Terms & Conditions

By soliciting our services, you accept joint and several liability of all of the terms and conditions outlined below in addition to future updates.

Personal Liability

  • By employing our services, you accept absolute and unlimited personal liability for any all costs you incur

Joint & Several Liability

  • By employing our services, both you personally and your business, accept absolute and unlimited liability for any all costs you incur

Debtor Publication

  • By employing our services, you accept both personal and business publicity in any and all forms, via any and all mediums, for the debt you owe
  • Such publication will be removed from platforms we have control over within 7 days of full payment

Payments

  • All customers are to set up an account and pay via Direct Debit to avoid any delays in making payment – https://pay.gocardless.com/AL00005K9Q90CG
  • Invoices are due within 7 days of the date issued.  
  • As per UK statutory rights, you agree to pay 8% interest in addition to the base rate set by the Bank of England.
  • You agree to pay compensation for any and all debt recovery costs under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
  • All and any amounts paid to Universal Group companies are non-refundable. 
  • If more than what is owed is ever paid to a Universal Group company, the balance will remain on your account as a credit, this can be used at any time for any service.

Acceptance of Services

  • Verbal, written, telephone, face to face, email, sms, whatsapp, messenger or letter, collectively or separately, will all be deemed as your authorisation and instructions to proceed with any and all tasks in acceptance of all terms and conditions.

Guarantees

  • No services come with any guarantees.

Minimum Terms

  • A minimum term of 12 months is required for all services, unless you have committed to a longer minimum term.
  • A minimum term of 24 months is required for all hosting and maintenance services, unless you have committed to a longer minimum term.
  • If a service is not cancelled using the cancellation form (see below) then a rolling contract will be formed and continue until that service is cancelled using the cancellation form.

Disclaimer

  • Our customer’s best interests are of paramount importance and will be borne in mind at all times.  However, we shall not be liable or responsible for any loss incurred including, but not limited to, loss of profits, loss of business, loss of contract, damage to Company brand or image under any circumstances whatsoever whether as a result of the Customers’ website being down, social media updates, news articles, imagery, video, website, emails sent or any other service provided on your behalf or on behalf of the company.

Hosting

  • No Universal Group company takes responsibility for any website hosted on a server they do not manage
  • No Universal Group company takes responsibility for any website hosted on a server they do not charge for
  • Hosting charges will begin once the contract has been signed
  • Server side issues are attended to within your monthly fee
  • Website related issues are charged for at £60 per hour
  • All websites built by or moved to a Universal Group company are to be hosted by a Universal Group company for a minimum term of 24 months
  • You can cancel your website hosting at any time by paying out the remainder of your hosting contract plus any outstanding blance on your account and the cancellation fee
  • A flat fee of £120 is charged to cover the time, support and administration required during the transfer and cancellation process
  • Your website could be suspended due to non-payment
  • Your website could be deleted due to non-payment
  • Your email accounts could be suspended due to non-payment
  • Your email accounts could be deleted due to non-payment
  • It is your responsibility to ensure all invoices are paid on time
  • Universal Group use data centres and hosting providers
  • No Universal Group company can be held accountable, and they accept no responsibility or liability, of any kind, for any issues you may experience, however, every Universal group company will make every reasonable effort to resolve issues that may arise, on your behalf. 
  • All email accounts are provided on a complimentary basis
  • Universal Group points clients to Office 365 for premium email solution

Access

  • If a content management system (CMS) has been ordered with your website, then you will have access to change content, images, add news and pages
  • Universal Group can carry out more advanced alterations for just £60 per hour
  • Universal Group takes no responsibility for any issues that may arise due to misuse, inexperience, limited expertise or any other reason.

