General Service, Hosting & Domain Name Terms

This page tells you the terms and conditions on which we supply our services described on our website to you (“Services”). Our primary services are website hosting service (“Hosting Service”) or a domain name registration and renewal service (“Domain Registration and Renewal Service”)

Please read these terms and conditions carefully before ordering any Services from our website. By ordering any of our Services, you will be bound by these terms and conditions. Refusal to accept these Terms and Conditions will result in no Services from our website being able to be ordered. We would recommend you read through the terms carefully, printing a copy of your records if required.

• 1. INFORMATION ABOUT US

  • 1.1. This a site operated by Neptune Hosting Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”). We are registered in England and Wales under company number 10115622 and have our registered office at 7 Windmill Drive, Bexhill-On-Sea, East Sussex, England, TN39 4DG.
  • Please note that by placing an order for the Services, you consent to us sending to you our regular newsletter by email. This forms our primary method of communicating with you and will inform you of any changes to our services, billing, planned maintenance and account access information.
  • 1.2 Contracts for the purchase of Services through our site will be governed by English law. Any dispute arising from, or related to, such the Contract shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. English is the language offered for the conclusion of the contract between us both

• 2. YOUR STATUS

  • 2.1. By placing an order through our website, you warrant that:
  • 2.1.1. you are legally capable of entering into binding contracts
  • 2.1.2. you are at least 18 years old.
  • 2.2. If you are acting on behalf of a company or other business, you further warrant that you personally have the authority to bind that company or business on whose behalf you are placing an order.

• 3. THE ORDER PROCESS

  • 3.1. You can only place an order with us for Services once you have successfully registered an account with us. Information that you provide while registering an account with us must be complete and accurate. By creating an account you agree that we may block access to the account and the Services we supply if we reasonably believe that the information you have supplied is inaccurate. You must keep your user name and password private at all times and not allow anyone else to use it. You must contact us should you believe that your username or password has become known to someone else.
  • 3.2. Before you submit an order you will be shown a summary on screen including details of the Services you have wish to order and the price payable. There will be an option to amend/correct and errors before proceeding to completion of the order.
  • 3.3. Before being able to submit an order you will be required to register a credit or debit card. We also accept paperless direct debit, however you may need to use a credit or debit card on your first order.
  • 3.4. Once an order has bee placed, we will provide you with confirmation of the Services you have ordered. This confirmation will be sent to the email address registered to your account. Copies of previous invoices will be stored on your account.

• 4. HOW THE CONTRACT IS FORMED BETWEEN YOU AND US

  • 4.1. After placing an order, you will receive an e-mail from us accepting your order and, if appropriate, letting you know that the Hosting Service you have purchased has been activated (“Acceptance Confirmation”). Your order constitutes an offer to us to buy our Services and all orders are subject to our acceptance.
  • 4.2. The contract between us (“Contract”) will only be formed when we send you the Acceptance Confirmation. We may also decline your order for the Services for any reason, in which case we will tell you so.
  • 4.3. The Contract will relate only to those Services we have confirmed in the Acceptance Confirmation. We will not be obliged to supply any other Services which may have been part of your order until such Services have been confirmed.

• 5. OUR STATUS

  • 5.1. We may provide links on our site to the websites of other companies, whether affiliated with us or not. We cannot give any undertaking that products or services you purchase from companies to whose website we have provided a link on our website will be of satisfactory quality, and any such warranties are disclaimed by us absolutely.
  • 5.2. Any disclaimer does not affect your statutory rights against the third party seller.

• 6. CONSUMER RIGHTS

  • 6.1. If you are buying as a consumer (i.e., not within the course of your business), ordinarily, the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 allow you to cancel the Contract at any time within 14 working days, beginning on the day after you received the Acceptance Confirmation.
  • 6.2. However, by placing your order for the Services, you agree to us starting supply of those Services before the end of the seven working day cancellation period referred to here. As such, you will not have the right to cancel the Contract under the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013
  • 6.3. This provision does not otherwise affect your statutory rights.

• 7. OUR LIMITED MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

  • 7.1. Once the Contact has been formed you may cancel the Contract in relation to the Hosting Service you have purchased.
  • 7.2. In such cases, you may cancel at any time within 30 days, beginning on the day after you received the Acceptance Confirmation. If you do so, you will receive a full refund of the price paid for the Hosting Service you have cancelled. We will refund the price you have paid to the credit card, debit card or other account you used to make that payment. No other refund will be made. Limited to one per customer.
  • 7.3. To cancel the Contract you must inform by raising a support ticket before the end of the 30 day period mentioned in clause G(b) above. As part of our cancellation process, we will respond to you to confirm your cancellation request. You must re-confirm your cancellation request by replying to this confirmation or we will continue to supply the Hosting Service and your cancellation will be ineffective. This is to ensure that we do not delete any data you need to retain.
  • 7.4. In summary, the Services which may not be cancelled under the limited money back guarantee include (but are not limited to):
    • 7.4.1. Domain Registration and Domain Registration Renewals.
    • 7.4.2. Private SSL certificates.
    • 7.4.3. Virtual Nameservers and other ‘add on’ products.
    • 7.4.4. Virtual Private Servers (VPS) and associated products.

