Terms and Conditions
Agreed Terms
1. Interpretation
1.1 The definitions in this clause apply in the terms and conditions set out in this document:
1.2 Headings do not affect the interpretation of these terms.
2. Basis of sale
2.1 These Terms and the Quotation are considered by us to set out the whole agreement between you and us for the provision of the Services. Please check that all the details in the Terms and on the Quotation are complete and accurate before you commit yourself to the Contract. In particular, and without limitation, please check that the details and the size of your animal are accurate. If you think that there is a mistake, please make sure you ask us to confirm any changes in writing. We only accept responsibility for changes and variations to the Contract if they are confirmed in writing by our authorised employees and agents. The Contract represents the entire agreement between us and supersedes all negotiations, prior discussions and preliminary agreements, whether written or oral, made prior to the date of the Contract. Please ensure that you read and understand these Terms before you sign and return the Quotation, because you will be bound by the Terms once a contract comes into existence between us in accordance with clause 2.4.
2.2 If any of these Terms are inconsistent with any term of the Quotation, the terms of the Quotation shall prevail.
2.3 The signed Quotation for Services returned by you to us accepting the Quotation is an offer by you to enter into a binding contract on these Terms, which we are free to accept or decline in our absolute discretion.
2.4 No offer placed by you shall be accepted by us other than by a written acknowledgement issued by us or (if earlier) by us starting to provide the Services at which time a binding contract for the supply of the Services on these Terms will be established (the “Contract”).
2.5 Quotations may be given by us at your request. Any quotation for the Services is given on the basis that a binding contract shall only come into existence in accordance with clause 2.4. A Quotation shall be valid for a period of six (6) months from its date of issue, unless we notify you in writing that we have withdrawn or amended it during this period. You acknowledge that we may withdraw or amend the Quotation in our absolute discretion. You further acknowledge that some of the reasons why we may amend the Quotation include, but are not limited to, changes in importation rules relating to animals, fuel surcharges and medical or incorrect information which has been given by you.
2.6 You may within seven (7) days of returning the signed Quotation cancel any Services you have requested by providing us with written notice. If you cancel the Contract, your liability to us shall be limited to payment to us of all costs we have incurred or are committed to incur in connection with the Services at the time we receive your cancellation. In addition, you shall not be entitled to the return of any deposit you have paid to us.
2.7 We have the right to revise and amend these Terms from time to time and we shall notify you in writing of any such revisions or amendments.
3. Commencement and duration
3.1 The Services supplied under the Contract shall be provided by us to you from the date specified in the Quotation.
3.2 Subject to the termination provisions set out in these Terms and clause 8.4, the Contract shall continue until we have performed the Services and you have paid for them.
4. Our obligations
4.1 We shall provide the Services to you with reasonable skill and care in accordance with, in all material respects, the Quotation.
4.2 We shall use reasonable endeavours to meet any collection and/or delivery times specified in the Quotation but such times are estimates only and time shall not be of the essence for performance of the Services. In particular, you acknowledge such times are subject to departure times and the service levels of the airline and its handling agents at the departure and destination airports.
4.3 We shall insure your animal during any stay at our Premises and in transit within England. We will not insure your animal after it is left at the airport of departure or during the journey to its airport of destination and you will need to arrange insurance for this stage of the journey.
5. Your obligations
5.1 You shall:
5.1.1 promptly co-operate with us in all matters relating to the Services; and
5.1.2 provide to us, in a timely manner, any information we may reasonably require to perform the Services and ensure that it is accurate in all material respects.
5.2 You shall ensure that the animal being transported has been given all necessary vaccinations in good time prior to departure and in particular (but without limitation), where the animal being transported is a:-
5.2.1 dog, that dog has received vaccinations against: distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and parvovirus within one (1) year before entering the Premises and Intrac kennel cough fourteen (14) days before entering the Premises;
5.2.2 cat, that cat has received vaccinations against: feline enteritis and feline influenza within one (1) year before entering the Premises.
5.3 You will provide us with evidence that the vaccinations specified in clause 5.2 have been administered in accordance with the provisions of clause 5.2 together with all recent animal health history. You acknowledge that we may request you to arrange for further vaccinations to be carried out or that you provide further relevant paperwork in order to enable your animal to be transported.
