1 Interpretation

1.1 In these Conditions “we” means Cotswood Door Specialists Ltd; “you” means the person firm or company purchasing the Goods from us; “us”, “you”, “our” and “yours” should be interpreted accordingly; “items” means those supplies forming the subject matter of the contract between us, “Goods” means those services  and/or items forming the subject matter of the contract between us; “these Conditions” means the terms and conditions set out below.

1.2 In these Conditions the singular shall include the plural and vice versa, and use of gender shall be immaterial.

1.3 The headings of each provision in these Conditions are intended to be for convenience only and will not have an effect on interpretation.

1.4 Nothing in these Conditions shall exclude or restrict any statutory rights conferred upon you where you deal as a consumer within the meaning of the Unfair Contract

Terms Act 1977.

2 Applicability of Conditions

These Conditions apply to any contract of sale of Goods and/or Services to you to the exclusion of any other terms (whether express or implied) save any accepted or notified by one of our directors in writing. Any order from you gives rise to a binding contract with us only when we have notified you in writing that the order is accepted or (if later) when we have made delivery of the Goods and/or Services to you.

3 Applicability of Conditions

3.1 Prices are exclusive of Value Added Tax which will be charged at the rate ruling at the date of the invoice.

3.2 We will endeavour to charge those prices which are set out in our most current price list/catalogue but prices are subject to alteration without prior notice and orders will be invoiced at those prices ruling at the date of despatch of the Goods or the date of invoice whichever is the later. Any prices stated in our quotation will be fixed for the period stated therein, if any.

  

4 Delivery

4.1 The cost of delivery shall be stated in writing.

4.2 Any dates, times or periods of Goods quoted by us are estimates only and we shall not be liable for failure to meet any such estimates or for any costs, charges or expenses incurred as a result of any delay. You will not be entitled to refuse to accept Goods or to cancel your contract with us merely because of such failure.

  

5 Claims

5.1 Notice of any claim relating to shortage of or damage to the Goods should be made to us verbally at the time of delivery and confirmed in writing within 72 hours of delivery.

5.2 We will consider claims only if the above conditions are met and the claim is signed by you and accompanied by full particulars giving your order number and a copy of our delivery note and invoice.

5.3 Our liability in respect of any shortage, loss or damage to the Goods shall be limited to the proportion of the price attributable to those which have been undelivered, lost or damaged.

6 Payment Terms

6.1 In order to keep our prices at the lowest possible level, we do not operate customer credit accounts.

6.2 Payment terms are as follows:

6.3(a) Supply only goods payment to be cleared through our bank before delivery of goods.

We require a deposit of approximately 50% of the contract value against an order for joinery and associated goods and services. An order is not deemed to have been placed until the deposit is paid and cleared

(b) Supply and fit: payment to be cleared through our

bank before delivery of goods .

We require a deposit of approximately 50% of the contract value against an order for joinery and associated goods and services. An order is not deemed to have been placed until the deposit is paid and cleared.

6.4 Payment will not be deemed to have been made until any and all cheques, drafts and bills by which payment is to be effected has been cleared or honoured as the case may be.

6.4.1 Payment may be made by credit card, debit card, bankers draft, building society cheque or cash on the day of delivery/fitting. Please note that any card payments must be made before 5.00pm.

6.5 Without prejudice to any of our other rights we reserve the right to charge interest on payments outstanding after the due date at the rate (both before and after judgements) of 4% per annum above Barclays Bank plc base rate from time to time from the due date for payment until settlement in full has been received by us together with the right to recover from any costs which we incur in the recovery of overdue sums.

6.6 If any payment falls into arrears we may cancel or postpone performance of any contract with you in whole or in part.

6.7 In addition we retain the right to retain the keys to the locks of any installation where the bill has not been paid in full.  The  keys remain our property in 7.1.

7 Retention of Title

7.1 Whilst risk in Items supplied to you by us shall pass on delivery, legal and beneficial ownership of the Items shall remain with us until such time as we have received payment in full of all sums due to us by you and until such time you must keep such Items separate from your property and clearly identified as our property.

