Terms of Trading

For Your Security and Peace of Mind

By ordering and purchasing goods from Sound Services you agree to our Terms of Trading

For your personal security we have opted to not have any ‘customer accounts’ and ‘logins’ on our websites – what is not there cannot be hacked. Payment checkout is completed using Worldpay and PayPal secure servers and we are attested and validated by Worldpay’s Safer Payments programme

Sound Services website is encrypted for your security – we have our https://www.soundservices.co.uk address

UK Purchase Orders and Paying on Account

Sound Services welcome official purchase orders emailed or posted from all UK based schools, councils, churches, PCC’s, government departments, universities, NHS, police, fire & rescue, colleges etc.

Official written PO (purchase orders) may be subject to differing T&Cs to those detailed here

Website Products and Prices

VAT:
Please note that all of our prices are subject to UK VAT – VAT will be added at order checkout

Shipping:
We can only send website orders to UK destinations

Website orders can usually only be sent to the address registered with your payment card provider

Smaller website orders will have a carriage, packing and handling charge added

Larger items over 28kg or longer than 1m may incur additional carriage costs which will be charged separately prior to shipping

We can fulfil most orders from the UK but lead times for products shipped from EU warehouses may be a little longer. Some orders may be shipped directly from third party depots

These postcode areas may also incur a delivery surcharge – we will do our best to use the most cost effective and reliable delivery solution if you are located in the Highlands or Islands

Scottish Highlands – AB36-38, AB55-56, FK17-21, IV1-39, IV52-54, IV63, KW1-14, PA21-40, PH19-26, PH30-41, PH49-50
Scottish Islands – HS1-9, IV40-51, IV55-56, KA27-28, KW15-17, PA20, PA41-49, PA60-78, PH42-44, ZE1-3
Northern Ireland – BT
Channel Islands – GY, JE
Isle of Man – IM
Scilly Isles – TR
Isle of Wight – PO30-41

Some products may be listed as ‘Available on back-order’ as they are distributed from EU warehouses and can take around 10 working days for delivery

Our carriers aim to deliver most orders for goods from UK warehouses within 5 working days

Our carriers do not guarantee ‘next day delivery’ and do not offer ‘next day services’ to highlands, islands or non-UK mainland addresses. Please allow longer delivery times to Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and other offshore and highland and non-mainland UK destinations

Our carriers will attempt delivery twice before returning the shipment to our warehouse – returned shipments will be available for collection around 14 to 21 working days after the original shipment date. Please respond to all delivery advice cards promptly and be aware that deliveries, including local orders which may be delivered by our own transport, will require a signature or photographic proof of receipt

Damaged items, missing items and non-delivery of goods must be reported in writing within 5 working days of expected delivery date – please always include PO and invoice numbers etc.

Please note that your order may be part shipped from various warehouses and depots

Paying:

All orders must be paid for with cleared funds and placed by noon, Monday to Friday, to qualify for next working day despatch when items are available from stock

Please note: PayPal’s eCheque feature allows customers to transfer money directly from their bank account to our PayPal account. eCheque payments differ from Bank Transfers, as they are not instant payments. eCheque payment funds require seven to nine working days after payment has been initiated to be cleared by PayPal – goods will not be released until those funds have been cleared by PayPal

Terms of Trading and Other Useful Information

Contact Sound Services

We will inform you as soon as we can if we are unable to fulfil your order

Getting Your Order – VAT, Shipping, Paying & POs

For your peace of mind and security we prefer to discuss your proposed purchases with you before you buy – just call Sound Services – this also allows us to take your payment verbally which some prefer to paying online

Invoices to account customers are strictly net and due for payment within a maximum of 28 days of issue – all other invoices are issued for payment on or before delivery. All overdue invoices may incur interest

Cheque payments will need up to 7 working days to be cleared by the banks

Payment can be made via Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal and debit cards including Maestro and Visa Debit using the Worldpay and PayPal secure servers. Bank transfer payments by BACS, Chaps & Swift are also accepted. Orders for destinations outside of the UK must be paid for by Swift, BACS or CHAPS bank transfer


By ordering and purchasing goods from Sound Services you agree to our Terms of Trading – written, verbal and implied

Please note: PayPal’s eCheque feature allows customers to transfer money directly from their bank account to our PayPal account. eCheques differ from Instant Bank Transfers, as they are not instant payments. After payment has been initiated, eCheque payment funds require seven to nine working days to be cleared – goods will not be released until those funds have been cleared by PayPal