6. Transport of animals
6.1 If you have requested a “door to door” service in England, we may use a third party animal agent at our sole discretion to collect your animal from your address and transport it to the Premises. We shall not be responsible for the actions or omissions of any third party you may use to transport your animal to our Premises. You acknowledge you are responsible for arranging the transport of your animal from the destination airport to its final destination.
6.2 If any flight reservations specified in the Quotation are delayed, we will re-arrange, where possible, the transport of your animal on the next available flight. We reserve the right to charge you for any additional costs we may incur in re-arranging flights provided that we will use our reasonable endeavours to first notify you of any such additional costs before incurring them.
6.3 Subject to you providing us with all the relevant documentation specified in the Terms and the Quotation, we will fulfil all necessary entry requirements for your animal to enter the destination country only. We will not fulfil any requirements for your animal to re-enter the United Kingdom or any other country including (but not limited to) any requirement relating to pet passports.
6.4 We will provide an I.A.T.A. approved air travel container for your animal, the cost of which is included in the Quotation. You may use your own container provided it is an I.A.T.A. approved air travel container. We cannot guarantee acceptance of your own container by any airline and if your own container is refused, you will still be responsible for all the costs of the Services specified in the Quotation.
6.5 We may at our sole discretion allow a duly qualified veterinary surgeon to administer any treatment or medication he or she deems necessary to any animal in our care and you authorise any such action and accept as proper any decision to administer such medicine or treatment. You acknowledge that you will be responsible for all such costs included in connection with this clause 6.5. Where possible, we will try to notify you of such action we are taking together with details of the relevant costs.
7. Price, Payment and Termination
7.1 Subject to the foregoing, the price for the Services will be as set out in the Quotation. Prices are liable to change at any time in accordance with the provisions of clause 2.5.
7.2 The price includes VAT. However, if the rate of VAT changes between the date of the Quotation and the date of provision of the Services, we will adjust the VAT you pay, unless you have already paid for the Services in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.
7.3 Once the flight date of your animal has been booked and confirmed to you by us and you subsequently request a change in the departure date, then you acknowledge that you will be responsible for such additional associated costs including the additional stay of your animal at the Premises together with an additional administrative fee to be determined by us.
7.4 A deposit of forty five pounds (£45) and any applicable permit fees as set out in the Quotation are due and payable by you when you return the signed Quotation to us.
7.5 Payment for the balance of the cost for all Services must be received by us within ten (10) working days in the case of any cheques and five (5) working days in respect of all other payments prior to the scheduled departure date of your animal. We do accept payment by debit card and Mastercard, Visa and American Express provided you agree that we may apply a surcharge equivalent to 3% to the total balance of any invoice you are settling. In the event we do not receive payment in accordance with the Terms then you acknowledge your animal will not be transported and we may arrange for your animal to be removed from the Premises.
7.6 If you do not make any payment due to us by the due date for payment as set out in the Terms, we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 4% a year above the base lending rate of Barclays Bank PLC from time to time. Such interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with the overdue amount. We may also charge you any costs reasonably incurred by us in recovering any unpaid amount.
7.7 Without limiting any other remedies or rights that we may have, if you do not pay us on time or you are in breach of any of your other obligations to us set out in the Contract, we may cancel or suspend any other Services until you have paid the outstanding amounts. We may also arrange for your animal to be removed from the Premises. In the event we terminate the Contract we shall have no further obligations to either you or your animal.
7.8 You shall pay all amounts due to us in full without any deduction or withholding except as required by law and you shall not be entitled to assert any credit, set-off or counterclaim against us in order to justify withholding payment of any such amount in whole or part.
8. Limitation of liability
8.1 Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude our liability for:-
8.1.1 death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or sub-contractors;
8.1.2 fraudulent misrepresentation; or
8.1.3 breach of the terms implied by section 2 of the Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982 (Title and Quiet Possession).
8.2 Subject to clause 8.1:-
8.2.1 we shall not be liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, for any loss of profit, or any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with the Contract;
8.2.2 our total liability to you in respect of all other losses arising under or in connection with the Contract, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall not exceed the price paid by you for the Services.