• 8. PRICE AND PAYMENT

  • 8.1. The price of any Services will be as quoted on our website (exclusive of VAT). We will charge VAT if we are VAT registered.
  • 8.2. The total cost of your order of the Services will be set out clearly before you submit your order for the Services.
  • 8.3. Prices are liable to change at any time. We will notify you of a change in our prices at least 14 days before the price increase comes into force. If you do not cancel you will be deemed to have accepted the new prices, and they will be charged to your account.
  • 8.4. Due to the number of Services offered for sale, it is possible that despite our efforts some Services may be incorrectly priced. We deal with these situations accordingly:
    • 8.4.1 Where a Service’s correct price is less than our stated price, we will charge the lower amount when accepting your order;
    • 8.4.2 If a Service’s correct price is higher than the price stated on our website, we will normally, contact you for instructions before accepting your order; and
    • 8.4.3 We are under no obligation to provide the Services to you at the incorrect (lower) price, even after we have sent you an Acceptance Confirmation
  • 8.5. We reserve the right to seek to recover any outstanding amounts due by you by other means, including referring the debt to an external debt recovery agent if necessary. If this method is sought, you may become liable for additional fees and charges and you agree to pay such charges in addition to the outstanding amount owed to us.
  • 8.6. Time for payment shall be of the essence. No payment shall be deemed to have been received until we have received cleared funds. If your chosen method of payment is not authorised by your credit card provider or bank, you hereby authorise us to seek payment from any other credit card, debit card or direct debit registered against your account.
  • 8.7. If we fail to authorise payment your account may be suspended.

• 9. QUALITY

  • 9.1. We warrant that (subject to the other provisions of these terms and conditions) any Services purchased from us through our website will be provided with reasonable care and skill.
  • 9.2. We will not be liable for a breach of the warranty provided above unless:
    • 9.2.1. you give written notice of the breach to us
    • 9.2.2. we are given a reasonable opportunity after receiving the notice of examining our provision of the Services to you
    • 9.2.3. the problem arises because you failed to follow our oral or written instructions as to the use of the Services (if there are any)
    • 9.2.4. you alter the Services without our written consent
    • 9.2.5. the problem arises because of misuse
  • 9.3. If we are in breach of the warranty in accordance with the clause above we will, use all reasonable commercial efforts to remedy the breach promptly or refund the price of the Services at the pro rata Contract price.
  • 9.4. By accepting these terms, you acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise or representation made or given by or on our behalf which is not set out on our website or otherwise confirmed in writing by us. Nothing in this clause will exclude or limit our liability to you for fraudulent misrepresentation.

• 10. ACCESS TO THE HOSTING SERVICE

  • 10.1. It is your responsibility to ensure that necessary arrangements for access to our Hosting Services are in place.
  • 10.2. You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our Services through your Internet connection are aware of these terms and conditions (and in particular our acceptable use policy).

• 11. HOSTING SERVICE SERVICE LEVELS

  • 11.1. We do not warrant access to our servers will be uninterrupted or error free but we shall use reasonable endeavours to keep downtime to a minimum.

• 12. IP ADDRESSES

  • 12.1. You will have no right, title or interest in any internet protocol address (“IP address”) allocated to you throughout use of upon the expiry or termination of Services.
  • 12.2. Any IP address allocated to you is allocated as part of the Hosting Service you purchased and is not portable or otherwise transferable by you in any manner whatsoever.
  • 12.3. If an IP address is re-numbered or re-allocated by us, we shall use our reasonable endeavours to avoid any disruption to you.

• 13. BACK-UP OF YOUR MATERIAL AND OUR SERVERS

  • 13.1. It is your responsibility to maintain appropriate and up-to-date back-up copies of any data, information or other material you upload onto our servers as part of your use of the Hosting Services. We provide free tools to make website and database backups in our control panels. In the event of loss of or damage to your material, you will not be given access to the server back-up we maintain pursuant to our archiving procedure.
  • 13.2. We will follow our archiving procedures for the data stored on our servers.
  • 13.3. We will not be responsible for any loss, destruction, alteration or disclosure of your Material caused by you or any third party.

• 14. HOSTING SERVICE USAGE LIMITATIONS

  • 14.1. The Hosting Service package you order includes the per calendar month bandwidth allowance applicable to that hosting package as this is set out on this website at the time of your order.
  • 14.2. The Hosting Service you have ordered will be automatically suspended if this monthly bandwidth allowance is exceeded. If this happens, you may upgrade your Hosting Service package to one which includes a higher monthly bandwidth allowance, or wait for the Hosting Service to resume at the start of the following calendar month. You can monitor your monthly bandwidth usage in our control panel.
  • 14.3. Unless the Hosting Service package you order includes a virtual private server, you will only be allowed to use a maximum of 10% of our server’s processing capacity when using the Hosting Service package you order.
  • 14.4. We may allow your usage to exceed this CPU limitation, and we will speak to you about your hosting requirements if your usage has a detrimental effect on our other customers. Please note that this right is at our absolute discretion,
  • 14.5. The Hosting Service package you order includes the number of mailboxes applicable to that hosting package as this is set out on our website at the time of your order.
  • 14.6. Any mailboxes that have not been accessed for 100 clear days will be automatically deleted from our system.
  • 14.7. When using the Services, you must comply with our Terms of Website Use and our Acceptable Use Policy. Any conflict between our terms of website use and these terms and conditions, will be resolved in favour of these terms and conditions.
  • 14.8. A breach of either the Website Terms of Use or Acceptable Use policy will entitle us to terminate the provision of Services to you.