Content

  • It is the responsibility of the client to provide content for their website
  • Content can be ordered in addition to the fee for website design and build
  • Your website design and build fee is due regardless of whether you have supplied content or not
  • Your website design and build fee is due regardless of whether Universal Group has supplied content or not
  • Universal Group accepts no liability due to delays caused by the client
  • Content can be added to the website at any time

Email Accounts

  • All email accounts come with 400mb of storage space as standard
  • 400mb of space should be sufficient to store circa 80,000 text based emails
  • Emails containing images consume more disc space and it is recommended that those files are saved, so you can delete the email soon after. 
  • Systems such as WeTransfer and Mail Big File are design for large file, image, audio and video transfers
  • You can increase the quota of your email account for an additional monthly fee of £5 per 1,000mb

Deposit

  • All payments are non-refundable
  • All deposit payments are non-refundable
  • All payments are used to cover past, existing or future works
  • All payments are used to cover past, existing or future costs for materials, code, expertise and time
  • Any over payments will be added to your account
  • A deposit payment obligates you to make full payment upon completion and/or cancellation

Ownership

  • Ownership of a website or any work carried out is not transferred until full payment and all monies owed is paid in full
  • If a project is cancelled or your website is taken offline due to non-payment, the total amount invoiced and to be invoiced, is still due in full.
  • Universal Group reserves the right to sell materials, domains, websites, emails, data, images, video and any other contents or materials in its possession if you fail to make payemnt of invoices within 14 days
  • Any sums raised from the sale of materials, domains, websites, emails, data, images, video and any other contents or materials in excess of the sum owed (to include all staged payments not yet fallen due, admin fees and cancellation fees) will be transferred back to you in the form of a BACS payment

Additional Work

  • All additional work is charged for accordingly 
  • All developments and alterations are charged for at the standard hourly rate
  • All images, additional features and functions are charged at £60 per hour

Oversight

  • Any and all oversight will be charged for at £60 per hour or at an agreed sum

Revisions

  • Each project comes with 2 stages for revisions
  • Further revision stages are charged for accordingly
  • You have up to 7 days to respond with revisions
  • Thereafter you have fully accepted the product and or service 
  • Each revision time frame will come with a maximum of 7 days to respond at each period. 

Communication

  • You agree to respond to emails and phone calls within 48 hours
  • You agree to be proactive and utilise all communication methods available 

Proactiveness 

  • If you experience any issues or concerns, you agree to be proactive and cooperative throughout

Resolution

  • If you experience any issues or concerns, you agree to be proactive and helpful to resolve whatever your issue or concern maybe

Swapping Services

  • Universal Group is under no obligation to, however, will be as proactive as possible to swap services from one to another if preferred
  • You understand that swapping services would cost time and money to a Universal Group company to carry out for you

Reports

  • All Universal Group companies charge £120 per manual report they produce
  • It is your responsibility to create and provide the details of your Google Account so that Universal Group can provide you with access to the following systems which contain reports for you to access:
    • Google Analytics 
    • Facebook 
    • Instagram
    • Linkedin 
    • Google My Business
  • Universal Group accepts no responsibility or liability for any reports you cannot access or do not receive 
  • You can email sales@universal-group.co.uk for directions as to how you can access reports 
  • You understand that in some instances you cannot access historic data, only future data from the date you have access 

Breach of Contract 

  • By employing the services of any Universal Group company you agree to forfeit the rights to breach of contract. 
  • Universal Group requires all customers to forfeit the right to opt for breach of contract as some customers have attempted to create grounds for breach of contract. 
  • If you no longer wish to work with Universal Group, the cancellation process is simple and easy to follow, complete the online cancellation form per service you wish to cancel and pay any outstanding invoices in addition to cancellation fees and any invoices due within your contract. 

Moving To Another Provider

  • Please inform us if you wish to move to another provider. Moving is not an issue and by telling us, we can help you best. 
  • If you do not tell us you are moving or planning to move in a sly and deceitful way, the transfer process becomes complex for both parties.
  • To transfer away, inform us of who we need to collaborate with, complete an online cancellation form for each service you wish to cancel and pay all existing as well as future invoices you are due to pay.