7.2 Notwithstanding any terms of payment which we have agreed, payment for all Goods supplied to you shall become due immediately if you fail to pay for the Goods on the due date (or fail to pay any instalment in which case the whole outstanding balance shall immediately become due) or fail to pay any other sum due to us on the date or if you are declared bankrupt, or compound with your creditors, or have a receiver appointed over any of your assets or, being a company, go into voluntary (other reconstruction), or compulsory liquidation, or enter into a composition with your creditors or have an administrator or an administrative receiver or receiver and manager appointed over all or part of your assets, or if you are otherwise declared insolvent or prohibited from trading, and you must immediately notify us thereof and in such circumstances:

7.2.1 you must not resell or otherwise deal with the Items;

7.2.2 you must not part with possession of any Items which have been delivered to you; and

7.2.3 we will have the right, without prejudice to any other remedies, to withhold delivery of any undelivered Items, to stop any items in transit, and to otherwise suspend performance of our contract with you 7.3 if payment for any Goods is overdue, whether in whole or in part, and any Items have been delivered to you, we may, without prejudice to any of our other rights, enter upon your premises to recover and/or resell the Items or such of them as we, in our absolute discretion, may designate as necessary to recover the amount of payment overdue and our reasonable costs incurred in giving effect to our rights hereunder and, for these purposes, you hereby irrevocably authorise us to enter and take all necessary and reasonable steps upon your premises.

8 Warranty

8.1 We warrant that the Items are to the best of our knowledge of merchantable quality and that any services comprising Goods will be provided with reasonable care.

8.2 You must handle store and use the Items strictly in accordance with the recommendations for use of the manufacturers of the Items (if any).

8.3  Warp, twist cup or bow shall not be considered a defect unless they exceed the following tolerances: Warp, 6mm in the plane of the door itself; Cup, 2mm across the width of the door; Bow, 4mm along the length of the door. Any warranty against warp does not apply in any event to the following: all doors which are wider than 914mm, or higher than 2,134mm doors that are improperly hung or do not swing freely.  In respect of doors covered by this warranty, the supplier may, as its option and in its sole discretion, either repair the door(s) without charge or replace the doors without charge, in the same state of fitting and/or finishing as was originally supplied and the supplier shall have no further liability whatsoever to the purchaser.

8.4 Immediately after fitting and before hanging, the entire door including the top and bottom edges must receive two coats of undercoat and two coats of exterior paint.  must be used on entrance doors, acrylic may be used on internals only. If staining, exterior grade varnish or sealer must be used to prevent undue absorption or moisture which may cause warping to occur. Exterior finishes must be used on exterior doors.  If this treatment is not carried out your warranty is void.

9 Door Furniture

9.1 Door furniture is warranted separately and the warranty is indicated on the pack in which the item is supplied.

10 After sales service

10.1 Where an external door has been fitted by us we will, in the first 12 months, carry out any adjustments that become necessary as a result of expansion or shrinkage caused by differing weather conditions.

10.2 Unless we specifically agree in writing as to any other warranty or guarantee all other conditions, guarantees, warranties or other conditions whether express or implied by statue common law or otherwise) are excluded from our contract with you. 10.3 We shall not be under any liability in contract or in tort for any indirect or consequential loss (including without limitation economic loss, loss of profits, loss of use or loss of production) arising out of or in connection with our contract with you. 10.4 Any liability which we may have to you in respect of negligence on our part which results in death or personal injury is unrestrained by these Conditions. Any other liability which we may owe to you, whether under these to you or otherwise, is limited to the invoiced price of the relevant Goods.  Unless we are in breach of our obligations under these Conditions, you may cancel or suspend your contract with us only with our prior written consent following agreement between us as to any reimbursement which we may require to compensate us for such cancellation.