• 15. SUPPORT

  • 15.1. Our support team will help resolve any problems you have with the Services you are receiving. We will not provide programming support to you, but, as part of our Hosting Services, our servers are compatible with many programming languages.
  • 15.2. We do not provide telephone technical support. Support is provided via online support ticket or online chat.

• 16. DOMAIN NAMES

  • 16.1. Where the Contract includes our Domain Registration and Renewal Service:
    • 16.1.1. we will endeavour to procure the registration of the domain name you request
    • 16.1.2. we will not be liable in the event that the relevant domain name registry refuses to register the domain name you request, or subsequently suspends or revokes any registration for that domain name.
    • 16.1.3. we shall not act as your agent or on your behalf in any dealings with domain name registry.
    • 16.1.4. the registration of the domain name you request and its ongoing use is subject to the relevant domain name registry’s terms and conditions of use which you should consider.
    • 16.1.5. you are responsible for ensuring that you are aware of the terms so that you can comply with them.
    • 16.1.6. the domain name you request will only have been successfully registered when you appear as the registrant on the appropriate “whois” database of the top level domain name registrar.
    • 16.1.7. we shall have the absolute discretion to require you to select a replacement domain name to the one you have requested to be registered, and may suspend or terminate our performance of the Domain Registration and Renewal Service, if, in our opinion, there are reasonable grounds for us to believe that your current choice of name is, may or is likely to be in bad faith, breach of the provisions of these terms and conditions or any legal or regulatory requirement.
    • 16.1.8. you confirm and warrant that you are the owner of any trade mark in any domain name (or have the authority of the owner of any trade mark to use such name) that you have requested be registered.
  • 16.2. You confirm and warrant that you are the legal owner of any domain name (or have the authority of the legal owner to use such domain name) supplied by you, or otherwise authorised by you, for use as a domain name in connection with any website in relation to which the Hosting Service supplied to you is used.
  • 16.3. Once the domain name has been successfully registered, it will need to be renewed periodically to ensure you retain your registration of it. We will send you renewal notices 30 days and 7 days before the renewal date of your registered domain name. These notices will be sent to the email address then registered against your account.
  • 16.4. You hereby authorise us to automatically renew the domain name for you unless you have cancelled the Domain Registration and Renewal Service in accordance with these terms and conditions.
  • 16.5. The price for the renewal will be as set out in the renewals page of the customer administration area and will be charged against one of the payment methods then registered against your account.
  • 16.6. You acknowledge and agree that we may place a number of locks on any domain registered with us either at the time of registration or at any time thereafter and without further notice to you.

• 17. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

  • 17.1. You, retain all intellectual property rights in your material, and you grant to us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty free licence to use, store and maintain your material on our servers and publish it on the Internet for the purpose of providing the Hosting Service to you.
  • 17.2. You warrant that your material does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party and you have the authority to grant the licence to us. We may make such copies as may be necessary to perform our obligations, including making back-up copies of your material.
  • 17.3. You will defend, indemnify and hold us harmless against claims, actions, proceedings, losses, damages, expenses and costs (including without limitation court costs and reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with your use of the Services or of any claim or action that your material infringes, or allegedly infringes, the intellectual property rights of a third party.
  • 17.4. If you download software from our website, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable royalty free licence to use that software for the purpose set out on our website in relation to that software. Such licence will automatically terminate when we terminate providing the Hosting Services to you.
  • 17.5. Any third party software that you download from our website shall be licensed to you on the standard software licence terms of the owner of the intellectual property rights in that third party software as those licence terms are notified to you at the time you download such software.
  • 17.6. We retain all intellectual property rights in the Hosting Services (other than in your material) and our software. You must not decompile, disassemble the Hosting Services or our software.
  • 17.7. We will defend you against any claim that the Hosting Services infringe any United Kingdom intellectual property rights of a third party, and shall indemnify you for any amounts awarded against you in judgment or settlement of such claims, provided that:
    • 17.7.1. you give prompt notice of any such claim.
    • 17.7.2. you make no admissions or settlements without our prior written consent.
    • 17.7.3. you provide reasonable co-operation to us in the defence and settlement of such claim, at your expense.
    • 17.7.4. we are given sole authority to defend or settle the claim.

