Terms & conditions

1. Definitions

Buyer: the person, firm or company purchasing the Goods from the Company.

Company: British Hardwood Tree Nursery Limited of Norton Road, Snitterby, Lincolnshire, DN21 4TZ.

Conditions: these terms and conditions relating to the goods.

Contract: any contract between the Company and the Buyer for the sale of the Goods or provision of the Services incorporating these Conditions.

Goods: those goods to be supplied by the Company to the Buyer under the Contract.

Services: those services to be provided by the Company to the Buyer under the Contract.

Planting season: The bare root planting season, running approximately from 1^st November to 31^st March each year, in line with when plants are dormant. The duration and end of the bare root planting season varies year to year depending on the weather.

2. Application of Conditions

2.1 These conditions shall apply to all contracts for the sale of goods or provision of services by the Company to the exclusion of all other terms and conditions, including any terms or conditions that the Buyer purports to apply under any purchase order, confirmation of order, specification or other document.

2.2 Any quotation provided by the Company shall be construed as an invitation to treat and orders placed thereon are offers subject to acceptance by the Company.

2.3 Unless otherwise stated quotations are valid for 30 days from the date of quotation. The Company may withdraw a quotation at any time.

3. Pricing Policy

3.1 Unless otherwise stated prices quoted within pricelists, on the website and on quotations are 'Ex Works' and do not include VAT which will be charged at the rate applicable on the date of the Company’s invoice.

3.2 Unless otherwise agreed in writing between the Company and the Buyer the price for the Goods and the Services will be the price at the date of despatch.

3.3 The Company may cancel or vary any quotation or accepted order at any time until the particular order has been delivered.

3.4 The Company reserves the right to amend prices quoted within any pricelist and on the website without notice.

4. Deliveries

4.1 Unless otherwise stated prices do not include delivery, which may be charged for as an addition to the purchase price.

4.2 Any dates specified by the Company for delivery of the Goods or Services are intended to be an estimate only and time for delivery shall not be made the essence of the contract.  If no date for delivery is specified, delivery shall be within a reasonable time.

4.3 The Company may deliver the Goods in instalments.  Each instalment shall be invoiced and paid for in accordance with the provisions of the Contract.

4.4 Once notified that the Goods are ready for despatch the Buyer will arrange to receive delivery or collect the Goods within a reasonable time. Should the Buyer not take delivery within a reasonable time the Company shall be entitled to invoice the Buyer for the agreed price of the Goods, which the Buyer will pay as though the Goods had been delivered.  The Company shall have the right to charge the Buyer for storage and insurance of the Goods and risk in the Goods shall be treated as having passed to the Buyer from the date of the Company’s notification.

4.5 The quantity of any consignment of Goods as recorded by the Company upon despatch from the Company’s premises shall be conclusive evidence of the quantity received by the Buyer on delivery unless the Buyer can provide conclusive evidence to the contrary.

4.6 Any complaints or discrepancies regarding collections or deliveries should be notified to the Company immediately and confirmed in writing within 5 days from receipt of the Goods.

4.7 The Company shall not accept liability for the delay or failure of the delivery of Goods or any costs incurred as a result, where a third party has been contracted to undertake the delivery and the delay or failure is partly or wholly caused by circumstances beyond the Company's control.

5. Passing of Risk and Ownership

5.1 The Goods will be at the risk of the Buyer from the time of delivery.

5.2 Ownership of the Goods shall not pass to the Buyer until the Company has received in full all sums due to it in respect of the Goods and all other sums which are or which become due to the Company from the Buyer on any account.

5.3 Until ownership of the Goods has passed to the Buyer, the Buyer shall hold the Goods on a fiduciary basis as the Company’s bailee and store the Goods separately from all other goods of the Buyer or any third party in such a way that they remain readily identifiable as the Company’s property.  The Buyer shall maintain the Goods in satisfactory condition and keep them insured for their full price against all risks to the reasonable satisfaction of the Company.

