Terms and Conditions
Conditions of Contract – Sterling Shopping & Services Ltd 13th August 2019
Please note that the customer will not in all circumstances be entitled to Compensation, or to full Compensation, for any loss and is therefore recommended to seek professional advice as to appropriate insurance cover to be maintained while consignments are in transit.
The Carrier (as defined below) is not a common carrier and accepts goods for carriage only upon that condition and the Conditions set out below. No servant or agent of the Carrier is permitted to alter or vary these Conditions in any way unless expressly authorised in writing to do so by a Director of Sterling Shopping & Services Ltd. If any provision of these Conditions or of the contract becomes invalid, illegal, unenforceable or void in any respect under any law, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired. For the avoidance of doubt these are the Sterling Shopping & Services Ltd Conditions of Carriage which are common to all Contracts entered into between Customers and the Carrier for transport of items by Sterling Shopping & Services Ltd.
1. Definitions
In these Conditions:
· ‘Carrier’ means Sterling Shopping & Services Limited (Company Number 12154726) and/or any of its depots.
· ‘Customer’ means the person or company who contracts for the services of the Carrier including any other carrier who gives a Consignment to the Carrier for carriage.
· ‘Contract’ means the contract of carriage between the Customer and the Carrier.
· ‘Consignee’ means the person or company to whom the Carrier contracts to deliver the Consignment.
· ‘Consignment’ means goods, whether a single item or in bulk or contained in one parcel, package or container, as the case may be, or any number of separate items, parcels, packages or containers sent at one time in one load by or for the Customer from one address to one address.
2. Parties and Sub-Contracting
1. The Customer warrants that he is either the owner of the Consignment or is authorised by such owner to accept these Conditions on such owner’s behalf.
3. Loading and Unloading
Unless the Carrier has agreed in writing to the contrary with the Customer,
1. The Carrier shall not be under any obligation to provide any plant, power or labour, other than that carried by the vehicle, required for loading or unloading the Consignment.
2. The Customer warrants that any special appliances required for loading or unloading the Consignment, which are not carried by the vehicle will be provided by the Customer or on the Customer’s behalf.
3. The Carrier shall be under no liability whatever to the Customer for any damage whatever, however caused, if the Carrier is instructed to load or unload any Consignment requiring special appliances which, in breach of the warranty in (2) above, have not been provided by the Customer or on the Customer’s behalf.
4. The Carrier shall not be required to provide service beyond the usual place of collection or delivery but if any such service is given by the Carrier, it shall be at the sole risk of the Customer.
4. Signed Receipts
The Carrier shall, if so required sign a document prepared by the sender acknowledging the receipt of the Consignment but no such document shall be evidence of the condition or of the correctness of the declared nature, quantity, or weight of the Consignment at the time it is received by the Carrier and the burden of proving the condition of the Consignment on receipt by the Carrier and that the Consignment was of the nature, quantity, condition or weight declared in the relevant document shall rest with the Customer.
5. Transit
Transit shall commence when the Carrier takes possession of the Consignment whether at the point of collection or at the Carrier’s premises.
Transit shall end when the Consignment is tendered at the usual place of delivery at the Consignee’s address within the customary business hours.
Provided that;
1. if no safe and adequate access or no adequate unloading facilities there exist then transit shall be deemed to end at the expiry of one clear day after notice in writing (or by telephone if so previously agreed in writing) of the arrival of the Consignment at the Carrier’s premises has been sent to the Consignee; and
2. when for any other reason whatever a Consignment cannot be delivered or when a Consignment is held by the Carrier ‘to await order’ or ‘be kept till called for’ or upon any like instructions and such instructions are not given or the Consignment is not called for and removed within a reasonable time, then transit shall be deemed to end.
6. Undelivered or Unclaimed Consignments
Where the Carrier is unable for any reason to deliver a Consignment to the Consignee or as he may order, or where by virtue of the proviso to Condition 5(2) hereof transit is deemed to be at an end, the Carrier may sell the Consignment, and payment or tender of the proceeds after deduction of all proper charges and expenses in relation thereto and of all outstanding charges in relation to the carriage and storage of the Consignment shall (without prejudice to any claim or right which the Customer may have against the Carrier otherwise arising under these Conditions) discharge the Carrier from all liability in respect of such Consignment, its carriage and storage: Provided that
1. the Carrier shall do what is reasonable to obtain the value of the Consignment; and
2. the power of sale shall not be exercised where the name and address of the sender or of the Consignee is known unless the Carrier shall have done what is reasonable in the circumstances to give notice to the sender or, if the name and address of the sender is not known, to the Consignee that the Consignment will be sold unless within the time specified in such notice, being a reasonable time in the circumstances from the giving of such notice, the Consignment is taken away or instructions are given for its disposal.