• 18. OUR LIABILITY

  • 18.1. We do not monitor and will not have any liability for your material or any other communication you transmit by virtue of the Hosting Services.
  • 18.2. Due to the public nature of the Internet, we shall not be liable for the protection of the privacy of electronic mail or any other information transferred through the Internet or via any network provider
  • 18.3. No guarantee or representation is given that the Hosting Services will be free from security incidents or unauthorised users.
  • 18.4. All conditions, terms, representations and warranties that are not expressly set out in these terms and conditions (or the documents referred to in them) are hereby expressly excluded.
  • 18.5. We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability:
    • 18.5.1. for death or personal injury caused by our negligence;
    • 18.5.2. under section 2(3) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987
    • 18.5.3. for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation
    • 18.5.4. for any matter for which it would be illegal for us to exclude, or attempt to exclude, our liability.
  • 18.6. We will not be responsible for the following types of losses (in each case whether direct, indirect or consequential) and whether they are caused by our negligence or otherwise:
    • 18.6.1. loss of income or revenue.
    • 18.6.2. loss of business.
    • 18.6.3. loss of profits or contracts.
    • 18.6.4. loss of anticipated savings.
    • 18.6.5. loss of goodwill.
    • 18.6.6. loss of software or data.
    • 18.6.7. wasted expenditure (such as pay per click advertising costs).
    • 18.6.8. wasted management or office time.
  • 18.7. Subject to these terms and conditions, our maximum aggregate liability under or in connection with the performance or contemplated performance of the Contract, whether in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise, shall in no circumstances exceed 100% of the price you have paid to us for the Services during the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the liability in question.
  • 18.8. You are advised to acquire business interruption insurance, or other appropriate insurance, to protect you and your business in the event of interruption of the Services (in particular the Hosting Service).
  • 18.9. Where you buy any product or service from a third party seller through following a link on our website to such third party’s website, the seller’s individual liability will be set out in the seller’s terms and conditions. You should consult such terms and conditions.

• 19. DURATION OF THE SERVICES AND CANCELLATION

  • 19.1. The part of the Contract relating to our Domain Registration and Renewal Service will commence on the date we send you our Acceptance Confirmation. It will continue until:
  • 19.1.1. we have registered the domain name you have requested (the “Domain Name”) and you subsequently ask us not to renew the registration of your Domain Name
    • 19.1.2. we terminate the supply of our Domain Registration and Renewal Service by notice to you because:
    • 19.1.2.1. the Domain Name is no longer available for registration
    • 19.1.2.2. you are in breach of the terms and conditions herewith
    • 19.1.2.3. of some other reason preventing the registration of the Domain Name.
  • 19.2. If we terminate the Domain Registration and Renewal Service under the clauses of this agreement, we will refund the price you have paid for the Domain Registration and Renewal Service to the credit card, debit card or other account you used to make the payment.
  • 19.3. That part of the Contract relating to Services other than our Domain Registration and Renewal Service will commence on the date we send you our Acceptance Confirmation. Unless such Services are terminated as provided for in this clause they shall continue for the minimum period of time that applies to the Service you have purchased (“Minimum Term”). After expiry of the Minimum Term, they will continue on a month to month basis until terminated:
    • 19.3.1. by you, as a Consumer, informing us of your decision to cancel the Contract by a clear statement. This should be via online support ticket or support live chat;
    • 19.3.2. by you, as a Business customer, informing us of your decision to cancel the Contract. This should be via online support ticket or support live chat
    • 19.3.3. by us giving to you at least 30 days advanced notice in writing sent to the then current email address registered against your account
    • 19.3.4. by exercising your right as a Consumer, to cancel the Contract(s) within the “cooling off period” i.e. within 14 days of purchase.
    • 19.3.5. To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired. We request that you do this at least two working days before the cancellation date. Please note that the Cooling Off period only applies to Consumers, not Business Customers.
  • 19.4. As part of our cancellation process, you must re-confirm your cancellation request via our support ticket system or support live chat system or we will continue to supply the relevant Services and your cancellation will be ineffective. You cannot cancel any of your Services by letter, email or telephone.
  • 19.5. The monthly price for Services we supply under Contracts that continue on a month to month basis shall be charged monthly in advance directly to a credit card, debit card, paperless direct debit or other payment method registered against your account. Such payment will be taken on the same date of the month (or if no such date occurs then on the last day of the month) as on which the Services had originally commenced (“Payment Date”) unless or until you cancel the Services in accordance with these terms and conditions.
  • 19.6. We will not provide you with a refund for a cancellation that is part-way through a billing period.
  • 19.7. Without prejudice to any other right to terminate or suspend the Services we may have under these terms and conditions, our Terms of Website Use or our Acceptable Use Policy we may terminate the Contract at any time by giving you 30 days’ advance notice by emailing you at the email address registered against your account.
  • 19.8. If we cancel the Services, we will refund to you the price you have paid for the Services on a pro-rata basis for the unexpired Minimum Term
  • 19.9. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these terms and conditions, if you are in breach of an obligation of these terms and conditions we may terminate the Contract by 7 days’ notice to you.
  • 19.10. Expiry or termination of the Contract shall be without prejudice to any rights and liability of either of us arising in any way under that Contract as at the date of expiry or termination.

