Updated 4.15.24
The following terms (these “Payment Terms”) govern payments you receive through Thefolklore.com (the “Site”), operated by The Folklore Group, Inc 26 Broadway, New York, NY 10004 (“The Folklore”, “we” or “us”). Card payments will be processed from the United States.
Please read these Payment Terms carefully before making or receiving payments through the Site. By making or receiving payments through the Site, you accept and agree, on behalf of yourself or on behalf of your employer or any other entity (if applicable), to be bound and abide by these Payment Terms. These Terms are supplemental to The Folklore’s Terms of Service, as applicable (“Terms of Service”).
1. Key Terms
Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the respective meanings given to them in the Terms of Service.
Brand is a user who purchased services through the Site.
Payment Services Provider(s) are service providers that provide payment services to Brands and Service Providers in connection with the Site, including with respect to collection of funds from Brands in connection with purchases and payments of funds to Service Providers, and currency exchange services in connection with payments in local currencies.
Project the Services to be performed pursuant to the Project Agreement.
Revenue is the money that Service Providers earn from completed orders.
Service Provider is a user who offers and performs services through the Site.
2. Receiving Payments
2.1 General
a. For each Project a Service Provider successfully completes, they receive 92.3% of each payment made by the Brand minus 15¢.
b. The payment terms are outlined in the Project Agreement, meaning once a Brand accepts the Project Agreement, they are accepting to pay according to those payment terms. Service Providers are responsible for sending their own invoices in accordance with the payment terms. Brands are only responsible for paying according to the payment terms in the Project Agreement. Once a Brand receives an invoice, it has 48 hours to pay the invoice.
c. Service Providers are responsible for paying any direct or indirect taxes, including any GST, VAT or income tax, which may apply to them depending on residency, location or otherwise, under provisions of their jurisdiction. Service Providers represent and warrant that they comply, and will comply at all times, with their obligations under income tax provisions in their jurisdiction.
d. Appointment as Limited Payment Collection Agent: Service Provider hereby appoints The Folklore as Service Provider’s limited authorized payment collection agent solely for the purpose of accepting payments (via its Payment Services Provider, if applicable) from Brand, and remitting those payments to Service Provider. Service Provider agrees that payment from Brand to The Folklore shall be considered the same as a made directly to Service Provider. Brand’s payment obligation to Service Provider will be satisfied upon receipt of payment by The Folklore (or its Payment Services Provider, as applicable), and The Folklore (via its Payment Services Provider, as applicable) is responsible for remitting the funds to Service Provider in the manner described in these Payment Terms.
e. The Folklore partners with Payment Services Providers for purposes of collecting payments from Brands, transferring such payments from Brands to Service Providers, and holding funds.
2.2 Payment of Funds
a. Service Providers’ funds from paid invoices are deposited into the bank account that was added by Service Provider on the Site during the onboarding process. If the bank account needs to be changed, Service Providers must make the change by visiting the payment settings section on thefolklore.com at least 48 hours before an anticipated invoice is paid to ensure money is sent to the right account. Any fees resulting from a late change in banking details or entering incorrect banking information will be charged to the Service Provider and deducted from the payout amount.
b. For security concerns, The Folklore may hold payment to Service Providers to prevent fraudulent or illicit activity. This may come as a result of security issues, improper behavior reported by other users, or associating multiple Site accounts to a single withdrawal provider.
d. Payments are final and cannot be undone. We will not be able to reverse this process once it has begun.
2.3 Late Payment
a. Brands have 48 hours to remit payment after an invoice for the balance has been sent in accordance with the payment terms and Service Provider completing all Services outlined in the Project Agreement. After 48 hours have passed, the Brand will automatically be charged an additional 2% compounding interest fee for every 7 days the invoice is past due. Only the Service Provider may request to waive this fee on behalf of the Brand. This fee will be paid out to the Service Provider minus The Folklore’s typical commission and payment processing fee. A separate invoice will be sent to the Brand for the compounding late fees every 7 days.
b. If payment is beyond 30 days late, an additional $100 for every 30 days it’s late will be charged in addition to the compounded 2% fee for every 7 days past the invoice due date.