7. Carriers’ Charges
The Carrier’s charges shall be payable by the Customer without prejudice to the Carriers rights against the Consignee or any other person: Provided that when any consignment is consigned ‘carriage forward’ the Customer shall not be required to pay such charges unless the Consignee fails to pay after a reasonable demand has been made by the Carrier for payment thereof:
Charges shall be payable when due without reduction or deferment on account of any claim, counter claim or set-off. The Carrier shall be entitled to interest at 8 per cent above the Bank of England Base Rate prevailing at the date of the Carriers invoice or account, calculated on a daily basis on all amounts overdue to the Carrier.
8. Liability for Loss or Damage
1. The Customer shall be deemed to have elected to accept the terms set out in (2) of this Condition unless, before the transit commences, the Customer has agreed in writing that the Carrier shall not be liable for any loss or mis-delivery of or damage to or in connection with the Consignment however or whenever caused and whether or not caused or contributed to directly or indirectly by any act, omission, neglect, default or other wrongdoing on the part of the Carrier, its servants, agents or sub-contractors.
2. Subject to these Conditions the Carrier shall be liable for:
a. physical loss, mis-delivery of or damage to living creatures, perishables, bullion, money, cheques, money orders, securities, stamps, precious metals or precious stones, jewellery, works of art, antiques, watches, wines and spirits, furs, tobacco, firearms, glass, ceramics, pottery or plasma screens comprising the Consignment only if:
i. the Carrier has specifically agreed in writing to carry any such items; and
ii. the Customer has agreed in writing to reimburse the Carrier in respect of all additional costs which result from the carriage of the said items; and
iii. the loss, mis-delivery or damage is occasioned during transit and is proved to be due to the negligence of the Carrier, its servants, agents or sub-contractors;
b. physical loss, mis-delivery of or damage to any other goods comprising the Consignment unless the same has arisen from, and the Carrier has used reasonable care to minimise the effects of:
i. Act of God;
ii. any consequences of war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities (whether war or not), civil war, rebellion, insurrection, terrorist act, military or usurped power or confiscation, requisition, or destruction or damage by or under the order of any government or public or local authority;
iii. seizure or forfeiture under legal process;
iv. error, act, omission, mis-statement or misrepresentation by the Customer or other owner of the Consignment or by servants or agents of either of them;
v. inherent liability to wastage in bulk or weight, faulty design, latent defect or inherent defect, vice or natural deterioration of the Consignment;
vi. insufficient or improper packing;
vii. insufficient or improper labelling or addressing;
viii. (viii) riot, civil commotion, strike, lockout, general or partial stoppage or restraint of labour from whatever cause;
ix. Consignee not taking or accepting delivery within a reasonable time after the Consignment has been tendered.
3. The Carrier shall not in any circumstances be liable for loss or damage arising after transit is deemed to have ended within the meaning of Condition 5 hereof, whether or not caused or contributed to directly or indirectly by any act, omission, neglect, default or other wrongdoing on the part of the Carrier, its servants, agents or sub-contractors.
9. Fraud
The Carrier shall not in any circumstances be liable in respect of a Consignment where there has been fraud on the part of the Customer or the owner, or the servants or agents of either, in respect of that Consignment, unless the fraud has been contributed to by the complicity of the Carrier or of any servant of the Carrier acting in the course of his employment.
10. Limitation of liability
Except as otherwise provided in these Conditions, the liability of the Carrier in respect of claims for physical loss, mis-delivery of or damage to goods comprising the Consignment, howsoever arising, shall in all circumstances be limited to the lesser of:
1. the value of the goods actually lost, mis-delivered or damaged; or
2. the cost of repairing any damage or of reconditioning the goods, or
3. a sum calculated at the rate of £13 Sterling per Kilogram on the gross weight of the goods actually lost, mis-delivered or damaged; and the value of the goods actually lost, mis-delivered or damaged shall be taken to be their invoice value if they have been sold and shall otherwise be taken to be the replacement cost thereof to the owner at the commencement of transit, and in all cases shall be taken to include any Customs and Excise duties or taxes payable in respect of those goods: Provided that:
i. in the case of loss, mis-delivery of or damage to a part of the Consignment the weight to be taken into consideration in determining the amount to which the Carriers liability is limited shall be only the gross weight of that part regardless of whether the loss, mis-delivery or damage affects the value of other parts of the Consignment;
ii. the Carrier shall be entitled to proof of the weight and value of the whole of the Consignment and of any part thereof lost, mis-delivered or damaged;
iii. the Customer shall be entitled to give the Carrier written notice prior to commencement of transit requesting that the £13 per kilo limit in 11 (1)(c) above be increased, but not so as to exceed the value of the Consignment, and in the event of such notice being given the Customer may be offered Increased Liability Cover (ILC) at revised carriage charges in consideration of the increased limit, but if the offer is not acceptable to the customer, then the aforementioned £13 per kilo limit shall continue to apply;
iv. in attempting to reach an agreement pursuant to sub-clause 10.3.3 above the Customer shall provide the Carrier with all such information regarding the Consignment as the Carrier shall need to assess any suggested new limit and charge;
4. The liability of the Carrier in respect of claims for any other loss whatsoever (including indirect, economic or consequential loss or damage and loss of market), and howsoever arising in connection with the Consignment, shall not exceed the amount of the carriage charges in respect of the Consignment or the amount of the claimant’s proved loss, whichever is the lesser, unless;
i. at the time of entering into the Contract with the Carrier the Customer declares to the Carrier a special interest in delivery in the event of physical loss mis-delivery or damage or of an agreed time limit being exceeded and agrees to pay a surcharge calculated on the amount of that interest, and
ii. at least 7 days prior to the commencement of transit the Customer has delivered to the Carrier written confirmation of the special interest, agreed time limit and amount of the interest.