• 20. DELETION OF YOUR DATA

  • 20.1. If you cancel your Services, any data we hold or host in relation to the Services you have cancelled will be immediately and permanently deleted from our system.
  • 20.2. Accordingly, you are strongly advised to make appropriate copies of such data before you cancel your Services.

• 21. ADDITIONAL TERMS

  • 21.1. Additional terms and conditions may apply for our offers. If so, you will be advised of them at the relevant point.

• 22. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS

  • 22.1. Applicable laws require that some of the information or communications we send to you should be in writing. When using our website, you accept that communication with us will be mainly electronic.
  • 22.2. We will contact you by e-mail or provide you with information by posting notices on our website. For contractual purposes, you agree to this electronic means of communication and you acknowledge that all contracts, notices, information and other communications that we provide to you electronically comply with any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. This condition does not affect your statutory rights.

• 23. NOTICES

  • 23.1. All notices given by you to us must be given though our online system.
  • 23.2. We may give notice to you at either the then current e-mail or postal address registered against your account with us.

• 24. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS AND TRANSFER OF RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

  • 24.1. Neither you nor we intend that any term of the Contract will be enforceable by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 by any person that is not a party to it.
  • 24.2. The Contract is binding on you and us and on our respective successors and assigns.
  • 24.3. You may not transfer, assign, charge or otherwise dispose of the Contract, or any of your rights or obligations arising under it, without our prior written consent.
  • 24.4. We may transfer, assign, charge, sub-contract or otherwise dispose of the Contract, or any of our rights or obligations arising under it, at any time during the term of the Contract.

• 25. EVENTS OUTSIDE OUR CONTROL

  • 25.1. We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under the Contract that is caused by events outside our reasonable control (“Force Majeure Event”).
  • 25.2. A Force Majeure Event includes any act, event, non-happening, omission or accident beyond our reasonable control and includes in particular (without limitation) the following:
    • 25.2.1. misuse, alteration or interference by you or any third party of our servers or systems (including virus and hacker attacks);
    • 25.2.2. strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action;
    • 25.2.3. civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not) or threat or preparation for war;
    • 25.2.4. fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disaster;
    • 25.2.5. impossibility of the use of public or private telecommunications networks; and
    • 25.2.6. the acts, decrees, legislation, regulations or restrictions of any government.
    • 25.3. Our performance under the Contract will be deemed to be suspended for the period that the Force Majeure Event continues, and we will have an extension of time for performance for the duration of that period. We will use our reasonable endeavours to bring the Force Majeure Event to a close or to find a solution by which our obligations under the Contract may be performed despite the Force Majeure Event.

• 26. WAIVER

  • 26.1. If we fail, at any time during the Contract, to insist upon strict performance of any of your obligations under the Contract or any of these terms and conditions, or if we fail to exercise any of the rights or remedies to which we are entitled under the Contract, this shall not constitute a waiver of such rights or remedies and shall not relieve you from compliance with such obligations.
  • 26.2. A waiver by us of any default shall not constitute a waiver of any subsequent default.
  • 26.3. No waiver by us of any of these terms and conditions shall be effective unless it is expressly stated to be a waiver and is communicated to you in writing.

• 27. SEVERABILITY

  • 27.1. If any of these terms and conditions or any provisions of the Contract are determined by any competent authority to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent, such term, condition or provision will to that extent be severed from the remaining terms, conditions and provisions which will continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by law.

• 28. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

  • 28.1. These terms and conditions and any document expressly referred to in them represent the entire agreement between us both in relation to the subject matter of any Contract and supersede any prior agreement, understanding or arrangement between us, whether oral or in writing.
  • 28.2. We each acknowledge that, in entering into the Contract, neither of us has relied on any representation, undertaking or promise given by the other or be implied from anything said or written in negotiations between us prior to such Contract except as expressly stated in these terms and conditions.
  • 28.3. Neither of us shall have any remedy in respect of any untrue statement made by the other, whether orally or in writing, prior to the date of any Contract (unless such untrue statement was made fraudulently) and the other party’s only remedy shall be for breach of contract as provided in these terms and conditions.

• 29. CHANGES TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  • 29.1. We have the right to revise and amend these terms and conditions from time to time.
  • 29.2. You will be subject to the policies and terms and conditions in force at the time that you order services from us, unless any change to those policies or these terms and conditions is required to be made by law or governmental authority (in which case it will apply to orders previously placed by you).
  • 29.3. No variation of these terms and conditions shall be valid unless it is in writing and signed on our behalf.

 

Terms of Service

Hosting & Maintenance Agreement

Current Hourly Rate

Throughout this document, reference is made to our current hourly rate. This rate is defined as our hourly rate that is in place at the time a service is requested, not at the time this agreement is signed. We will provide you with our current hourly rate upon request.

Availability and Communication

We are available via email and phone Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, GMT. Our normal response time is one business day, though our response time may vary. We do not work on weekends or holidays. Clients with current website management services receive priority response times.