Administration Costs

  • You agree to pay any and all administration costs due to your delays in communication
  • You agree to pay any and all administration costs due to your delays in payments
  • You agree to pay any and all administration costs to cover cancellation management 
  • You will be charged an additional set fee for each band of debt you enter:
    • Up to £100 = £25
    • £101 to £500 = £50
    • £501 to £1,000 = £75
    • £1,001 to £2,500 = £200
    • £2,501 to £5,000 = £500
    • £5,001 to £10,000 = £1,000
    • £10,000 or more = £2,500

Credit Control

  • All customers are to setup a direct debit to avoid there ever being a credit control issue – https://pay.gocardless.com/AL00005K9Q90CG
  • All payments are to be made upon receipt of the invoice or within 7 days latest
  • Non payment will result in interest at 8% above the Bank of Englenad base rate being applied to your debt
  • An invoice is a legal document that must be adhered to in addition to the terms and conditions contained within
  • You will be charged £60 per hour for all time wasted in chasing you to pay your debts
  • You will also be charged the following on each and every occasion for non or late payment:
    • Courtesy Call: £5
    • Courtesy Email: £5
    • Courtesy Letter: £10
    • Formal Letter: £40
    • Solicitors Letter: £100
    • Letter Before Action: £150
    • Debt Recovery Agency: £250 + Costs + Interest
    • Court Action: £250 + Costs + Interest
    • Bailiff: £250 + Costs + Interest
    • High Court Enforcement: £250 + Costs + Interest

 

  • If any invoice is overdue by more than 14 days, the following administration fees will apply in addition to those as itemised above and will automatically be added to the amount you owe Universal Group:
    • £2.40 per SMS message
    • £3.60 per voicemail message

 

Legal Costs

  • You accept full liability for any and all legal costs you incur
  • You accept full liability for any and all legal costs incurred by Universal Group
  • You accept full liability for any and all defence costs
  • You accept full liability for any and all pursuit costs
  • You accept full liability for any and all costs regardless of the verdict
  • You agree to pay any and all legal costs with immediate effect 

Solicitors Fees

  • All solicitors fees incurred by Universal Group for the purpose of defence or pursuit regardless of the verdict, will be at your expense, and due for payment with immediate effect.

Creativity – Design

  • All invoices are due, regardless of whether you like the website design or not
  • Universal Group will work in accordance to your brief and do its best to ensure you are satisfied
  • Universal Group will make changes for a period it deems fair and reasonable to do so
  • All sums are due to be paid by you regardless of whether you like the design or not

Creativity – Functionality

  • Universal Group accepts no responsibility or liability for changes in technology 
  • Universal Group accepts no responsibility or liability for changes in technology that may affect your project or business
  • Universal Group accepts no responsibility or liability for current, new or historic functionality limitations
  • Technology can change during a project and Universal Group accepts no liability or responsibility for this
  • Universal Group will add credit to your account for a sum it deems fair and reasonable, for any tasks that cannot be completed
  • Universal Group cannot guarantee that any or all aspects of a project will be completed due to potentially endless changes, alterations, access and limitations it has no control over
  • Universal Group will make every effort to overcome challenges
  • Universal Group will refer you onto suppliers who can fulfil a requirement, at your cost
  • Universal Group accepts no liability or responsibility for any costs you may incur directly, indirectly, subsequently, or consequentially
  • Universal Group takes no responsibility or liability for introducing clients to other suppliers
  • Universal Group will not accept any reduction in the overall project total, but will instead add any hours it deems fair, as banked hours to be used at any time, on your account.
  • All website alterations and developments outside the scope will be billed for accordingly. 

Personal Preferences

  • Our services are open to interpretation and therefore personal preferences will be charged for accordingly 
  • Our services are open to interpretation, therefore this is not grounds for non-payment
  • All website alterations and developments outside the scope will be be charged for accordingly
  • This will include additions or changes which alter the way the website functions but which were not originally specified and are personal preference rather than necessity.