8.3 Except as set out in these Terms, all warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law are, to the fullest extent, permitted by law, excluded from the Contract.
8.4 This clause 8 shall survive the termination of the Contract.
8.5 We shall not be liable in the event that your animal dies due to natural causes.
8.6 We shall not be responsible for any loss of or damage to your animal’s bedding, blankets, leads, collars or other personal belongings all of which are left with us entirely at your own risk.
9. Events outside our control
9.1 We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under these Terms that is caused by events outside our reasonable control (“Force Majeure Event”).
9.2 A Force Majeure Event includes any act, event, non-occurrence, omission or accident beyond our reasonable control and includes, without limitation, the following:
9.2.1 strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action; or
9.2.2 civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not) or threat or preparation for war; or
9.2.3 fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disaster; or
9.2.4 impossibility of the use of railways, shipping, aircraft, motor transport or other means of public or private transport; or
9.2.5 occasional seasonal minimum/maximum temperature restrictions imposed by airlines and changes to the current import requirements in the destination country prior to departure.
9.3 Our obligations under these Terms are suspended for the period that the Force Majeure Event continues, and we will have an extension of time to perform these obligations for the duration of that period. We will take reasonable steps to bring the Force Majeure Event to a close or to find a solution by which our obligations under these Terms can be performed despite the Force Majeure Event. You will be responsible for all additional costs arising out of the Force Majeure Event provided that you must remove your animal from the Premises in the event the Force Majeure Event continues for a period in excess of fourteen (14) days.
10. Assignment
We may at any time assign, transfer, charge, sub-contract or deal in any other manner with all or any party of our rights under Contract and may sub-contract or delegate in any manner any or all of our obligations under the Contract to any third party or agent. You shall not, without the prior written consent of us, assign, transfer, charge, sub-contract or deal in any other manner with all or any of your rights or obligations under the Contract.
11. General
11.1 Notices:
11.1.1 Any notice or other communication required to be given to a party under or in connection with this Contract shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the other party personally or sent by prepaid first-class post, recorded delivery or by commercial courier, at the address specified in the Quotation, or sent by fax to the other party’s fax number.
11.1.2 Any notice or other communication shall be deemed to have been duly received if delivered personally, when left at the address referred to above or, if sent by pre-paid first-class post or recorded delivery, at 9.00 am on the second business day after posting, or if delivered by commercial courier, on the date and at the time that the courier’s delivery receipt is signed, or if sent by fax, on the next business day after transmission.
11.1.3 This clause 11.1 shall not apply to the service of any proceedings or other documents in any legal action. For the purposes of this clause, “writing” shall not include e-mails and for the avoidance of doubt notice given under this Contract shall not be validly served if sent by e-mail.
11.2 Waiver:
11.2.1 A waiver of any right under the Contract is only effective if it is in writing and shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any subsequent breach or default. No failure or delay by a party in exercising any right or remedy under the Contract or by law shall constitute a waiver of that or any other right or remedy, nor preclude or restrict its further exercise. No single or partial exercise of such right or remedy shall preclude or restrict the further exercise of that or any other right or remedy.
11.2.2 Unless specifically provided otherwise, rights arising under the Contract are cumulative and do not exclude rights provided by law.
11.3 Severance:
11.3.1 If a court or any other competent authority finds that any provision of the Contract (or part of any provision) is invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision or part-provision shall, to the extent required, be deemed deleted, and the validity and enforceability of the other provisions of the Contract shall not be affected.
11.3.2 If any invalid, unenforceable or illegal provision of the Contract would be valid, enforceable and legal if some part of it were deleted, the provision shall apply with the minimum modification necessary to make it legal, valid and enforceable.
11.4 No partnership: Nothing in the Contract is intended to, or shall be deemed to, constitute a partnership or joint venture of any kind between any of the parties, nor constitute any party the agent of another party for any purpose. No party shall have authority to act as agent for, or to bind, the other party in any way.
11.5 Third parties: A person who is not a party to the Contract shall not have any rights under or in connection with it.
11.6 Governing law and jurisdiction: This Contract, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, English law, and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.