Last updated: June 2026
(1) These General Terms and Conditions govern the use of the website readoldletters.com as well as all contracts concluded through it between
hereinafter referred to as the "Provider",
and the users of the website readoldletters.com, hereinafter referred to as the "Customer".
(2) A consumer within the meaning of these Terms is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside their trade, business or profession.
(3) An entrepreneur within the meaning of these Terms is any natural or legal person or partnership with legal capacity who, when entering into a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of their trade, business or profession.
(1) The Provider operates an online platform at readoldletters.com. Registered Customers may upload, store, manage and have analysed there, by means of an AI-supported system, historical or hard-to-read documents, handwritten or printed papers, letters, manuscripts, books, deeds, notes or comparable materials.
(2) Within the customer account, documents may in particular be uploaded and managed, and translations, transcriptions, books, collections and further document areas may be created and organised.
(3) The Customer may upload photographs, scans or digital files of historical or hard-to-read documents. This includes in particular handwritten and printed documents in various languages, typefaces and historical scripts.
(4) Uploaded documents may be processed automatically by an AI-supported system. The platform may in particular generate transcriptions, translations, summaries or other textual processing of the respective document.
(5) Uploaded documents, the results generated from them, translations, books and collections are stored in the customer account so that the Customer can manage them in their library and access them again later.
(6) Processing is carried out automatically. A manual, scholarly, palaeographic, genealogical, historical, linguistic or legal review of the results is not part of the service unless expressly agreed separately.
(7) Which functions, storage limits, credit allowances, technical requirements and other usage limits apply in each case follows from the current description of the service on the website.
(1) Use of the service requires the creation of a customer account.
(2) By registering, the Customer submits an offer to conclude a usage agreement. The usage agreement is concluded as soon as the customer account is activated by the Provider.
(3) Registered Customers may use the functions of the platform to the extent offered in each case. Management functions such as storing, editing, organising and exporting documents are available to registered Customers free of charge. Credits are required in order to perform scans. Whether and to what extent the Provider makes free credits available beyond this is voluntary and follows from the respective description on the website; there is no entitlement to free credits.
(4) In order to perform scans, the Customer may purchase paid credits or take out a paid subscription.
(5) The Customer must provide accurate and complete information when registering. Access credentials must be treated as confidential and protected against access by third parties.
(6) If there is any suspicion that unauthorised third parties have gained access to the customer account, the Customer must inform the Provider without undue delay.
(1) Scans are performed using credits. As a rule, one credit entitles the Customer to perform one scan. The following applies: 1 credit corresponds to 1 scan.
(2) Credits are required in order to perform scans; they are acquired as paid credit packages or via a subscription. Whether and to what extent the Provider makes free credits available is voluntary; there is no entitlement to free credits. Any conditions for this follow from the description published on the website at the relevant time.
(3) As a rule, one credit is consumed for each successfully completed scan.
(4) A scan is deemed successfully completed as soon as the technical processing has been carried out and a result has been displayed to the Customer or made available in their customer account. If a file cannot be processed for technical reasons or is identified by the system as not processable, no credit is deducted and the process is not counted as consumed.
(5) Insofar as the Provider makes free credits available, these are managed separately from paid credits. Free credits cannot be paid out, cannot be transferred and cannot be refunded in money in the event of a withdrawal.
(6) In order to perform scans, the Customer may purchase paid credits in the form of credit packages.
(7) In addition, the Provider offers subscriptions billed on a monthly basis. Depending on the tariff selected, these include a certain number of credits, extended allowances, storage space or further services described on the website.
(8) The prices, credit packages, subscription tariffs, included credits, storage limits, service contents and any usage limits applicable in each case are displayed on the website, in particular on the pricing or tariff page as well as before completion of the purchase or ordering process.
(9) A subscription runs on a monthly basis. It is extended by a further month in each case unless it is terminated.
(10) The subscription may be terminated at any time with effect from the end of the current monthly billing period. Termination may be effected via the subscription management provided on the website or in the customer account, via an electronic termination option provided for by law, or by email to [email protected].
(11) In the case of ordinary termination, fees already paid for the current billing period are not refunded on a pro-rata basis unless otherwise required by law. The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected.
(12) All prices stated on the website include statutory value added tax unless expressly stated otherwise.
(13) Paid credit balances are not paid out other than in the case of an effective withdrawal. If a withdrawal is effectively declared, the unused portion of the paid credits will be refunded in accordance with § 8.
(14) Paid credits may be used without any time limit unless a different term is expressly stated on the website at the time of purchase.
(15) Insofar as the Provider makes free credits available, the conditions presented on the website apply. Free credits are voluntary, may in particular be tied to a specific customer account and serve exclusively for the use of the service; there is no entitlement to their provision.
