ASSURED SEARCHES LTD
- Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Services
- Initial Disclosure Document
Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
ASSURED SEARCHES LIMITED
Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Services
1. Definitions
In these Terms the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1.1 "Charges" means ASL's fees for producing the Report as set out in ASL's tariff of fees as amended from time to time, plus all costs and expenses incurred by ASL in providing their services.
1.2 "Customer" means the individual, firm, corporation or company from whom ASL receives instructions.
1.3 "Customers Rights" means the Customer's right to use the Report and the other rights conferred on the customer by these Terms.
1.4 "Insolvent" means that the Customer is bankrupt (if the Customer is an individual) or the Customer has a receiver or liquidator appointed (if the Customer is a corporate body) and/or (in either case) the Customer is unable to pay the Customer's debts as they fall due, the Customer makes an arrangement with the Customer's creditors or ASL are reasonably satisfied that any of the above is about to happen.
1.5 "Intellectual Property" means all forms of intellectual property rights or protective rights including, without limitation, patents, trade marks, designs, copyright and database rights whether registered, registerable or not, whether present or future, in any part of the world.
1.6 "Order" means an order for a Report or a number of Reports submitted to ASL by the Customer on ASL's standard form or the online facility at ASL's web page.
1.7 “Property" means the address or location supplied by the customer or client in the order for the Report.
1.8 "Report" includes a Search Report and any information that ASL supplies to the Customer including all reports, services, datasets, software or information contained in them, and searches carried out by ASL as instructed by the customer.
1.9 "Terms" means the terms printed on this document or any replacement that ASL may issue from time to time.
1.10 "Third Party"means persons from whom ASL may source Third Party Products.
1.11 "Third Party Products" means products and services which are ancillary to the Reports.
2. Agreement
2.1 These Terms apply to the provision by Assured Searches Limited (ASL) to the Customer of Report(s) in consideration of the payment by the Customer of the Charges.
2.2 ASL may also supply the Customer with Third Party Products. More particularly ASL will include as part of its services the provision of "Search Indemnity Insurance" for the benefit of its Customers, in its capacity as agent for: First Title Insurance Plc of - London International Press Centre, 76, Shoe Lane London EC4A 3JB. ASL will also procure and arrange, on the Customer's specific request, Chancel Liability Insurance and Residential Contaminated Land Insurance. The supply of such insurances and any other Third Party Products will be governed by the terms and conditions of the relevant Third Party, and where appropriate, the Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority, by whom ASL are authorised and regulated.
2.3 Customers shall make requests for Reports by the online facility at ASL's web page or by sending a fully completed Order to ASL by fax, email or post to the number or address set out in clause 9.3.
2.4 No Order submitted by the Customer shall be treated as having been accepted by ASL unless and until confirmed in writing by an authorised representative of ASL.
2.5 The Customer must ensure that any Order submitted to ASL, together with any information provided to ASL in connection with the Order, is accurate and complete, and must give ASL any necessary instructions to ASL relating to the Order within a sufficient time to enable ASL to comply with such instructions.
2.6 No Order which has been accepted by ASL may be cancelled by the Customer except with the written agreement of ASL.
3. Intellectual Property
3.1 All Intellectual Property in the Report shall be owned by ASL or its suppliers. The Report is provided for the Customer's own use. The Customer may use the Report for a third party if the use of the Report is part of services that the Customer is providing to that third party in the ordinary course of the Customer's business. The Customer may only use a Report once for the benefit of a third party. The Customer must not copy, change or re-sell the Report.
3.2 In respect of Intellectual Property, the Customer only has the express rights set out above. Any further implied rights are excluded.
4. Termination Of Rights
4.1 The Customer's Rights will terminate immediately if (i) the Customer breaches any of these Terms; (ii) the Customer becomes Insolvent; (iii) the Customer challenges the ownership of the Intellectual Property in a Report or does something that ASL believes will put ownership of the Intellectual Property in a Report at risk; or (iv) the Customer does not pay the Charges in accordance with these Terms.
4.2 If the Customer's Rights are terminated pursuant to clause 4.1 above and if the Customer has paid in advance for Reports that have not yet been provided by ASL, then ASL will refund a fair and reasonable amount of the sum that the Customer has paid to ASL.
5. Liability
5.1 If the Customer believes there is any defect or inaccuracy in a Report, the Customer must notify ASL of such defect or inaccuracy as soon as possible following delivery of the Report to the Customer.