2.4 No Payment
Although The Folklore makes every best effort to get Brands to pay for completed Services, The Folklore is not responsible if a Brand does not pay the invoice and will be unable to provide any payment until the Brand pays the invoice. The Project Agreement is an agreement between the Service Provider and the Brand and The Folklore will have no liability by reason of any erroneous payment or failure to make payment by the Brand. The Service Provider may choose to pursue legal action directly with the brand to collect funds; The Folklore cannot be named in any legal or collections actions in pursuit of funds collection.
3. Taxes
a. The Folklore may be required by applicable laws to charge users with indirect taxes (such as Sales Tax, VAT or GST) or to withhold taxes. Any amount The Folklore is required to charge will be in addition to the purchase amount and any other fees payable by the Brand, and any amount The Folklore will be required to withhold will be deducted from the Service Provider’s Revenue, as required by applicable laws.
b. Indirect taxes are in addition to the price shown on the site, and in any event, any such taxes will always be displayed to the Brand before payment.
4. Disputes
4.1 Basics
a. If the Brand is not satisfied with the Services, the Brand should communicate directly with the Service Provider to discuss revisions or to adjust the terms of the deliverable in order to find a mutual understanding. Projects are not eligible to be canceled based on the quality of service/materials delivered by the Service Provider, if the Service was rendered as described in the Project Agreement. Brands may email The Folklore at brands@thefolklore.com to flag any dissatisfactory service that it experiences, and The Folklore will evaluate the Service Provider’s presence on the Site.
b. Number of revisions, if any, must be outlined in the Project Agreement. Service Providers are not required to do any revisions if the deliverables are submitted in accordance with the Project Agreement and if it was not previously agreed to in the Project Agreement.
c. If attempts made to resolve this matter between the Brand and the Service Provider are unsuccessful, the Service Providers may send a Project dispute request to source@thefolklore.com be reviewed by our team. The Folklore will only consider communications made on the Site only (i.e., interactions made outside of the Site will not be considered). The Folklore will come to a resolution within 5-7 business days of when a dispute was filed.
d. Once a dispute is submitted to The Folklore, both the Brand the Service Provider agree to resolve the dispute according to the resolution delivered from The Folklore. All resolutions are final and cannot be reversed. Any refunds, owed payments, or return of deliverables must be settled within 48 hours of The Folklore issuing the resolution.
e. The Folklore, through its Payment Services Provider, reserves the right to cancel orders or place funds on hold for any suspected fraudulent transactions made on the Site.
f. All transfer and assignment of intellectual property to the Brand shall be subject to full payment and the delivery may not be used if payment is canceled for any reason.
4.2 Order Cancellations
a. The Folklore will cancel “active orders” based on, but not limited to, the following reasons:
i. The Service Provider is late and unresponsive for more than 24 hours while the order is marked as Late.
ii. Users are abusive towards the other user through threats of low ratings or leveraging order materials (such as logins, personal information) against each other.
iii. Users supplied or included copyright/trademark infringing materials as part of their requirements or the Service Provider’s delivery.
iv. The user is no longer an active Site user due to Terms of Service violations or closure of their account.
b. The Folklore will cancel “delivered orders” based on, but not limited to, the following reasons:
i. The Service Provider uses the delivery system to extend the delivery due date to complete the requested service without providing the final delivered service. Note: Multiple reported offenses will result in permanent suspension of your account.
ii. The Service Provider 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 our Customer Support team.
iii. The Service Provider requests additional payments, on or off the Site, by withholding the final delivery of services directly related to the agreed requirements.
iv. The Service Provider is withholding the final delivery of services for improved ratings.
v. Users who abuse the revisions button to gain more services from Service Provider beyond the agreed requirements.
vi. Users who threaten to leave a damaging review to gain more services from the Service Provider not related to the agreed requirements.
c. The Folklore will cancel “completed orders” based on, but not limited to, the following reasons:
i. Users who have been reported to use copyright/trademark infringing materials after verification and with proof.
ii. The Folklore Customer Support will review cases of Order delivery manipulation that prevents users from fully utilizing our Resolution Center that enabled the order to be marked as complete.