5.4 The Buyer may resell the Goods before ownership has passed providing any sale shall be a sale of the Company’s property on the Buyer’s own behalf and the Buyer shall deal as principal when making such a sale.

5.5 The Buyer’s right to possession shall terminate immediately if the Buyer has a bankruptcy order made against it or makes an arrangement or composition with its creditors, or otherwise takes the benefit of any statutory provision for the time being in force for the relief of insolvent debtors, or convenes a meeting of creditors, or enters into liquidation except a solvent voluntary liquidation for the purpose of reconstruction or amalgamation.

5.6 The Buyer grants the Company, its agents and employees an irrevocable licence at any time to enter any premises where the Goods are or may be stored to inspect them or, where the Buyer’s right to possession has terminated, to recover them.

6. Payment

6.1 Orders placed by new customers purchasing from the Company for the first time shall require payment on or before delivery. Following the initial order credit facilities may be available subject to acceptance and receipt of satisfactory references by the company.

6.2 For customers with a credit account unless otherwise stated payment will be due from the Buyer within 28 days from the date of invoice.

6.3 Payment can be made by BACS, debit/credit card or cheque. 

6.4 The Company reserves the right to charge interest on overdue accounts at the Bank of England base rate plus 8%, in line with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

6.5 The Company shall be entitled to remove the Goods and terminate the Buyer’s right to possession if payment is not received within 21 days of written notice of recovery being given.

6.6 Credit accounts will lapse if unused for over three consecutive years. Where credit accounts have lapsed, a new credit account application must be submitted.

7. Quantity Reductions - Plants

7.1 Due to the perishable nature of plants, quantity reductions are limited to the following for plant lines:

Maximum permitted adjustment	Deadline for notification of changes
25% reduction per species	31st December
10% reduction per species	31st January

7.2 Quantity reductions for plant lines cannot be made beyond 31^st January each planting season.

8. Cancellation

8.1 Orders for plants are ineligible for cancellation beyond 31^st January each planting season. Payment will be required in full for plants cancelled beyond this date.

8.2 Orders cannot be carried forward to the next planting season.   

8.3 Should the Buyer wish to cancel an eligible order, the Company shall be entitled to liquidated damages as detailed below:

No. of days before delivery date	Percentage of contract value due for payment
21-30 days	15%
11-20 days	30%
4-10 days	50%
1-3 days	75%

9. Limitation of Liability

9.1 All warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law, with the exception of the conditions implied by section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from the Contract.

9.2 The Company’s total liability arising in connection with the performance or contemplated performance of the Contract shall be limited to the Contract price and the Company shall not be liable to the Buyer for any pure economic loss, loss of profit, loss of business, depletion of goodwill or otherwise or any claims for consequential compensation whatsoever or howsoever caused which arise out of or in connection with the Contract.

10. Force Majeure

10.1 The company shall not be liable for any default due to any weather circumstances, war, strike, lock out, industrial action, fire, flood, drought, tempest or any other event beyond the reasonable control of the Company.

 11. Plant Welfare and Loss Replacement Policy

11.1 The Company cannot accept responsibility for the health and welfare of plants after delivery or collection from the nursery.

11.2 Please notify the Company within 7 days of receipt of goods to allow us to address any concerns. Within this time frame the Company is in a position to replace plants if there is good reason to do so. Following that period, the Company cannot be held responsible for the health and welfare of plants.

11.3 The Company cannot be held responsible for losses discovered within your planting scheme during the spring or summer following planting in the winter.

(Please see the bottom of the page for our reasons why)

12. Quantity Discrepancies

12.1 Goods received should be carefully checked for quantity discrepancies prior to the commencement of planting or installation. The Company cannot address quantity discrepancies once planting or installation has commenced. Where plants are supplied in bundles, bundle quantities may vary.

 13. Interpretation

13.1 These Conditions and the Contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.

13.2 The parties irrevocably agree that the English courts have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with these Conditions.