(1) The Customer is responsible for uploading suitable files. Permitted file formats, maximum file sizes and further technical requirements are stated on the website.
(2) The quality of the results depends in particular on the legibility of the document, the image quality, the resolution, the lighting, the framing, the language, the typeface and the state of preservation of the document.
(3) The Provider may reject files if they cannot be processed technically, contain security risks or are evidently unsuitable for the intended service.
(1) The transcription, translation, summarisation and other processing of uploaded documents is carried out automatically by means of an AI-supported system.
(2) Historical documents, old handwriting, hard-to-read papers, damaged materials, multilingual content or documents in historical scripts may be difficult to recognise, fragmentary, ambiguous, incomplete or written in outdated language. The quality of the uploaded photograph or scan may likewise affect the result.
(3) The results provided may therefore contain errors, gaps, omissions, misinterpretations, translation errors or incomplete passages.
(4) The Provider does not owe a scholarly, palaeographically, genealogically, historically, linguistically or legally verified transcription, translation or assessment of the document.
(5) The results serve as technical support for better legibility, translation and initial exploration of documents. They do not replace expert examination, in particular no legal, genealogical, palaeographic, historical, linguistic or scholarly advice.
(6) The Customer's statutory rights in the event of defects remain unaffected.
(1) Payment for chargeable credit packages and subscriptions is made via the payment methods offered on the website.
(2) The Provider uses the payment service provider Stripe for payment processing. Payment is processed via Stripe. Insofar as Stripe's terms and privacy information are incorporated into the payment process, these apply in addition.
(3) After the payment process has been successfully completed, purchased credits are credited to the customer account.
(4) In the case of subscriptions, the agreed fee is charged monthly in advance for the respective billing period. The debit is made via the payment method chosen by the Customer and supported by Stripe.
(5) Should a payment fail, the Provider may request the Customer to update their payment details. Until payment has been successfully made, access to chargeable services may be temporarily restricted.
(6) The management of a subscription, in particular updating payment details or terminating the subscription, may be carried out via the subscription management provided on the website or in the customer account. This may be provided technically by Stripe.
(7) Where required by law, the Customer receives an invoice or payment confirmation in electronic form.
Consumers have a statutory right of withdrawal.
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day on which the contract was concluded.
To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us
by means of a clear statement, for example by email, that you wish to withdraw from this contract.
In order to meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your notification concerning the exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
The Customer may use paid credits or services from a subscription already during the withdrawal period if they expressly request that the Provider begin performing the service before the withdrawal period expires.
In this case, the Customer confirms that, in the event of a withdrawal, a proportionate amount may be retained for credits already used or services already rendered. The right of withdrawal itself remains unaffected unless otherwise provided by law.
If you withdraw from this contract, we will refund all payments we have received from you, less a proportionate amount for credits already used or services already rendered, insofar as such a deduction is permitted by law.
Repayment will be made without undue delay and at the latest within fourteen days from the day on which we receive your notice of withdrawal.
Credits already used are calculated proportionately. The decisive factor is the package price paid in relation to the credits included in the package.
In the case of subscriptions, a proportionate amount may be charged for services already rendered on the basis of the agreed monthly price and the credits already used or the billing period already elapsed, insofar as this is permitted by law.
Free credits are kept separately from paid credits. In the event of a withdrawal they are not paid out and not refunded in money.
For the repayment we will use the same means of payment that you used for the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with you. You will not be charged any fees for this repayment.
If you wish to withdraw from the contract, you may use the following form. Use of the form is not mandatory.
To:
I hereby withdraw from the contract concluded by me for the purchase of credits or for a subscription for readoldletters.com.
(1) The Customer is responsible for ensuring that the documents, images, scans, texts and other content uploaded by them may lawfully be used.
(2) The Customer warrants that they will only upload content to which they hold the necessary rights or which they may lawfully use on another legal basis.
(3) It is prohibited to upload content that is unlawful, infringes the rights of third parties or violates statutory provisions.
(4) The service must not be misused. Prohibited in particular are automated mass usage, attacks on the technical infrastructure, circumvention of access restrictions and any use outside the intended purpose.
(5) In the event of breaches of these obligations, the Provider may block the Customer's access temporarily or permanently. Further rights of the Provider remain unaffected.
(1) In order to provide the service, the images, scans and documents uploaded by the Customer, as well as the results generated from them, are processed technically. Processing is carried out for the purpose of providing, storing, managing, analysing, transcribing, translating, summarising or otherwise processing the uploaded content.
(2) Uploaded images, scans and documents, as well as the results, translations, books and collections generated from them, are stored in the customer account. This enables the Customer to manage them within their library and to access them again.