Goods are not supplied on sale or return. Please ensure that the items ordered fulfil your requirements

Damaged items, missing items and non-delivery of goods should be reported in writing within 7 days (5 working days) of shipment

Should goods be returned to Sound Services without fault then outward and return carriage is to be paid by the purchaser. If you are a consumer (rather than an organisation, business or trader etc.) this does not affect your rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations (CCRs) regarding incorrectly supplied, faulty or damaged goods. Consumer Contracts Regulations may not apply to purchases made by organisations and businesses

Any costs incurred in collecting outstanding amounts (including interest, administration costs, court fees etc.) shall be passed on, in full to the customer, the purchaser and the keeper of the equipment in question. VAT will be added to these costs

All hires are due for payment prior to the event unless specific credit facilities have been arranged

Sound Services is an independent partnership company which is not tied to any one manufacturer or importer – this allows us to offer equipment that is economic and ideally suited to your requirements

The partners have over 50 years of combined experience in the sound and communications industry and Sound Services has been established for over 30 years

All work is personally supervised by the DBS certified partners

All quoted and estimated prices are net, valid for up to 28 days and subject to VAT

Please note that any and all individual quoted and estimated prices are only valid should any proposal, quotation or estimate as a whole be accepted

Stage payment invoices shall always be issued for payment within these terms on all occasions when work is carried out in stages of installation or fixes

Quotations and estimates do not include any approbation for any or other unauthorised discounts

Sound Services is a partnership and registered for VAT in the UK: GB479 7742 77

Our EORI number is: GB479774277000

All invoiced prices are subject to VAT at the current rate

Sound Services trades as a Partnership and is therefore not caught by IR35 legislation. The Partnership name is T R, Mrs C & J Freeman trading as Sound Services and our UTR unique tax reference number is 27656 79063 (This was previously covered by: CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TAX DEDUCTION SCHEME which stated that “the installation of security systems including burglar alarms, closed circuit television and public address sound systems are specifically excluded from the Construction Industry Tax Deduction Scheme.” Further information can be found in the Construction Industry Series IR14/15(CIS), April 2006 obtained online or from your local Revenue & Customs Office). This exclusion requires that our invoices are paid in full with no deductions made by yourselves for tax purposes.

Sound Services is covered by Public Liability Insurance

Cancellations of any service or supply of goods by Sound Services made by organisations, businesses or trade customers without reasonable reason or notice may incur a cancellation charge. Any cancellation charge made by our suppliers to us for the return of items ordered especially for a customer will be passed on to the said customer

We are usually able to carry out installation work within 14 to 21 days of receiving your official purchase order

All building and electrical works are to be carried out by qualified others. It is understood that our access to any areas as required to install equipment and / or a complete sound system shall be unrestricted – temporary or permanent removal of any stacked or fitted obstacles and furniture shall be carried out by others

Any access towers, hoists or platforms that are required for the job shall be charged extra

It is understood that we are able to park our vehicle(s) adjacent to the site or venue – any parking fees or charges may be added to the final invoice

Where appropriate it is assumed that any existing equipment and wiring that is to be re-used is of safe and good quality, meets any current regulation or requirement and is in total working order. Any extra work required on these items may be charged for

The content, layout and gist of all documents and webpages from Sound Services remain the intellectual property of Sound Services and may not be reproduced or distributed in any way without the prior written consent of Sound Services

Information, Licenses, Warranty and Other Information

Watts
Unlike many we endeavour to state wattage as RMS ratings (true wattage) – if we mean PPMO music power, US watts or peak watts we say so. Remember American peak PPMO music power watts can be stated as up to 4 times higher than RMS – often causing confusion

Warranties

Getting Your Order – VAT, Shipping, Paying & POs

UK Licenses for Music, Wireless Microphones, Radiomics and In-Ear Monitoring (IEM)

Sound Services WEEE takeback scheme

Privacy

We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our customers – we will only use information that we have collected about you lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and GDPR 2018

Download our GDPR Personal Data Privacy Notice (General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 25th May 2018)

What is your ‘Personal Data’?

Personal data is information that says something about you as an individual, so it will normally include your name, address, email address, telephone numbers and other contact details

What kind of information do we hold about you?

Apart from information that you give us so that we may fulfil your order we may also conduct online postcode or other searches to confirm your address etc.