iii. Nothing in these Conditions shall make the Carrier responsible for the first £50 Sterling of each and every claim.
iv. In no circumstances shall the Carrier’s liability be greater than the value declared by the Customer for that Consignment or £5,000 whichever is the lesser, but in the case of computer equipment, peripherals, software, mobile telephones and accessories, or other audio - visual equipment, the Carrier’s liability shall not be greater than £1,000 per Consignment.
11. Indemnity to the Carrier
The Customer shall indemnify the Carrier against:
1. all liabilities and costs incurred by the Carrier (including but not limited to claims, demands, proceedings, fines, penalties, damages, expenses and loss of or damage to the carrying vehicle and to other goods carried) by reason of any error, omission, mis-statement or misrepresentation by the Customer or other owner of the Consignment or by any servant or agent of either of them, insufficient or improper packing, labelling or addressing of the Consignment or fraud as in Condition ;
2. all claims and demands whatsoever (including for the avoidance of doubt claims alleging negligence), by whomsoever made and howsoever arising (including but not limited to claims caused by or arising out of the carriage of Dangerous Goods and claims made upon the Carrier by HM Customs and Excise in respect of dutiable goods consigned in bond) in excess of the liability of the Carrier under these Conditions in respect of any loss or damage whatsoever to, or in connection with, the Consignment whether or not caused or contributed to directly or indirectly by any act, omission, neglect, default or other wrongdoing on the part of the Carrier, its servants, agents or sub-contractors.
12. Time Limits for Claims
1. The Carrier shall not be liable for:
1.1. damage to the whole or any part of the Consignment, or physical loss, mis-delivery or non-delivery of part of the Consignment unless advised to the driver at the time of delivery thereof and in writing within three days, and the claim is made in writing within seven days, after the termination of transit,
1.2. any other loss unless advised thereof in writing within twenty-eight days, and the claim is made in writing within forty-two days, after the commencement of transit. Provided that if the Customer proves that,
1.2.1. it was not reasonably possible for the Customer to advise the Carrier or make a claim in writing within the time limit applicable, and
1.2.2. such advice or claim was given or made within a reasonable time, the Carrier shall not have the benefit of the exclusion of liability afforded by this Condition.
2. The Carrier shall in any event be discharged from all liability whatsoever and howsoever arising in respect of the Consignment unless suit is brought within six months of the date when transit commenced.
3. In the computation of time where any period provided by these Conditions is seven days or less, Saturdays, Sundays and all statutory public holidays shall be excluded.
13. Lien
1. The Carrier shall have a general lien against the Customer, where the Customer is the owner of the Consignment, for any monies whatever due from the Customer to the Carrier. If such a lien is not satisfied within a reasonable time, the Carrier may, at its absolute discretion sell the Consignment, or part thereof, as agent for the Customer and apply the proceeds towards the monies due and the expenses of the retention, insurance and sale of the Consignment and shall, upon accounting to the Customer for any balance remaining, be discharged from all liability whatever in respect of the Consignment.
2. Where the Customer is not the owner of the Consignment, the Carrier shall have a particular lien, against the said owner, allowing the Carrier to retain possession, but not to dispose of, the Consignment against monies due from the Customer in respect of the Consignment.
14. Unreasonable Detention
The Customer shall be liable to pay demurrage for unreasonable detention of any vehicle, trailer, container or other equipment but the rights of the carrier against any other person in respect thereof shall remain unaffected.
15. Law and Jurisdiction
The Contract shall be governed by English law and United Kingdom courts alone shall have jurisdiction in any dispute between the Carrier and the Customer