Social Media

  • Any missing social media posts can be replaced for free
  • Missing social media posts must be reported within 48 hours 
  • As clients have access to social media accounts, it is possible for you to delete posts and therefore Universal Group accepts no liability
  • Social media platforms have the right to delete posts and therefore Universal Group accepts no liability
  • Social media platforms have the right to freeze, suspend, delete or block accounts and therefore Universal Group accepts no liability
  • Universal Group uses paid for social media management systems and therefore accepts no liability for any missing posts or issues
  • Universal Group will support you with any issues you may face
  • You agree to work proactively with Universal Group to ensure social media posts are to your liking 
  • You agree to providev Universal Group with social media posts if those produced are not your liking 

Website Development Packages

  • Within your contract, you buy up to an allotted number of hours to be used for website developments each month 
  • It is your responsibility to utilise the time you book 
  • You understand that any time booked cannot be replaced 
  • Universal Group allows customers to build up time unused for a maximum of 3 months 
  • Any time unused is due for full payment 
  • Any time unused within the past 3 months can be used in addition to the forthcoming months time
  • You accept full liability for any and all time unused 
  • You understand that other customers could have bought the time you booked

Website Copyright

  • The ownership of all design work carried out by Universal Group will always remain the ownership of Universal Web Design as per copyright law, notwithstanding once payment has been made
  • All websites are to contain and retain the footer text ‘Website Design & Built by Universal Web Design’ 
  • The footer text ‘Website Design & Built by Universal Web Design’ is to link to www.universalwebdesign.co.uk 
  • Removal of this text is a breach of copyright and our terms and conditions
  • You can pay to remove the link and or text ‘Website Design & Built by Universal Web Design’ for £3,000 plus VAT, payable prior to removal

Stage Payments

  • If a stage payment is overdue and unpaid, Universal Group reserves the right to demand full payment for the full contract value payable within 7 days.

Domain Names

  • Universal Group accepts no responsibility, liability, losses or consequential damages caused by the loss or non renewal of domain names
  • Universal Group manages, updates and renews thousands of domain names each year. 
  • Universal Group automatically renews all domain names until you complete an online cancellation form
  • An online cancellation form is necessary per domain name you wish to cancel
  • Universal Group reserves the right not to renew any domain name it chooses due to non payment or a lack of response or you are in debt
  • Universal Group reserves the right to sell domain names to recover costs owed
  • Universal Group accepts no responsibility or liability for changes in DNS settings.
  • Universal Group aims to ensure that all domain renewals are successful

Invoices

  • All invoices are to be paid in full as cleared funds within a maximum of 7 days.
  • Any disputes are to be made in writing to sales@universal-group.co.uk within 7 days of the date the invoice was issued
  • Any disputes raised after 7-days of the invoice being issued will be dismissed from any consideration and deemed fabrication 

Debt Recovery Agency

  • You will be charged any debt recovery fees 
  • Debt recovery agencies often add their own charges in addition to your debt
  • You will also be charged administrative fees
  • Most debt recovery agencies offer finance or repayment packages if you need
  • Note that all debts could affect your credit ratings

Personal Liability

  • You accept full and unlimited personal liability for all debts
  • You accept full and unlimited personal liability for all services you employ Universal Group for
  • You accept full and unlimited personal liability for all contracts you enter into
  • You accept joint and several liability for any and all debts, contracts and services you enter into

Personal Guarantee

  • By instructing the services of Universal Group, under any instruction method,  whether this be but not limited to; verbal, telephonic, facsimile, handshake, email, face to face, letter, electronic, signature or other, you are therefore accepting full personal liability and you personally guarantee to pay all invoices and balances due within 7 days of such request

Defamation

  • You agree to pay £10,000 within 7 days in each instance you commit defamation against Universal Group, any of its employees and or Directors
  • Any allegations of slander will be investigated immediately by legal experts and all costs will be at your expense
  • You will be charged for all direct and indirect costs and losses we incur due to your unprofessional behavior
  • You agree that our average customer is worth £10,000
  • You agree that we could lose out on 1 customer per day if your defamation is active, therefore you agree to pay compensation at £10,000 per day for your actions
  • You agree to pay our legal costs at £350 per hour
  • You agree to pay our court fees

Consequential Damages

  • Universal Group accepts no liability for consequential losses or damages of any kind.

