Terms of Service
TRADING TERMS & CONDITIONS
Revised October 2022
1: The Company is not a common carrier and will only accept goods / business upon the following conditions only.
2: All charges shown or quoted are subject to VAT at the current rate.
(b): Shipment of goods to some international destinations are exempt from VAT.
3: All consignments are carried subject to the current RHA Conditions of Carriage (2020) uplifted to £5000.00 per tonne or CMR conditions and insured accordingly, under which our liability is restricted. Some of the Pallet Networks which are operated by the Company may have slightly different interpretations of the aforementioned conditions of carriage. All goods stored are done so under RHA Conditions of Storage and insured accordingly. These Conditions restrict our liability for loss or damage to the consignment it is not the responsibility of Griffins Logistics Ltd to arrange additional insurance cover.
4: Griffins Logistics Ltd business activities and all documentations whatsoever, will be subject to E & OE and will be accepted by all parties.
5: Charges may be reviewed on an annual basis. Charges may also increase due to changes in taxes or changes in the oil price and advise via the Company’s web site.
6: Payment of invoices: All invoices are due for payment by 25th of the following month from date of invoice. Overdue accounts not paid within our terms will be put on stop until monies have been received. Accounts not paid within our credit terms will be liable for immediate collection by any method of debt collection.
7: All invoice queries & disputes must be received in writing by the Company within three weeks of issue of the invoice to be accepted.
8: All claims for delivery surcharge refunds must be received in writing within three days from end of transit.
9: Consequential loss charges for deliveries to DCs & RDC`s will not be accepted by this Company and any client withholding payments for such will be in breach of this contract in doing so. The Company does not accept any consequential loss claims.
10: The Customer shall pay to the Company in cash or as otherwise agreed, all sums when due, immediately and without reductions or deferment on any account of any claim, counterclaim or set-off. Late payments will be subject to `The late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1988, as amended shall apply to all sums due form the Customer.
11: Payments to the Company cannot be withheld or deducted from in respect of any accepted or disputed. Goods in transit claims and must be settled by the relevant insurance Companies only
12: Should it be necessary for the Company to instruct a third party to collect any outstanding debts, the cost of this third party will be added to the outstanding amount for collection with an administration charge.
13: The Company reserves the right to raise an administration fee for any cheques returned by its bankers for whatever reason.
14:Any Client of which a debt collection service has to be used to recover monies owed to GLL will automatically become a pro-forma account should any further business is conducted.
15:Any party wishing to ` suspend` their account with the Company will automatically suspend their credit line with the Company , any goods remaining in transit at this time will be subject to suspension and storage charges may be applied.
16: We reserve the right to withdraw credit terms at any time without consultation or explanation.
17: The Company reserve the right to vary any of the above these alterations will be advised via the Company website.
18: Clarification of Services:
(a): Next day/24hr is delivery on the Next Working Day.
(b): Economy /72hr is delivery will take place within the Next Three Working Days (Day 2 or 3 can be specified).
(c): Tail lift off-load delivery service: Pallets must be under 1000kg gross weight and no more than 2.2mtr wide (750kg max on a 7.5 tonne vehicle) and on good 4 way entry pallets with access under the pallet of a minimum of 12cm. Tail lift deliveries will only take place on firm level ground, no adverse gradients, no gravel or shingle drive ways. Goods cannot be left on the public highway. All tail lift deliveries are subject to an onsite risk assessment by the driver to ascertain if it is safe to operate a tail lift offload, as per HSE guidance. Should the delivery point be deemed unsuitable or unsafe then any cost incurred from such a situation will be the consignors to accept.
(d): Timed deliveries are deemed successful if the delivery vehicle is at the delivery point within 15 minutes & 30 minutes inside the M25 of the allotted time requested. It is the discretion of the delivery point to accept any timed or booked deliveries before or after the allotted time or window.
(e); The dimensions of pallets being shipped to Europe, Ireland and off shore UK island may vary to the standard UK Mainland definitions, please check for clarity before booking.
19: All timed delivery and special instructions must be advised to this office in writing or by online booking service by 16.00hrs on the day of despatch.
20: The delivery and collection day is from 9am to 5pm .Saturday 9 am to 12 noon. Any delivery or collection with a restrictive delivery/collection window between 7 to 3 hrs will become a ` Booked Window` service of which an extra charge will be added. Any requests with a window lesser than 7 to 3 hrs will become a timed service. A timed delivery after 4pm will not be accepted unless agreed before the booking is confirmed.
21: It is the duty of the consignee to ensure that all consignments are packed & secured to a pallet in suitable stable manner to withstand load security in transit, also handling through a hub & spoke multi handling pallet system. Consignments being received into our depot directly from a client showing signs of damage or insufficient / poor packaging with a possibility of causing a health & safety issue will held at the depot. Photographs of the consignment will be taken and forwarded to the client for their assessment and rectification.
22: It is the duty of the consignee to ensure that consignments are labelled / marked with the delivery name & address and ensure that the delivery address has suitable access for goods vehicles as specified below. If the delivery point has parking or access restriction this must be notified at the time of booking. All fines or charges incurred at these delivery points will be added to the clients account after notification of such costs. It is the responsibility of the consignee or their agent to ensure the correct goods loaded at the point of collection/despatch. Any special delivery / collection requirements should be discussed with a member of our traffic department prior to booking the consignment.
22b: Those clients operating our ` self ` inputting & labelling system are totally responsible for the inputting the correct data information and the correct labelling of the consignments.
23: All deliveries & collections must be on hard road only.
