You should not rely on it as legal, financial, academic, regulatory, or professional advice specific to your circumstances.

SO.RC is not responsible for any loss or damage arising from reliance on general website content, except where liability cannot legally be excluded.

Third-party links

This website may include links to third-party websites, platforms, tools, articles, or social media pages.

We do not control third-party websites and are not responsible for their content, availability, privacy practices, policies, or terms. Including a link does not mean we endorse the third-party website or its content.

Intellectual property

All content on this website, including text, graphics, logos, images, page layouts, service descriptions, frameworks, and other materials, belongs to SO.RC or is used with permission.

You may view, download, or print website content for your own personal or internal business reference only.

You must not copy, reproduce, adapt, distribute, publish, sell, or use any website content for commercial purposes without our written permission.

Paid services

Paid SO.RC services may be agreed through:

a website purchase;

a payment link;

an invoice;

an email agreement;

a proposal;

a statement of work;

a service description; or

another written agreement between you and SO.RC.

Where a specific proposal, invoice, statement of work, or written agreement sets out the scope, price, deliverables, or timeline for a service, those specific terms will apply to that service. If there is a conflict between these Terms and a specific written scope agreed with you, the specific written scope will take priority for that project.

Scope of services

SO.RC will provide the services and deliverables described in the relevant service page, proposal, invoice, statement of work, or written agreement.

Services may include, for example, research communication reviews, visibility mapping, content strategy, plain-language writing, key findings briefs, web copy, social media content, stakeholder communications, communications planning, or other agreed deliverables.

Anything not expressly included in the agreed scope is not included.

Additional work, extra revisions, new deliverables, urgent turnaround, additional meetings, or changes to the agreed scope may require a separate fee.

Payment

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, payment is required before work begins.

Payment may be made by bank transfer, Wix Payments, Stripe, PayPal, invoice link, or another payment method made available by SO.RC.

For invoice-based work, payment is due before work starts unless a different payment date is agreed in writing.

SO.RC may pause or delay work until payment has been received.

Where payment is overdue, SO.RC may suspend work, withhold deliverables, or end the engagement.

Delivery timelines

Delivery timelines begin only when both of the following have happened:

payment has been received; and

you have provided all materials, information, access, links, documents, approvals, or instructions needed for SO.RC to begin the work.

For fixed-price services purchased directly through the website, the delivery timeline will be stated on the relevant service page. Where a service is described as delivered within 5 working days, this means within 5 working days after payment and receipt of all required materials.

If you delay providing materials, feedback, access, or approvals, the delivery timeline may be extended.

Client responsibilities

You agree to:

provide accurate, complete, and timely information;

make sure you have the right to share any materials you provide to SO.RC;

respond to reasonable requests for clarification or approval;

review deliverables carefully;

make sure any factual, research, legal, regulatory, ethical, or organisational requirements are checked before publication or use;

obtain any internal approvals needed within your organisation.

SO.RC relies on the information, materials, and instructions you provide. We are not responsible for errors, delays, or issues caused by incomplete, inaccurate, misleading, or late information from you.

Research and evidence materials

Where you provide research outputs, reports, publications, data summaries, project information, case studies, or other evidence-based materials, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the right to share them with SO.RC.

You are also responsible for ensuring that any sensitive, confidential, unpublished, embargoed, personal, patient, participant, or third-party information is clearly identified before sharing.

SO.RC will handle client materials with reasonable care and in line with the agreed services, but we do not provide legal, ethics, clinical, regulatory, or academic approval unless this is expressly agreed in writing.

Revisions

Revisions are agreed per project.

The number of included revisions, if any, will be set out in the relevant service description, proposal, invoice, statement of work, or written agreement.

If no revision allowance is stated, revisions are not automatically included and may be charged separately.

A revision means a reasonable amendment to work already delivered within the agreed scope. A request for new deliverables, a new direction, a change in strategy, or a substantial change to the brief may be treated as additional work.

Cancellations and refunds

We aim to deal with cancellations and refund requests fairly.

If you cancel before work has started, SO.RC may offer a full or partial refund depending on the circumstances and any costs already incurred.

