Terms and Conditions of Service

Disclaimers, Disclosure & Terms & Conditions of Use of this website : click here

Before you read all the legal stuff, this tells you in simple terms how I want to do business.

• My goal is for you to love the service you get, and be a happy customer. Respecting your privacy and sensitive information, including your contact information, is critical for us to reach this goal.
• I will never share, sell, or give away your information – I hate spam, and don’t want you to get any more spam because of us.
• I am committed to security – I’m committed to implementing good practices security. I work hard to maintain my client’s privacy and security. This means I may use strange passwords, or exchange some details by phone or text only – but it’s to protect you and us. I also promise that your business details/ideas etc. will never be made known to anyone else.
• I will be a transparent and open business – I communicate openly with my clients. I will update you with news of your projects, both good and bad, so that you know I’m doing my best to reach your goals too.

All work carried out by THE SIMPLE WEB COMPANY will be subject to the following
Terms and Conditions.

OVERVIEW

1. Free initial consultation meeting(usually 1/2 an hour – by telephone or Skype)
   • Determine client brief
   • Client business and background
   • Customer requirements
   • Additional special requirements
   • Assess any relevant marketing materials
2. Terms of engagement
   • Proposal
   • Timelines
   • Further information required from client to facilitate the process
   • Costing
3. Additional consulting
   • If coaching or consulting is required to get the client to a stage where work can commence, a technical coaching package will be recommended & quoted for, to get things to a stage where the technical work can commence.
   • If a client needs assistance with conceptualising new ideas or offerings, the time taken on phone or Skype calls, or doing research on behalf of the client, will be billable time.

GENERAL

1.1 Any quotations are only valid for a period of 2 weeks, unless otherwise agreed by both parties. The quotation forms part of the Terms and Conditions on this page. If you accept a quotation and then a project start is delayed by more than a month, I reserve the right to re-quote and re-invoice.

1.2 Responsibility of final proof reading of website content lies with the client.
Changes as a result of an error by The Simple Web Company will be corrected free of charge. Changes as a result of the client changing their mind may be subject to additional charges, as changes always take time.

1.3 A signed contract is required before any work is undertaken. (This can be in email form too, where the client accepts these terms and conditions in writing in an email.) This indicates that the client accepts my terms and conditions. THE SIMPLE WEB COMPANY will not be held liable or responsible for the end use of any documents or work carried out by me. I retain the right to reject work which I feel is illegal, immoral or objectionable.

1.4 No graphics/design work is undertaken by The Simple Web Company. I am happy to use client-provided graphics for use in headers and pages, but do not create or source them. Nor do I check the copyright of images provided; this is the responsibility of the client. I work with a lovely graphic designer to help you with your design and branding requirements, if that is required.

1.4.1 Banners/headers: for websites, simple text-based banners (headers) can be created, but anything complex will need to be done by a designer. I am happy to recommend my designer if required.

1.4.2 Iterations of the look of the website: once a layout and/or colour palette is agreed on (typically during the initial design phase of the projectprocess), any significant changes to this will be chargeable. This includes change of colour palette, change of theme/template/layout.
(The reason for this is that customising a look to a certain requirement takes several hours.)

1.5 Email support ends 2 weeks after the completion of a project, unless otherwise agreed or quoted for in advance. If a client expects/plans to be away during the period after the website goes live, they need to ensure all support questions are still asked within the time frame.
This time frame includes any tutorial time included in quotations. This must be completed at the time of the website going live, or at the latest within the period of free email support.
Further support will incur charges as detailed on the Support page.

1.6 Support (whether prepaid or adhoc) is undertaken during working hours only in the UK (9am to 5.30pm), Monday to Friday excluding UK bank (public) holidays, with time differences being taken into account for Western European, US and South African clients. Support for clients in other countries will be agreed on an individual basis.
Support requested or undertaken after hours, on weekends, or on holidays will be charged at a higher rate.

1.6.1 The Simple Web Company does not guarantee availability of immediate support but will make every effort to accommodate the needs of clients.

1.7 Security and Backups The Simple Web Company does its utmost to ensure that your website is secure, by setting backups where applicable, and taking backups prior to starting any upgrades/updates. However, The Simple Web Company is not responsible for the general security and availability of clients sites. The Simple Web Company will work with the client and the clients hosting provider to restore a site if this becomes necessary, but the cost of doing this rests with the client.

1.8 Ownership of work done by The Simple Web Company remains with The Simple Web Company until all payments are received. Access to websites, email marketing etc. may be restricted until accounts are settled. Details of copyright and licence to work created by The Simple Web Company is detailed in the contract.

1.9 The client will always be the legal owner of their website, hosting, domain name and administrator details. The Simple Web Company will pass all admin details to the client once a project is complete and all outstanding monies have been settled.
For this reason, The Simple Web Company will not make such purchases on behalf of clients (for example, hosting or domain names), but will happily help them in the purchasing process.

CHARGES AND PAYMENTS

2.1 Payment is to be made on receipt of invoice for work to commence. Full payment is required for projects under £1000; a deposit of £1000 or 65% (whichever is the larger amount) is required for larger projects and the balance will be due one month later, or when the website goes live, whichever is the earlier date.
If any work commences (investigations, analysis, design, phone consultations) and the client is then unable to proceed with the project the deposit will not be refunded in full. A pro rata amount will be agreed for the number of hours already worked, and the balance (if any) refunded.

2.2 Payment must be made in advance for any coaching/support/retainer packages.

2.3 Payment must be made by electronic bank transfer.

2.3 (a) In certain cases PayPal or credit cards (through Paypal) are accepted.

2.4 Payment of outstanding balances is strictly according to the terms of the contract, depending on the work carried out and the terms specified at the time of quoting.

2.5 Failure to complete full payment within 7 days of the agreed due date will result in interest being charged (at a rate of 5% per month or part thereof) on the outstanding balance.

2.6 Any unused hours from a support/retainer package will be rolled over for a maximum of one month, unless otherwise agreed.

2.7 If a client’s original requirements change, I reserve the right to change my original quotation following consultation with the client.

2.8 If a project over-runs the agreed “go live date” by more than one month due to delays on the client’s side, The Simple Web Company reserves the right to request additional payments to cover ongoing costs. These will be agreed with the client before invoicing.

2.9 Unused time for time-based projects expires after one month, and can not be carried forward.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

3.1 Confidentiality is guaranteed at all times.

3.2 No information will be made available to any third party, unless required by the laws of England in the case of criminal or other investigations.

3.3 All work will be kept on file for a period of 12 months after completion of a project, after which, unless agreed otherwise with the client , the records will be deleted.

If a client is unable to agree to these terms and conditions then a quotation becomes null and void.

LAST UPDATED: January 2018

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