24: It is the duty of the consignee to arrange sufficient equipment or labour at the delivery point to off load / handle their consignment. This is not the sole duty of the driver. All Tail Lift deliveries can only be achieved on a hard surface and must not exceed the weight specification shown also subject to no adverse gradients or cambers at the unloading point. All consignments requesting a tail lift service must be packed on a correct pallet i.e. a 4 way entry pallet as per 18 (c ).
25: A charge may be levied for delays in loading or unloading exceeding 20 minutes.
26: The delivering depot / agents have the right to leave the delivery point after waiting 20 minutes after the advised delivery time. The consignee will then incur a re-delivery charge.
27: Any consignments that are refused will be returned or re-delivered to the original address at the original outgoing rate. Re-directed consignments will be subject to our carriage forward charges. Any consignments held at delivery depots / agents after a refused delivery for whatever reason will subject to a storage charge of £2.50 per day after 3 days unless re-routed.
28: Hazardous consignments: We will only carry limited quantities of specific items of hazardous materials,
please ask for advice and details must be notified in writing prior to collection. Consignments not advised but found to be hazardous in transit will be held until qualified driver and vehicle is available to continue transit, the cost of which and any fines imposed by the Network / agent will be for consignee to pay in full.
29: Customer requiring additional Goods in Transit insurance cover for high value consignments should ensure this is advised prior to collection specifying the amount of cover they require. The additional charge for any additional GIT cover will be charged directly to the client’s account this service must be notified prior collection by 16.00hrs on the day of collection.
30: In the event that we are unable to produce a proof of delivery for whatever reason a letter of indemnity will be produced, this will be accepted that the delivery being completed in good order and no monies withheld.
31: Customer own delivery notes. In some circumstances a delivery note other than the customers own may be used this is deemed as acceptable and not a reason to query an invoice or withhold any payments.
(a):The Company operates an ` electronic` signature capture system which gives clients a` real time` proof of delivery, by accepting these terms of business you also accept these signature captures as a proof of delivery of the consignments. Please bear in mind that the receipt signature to a consignment is always the last part of the delivery, so a 10am delivery could easily have a receipt timed after the request delivery time especially if it is a large consignment or complexed delivery point.
32: Proof of deliveries for some international journeys may not always be available at the time of invoicing this does not give the Customer the right to withhold passing invoices until a POD is available. All proof of deliveries for international deliveries will be available upon the online system as quickly as possible.
33. The Company does not accept ` Unchecked` receipt signature on any delivery notes, any receipts claused in this way will be deemed as the consignment being received in ` Good Condition`.
34:Goods in Transit Claims; Claims will be settled under RHA Conditions of carriage 2020 or CMR Conditions of Carriage only. Some of the Pallet Networks which are operated by the Company may have slightly different interpretations of the aforementioned conditions of carriage.
Claims can only be accepted when claims form is completed and all information requested is received. Claims are ONLY settled through insurers only no cash settlements or trade-offs are entered into. All claims for damaged consignments MUST be presented with colour photo`s showing the extent of any damage. All claims are settled at cost price, nett of VAT only and will be in the form of a credit note only.
The decision of liability by the Insurance Company will be deemed as final and binding to all parties. No appeals will be accepted.
35: All communications regarding goods in transit claims must be in writing and emailed only to customer.services@griffinslogistics.co.uk within the time limits specified in the RHA Conditions of Carriage 2020 a copy is available from the Company’s website.
36:The Company will not accept any goods in transit liability claim below the value of £100.00.
37: Customers by completing the Companies credit application form accepts these terms of business fully. The client also accepts that all the Companies invoices will be forwarded by email to the email address given upon the credit application. The Client also accepts to input their consignments on to the agreed online portal and to retrieve all their relevant proofs of delivery required from the aforementioned online facility, no proof of deliveries are posted.
38:The Company reserves the right to implement a fuel surcharge on all invoices should cost road fuel increase over £1.15 ppl +vat. The escalator would be 0.30% surcharge for every 1 pence above the figure stated, this will be shown on the Company website.
39: All quotations given are valid for 14 days only.
40: The Company will not tolerate rudeness or verbal aggression towards any member of staff.
41: When the Company contracts as a principal for any services, it shall have full liberty to perform such services itself, or, to subcontract on any terms whatsoever, the whole or any part of such services. In all and any dealings with HMRC for and on behalf of the Customer and/or owner, the Company is deemed to be appointed, and act as Direct Representative only.
42: It is NOT the standard duty of Griffins Logistics to return empty pallets, unless the customer is willing to accept the charges for this service. We are unable to remove any used packaging from delivery point as this is deemed as ` waste` and must be left at the delivery point.
43:. The standard delivery vehicle used in deliveries would be a 18 tonne vehicles approximately the size of a double-decker bus. However should a delivering depot deem the delivery point (With local knowledge) be accessible with a larger vehicle then they do have the right to deliver with such vehicle. Should clients request a smaller vehicle to deliver, this can be facilitated but may incur additional charges.
44. Any consignments refused at the original delivery point and wishing to be forwarded to a different delivery will be subject to Carriage Forward charges which are available upon request.
45: Hand ball deliveries. This service is available subject to discussion and agreement with our customer service team only however an additional charge may apply. No goods will be carried up or down any steps
46. Force Marjeure. In the event either party is unable to perform its obligations under the terms of this Agreement because of acts of God, strike, failure of carrier or utilities, equipment or transmission failure or damage that is reasonably beyond its control, or any other cause that is reasonably beyond its control, such party shall not be liable for damages to the other for any damages resulting from such failure to perform or otherwise from such causes. Performance under this Agreement shall resume when the affected party or parties are able to perform substantially that party`s duties.