Terms & Conditions – UK
Definition of Terms Used:
1. In these terms, the words or phrases below will have the following meanings:
a) You, your – the customer who asks us to provide a delivery
service, including any employee, agent or subcontractor acting
on your behalf.
b) We, our, us – Mach 1 Couriers Limited t/a Absolutely.
c) Consignment – any item or items we carry for you from one
address to another, including any packaging.
d) Dangerous Goods – means dangerous substances as defined in
the Road Traffic (Carriage of Dangerous Substances in Packages) Regulations 1992 (and any amendment or replacement thereof), explosives, radioactive substances and any other substance presenting a similar hazard, or anything you may ask us to deliver that could put the health and safety of other people at risk. This includes (but is not restricted to) explosives, radioactive material, and items requiring specialist treatment or handling during transportation.
e) Proof of delivery – a signature, name or company stamp obtained from the consignee acknowledging that the consignment has been received.
f) The Consignee – means the person, company or representative of the company to whom we deliver the consignment on your behalf.
General Points:
- These are the terms under which we trade with you and they override any previous agreement between us. They cannot be changed or varied unless one of our Directors agrees in writing. These terms will also override any terms or conditions you may seek to impose on your suppliers from time to time.
- We are not a common carrier, and reserve the right at our absolute discretion to:
- a) Subcontract any part, or parts, of a delivery by employing the services of any other person, firm or company who shall also have the power to subcontract.
- b) Refuse to accept any consignment or part thereof for delivery.
- c) Refuse to accept dangerous goods for delivery.
- When you ask us to make a delivery on your behalf, you will be deemed to have accepted these terms.
- Our liability to you is limited and explained in detail below.
- These terms are intended to be reasonable to both of us and if any part of them should prove to be unenforceable or void at law, then it will not affect the rest.
- If, for any reason, either of us chooses not to exercise any rights contained in these terms, then that will not be regarded as a waiver of those rights for the future.
- The Carrier shall not, in any circumstances, be liable in respect of a Consignment where there has been fraud on the part of you or the owner of the Consignment in respect of that Consignment, unless the fraud has been contributed to by the complicity of the Carrier, or of any servant of the Carrier, acting in the course of his employment.
- English law governs this agreement between you and us, and any dispute.
Our Rights and Obligations:
- We may refuse to accept a consignment for delivery or any part of it. We may also inspect a consignment if we believe that these terms may have been breached (for example, to check for dangerous goods).
- We can use any method, or route, to deliver your consignment, including using subcontractors or agents. Your rights will not be affected where subcontractors are used by us.
- We will use our reasonable endeavours to deliver your consignment within the time you request, but unless we expressly agree in writing before accepting your consignment for delivery, we will not be liable for any loss or expenses you may suffer if the consignment is not delivered on time.
- We will take all reasonable steps to obtain proof of delivery at the time of delivery, and that proof of delivery will be conclusive evidence that the consignment was delivered complete and in good order, unless the consignee marks otherwise at the time of delivery. We will not be liable for any loss or miss-delivery where delivery has been made in good faith to a person claiming to be the consignee or an employee, subcontractor or agent of the consignee.
- If you require proof of delivery after delivery has been made, then we will endeavour to provide this to you, providing your request is made within 14 days from the date of dispatch. Requests made later than this will be dealt with at our absolute discretion. Settlement of our charges will not be conditional upon you receiving proof of delivery, and you cannot delay or withhold payment pending receipt of proof of delivery, irrespective of when any request was made to us.
- We will retain original hard copy proofs of delivery obtained by us for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of collection. After that, we may destroy these items without any reference or obligation to you.
- We will make one attempt to deliver your consignment, but if we cannot do so, we will have the option to either make a second attempt, deliver to an alternative address provided by you, or return the consignment to you. Either of these alternatives will be at your cost, but we will attempt to contact you first to agree on the best option. If we still cannot deliver your consignment, we will contact you for further instructions.