4.3 Chargebacks
a. It’s a violation of these Payment Terms if a user files a transaction dispute or reverses a payment through its payment provider or its bank. Doing so may get the user account temporarily or permanently disabled. Once a user has filed a dispute with their payment provider, the funds will be ineligible for a refund due to our obligations towards the payment provider.
b. The Folklore reviews cases of payment provider chargebacks and disputes on behalf of Service Providers. Although results vary per case due to each chargeback reason, we work hard on resolving disputes in the Service Provider’s favor. If the chargeback case allows, The Folklore’s Payment Services Provider will return parts or full revenue back to the Service Provider, otherwise the chargeback amount will be borne by the Service Provider.
4.4 Refunds
a. The Service Providers may offer a partial or full refund to the Brand at their discretion. The Brand may also be eligible to receive a refund in the event that the Service Provider does not complete the Project according to the Project Agreement, cancels the Project, delivers a Project late, or they violate our Terms of Service. In the event that a refund is due, The Folklore must collect funds from the Service Provider first in order to refund the Brand. Service Provider will indemnify and hold the Folklore harmless against any claims asserted against The Folklore and any damages, losses or expenses The Folklore incurs by reason of any refund to the Brand.
b. Brands have 48 hours after accepting a Project to cancel it and request a 100% refund of any deposits that may have been paid, including the accompanying service fee. After a Project is “active” more than 48 hours, Brands won’t be refunded for the service fee and may only receive a refund from a Service Provider if the Service Provider chooses to issue a refund.
d. If a Service Provider cancels a Project for any reason without completing the full scope of the Project, they must return 100% of funds to the Brand. If the cancellation occurs after 48 hours, The Folklore service fee will not be returned. If partial services or deliverables were sent to the Brand, the Brand may refuse to accept the services or deliverables and receive 100% refund. If a Brand declines to accept partial services or deliverables, they may not use any of the services and deliverables provided by the Service Provider and must return any physical or digital deliverables at their own expense. If the Brand is open to receiving the partial services and deliverables, it must speak with the Service Provider to agree to a prorated amount for the Project based on the services or deliverable received. Once a mutual agreement between the Service Provider and the Brand is made, any reimbursements or payments due will need to be communicated to The Folklore in order for us to process and close the Project in accordance with the Terms of Service and these Payment Terms.
e. If a refund is due, it will be processed within 7-14 business days and funds will be returned to the original payment method that was used to pay for the Services.
f. Requests to repay any funds received will be emailed to the Service Provider. The Service Provider has 48 hours to repay the funds using the return payment method listed in the fund repayment request email.
5. Modifications
a. The Folklore may make changes to these Payment Terms from time to time. When these changes are made, The Folklore will make a new copy of the terms available on this page.
b. You understand and agree that if you use the Site after the date on which the Payment Terms have changed, The Folklore will treat your use as acceptance of the updated Payment Terms.
6. Disclaimers of Warranties
YOUR USE OF THE SITE, ITS CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE SITE, ITS CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER THE FOLKLORE NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH THE FOLKLORE MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SITE.
THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
7. Limitation on Liability
IN NO EVENT WILL THE FOLKLORE, ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR LICENSORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE.
IN ACCEPTING LIABILITY AS THE LIMITED AUTHORIZED PAYMENT COLLECTION AGENT OF SERVICE PROVIDER, THE FOLKLORE AND ITS AFFILIATES ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR ANY ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF SERVICE PROVIDER.
THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
The term “Affiliate” referred to herein, is an entity that, directly or indirectly, controls, or is under the control of, or is under common control with The Folklore, where control means having more than fifty percent (50%) voting stock or other ownership interest or the majority of voting rights of such entity.