Office phone and email are the primary means of communication accepted for our work together. We do not communicate via mobile phone, text message, social media, or instant/private messaging (like Facebook Messenger) to communicate since we cannot track these requests as a team. No response will be made to any messaging or notices through those unapproved means as those methods of communication will not be monitored by support personnel.

Support requests must be created in your account using our ticket system.

Out of hours support is to ensure the web server and database servers are stable. The Out of hours support team will aim to identify if the cause of a fault is server side/network (That’s us) or with the website (that’s the developer) or the domain name (that’s you) and then respond accordingly. Out of hours support is a paid service which is available all days from 5pm to 9am with a 4 hours response time. Support out of hours is ticket based only.

Website Hosting

We strive to ensure that sites hosted by us are available 99.9% of the time during each monthly billing cycle. If this service level is not met, you may be eligible for a credit towards future billing cycles, based on the duration of unavailability. Unavailability is defined as your website being unresponsive or returning a server error for more than 60 consecutive seconds, excluding issues caused by local, regional, national, or international outages.

Unavailability due to scheduled maintenance is excluded from these conditions and does not qualify for service credits. Scheduled maintenance is announced at least two days in advance and does not exceed one hour per month, usually occurring during off-peak hours (typically early morning).

Service credits are calculated as a percentage of the bill for the affected billing cycle. The credit percentage is determined by dividing the minutes of unavailability by the total minutes in that cycle. Customers must request service credits within seven days of the unavailability.

Third Party Hosting

If you choose not to use our hosting services, we make no guarantees or representations regarding any third-party hosting services, including their performance, support, reliability, or security. We are not liable for any issues, damages, or losses arising from third-party hosting providers, including server downtime, data loss, or security breaches. The chosen hosting provider is solely responsible for resolving any hosting-related issues, and all claims or disputes must be directed to them.

ANY WORK REQUIRED TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS THAT WE DEEM TO BE RELATED TO THIRD-PARTY WEB HOSTING WILL BE BILLED AT OUR CURRENT HOURLY RATE.

Website Management Service

Website Backups

We perform regular backups of your website’s files and database to maintain data integrity and facilitate recovery if necessary.

• If your site is compromised by a security vulnerability or becomes inoperable due to user error, we will restore a backup for you. In cases of hacks, there is no limit to the number of restorations we will perform under this service.
• For user error-related issues, we will perform up to two restorations within any 30-day period.
• Additional restorations due to user error will be charged at our current hourly rate with a one-hour minimum.
• Backup restorations will reflect the state of the site at the time the backup was taken. Any information added or changes made to the site after the backup will not be included in the restored version.

Website Software Updates

We endeavor to keep your website secure and functional by updating WordPress core, themes, and plugins. Updates are applied at our discretion based on the latest security practices and the operational requirements of your website.

Website Security

We implement advanced security measures to enhance your website’s resilience against unauthorized access and hacking attempts. Our security protocols include the use of leading security software.

While we strive to provide reliable website security, we cannot guarantee that your site will be immune to hacking. Our practices aim to reduce risks and mitigate the impact of security incidents. Should a breach occur, we will endeavor to restore your site to its pre-breach state as part of our service commitment, at no additional recovery cost. Beyond restoration, we do not assume further liability.

We will require admin access to your website and setup two admin level accounts on your site (an access account, a control account for our management system) these must not be removed or changed. Our control account has a fixed IP, our access and support accounts are dynamic IPs for maintenance and support purposes.

Premium (Paid) Themes and Plugins

Premium themes and plugins require a recurring license fee to access ongoing software updates.

• If we hold the appropriate licenses for the themes or plugins used on your website, the costs for these licenses are included in your Website Management Services. We will maintain these licenses for as long as you remain an active subscriber to our services.
• If your website uses premium themes or plugins for which we do not hold the necessary licenses, it is your responsibility to maintain the appropriate licensing to ensure updates are available.
• We will inform you about any themes or plugins requiring licensing that you must secure, and assist you in obtaining them if needed.
• Our website management service does not cover issues arising from premium themes or plugins that lack proper licensing and therefore cannot be updated to the latest versions. You are responsible for maintaining current licenses for these themes and plugins. Failure to do so may result in compatibility and security problems, for which we cannot be held liable.

Plugin Compatibility

If an update to a plugin causes conflicts or issues with your website’s functionality, we will consult with you to determine the best solution. This typically involves removing the problematic plugin and replacing it with a similar one or alternative programming. If resolving a compatibility issue exceeds two hours, the additional work will be billable at our current hourly rate.

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO INFORM US IF YOUR SITE IS EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS AND NEEDS ATTENTION.

If you choose not to purchase our Website Management Service, you are fully responsible for all website management tasks, including but not limited to performing backups, securing WordPress, and applying WordPress software updates.

Payment and Cancellation for Website Management Services

Payment for Website Management Services is due on the first day of the period (monthly, quarterly, or annually) in which that service will be performed.

Payments shall be made via the major credit card or direct debit on file with our payment processor.

We reserve the right to adjust pricing for our Website Management Services as necessary. Any price changes will be communicated to you in writing at least 30 days in advance. If you do not agree to the new pricing, you may choose to cancel the services as outlined below.