We keep records of your purchases, emails and other correspondence so that we may be of future service to you

We do not process or hold any other personal data about you unless you specifically give written consent

Your online, customer not present (telephone order) and customer present payment details are securely processed by Worldpay and PayPal and we do not have or keep any details of your payment cards or bank details unless you specifically give written consent

Who do we share your personal data with?

Other than payment processors, including Worldpay & PayPal, DPD and other shippers / carriers and our suppliers, such a Monacor UK. AVSL Group and Prolight Concepts, when they send urgent orders direct to you on our behalf. We do not share your personal data with any other organisation or individual

Why do we need your information?

We need to use your personal data in order to:

  • Provide quotations and estimates
  • Process your order for goods or services
  • Provide after sales support
  • Assess the quality of our service

We keep this information as up to date as possible – if you want to check any information that we hold, please contact us. If there are any errors, we will correct them as necessary

We will not send you any unsolicited emails.

If you have any questions about this privacy statement please do not hesitate to contact us

Security

We take matters of web security very seriously

Our website is encrypted for your security – we have our https://www.soundservices.co.uk address displayed in your browser

When you pay on-line you are transferred from our secure website to a third-party server at Worldpay or PayPal using secure server software (SSL). This means that the information that you send is encrypted and secure

If you have any questions about this security statement please do not hesitate to contact us

Your Right To Cancel – Consumer Contracts Regulations and Distance Selling Regulations

Impartial Citizens Advice in the UK

Please note: A consumer is an individual (a natural person rather than a small business or legally incorporated organisation) who purchases goods or services for purposes outside of that person’s business, trade, craft or profession – see Consumer Rights Act 2015

Under The Consumer Contracts Regulations which replaced the Consumer Protection Distance Selling Regulations 2000 in 2014, a consumer (not an organisation, business or trader etc.) has the right to cancel a contract within fourteen days – starting from the day after you take delivery of the goods (a “cooling off” period). A consumer has the right to cancel for any reason without penalty.  Please note that the Consumer Contracts Regulations (CCR’s) and Consumer Protection Distance Selling Regulations (DSR’s) do not apply to purchases made by organisations, businesses or traders

If you, as a consumer, wish to cancel a contract please write to us, or email clearly stating your full details, our invoice number and your cancellation instructions. To cancel the contract, you must give us written notice within fourteen working days starting from the day after you take delivery of the order – but you have a duty of care and are liable for the safe keeping and returning of the products and the cost of returning the items to us in the original packing with all accessories etc, please

There are some goods that a consumer cannot return under Consumer Contracts Regulations – this includes tailor-made or personalised goods including, for instance, equipment that has been designed, assembled and tested to form part of a sound or wireless microphone system that is not a proprietary item when in its completed form

If an organisation, business, dealer or trader and not a consumer cancels an order there will be small handling charge to cover the card charges made to us during the transaction and the refund process plus the deduction of any bespoke services that were included in the original order in line with CCR legislation. The refund will be sent to the original payment card

Download our returns and cancellation form

Once you have cancelled the contract, you have a legal “duty of care” to take good care of the goods. You must return the goods to us at your expense to the address below – we would advise that you use a recorded-delivery service for small items and an insured courier service for larger items. Please mark all parcels clearly with your returns number. Any costs incurred will be deducted from your final refund in accordance with the Consumer Contracts Regulations

We will refund the amount paid for the goods, less the cost of any damage to the goods or packaging and less any costs to collect the goods, within 30 days of receipt of the goods following written notice of cancellation

Credit Notes
Products returned with prior authorisation by organisations, businesses or traders will be credited less the original carriage and other attributable costs – credit notes will be valid for 120 days from their date of issue

Ownership
All goods remain the sole property of Sound Services until they are paid for in full. This retention of title shall allow Sound Services or its agents to recover any equipment supplied by them if payment in full is not forthcoming from the customer, purchaser or the keeper of the equipment in question

Fraud
Unfortunately, levels of fraudulent orders, particularly via the Internet, are on the increase. We make every effort to check all orders as thoroughly as possible given the information available so please do not be offended if we have to contact you to make additional security checks after you have placed your order

For reasons of security, we will only deliver goods to the registered billing address for your credit card

These terms are the essence of any and all contracts

Why Sound Services?

  • Qualified advice from experienced people
  • Advice before you buy
  • Email and telephone support
  • Good stock holding with back-up from our trading partners
  • Solid warranty
  • Sound Services – a specialist family business since 1987

E&OE