- If the consignment still cannot be delivered, we will give you 10 days’ notice that we intend to sell or dispose of the consignment. Any proceeds of the sale (net of expenses) or costs of disposal will be applied to your account with us.
- We may keep hold of your consignments until you have paid any amounts you owe us, even though these amounts may not relate to the items held. We may then sell the items held, but only after we have given you 14 days’ notice in writing. Any proceeds (net of expenses) will be applied to your account with us.
- Where we are required to sign to acknowledge the collection of your consignment, then that signature will not be regarded as evidence of the condition of the goods. If we are kept waiting or loading, longer than 10 minutes over the course of a delivery, we may charge you an additional amount, this being our standard hourly rate in force at the time of the vehicle in question.
- We will not be liable for any indirect or economic loss or damage suffered by you or any third party. Our liability is strictly limited if the goods are sold, the invoice price to the customer, if not sold then the cost price to the claimant, subject to limits and conditions given below.
- We will not be liable for any loss or damage to the consignment, or any delay or miss-delivery if the cause was any of the following:
a) War, terrorism, riot, strike, lockout or any similar action, natural disasters (e.g. floods), poor or extreme weather conditions.
b) The consignment being seized or detained by any public authority.
c) Incorrect or insufficient address given on the consignment note or manifest. This includes any omission or ambiguity of information provided by you.
d) Incorrect or insufficient packaging of the consignment. Natural wastage of a perishable or fragile consignment traffic congestion or delay.
e) Any other event reasonable beyond our control.
- If the loss or damage is our fault, then our liability to you is limited as follows:
a) Up to £500 maximum liability per same day delivery only if the value of the goods is declared at the time of booking, otherwise it is limited to £100 per same day delivery.
b) For UK Overnight a maximum of £100 in respect of a ‘Parcel Consignment’ and £50 for ‘Mail Pack, Courier Pack and
Lightweight Consignment’ as specified by the APC (who act as our Overnight Partner) Terms & Conditions whereby claims will be paid on the lesser of the cost/repair of the goods up to the value of £100.
- We shall only be liable for loss or damage occurring within the geographical limits of Great Britain. For journeys outside these limits, liability shall be restricted to the amount of cover provided by the international agent, or carrier chosen, at the Carrier’s absolute discretion.
- We will not be liable for any loss or damage to any consignment that cannot be carried within lockable equipment normally provided on the vehicle you order from us. For example, if you order a motorcycle to make a delivery and your consignment is too big to fit in its carrying equipment, we may be able to carry it (providing it is safe to do so), but will not be liable for any loss or damage to that consignment.
- There are certain items we cannot accept liability for on any of our services. These include cash, notes, money orders, vouchers, credit cards, stamps, deeds, passports, tickets, travellers’ cheques, jewellery, precious stones, watches, precious metals, works of art, antiques, china, glass, living creatures and any other similar valuable articles. In addition, we shall not carry passengers in any circumstances.
- We shall not have any liability for damage to the whole, or any part, of the consignment, or physical loss, miss-delivery or non-delivery of part of the consignment unless we are advised of such loss, damage, miss-delivery or non-delivery in writing by the customer within 7 days and proof of such claim is provided by the customer in writing within 14 days after the end of the transit. We will be entitled to ask you for written evidence to establish the value of the loss or damage (for example, a copy invoice from the supplier). We may also ask you to obtain an estimate for repair if appropriate. Any claim advised, but which is not pursued within 9 months from the date of claim shall be considered time-barred.
- You must still continue to pay our invoices in full as they become due, even though you may have submitted a claim to us.
- From time to time, we may incur additional expenses in the course of delivering your consignments. These may be tolls, parking charges, waste disposal charges, or similar items. If we incur any such expenses, we will invoice them to you with normal delivery charges, and you will pay them within our credit terms.