5.2 If ASL does not receive a notice under clause 5.1 or a complaint about the service ASL has provided, the Customer shall be deemed to be satisfied with the performance of ASL and the content of the Report.
5.3 Subject to clause 5.14, if the Customer suffers loss as a result of the negligence of ASL or otherwise, the liability of ASL will be limited to an amount not exceeding £5 million in respect of any individual claim or aggregate of claims relating to a Report.
5.4 In any event, subject to clause 5.14, ASL are not liable for any indirect, special or consequential loss or for any loss of profit, business, goodwill or reputation however arising.
5.5 ASL shall not be liable for any Customer loss that results from the Customer using the Report for a purpose which is not permitted under these Terms.
5.6 ASL shall use reasonable skill and care in preparing Reports and will use reasonable efforts to correct errors in Reports as soon as reasonably practicable. ASL aims to continually improve its services, but ASL cannot guarantee that information supplied to ASL is error free and therefore cannot guarantee that all information supplied to Customers in Reports will be error free. ASL shall not accept liability for those errors. In providing search reports and services ASL will comply with the Search Code.
5.7 Reports will contain as much information as is available to ASL at the time that searches are conducted by ASL, but the Customer accepts that sufficient information is not always available to reflect the actual uses to which a property or land has been put.
5.8 If a Report contains a conclusion or other interpretation of its contents, the Customer must not rely exclusively on the Report in order to value the property or land to which the Report relates; to determine its actual status or condition; or to conclude as to its suitability for any use.
5.9 ASL cannot guarantee accurate or timely delivery at all times. Due to the nature of some of the sources that ASL uses to compile Reports, ASL sometimes has to make subjective judgments. ASL makes its best judgment in these circumstances but others might make a different judgment
5.10 The Report may not be tailored to the Customer's specific requirements. The Customer, not ASL, must ensure that the Report meets the Customer's requirements.
5.11 The Customer should carefully inspect the property or land to which the Report relates and take advice or obtain information from other sources before making any important decision about the property or land to which the Report relates.
5.12 If the Customer supplies the Report to any other person, the Customer shall procure that the third party agrees to the limitations set out in these Terms.
5.13 Subject to clause 5.14, if ASL provides the Customer with any additional services, ASL will not be liable to the Customer for any problem arising out of those additional services unless the Customer has paid the required additional Charges in respect of the additional services.
5.14 Nothing in these Terms shall limit or exclude ASL's liability for death or personal injury arising out of its negligence or ASL's liability for fraud.
5.15 In the event that ASL carry out a Search that will not be accepted by the mortgage lender (to which the Customer is supplying information contained in a Report) for which the transaction is due to complete with, then ASL will refund the amount paid for the Search.
6. Charges
6.1 The Customer shall pay the Charges to ASL in accordance with these Terms.
6.2 ASL shall raise invoices for Reports on confirmation of the Order.
6.3 The Customer shall pay to ASL all sums due under invoices raised by ASL by cheque made payable to Assured Searches Limited within 7 days of receipt of weekly statement, or by Direct Debit on or soon after 5 working days of receipt of weekly statement.
6.4 If invoices are not paid within 7 days of receipt of the invoice, ASL shall be entitled to charge the Customer interest on all sums outstanding at the rate of 4% above the base rate of HSBC bank from time to time.
6.5 ASL shall be entitled to alter its fees from time to time and Reports ordered from ASL will be charged to the Customer at the prevailing rate on the date when the Order is placed. Customers will be advised of ASL's current tarriff of fees at the date of the Customer's first Order. Changes to ASL's table of fees will be notified to Customers from time to time.
6.6 All payments made by the Customer under these Terms shall be made without set-off or counterclaim of any description.
7. General
7.1ASL may change these Terms and Summaries of them from time to time. The revised versions of the Terms will be notified to Customers and will appear on ASL's web site and documentation.ASL may change these Terms from time to time. The revised versions of the Terms will be notified to Customers.
7.2 ASL has no obligation to supply anyone. ASL may stop supplying the Customer immediately without having to give the Customer any reason. If ASL decides to stop supplying a Customer and that Customer has paid in advance for Reports that have not yet been provided by ASL, then ASL will refund an appropriate amount of the sum that the Customer has paid to ASL.
7.3 If a Court or other body of competent jurisdiction declares that any of these Terms is void or unenforceable, the rest of the Terms shall remain in full force and effect.