Disruption of Website Management Services

Changes made by you or any third party you authorize—such as employees, contractors, or other service providers—can disrupt our ability to provide Website Management Services.

These disruptions may include:

• Removing, disabling, or restricting access to plugins required for backups, security, or performance monitoring.
• Migrating to a new hosting provider or changing DNS settings without at least one week’s notice.
• Altering hosting configurations, file permissions, or server settings in a way that limits our ability to perform maintenance.

If any of these actions occur, we may be unable to provide Website Management Services as agreed.

In such cases:

• We will notify you of the issue when we become aware of it.
• We will attempt to restore our services. Any work required to diagnose or resolve the issue will be billed at our current hourly rate.

You are responsible for ensuring that any third party you authorize to access your website is aware of our management role and does not interfere with the configuration or operation of the website.

Cancellation of Website Management Services

You may cancel website management services with a 30-day notice.

Cancellations are requested via a cancellation form on our website (address provided upon request).

WE DO NOT OFFER REFUNDS ON WEBSITE MANAGEMENT SERVICES.

IF YOU ELECT TO DISCONTINUE WEBSITE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, THE TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY IS YOURS FOR PERFORMING BACKUPS AND KEEPING ALL COMPONENTS OF YOUR WEBSITE BACKED UP, SECURED, AND UPDATED.

If you desire to migrate your website to another web host. We will at your discretion (1) provide you with an administrator login for your WordPress site so a backup can be performed and migrated to the new location, (2) provide to you a backup created using an industry standard WordPress backup system at a cost of two hours of our hourly rate, or (3) perform the website migration for you at our current hourly rate.

If cancelling your service you must provide us the opportunity to remove our accounts, software and backups. If you do not do this we will request you perform this and provide access or screenshots to prove this has been completed.

Late Payment and Collections Policy

All invoices pertaining to web hosting, security, maintenance, or any other work on your website are payable on receipt. If an invoice goes unpaid for more than 30 days after the invoice was sent, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SUSPEND YOUR WEBSITE FROM PUBLIC VIEW UNTIL ALL OUTSTANDING BILLS ARE CURRENT.

Amounts due and unpaid shall bear an interest at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum. Client agrees to pay all costs of collection, including reasonable legal fees, as additional sums owed under this Agreement. Client further acknowledges and agrees that if a check tendered for payment is not honoured by the bank for non-sufficient funds (“NSF”), it will not be re-deposited. If the bank does not clear the check, the Client will incur a fee of £50. The Client must immediately send a certified check or bank transfer for the amount due, including the NSF fee, to us to cover returned check.

Your Responsibilities in Website Security

Studies have shown that one of the most common ways that hackers gain access to your website is through key logging programs installed on the infected computers of users. You agree to protect any computer that will log into the website by:

• Installing and maintaining updated security software
• Using the most up-to-date version of your preferred web browser
• Keeping the operating system patched with recommended updates
• Keeping versions of other installed software up to date if they are installed.

We incorporate industry standard WordPress security techniques when building your website. Since one prevalent method hackers use to breach a website is through compromised user devices, you agree to uphold robust security measures when accessing your website, and this includes:

Device Security

Protect any computer or device you control that has access to the website by:

• Installing and maintaining up-to-date security software.
• Using the latest version of your preferred web browser.
• Keeping the operating system updated with recommended patches.
• Regularly updating any other installed software.

Password Protocol

• Use a strong password (as indicated by the WordPress password strength meter) exclusive to your website login.
• Refrain from sending passwords or other sensitive credentials openly via SMS, email, chat programs, or any other unencrypted and exposed methods.
• We strongly recommend utilizing a password manager to ensure you use robust, unique passwords for every site.

You further commit that any employees, contractors, or other parties you grant (or ask us to provide) website access to will adhere to the above security measures.

Third-Party Services

We cannot be responsible for changes made to the website by third-party providers that you have authorized to access the website. These providers include but are not limited to those doing work related to website development, search engine optimization, social media, or content creation. If our services are necessary to correct problems caused by a third-party provider, such services are not covered by our website management plans, and are billable to you at our current hourly rate.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO services are not included in our website management service. Your website’s ranking and placement on search engines depend on a myriad of factors. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE RANKING OR PLACEMENT ON ANY SEARCH ENGINE.

Email Deliverability

Your website will automatically send emails in response to specific events, such as the completion of a contact form, product sales, or user password updates/resets. These emails could be flagged as spam or not delivered by email providers.

Since we cannot control the delivery of these emails, we are not responsible for any emails that are not delivered to the client for any reason.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR REGULARLY CHECKING SPAM FOLDERS, AND WEBSITE FORM AND ORDER INTERFACES FOR ANY NOTIFICATIONS THAT WERE NOT DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

Email Service

WE DO NOT PROVIDE IT SUPPORT FOR EMAIL SERVICE TO CLIENTS.

We will provide the technical details to setup your email address.

We recommend consulting with an IT Professional about implementing email on your computer or mobile device.