- Any quotation or estimate of charges given to you will be valid for 30 days unless the quotation states otherwise. If you accept our quotation, delivery must take place within 30 days of the quotation date, otherwise revised charges may apply. We will only be bound by written quotations accepted by you, and your acceptance will be deemed to have been given when you ask us to make the delivery quoted for. Verbal quotations or estimates are expressed as a guide only, and will not be binding on us.
- We may change our charges or these terms from time to time, but if we do, we will give you advance notice.
- We may, at our absolute discretion, withdraw credit facilities at any time. If we do, then all invoices will become immediately payable, irrespective of any credit terms or payment dates previously agreed between you and us. If you do not pay us within 30 days of the invoice date, we will be entitled to charge you interest at the rate of 8% above the Official Dealing Rate of the Bank of England calculated on a daily basis on all amounts overdue by you. If we are required to take legal action to recover payment from you, our claim will include interest and all associated costs of such action.
- Unless stated otherwise, all charges quoted are exclusive of Value Added Tax.
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We may check weigh some of your consignments, or establish the weight if you have not provided it to us. We will amend our charges to you in line with the actual weight determined by us, and our calculation of the weight cannot be altered afterwards. If a consignment normally charged by weight exceeds 5 cubic metres in measurement per 1,000kg (or a rateable part thereof), we may charge you on a volumetric basis, calculated at a rate of 5 cubic metres per 1,000kgs or part thereof.
Your Rights and Obligations:
34. Before asking us to deliver a consignment, you must make sure of the following:
a) If you are not the owner of the goods, you have the owner’s permission to enter into this agreement and ask us to make a delivery.
b) The goods in the consignment are not dangerous goods and do not present any health or safety risks, and the handling or possession of them is not a criminal offence, nor breaches any relevant statute or regulation.
c) Only those individuals duly authorised by you can make bookings with us, and they will supply to us (at the time of booking) any reference or purchase order you require to be shown on our invoices in order to process them for payment. If you fail to provide us with this information, or if the information is not correct, you will not be able to withhold payment at a later date.
d) The consignment is properly addressed and packaged. If, in our opinion, the packaging is not sufficient, we may either refuse to deliver it or repack it to the required standard. A reasonable charge will be made to you for any such repackaging.
e) You have made any necessary insurance arrangements (either with us or a third party) to provide the level of coverage required, having regard to these items.
35. You will pay our invoices (including any VAT) in full and without deduction (apart from credit notes raised by us) within 14 days of the invoice date by direct debit in sterling. Any claims or demands from HM Customs in respect of dutiable items must be paid on demand.
36. Youwillraiseanyqueryyoumayhaveonourinvoicewithin14 days of the invoice date. After that time, you will be deemed to have accepted our invoice as correct and will make payment within our agreed terms. If you are in breach of any of these terms, you will be liable for any loss or expenses suffered by us as a result.
37. If your consignment needs special equipment (e.g. a forklift truck) or manpower to be loaded or unloaded, you must make sure it is available at both delivery and collection addresses. If such is not available, you will be liable for any resulting costs, which may include waiting, storage or redelivery charges.
38. Unless we are shown to be at fault, you will indemnify us for any claims or losses arising from our delivering consignments for you.
39. If you make a claim for damage to your consignment, you will keep (or arrange to keep) that consignment and all its packaging in a safe place and to one side in case we, or our loss adjusters, need to inspect the course of an investigation.
40. In the computation of time, where any period of days provided by these Terms and Conditions is 7 days or less, Saturdays, Sundays and all Bank/Public Holidays shall be excluded.
41. We have invested significant time and money in recruiting and training staff and engaging the services of courier subcontractors. If you engage (or arrange to engage on behalf of anyone else) any of our employees or subcontractors within 3 months of them leaving us, you will accept a charge from us equal to the last 3 months’ gross earnings of that person whilst engaged by us. We both agree that this is a fair estimate of our costs of replacing that person.