Please Read Carefully

The following Terms and Conditions of Service apply to all products and services provided by STORM (Scotland) Limited.

All work is carried out by STORM (Scotland) Limited on the understanding that the client has agreed to STORM's terms and conditions.

Copyright is retained by STORM (Scotland) Limited on all design work including words, pictures, ideas, visuals, illustrations, web pages and all code within unless specifically released in writing and after all costs have been settled.

If a choice of design is presented, only one solution is deemed to be given by STORM (Scotland) Limited as fulfilling the contract. All other designs remain the property of STORM (Scotland) Limited, unless agreed in writing that this arrangement has been changed.

At the time of proposal, STORM (Scotland) Limited will provide the customer with an electronic estimate or quotation via email. The client is required to email info@stormwebsitedesign.com to confirm they accept the quotation, no work on a project will commence until this email or written acceptance has been received by STORM (Scotland) Limited. If however we receive a verbal agreement to proceed, this is then considered agreement to pay for any work undertaken.

Charges for design services to be provided by STORM (Scotland) Limited, will be set out in the written estimate or quotation that is provided to the customer. At the time of the customer's signed / email acceptance of this estimate or quotation, indicating acceptance of the Terms & Conditions, a non-refundable deposit may be required. Work on the project will not commence until STORM (Scotland) Limited has received this amount unless otherwise agreed.

Monthly invoices

Invoices will be sent out monthly for all work carried out within that month. A website live date does not determine when invoices will be issued. Invoices will be deducted from the total cost provided within the quotation, unless it is deemed that there has been extra work required out-with the original scope of work.

Hosting invoices / Services

Hosting invoices are sent out at the beginning of all web based projects. We need to configure the servers as per the specific requirements of the project. The servers are also used to allow ongoing testing of all web components, and ensure the website is fully tested before live activation. Installation of any website specific features required within the build must also be configured at the beginning of the project. Hosting is invoiced in advance for the following 12 months period (1 year), and will be sent out in advance of this period. Should you wish to change the hosting requirements, we require an 4 week advanced notice, otherwise full payment of all hosting and associated services will be required.

Please note, as website systems have evolved, we normally provide a quote for various levels of website hosting. Some clients opt for very basic hosting, at the lowest cost available, others opt for our GOLD hosting, which also includes ongoing scripting updates to websites. All CMS / Blog sites require ongoing script updates, as and when they are released. Think of these in similar terms to Windows XP / Vista and Windows 7. Just as PC Systems need to be updated, modern website systems are the same, this ensures the sites are up to date with the latest patches and security. These script updates only cover the version the site was originally built within, for example Joomla 1.5 has around 26 updates - 1.5.26 and Gold Hosting clients receive script updates as part of the hosting service. This does not include a full migration service, therefore clients using Joomla 1.0 would need a site rebuild to enable them to use 1.5. After a certain period of time a complete new version may become available, and we would need to assess the requirements at the time of asking. Support for older versions such as Joomla 1.0 was not supported from 2009 onwards, this is something we or any other web design company have any control over. Clients not opting for Gold Hosting do not automatically get script updates, however can request this service at additional cost. Full migration too new stable versions can be quoted on request, as many items in older versions may not be supported or fully stable in the new versions. You may discuss any elements with us at any time, via email or telephone.

Deposit invoices

Our deposit invoices are normally 35% of an agreed quotation total. Our quotation asks all clients to agree to these terms and conditions when accepting a quotation or paying a deposit. The deposit also covers setting up the development server before work begins on the website, and we will host this service for a maximum of 12 months from the deposit payment being taken. We will fully refund any deposits if there are unforeseen circumstances within the first 3 months following payment. If you require a deposit return after 6 months, then we will need a full written reason for this, which may result in a partial deposit. We only offer a full deposit in the first 6 months if the reason the work did not begin was our (Storm Scotland Ltd) fault. After 12 months if the work has not begun since the deposit was paid, because of you (the client), then no deposit can be returned.

In time-frames that allow for a deposit refund, due to cashflow it may not be an immediate return, and would inform you of a monthly pay back schedule if required.

Domain names

All domain names are registered by STORM in the name of the client, we also renew domain names automatically (usually every 2 years) on behalf of the client to ensure there is no loss of service. Should you wish to cancel a domain name, then you must inform us before the renewal date. Otherwise payment in full will be required, whether the domain is being used or not.

You can check renewal dates using the following websites:

.co.uk domains

http://www.nominet.org.uk/other/whois/

.com domains

http://whois.domaintools.com/

Please note, renewal may be required up to 2 months before the actual renewal date, this is becuase domains that are automatically renewed, are often renewed up to 2 months in advance to avoid any disruption to service.