(3) Storage generally takes place for as long as the customer account exists or until the Customer deletes the respective content or requests its deletion, provided that no statutory retention obligations or legitimate interests in retaining evidence conflict with this.
(4) As soon as the Customer triggers an AI function, the images, scans or documents uploaded for this purpose are transmitted to an external AI service provider in order to carry out the requested processing; this is necessary in order to provide the service. Further information on the service provider used, on the legal basis for processing, on possible transfers to countries outside the European Union, on the storage period and on the Customer's rights can be found in the privacy policy.
(5) Uploaded images, scans and documents, as well as the results generated from them, are not used by the Provider to train AI models. Further details on processing by the technical service providers and AI service providers used are set out in the privacy policy.
(6) For payment processing, payment data is processed via the payment service provider Stripe. Details on the processing of personal data in connection with payments and subscriptions are set out in the privacy policy.
(7) Immediate deletion from technical backup copies may be technically delayed. Such backup copies are not actively used and are deleted or overwritten after the regular backup retention periods have expired.
(8) The privacy policy can be accessed at any time via the website.
(1) The Provider endeavours to provide the service as free of disruption and with as high availability as possible.
(2) However, continuous and permanent accessibility of the website, the customer account, the library or the service is not owed.
(3) Temporary restrictions or outages may arise in particular from maintenance work, technical faults, security measures, failures of third-party providers, disruptions at payment service providers, disruptions of AI services or force majeure.
(4) The Customer is responsible for having a suitable internet connection, a suitable device and suitable image files, scans or documents.
(1) The Provider is liable without limitation in cases of intent and gross negligence.
(2) The Provider is likewise liable without limitation for damage arising from injury to life, body or health.
(3) In the event of slightly negligent breach of material contractual obligations, the Provider's liability is limited to the damage typical for the contract and foreseeable. Material contractual obligations are obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance the Customer may regularly rely.
(4) In all other respects, liability for slight negligence is excluded.
(5) Liability under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz) and other mandatory statutory liability provisions remain unaffected.
(6) For substantive errors, omissions, misinterpretations or translation errors in AI-supported transcriptions, translations, summaries or other processing, the Provider is liable exclusively in accordance with the provisions set out above. The notes on the quality of AI results in § 6 remain unaffected.
(1) The usage agreement is concluded for an indefinite period.
(2) A subscription that has been taken out runs on a monthly basis and may be terminated by the Customer at any time with effect from the end of the current monthly billing period.
(3) Termination of the subscription may be declared via the subscription management provided on the website or in the customer account. This subscription management may be provided technically via Stripe. In addition, termination is possible by email to [email protected].
(4) Once the termination takes effect, access to the chargeable services of the subscription ends. Credits already purchased and still available remain unaffected unless otherwise stated on the website or at the time of purchase.
(5) Termination of a subscription does not automatically result in deletion of the customer account. The customer account may continue to be used within the scope of the functions available free of charge, provided that the Provider continues to offer the service.
(6) The Customer may delete their customer account at any time or request its deletion from the Provider.
(7) Before the final deletion of the customer account, the Customer will be informed that any remaining paid credits can no longer be used after deletion. Unused credits are not paid out other than in the case of an effective withdrawal.
(8) Upon deletion of the customer account, stored scans, uploaded images or documents, translations, books, collections and the results generated from them are deleted, provided that no statutory retention obligations or legitimate interests in retaining evidence conflict with this.
(9) Billing, payment and accounting data may continue to be stored to the extent required by law. In particular, a statutory retention period of up to 10 years applies to invoices, accounting vouchers and accounting-relevant documents (§ 147 German Fiscal Code (AO), § 257 German Commercial Code (HGB)).
(10) Credits already consumed are not refunded. Unused paid credits are not paid out other than in the case of an effective withdrawal.
(11) The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected.
(1) The Provider may further develop, improve or technically adapt the service, insofar as this is reasonable for the Customer.
(2) Changes to these Terms generally apply only to future contract conclusions, future purchases of credits and future subscriptions.
(3) For existing contractual relationships, the Provider may offer changes to these Terms if legal, technical or economic changes make this necessary and the Customer is not thereby unreasonably disadvantaged.
(4) The Customer will be informed of such changes in good time. Where required by law, their consent will be obtained.
The Provider is neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
(2) Mandatory consumer protection provisions of the state in which the Customer has their habitual residence remain unaffected.
(3) If the Customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the registered office of the Provider is the place of jurisdiction.
(4) Should any provision of these Terms be or become wholly or partly invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected.
(5) The contract language is German. This English text is a non-binding translation provided for convenience; in the event of discrepancies, the German version prevails.