Loss of Business

  • Universal Group accepts no liability for any loss of business for any reason.

Recruitment of Our Staff

  • You agree not to recruit any part time or full time employees, staff, team members, officers, freelancers, contractors, consultants, investors, shareholders, directors or suppliers, regardless of title, experience, role or contract without our prior written permission, which can only be authorised by our Managing Director or Chairman. 
  • If you breach this provision, you accept full joint and several liability for your actions and agree to pay £10,000 per recruit within 7 days.

Updates To Our Terms & Conditions

  • By employing the services of Universal Web Design in any capacity, whether it be through a verbal conversation, telephone call, meeting, handshake, email, letter, payment, PDF or proposal document. You immediately accept and adhere to all terms and conditions.
  • You also accept all current and future updates to our terms and conditions
  • You accept that it is your liability to keep up to date with our terms and conditions

Directions To Our Terms & Conditions

  • You accept full responsibility to ensure you are happy with the terms and conditions before soliciting the services of Universal Group
  • You accept that Universal Group is under no obligation to direct to you to its terms and conditions, however, Universal Group proactively directs you to its terms and conditions:
    • Within every page of its website
    • Within every email
    • Within every proposal document
    • Within the FAQs page
    • Within the Terms & Conditions page
    • Within marketing emails 
    • Within invoices
    • Within quotations
  • Universal Group is more than happy to discuss any points within the terms and conditions with you. However, all are in place to protect the business and ensure it is paid on time

Pausing Services

  • If you wish to pause a service, you will still be billed for it and payment required as normal
  • A £120 administration fee will be charged to cover the administration and management of updating records, systems and work carried out to meet your request to pause said service

Cancellation

  • All cancellations must be completed using the online cancellation form: https://www.universalwebdesign.co.uk/cancel-service/
  • The online cancellation form is the only means of cancellation 
  • The online cancellation form protects both parties from hackers, employees, competitors, impersonators from cancelling your services incorrectly
  • The online cancellation form protects both parties from cancelling the incorrect services
  • One online cancellation form completion is required per service to avoid any misunderstanding from any party as to what services you wish to cancel 
  • All services require 90 days’ or 3 full months notice in addition to their minimum term
  • Services may continue during your cancellation period 

Standard Contract Lengths

  • Our standard minimum term for services is 12 months, however, a longer minimum term such as 2, 3, 4 or 5 years may be agreed and this then forms your minimum term
  • Our standard minimum term for hosting is 24 months, however, a longer minimum term such as 3, 4, 5 or 10 years may be agreed and this then forms your minimum term 

Discounts

  • Discounts can often be agreed if you are a good payer and wish to commit to a longer minimum term.
  • The longer the minimum term you commit to, typically the bigger your discount 

Cancellation Fees

  • As we charge no setup fees, a £120 cancellation fee is issued per marketing service you cancel, to cover the administration time, costs and efforts to service you during this transitional period.
  • As we charge no setup fees, a £120 cancellation fee is issued per hosting package you cancel, to cover the administration time, costs and efforts to service you during this transitional period.

Data

  • Your data will be used for various marketing activities, campaigns and communication methods both directly, in addition to client accounts. You can unsubscribe from all communications easily and your choice will always be respected. You will simply need to provide your name, email and mobile numbers. We do not wish to contact anyone who does not want to be contacted.