Should you wish to cancel a domain, then please advise within 24 hours of the invoice. This will enable us to cancel the domain before we pay for it on your behalf.

Domain pricing can change year on year, we have no control over this but always try to keep our margins lower than our competition.

Database Hosting

We retain full ownership of all hosted databases, these may not be transferred to another provider as we will not allow our code and techniques to be used by third parties. Many databases are hard coded to our servers and will not be operational on other servers.

Charges for any additional services over and above the estimated design, will become fully payable (100% of the quoted amount) at the time of estimate or quotation acceptance.

Late Payments - Late Payment Legislation In November 1998, the UK Government introduced legislation to give businesses a statutory right to claim interest from other businesses for the late payment of commercial debt.

The UK was one of the first countries in the EU to introduce late payment legislation to help promote a culture of prompt payment.

A full guide from the DTI can be viewed here http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file37581.pdf

STORM reserves the right to charge interest on all accounts which remain outstanding for 30 days after the date of invoice.

Should payment be later than 45 days from the invoice date STORM reserve the right to take any services or websites offline until full payment is received.

The formula used by the interest calculator is as follows:

Debt times the interest rate times the number of days late divided by 365

The daily rate is calculated as follows:

Debt times the interest rate divided by 365

Example

If the base rate is 4% for the six-month period when the debt became late, then the statutory interest rate is 12% (4% base rate plus 8%)

Debt is £851.06 plus £148.94 VAT = total £1,000

If this debt is 30 days late, then the interest owed is:

£ 1,000 x 12% = £120 (the annual rate)

£ 120 ÷ 365 = 32.9p (the daily rate)

32.9 pence x 30 days = £9.86 (the interest owed to date)

Total invoice value:

Returned cheques will incur an additional fee of £50 per returned cheque. STORM (Scotland) Limited reserves the right to consider an account to be in default in the event of a returned cheque.

An account shall be considered default if it remains unpaid for 30 days from the date of invoice, or following a returned cheque. STORM (Scotland) Limited shall be considered entitled to remove STORM (Scotland) Limited and/or the customer's material from any and all computer systems, until the amount due has been fully paid.

This includes any and all unpaid monies due for services, including, but not limited to, hosting, domain registration, search engine submission, design and maintenance, sub-contractors, printers, photographers and libraries.

Removal of such materials does not relieve the customer of it's obligation to pay the due amount. Customers whose accounts become default agree to pay STORM (Scotland) Limited reasonable legal expenses and third party collection agency fees in the enforcement of these Terms and Conditions.

Copyrights and Trademarks

By supplying text, images and other data to STORM (Scotland) Limited for inclusion in the customer's website or other medium, the customer declares that it holds the appropriate copyright and/or trademark permissions.

The ownership of such materials will remain with the customer, or rightful copyright or trademark owner. Any artwork, images, text or files including web files supplied and/or designed by STORM (Scotland) Limited on behalf of the customer, will remain the property of STORM (Scotland) Limited and/or it's suppliers.

The customer may request in writing from STORM (Scotland) Limited, the necessary permission to use materials (for which STORM (Scotland) Limited holds the copyright) in forms other than for which it was originally supplied, and STORM (Scotland) Limited may, at it's discretion, grant this.

Such permission must be obtained in writing before it will allow any of the aforesaid artwork, images, text, or other data to be used. By supplying images, text, or any other data to STORM (Scotland) Limited, the customer grants STORM (Scotland) Limited permission to use this material freely in the pursuit of the design. Should STORM (Scotland) Limited, or the customer supply an image, text, audio clip or any other file for use in a website, multimedia presentation, print item, exhibition, advertisement or any other medium believing it to be copyright and royalty free, which subsequently emerges to have such copyright or royalty usage limitations, the customer will agree to allow STORM (Scotland) Limited to remove and/or replace the file on the site.

The customer agrees to fully indemnify and hold STORM (Scotland) Limited free from harm in any and all claims resulting from the customer in not having obtained all the required copyright, and/or any other necessary permissions.

The customer agrees that changes required over and above the estimated work or required to be carried out after acceptance of the draft design will be liable to a separate charge. The customer also agrees that STORM (Scotland) Limited holds no responsibility for any amendments made by any third party, before or after a design is published.

Should a new law be passed that action is required on the website / or any services, then it is up to you the client to inform us of any requirements, and we will provide a quotation to carry out the work.

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