7.4 No delay or failure by ASL in enforcing any provision of these Terms shall be deemed to be a waiver or create a precedent or in any way prejudice ASL's rights under these Terms.
7.5 The Customer acknowledges and agrees that it has not been induced to enter into these Terms in reliance upon any warranty, representation, statement or undertaking other than as expressly set out in these Terms. These Terms constitute the entire agreement and understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter and these Terms shall supersede any previous agreements.
7.6 The Customer agrees that any complaints to or disputes with ASL will be settled in accordance with the PCCB Code of Practice or the FSA Rules, as applicable.
7.7 These Terms shall be governed by English law and be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
7.8 ASL shall not be liable to the Customer or be deemed to be in breach of these Terms if the reason for any delay in performing, or any failure to perform, any of ASL's obligations in relation to the provision of Reports, was due directly or indirectly to circumstances beyond the reasonable control of ASL.
7.9 The Customer shall not be entitled to assign its rights under these Terms without the prior written consent of ASL.
7.10 Unless expressly stated in these Terms, nothing in these Terms will confer any rights on any person under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
7.11 Independent dispute resolution: If you make a complaint and we are unable to resolve it to your satisfaction you may refer the complaint to The Property Ombudsman Scheme (website www.tpos.co.uk, email admin@tpos.co.uk). We will co-operate fully with the Ombudsman during an investigation and comply with his final decision.
8. Privacy & Copyright
8.1. ASL and its customers acknowledge and accept that ASL may collect and receive either directly or through its website, information of a personal & confidential nature relating to its customers. ASL hereby undertakes that it will store and use such information solely for the purposes envisaged by these Terms and will not disclose the same, unless:
8.1.1 the customer has consented in writing to such disclosure; or
8.1.2 such disclosure is required by law or ASL's regulators; or
8.1.3 such disclosure is necessary to fulfil the customers enquiry / Order; or
8.1.4 such information is already in the public domain, other than as a result of a breach of any obligation of confidentiality by ASL.
8.2 ASL is committed to protecting and respecting the customers privacy and to using technology to enhance the security of personal & confidential information submitted to it either directly or through its website in accordance with relevant law, and in particular the Data Protection Act 1998. In this respect, ASL has strict internal procedures designed to protect such information from unauthorised access, improper use, alteration, and unintended destruction or loss. Customers, and their authorised agents, have the right by written request and payment of a small fee, to copies of any personal & confidential information held by ASL about them.
8.3 By accepting these Terms customers specifically authorise ASL to collect, receive, store, and utilise personal & confidential information for the purposes and subject to the limitations of, Clause 8.1 hereof.
8.4 8.4 All documentary material produced, published, and disseminated, by ASL, whether in hard or electronic form, concerning itself or its services, and including but not limited to text, graphics and Intellectual Property, is the Copyright of Assured Searches Limited, unless otherwise expressly stated. Customers and other interested persons may view such material and browse the relevant website at their discretion, although ASL reserves its rights and strictly prohibits any copying, downloading or use (other than by ASL and parties authorised by it) of such material for any commercial purpose whatsoever.
9. Notices
9.1 Any notice or consent required or permitted under the Terms shall be in writing and shall be sent by first class registered post, hand delivery, email or fax.
9.2 Subject to Clause 9.4 below any such notice, consent or other document shall be deemed to have been duly received:
9.2.1 if despatched by first class, registered post - 48 hours from the time of posting to the relevant party; or
9.2.2 if despatched by hand delivery - at the time of actual delivery; or
9.2.3 if despatched by fax or email - 24 hours after the time of the despatch.
9.3 Unless otherwise notified by one party to the other in writing from time to time, for the purposes of this clause the postal and email addresses and fax numbers::
ASL: Assured Searches Ltd.
2430 The Quadrant, Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol BS32 4AQ
Email address: info@assuredsearches.co.uk
9.4 In proving service by post it will be sufficient (unless any relevant part of the postal service is affected by industrial action) to prove that the envelope containing the notice was duly stamped, addressed and posted to the addresses specified in Clause 9.3 above. In proving service by fax or email it shall be sufficient to prove that it was properly addressed and dispatched to the numbers or address specified in Clause 9.3 above.
9.5. It should be noted that, in submitting an order to ASL for any of its services, the Customer accepts and agrees to abide by these Terms and Conditions.
THESE TERMS & CONDITIONS SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH ASL'S INITIAL DISCLOSURE DOCUMENT.