Domain Names

Registering a domain name for your website and paying the accompanying annual registration fee is your responsibility. We can assist in the process of registration and connecting your domain name to the website if you desire. You can purchase your domain name for multiple years, or renew it annually at your discretion.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the credit card the domain registrar has on file for your domain registration is current for rebilling.

WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SUSPENSION OR LOSS OF DOMAIN NAMES BECAUSE YOUR CARD COULD NOT BE BILLED OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON. If you lose access to your domain name through non-payment, suspension or any other reason, your website will no longer be accessible or viewable by the public. Work needed as a result of domain expiration is billable at our current hourly rate.

Our Contractors

From time to time we may utilise employees and independent contractors to work on your project. Some of these employees and contractors may work outside the UK. You agree not to directly contact or solicit any of our employees and contractors for employment or contract work of any kind.

Disclosure to Law Enforcement

We will disclose information about our clients to law enforcement agencies without further consent or notification to the client upon lawful request from such agencies. We will cooperate fully with the legal requests of law enforcement agencies.

Indemnification

The Client agrees to indemnify us and hold harmless, its subsidiaries, contractors, employees and affiliates and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, shareholders and agents (each an “Indemnified Party”) against any losses, claims, damages, liabilities, penalties, actions, proceedings, judgments, or any and all costs thereof (collectively, “Losses”) to which an Indemnified Party may become subject and which Losses arise out of, or relate to the Agreement, Client’s use of the Services, breach of any confidentiality obligation or any alleged infringement of any trademark, copyright, patent or other intellectual property right and will reimburse an Indemnified Party for all legal and other expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by such Indemnified Party, in connection with investigating, defending, or settling any Loss, whether or not in connection with pending or threatened litigation in which such Indemnified Party is a party.

Choice of Law and Forum

This Agreement, and any related Statements of Work, shall be construed in accordance with, and governed by, the laws of the UK without regards to Conflict of Law principles.

In the event of any dispute or disagreement with respect to the meaning, effect or interpretation of this Agreement or in the event of a claimed breach of this Agreement, the parties hereto agree that such dispute shall be determined through mediation. The parties will mutually select a mediator and share the cost of mediation equally. Unless otherwise mutually agreed, the location of the mediation will be in the UK. The parties agree to cooperate fully with the mediator in good faith in order to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of the dispute.

If the dispute is not resolved within 60 days after it is referred to the mediator, either party has the option to litigate the dispute in a court of law located in the UK.

Refusal or Discontinuation of Service

We reserve the right to refuse, restrict or terminate service to any client for any reason.

Disclaimer of Warranty

We will perform our work in accordance with good industry practices and at the standard expected from a suitably qualified person with relevant experience. We cannot guarantee that our work will be error-free and so we cannot be liable to you or any third-party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings or other incidental, consequential or special damages, even if you’ve advised us of them.

THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON- INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT SERVER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL.

Limitation of Damages or Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL THE COLLECTIVE LIABILITY OF THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, FOR HARM CAUSED BY OR RELATED TO THE CUSTOMER’S SERVICES OR INABILITY TO UTILIZE THE SERVICES, 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.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING ELSE IN THIS AGREEMENT, THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE COMPANY ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS OR AFFILIATES, UNDER ANY THEORY OF LAW SHOULD NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF FEES IT HAS COLLECTED ON THE CUSTOMER’S ACCOUNT IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS.

Force Majeure

We shall not be considered in breach of this Agreement if we are unable to complete the Services or any portion thereof due to events beyond our control, including but not limited to fire, earthquake, labor disputes, acts of God or public enemy, pandemics, death, illness, incapacity, or compliance with any local, state, federal, national, or international law, governmental order, or regulation (collectively, “Force Majeure Events”). In the event of a Force Majeure Event, we will endeavor to notify you of our inability to perform or any delays in providing our services.

Severability

No part of this Agreement will be affected if any other part of it is held unenforceable or invalid.

Headings

The headings in this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and are not a part of this Agreement.

Entire Agreement

This Agreement, and any Proposals of Service attached, constitute the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby and supersedes any and all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may not be waived, assigned, extended, amended, supplemented or modified orally, but only by a written instrument signed by the party against whom enforcement of any such waiver, assignment, extension, amendment, supplement or modification is sought.

Modifications

• We have the right to revise and amend these terms and conditions from time to time.
• You will be subject to the policies and terms and conditions in force at the time that you order services from us, unless any change to those policies or these terms and conditions is required to be made by law or governmental authority (in which case it will apply to orders previously placed by you).
• No variation of these terms and conditions shall be valid unless it is in writing and signed on our behalf.

Construction

The parties acknowledge and agree that they have read, understood and have actively negotiated the terms of this Agreement, participated in its drafting and have been represented by legal counsel. Therefore, this Agreement shall not be deemed to be the product of either party and shall not be enforced or interpreted any more stringently or strictly against either party.

Assignability

Neither the Company nor the Client may assign this Agreement without the prior consent of the other.

Agreement

Accepting this agreement signifies that you have read, understood, and agreed to these Terms of Service.