Terms and Conditions

Revised August 2008
All offers are made and orders accepted subject to the following terms and conditions, which may not be varied unless agreed in writing, prior to ordering, by the owner of the Bearcroft.
These terms will be reviewed from time to time.


Ordering.
1. An order is accepted when the Bearcroft are in receipt of: a deposit of not less than 25% of the total order value (excl. p&p).


2. The Bearcroft do not accept orders in principle, and a quotation does not form a contract, or an agreement to undertake
work.

3. The acceptance of any order is solely at the discretion of the Bearcroft.

4. Quotations are valid for one month.

5. A custom order is for any bear(s) or other item(s) that are:
* made to measure a different bear to the assortment on offer
* made to customer specification
* made to customer chosen material
* otherwise customized or personalized in any way

6. If a deposit is paid in part, the outstanding part of that deposit is payable within one calendar month, unless agreed in writing at the time of ordering, or prior to ordering. The order will date from the time that the balance of any deposit is paid. Should any outstanding deposit amount not be paid in full, the order may be cancelled, and any partially paid deposit(s) forfeit.

Payment and delivery.
7. Payment is due on completion of garments and other items, prior to their despatch. The Bearcroft will issue an invoice by post (or e-mail on request), which is payable in 28 days. Goods will be despatched within 7 working days of payment clearance. (Please note that e-mail invoices are legally binding, under the UK distance selling regulations.) Under some circumstances garments may be despatched prior to payment / invoicing. These will be treated as cases of 'Payment by Account'.

8. If a cheque is returned unpaid by our bankers, the full cost involved will be passed on to the customer (bank charges, etc), along with an administration charge of not less than £10. Please note that it is a criminal offence to write a cheque knowing that the account does not hold the funds to cover the amount made payable.

9. Prices do not include postage and packing, which is charged at the actual rate. Prices for p&p given at the time of ordering are estimates only, and may be liable to change.

10. The Bearcroft currently accepts payment by cheque, building society cheque in £sterling (GBP), and in cash (in person only – please do not send cash through the post).
For international customers, the Bearcroft can also accept payment by international money order in any hard currency, (although a small fee may be payable to cover bank charges), and by Western Union transfer.
We regret that the Bearcroft cannot currently accept credit or debit cards.

11. The Bearcroft is not able to provide a VAT receipt because we do not charge VAT.

12. All goods remain the property of the Bearcroft until paid for in full.

13. Delivery dates are estimated, and may be subject to change unless otherwise agreed in writing.

14. All goods will be delivered by Parcelforce (or similar courier), or Royal Mail Special Delivery (UK only), at the customer’s choice. Where no choice is specified, we will endeavour to use the cheapest tracked and insured method.

Cancellations and Returns.
15. Deposits are not refundable unless otherwise agreed in writing, or in accordance with 18, below. This includes cases where materials are supplied in lieu of a deposit.

16. Where no deposit has been paid for an order that is subsequently cancelled, the Bearcroft reserves the right to charge a cancellation fee equal to one third of the total order value.

17. Orders cannot be cancelled after bears and other items have been completed, or after the despatch of an invoice.

18. Should the Bearcroft have to cancel an order for any reason, (except in the circumstances in 6 above), the deposit will be refunded in full.

19. If a customer fails to respond for a period of six months, the Bearcroft may cancel the order, thus forfeiting any deposits paid.

20. Custom orders cannot be returned, although should a problem arise, the Bearcroft will take all reasonable steps to make good, (except in some circumstances described below).

21. Problems must be notified to the Bearcroft within 7 calendar days of delivery, prior to the return of any item. Bears must then be returned within 28 calendar days of delivery. After this deadline all returns / alterations are solely at the discretion of the Bearcroft.

22. Returned bears and other items must be clean and in a saleable condition, and in the original packaging.

23. Returns will not be accepted if bears and other items are dirty or damaged, and in such circumstances the full price is payable. In such instances the customer may be liable for further shipping charges.

24. Goods returned to the Bearcroft without prior notice may be returned to the customer. In such circumstances the customer may incur an extra postal fee.


Quality and finish.
25. The Bearcroft base all historical garments and other items on primary source evidence, (writings, pictures, and extant items), unless otherwise stated. The Bearcroft is happy to provide copies of the relevant evidence on request. However, as all interpretations of evidence are subjective, the Bearcroft can take no responsibility for the absolute historical accuracy of any item.

26. Definitions of finishes are as follows:

* Hand sewn – self explanatory – all sewing, from start to finish will be done by hand, using methods known to have existed during the period in question.

27. Alterations and other work carried out by anyone not in the employ of the Bearcroft will invalidate all guarantees, unless otherwise agreed in writing prior to such work taking place.

28. All guarantees will be invalidated if care instructions supplied are not followed.

29. The Bearcroft can accept no responsibility for the quality or suitability of fabrics and other materials supplied by the customer - although we will offer our advice, and notify a customer if fabric is unsuitable, the final decision as always rests with the customer.

Discounts.
30. All discounts are solely at the discretion of the Bearcroft.


31. Discounts or special offers may be lost if part of the order is cancelled.

32. The Bearcroft discount vouchers, or use of other special offers, or prizes must be disclosed at the time of ordering, and the voucher surrendered, or voucher number quoted. If not disclosed at the time of ordering, a voucher cannot be subsequently used to obtain a discount.


Payment by account.
33. The Bearcroft accept payment by account where this has been agreed in writing prior to ordering.

34. Separate terms and conditions cover payment by account, and these will be supplied to all customers who wish to pay by account prior to ordering, or on request.

35. Acceptance of payment by account is solely at the discretion of the Bearcroft, and the above payment terms apply in all other instances.

Force Majeure.
36. The Bearcroft cannot be held liable or responsible for delays caused by conditions beyond the Bearcroft’s control, such as war, threat of war, riots, intervention by governmental authorities, flood, fire, acts of G-d, strikes, breakdown of machinery, shortage of materials used in manufacture (or of fuel), illness, or any other contingency which hinders or delays delivery or manufacture, and which is out of the control of the Bearcroft. The Bearcroft shall be under no obligation for loss or damage incurred or sustained by the customer.