If work has already started, refunds are not guaranteed. Any refund will be assessed based on the work already completed, time spent, costs incurred, and the nature of the service purchased.

If a service has been fully delivered, refunds will usually not be available unless there is a legal reason or we agree otherwise.

Where you are purchasing as a consumer, you may have statutory cancellation rights under UK consumer law. If you ask us to begin work before any applicable cancellation period has ended, you agree that we may charge for work already carried out if you later cancel. Nothing in these Terms removes any rights you have by law.

No guarantee of specific results

SO.RC will provide services with reasonable care and skill.

However, we do not guarantee any specific outcome, including sales, funding, media coverage, engagement, reach, traffic, search ranking, stakeholder response, public impact, publication, approval, or organisational change.

Communications outcomes can be affected by many factors outside SO.RC’s control, including timing, audience behaviour, platform algorithms, organisational capacity, project context, budget, approvals, and implementation.

Confidentiality

Both SO.RC and the client agree to keep confidential information confidential.

Confidential information may include project materials, unpublished research, business information, internal documents, strategy, passwords, access details, personal information, pricing, and other information that is clearly confidential or should reasonably be treated as confidential.

Confidential information may be used only where necessary to deliver the agreed services or where required by law.

SO.RC may share confidential information with contractors, assistants, advisers, or service providers where necessary for service delivery, provided they are subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations.

Contractors and support

SO.RC may use trusted contractors, assistants, or service providers to support delivery, administration, design, communications, operations, or technical tasks.

Where contractors or assistants access client materials, they will be expected to handle information confidentially and only for the purposes of supporting SO.RC’s work.

Intellectual property in deliverables

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, SO.RC retains ownership of its pre-existing materials, templates, frameworks, processes, methods, know-how, working files, internal notes, and draft materials.

Once full payment has been received, you may use the final agreed deliverables for your organisation’s internal and external communications purposes.

You must not resell, license, redistribute, or present SO.RC’s templates, frameworks, methods, or working files as your own unless we have agreed this in writing.

Portfolio, testimonials and case studies

SO.RC will not publish confidential client materials or use client work publicly as a portfolio example, testimonial, or case study without appropriate permission.

Where you approve SO.RC’s use of work samples, screenshots, testimonials, project names, organisation names, or results, SO.RC may use them on its website, social media, proposals, portfolio, or marketing materials.

You can ask us to remove or review portfolio material, and we will consider the request reasonably.

Data protection and privacy

SO.RC handles personal information in accordance with its Privacy Notice.

Please read our Privacy Notice to understand what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and your data protection rights.

This website may use cookies or similar technologies.

Where required, you will be given information about cookies and the option to manage non-essential cookies through the website’s cookie banner or settings.

Essential cookies may be used where necessary for the website to function.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about SO.RC’s website or services, please contact us by email at success@thesorc.com.

Please include your name, contact details, a clear description of the issue, and any relevant documents or correspondence.

We aim to acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and respond as soon as reasonably possible. Some complaints may take longer to investigate depending on their complexity.

Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any rights that cannot be excluded under UK law.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, SO.RC will not be liable for:

indirect or consequential loss;

loss of profits, revenue, business, opportunity, goodwill, or data;

loss arising from reliance on general website content;

loss caused by third-party platforms, websites, tools, outages, or algorithm changes;

loss caused by inaccurate, incomplete, late, or misleading information provided by you.

Where SO.RC is found liable in connection with website use, our total liability is limited to £100.

Where SO.RC is found liable in connection with paid services, our total liability is limited to the amount you paid for the relevant service, unless the law requires otherwise.

Changes to these Terms

SO.RC may update these Terms from time to time.

The latest version will be published on this website with the “Last updated” date shown at the top.

Your continued use of the website or purchase of services after the Terms are updated means you accept the updated Terms.

Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms, this website, or SO.RC’s services shall be subject to the courts of England and Wales, except where consumer law gives you the right to bring proceedings elsewhere in the UK.

If you have any questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact:

SO Research Communications Ltd trading as SO.RC
Email: success@thesorc.com
Website: thesorc.com
Registered office: 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ
Company number: 17074301