11 Termination

11.1 We shall be entitled (without prejudice to any of our other rights) to terminate any contract between us if you:

11.1.1 become insolvent, or

11.1.2 fail to pay any amounts falling due to us, whether under these Conditions or otherwise; or

11.1.3 commit a breach of any term of our contract with you or any other contract which we may have with you; or

11.1.4 are declared bankrupt, or compound with your creditors or have a receiver appointed over any of your assets or, being a company, go into voluntary (other than for purposes of bona fide solvent amalgamation or reconstruction) or compulsory liquidation, or enter into a composition with your creditors or have an administrative receiver appointed over all or part of your assets, or if you are otherwise declared insolvent or prohibited from trading.

12 Force Majeure

We shall not be liable to you in respect of any matter which results from any Act of God, war or riot, extreme weather strikes or any events of any description which are beyond our control.

  

13 General and Law

13.1 These Conditions represent the entire agreement between us and supersede all earlier warranties, representations and statements (whether oral or in writing) and may only be varied or amended by agreement in writing between us.

13.2 Our contract with you is personal to you and you will not be entitled to assign the whole or any part of the benefit and/or burden of our contract without our prior written consent.

13.3 Any notices required to be given under these Conditions must be in writing and either posted first class pre-paid to the address of the receiving part as shown on your order or in our case on our delivery note or other documentation as appropriate or sent FAX to the

appropriate facility number.

13.4 The validity construction and performance of the contract between us will be governed by English Law and we and you both submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

13.5 This contract is non transferable.

  

GUIDANCE NOTES

1. General

Natural variations in the colour and texture of the timber are not to be considered defects. The timber and veneers used in doors are a natural product that will have significant variation in colour and grain pattern. A warp not exceeding 5mm on doors up to 2134 x 914 x 38mm, or 6mm on doors over 2134 x 914 x 38mm and up to 2438 x 914 x 38mm shall not be considered a defect.

Doors in excess of 2438mm high or 1219mm wide are not guaranteed against bow or twist.

All solid construction doors must be hung with 3 x 89mm hinges.

Doors must be accorded reasonable treatment by the purchaser and should be stored or hung in dry buildings, not in damp, moist or freshly plastered areas where the moisture content of the skins may increase abnormally leading to the development of warp.

The utility or structural strength must not be impaired in the fitting of the door, the application of hardware or cutting and altering the door for lights, louvres, panels or any other special details.

Normal show through of frame and core components in flush doors is not to be considered a defect.

Immediately after fitting and before hanging, the entire door including the top and bottom edges must receive two coats of undercoat and two coats of paint. Enamel colour must be used on entrance doors, acrylic may be used on internals only. If staining, exterior grade varnish or sealer must be used to prevent undue absorption or moisture which may cause warping to occur. Exterior finishes must be used on exterior doors.

Doors exposed to direct sunlight must be finished with light reflective colours to reduce the drying effect of sunlight on the door surface, which may cause warping to occur. Honeycomb core doors should only be painted with flat, semi-gloss or satin finishes.

2. Meaning of Warp

“Warp” means the cupping or twisting of doors. It refers to distortion within the door itself and not its relationship to jambs or the frame in which it is hung. Therefore warp exceeding the tolerances noted in paragraph 1 above will be considered a defect only:

(a) when the cupping is determined by applying a straight-edge to the concave face of the door, or

(b) when twisting is determined by placing the door face against a true plane surface.

The guarantee against warp does not apply to the following:

(c) doors with face veneers of different species as this may lead to varying moisture content in each skin causing warping to occur.

(d) doors that are improperly hung or do not swing freely.

(e) External doors painted in colours so dark as to allow the exposed face to lose moisture through the absorption of heat energy.

Experience demonstrates that when warp occurs after delivery, it is usually due to improper storage or adverse moisture conditions after handling, not to faulty manufacture. The manufacturer will accept no responsibility for the development of warp when the moisture content of the timber falls below 12% or exceeds 18%. Obviously, the manufacturer cannot assume responsibility for conditions wholly beyond its control. The manufacturer should, however, be consulted promptly if excessive warping occurs to assist in overcoming the difficulty.