Terms and Conditions of Sale

General

These terms and conditions cover products and services provided by PaperMountains as described in the applicable quotation. Additional terms of service are applicable for hardware maintenance and document storage contracts.

Quotations are valid for 30 days from the date of issue, unless earlier revoked. Prices exclude VAT, Carriage and Expenses unless otherwise stated.

Goods purchased remain the property of PaperMountains until paid for in full.

Where prices are for a solution sale which includes incentives and or discounts, prices are not necessarily valid for items when purchased separately.

Acknowledgment and acceptance of these terms and conditions is made by the client placing an order at which time the client will be bound by these terms and conditions. Each proposal accepted shall constitute an individual legally binding contract between the client and PaperMountains. No addition, alteration, substitution or waiver of these terms and conditions will be valid unless expressly accepted in writing by PaperMountains or a person authorised to sign on behalf of PaperMountains.

Nothing in these terms and conditions shall prejudice any condition or warranty expressed or implied, or any legal remedy to which we may be entitled in relation to the goods or services.

Payment

PaperMountains will raise invoices at appropriate intervals or as specified in the proposal and will be payable thirty days from invoice date subject to a credit account being approved. In the event that a credit account is not approved, terms will be payment with order unless agreed as otherwise in writing.

The client may pay for goods or services using bank transfer to the account identified on the invoice, by bank transfer or credit card (processing charges may apply) or by direct debit.

Failure of the client to meet their obligations under the contract, including the prompt payment of invoices may lead to the temporary suspension of services until the client rectifies the breach. In such a case PaperMountains reserves the right to continue to charge for all goods and services included in the contract during the suspension period.

The Client will be liable for all costs incurred by PaperMountains in recovery due to the Customer’s breach of the agreed repayment terms or this agreement, to include fees for a Letter Before Action £30.00, Debt Collection Agents fees @ 20% of the amount overdue, Interest at 8% above the Bank of England’s Base rate and Late Payment Compensation per Invoice in accordance with current regulations.

Incentives

PaperMountains may offer financial incentives as part of the proposal, these may include but are not limited to: discount given when the client pays by a certain method, discount given when the client pays by a certain date and or additional goods and services without charge when certain volumes are reached. These incentives are generally reliant on certain conditions being met and PaperMountains reserves the right to nullify these incentives if these conditions are not met before or during the contract period.

Change Requests

The client can request changes to the specification, processes and nature of the documents being processed at any time. PaperMountains will amend its charges accordingly and be entitled to charge for work already carried out prior to the change request as well as any additional work resulting from the change request. Variations from the agreed specification will be treated as a change request. PaperMountains will inform the client of variations from the agreed specification as they are discovered.

All cancellations and amendments must be confirmed to us in writing at least 48 hours prior to the collection/ delivery of the goods or service; you will receive a written acknowledgement of our acceptance to the change.

We reserve the right to charge in full for goods and services where 48hrs notice to cancel is not provided in writing or where the goods or service is of a bespoke nature and the cancellation does not allow us to re-book the slot or re-sell the goods.

Estimations and Illustrations

Where estimations and illustrations are used for calculating the proposal, the actual figures may vary. Costs based on such estimations will be adjusted pro rata to reflect the actual figures and do not imply a fixed price.

Processing Cost Cap

Where a processing cost cap has been agreed PaperMountains will monitor the project and stop processing at a logical point in the documents within 5% either plus or minus of this figure and seek instruction from the client.

Storage & Scanning Boxes Where boxes arrive at the processing centre damaged beyond repair or are unable to maintain their structural integrity through overloading and consequently present a health and safety hazard to the processing centre staff or risk of damage to the documents they contain: PaperMountains will repackage them in suitable storage boxes at the cost of the client.

Relocation

The client must notify PaperMountains if relocating any of the equipment supplied including confidential collection consoles as soon as possible so that we can plan the servicing of the units and not interrupt the service.

Significant changes in location may constitute a change request.

Access for Collections, Deliveries & Servicing

Collections, deliveries and servicing will take place during regular office hours (09:00 - 17:00 Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays) unless special arrangements have been made.

It is the client’s responsibility to ensure that PaperMountains is granted any necessary access in a timely manner. In the event that timely access is not granted and a service cannot be performed as a result this will not be considered a failure of PaperMountains to discharge its obligations. PaperMountains also reserves the right to charge if an additional visit is required as a result at the current applicable rate.

In the event that PaperMountains incurs any parking charges, fines, or penalties as a result of necessary visits to the Client’s premises or locations related to the performance of this Agreement, PaperMountains shall have the right to pass on the full amount of such charges or fines to the Client. The Client agrees to reimburse PaperMountains for all such costs within thirty (30) days of receipt of a detailed invoice from PaperMountains evidencing the incurred charges. Any failure by the Client to make such payment within the stipulated time shall constitute a breach of this Agreement.

In person collections & deliveries from any PaperMountains site must be by a prior arranged appointment only and will be subject to security checks. PaperMountains reserves the right to reject any collections or deliveries attempted without an appointment or the correct credentials.

PaperMountains will make every endeavor to service requests in a timely manner however cannot be held liable to any loss or costs associated with time delays.

Additional Charges for Contaminated Materials

In the event that materials collected from the Client are found to be contaminated with items or materials not specified in the original quotation, PaperMountains reserves the right to impose additional charges. These charges will cover all costs associated with the handling, processing, and decontamination of such contaminated materials, including but not limited to the labour, materials, and equipment necessary for the safe and compliant removal and treatment of the contamination.

Repair of Equipment
Should any equipment sustain damage as a direct result of the handling or processing of contaminated materials, the Client shall be liable for the costs of repair or replacement of such equipment. PaperMountains will provide a detailed account of the costs incurred for any repairs, and payment by the Client shall be due upon receipt of the invoice.

Indemnification
The Client shall indemnify and hold harmless PaperMountains from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses arising out of or resulting from the handling and processing of those contaminated materials.

Physical Paper Storage

Boxes of paper in long term storage will be held for the duration of the contract period.

Retrievals and access are subject to the schedule of charges as per our pricelist at the time of retrieval. Permanent withdrawal will be charged as per a retrieval.

Equipment

Unless otherwise stated in the proposal all consoles, bins, bags and other equipment provided to enable the execution of this contract remain the property of PaperMountains and will be returned at the end of the contract. PaperMountains reserve the right to charge the client for the value of the equipment in the event of loss, non-return or damage in excess of reasonable wear and tear.

PaperMountains will supply all equipment such as bins, trolleys, cages etc. in good working order, the client will use and house them in accordance with the manufacturers operating instructions and obey any weight limits, instructions and warnings placed on them. In the event of any defect the client will notify PaperMountains immediately so that it may be repaired or replaced.

Force Majeure

PaperMountains shall not be liable for delay or failure to perform any of our obligations under this order if the delay or failure is caused by any circumstances beyond our reasonable control. For the purposes of this condition, “force majeure” shall include, but not be limited to acts of God, war, terrorism, civil disorder, industrial dispute, interruption to utility services or fuel supplies, flood, fire or explosions. Upon the happening of a “force majeure” event we shall be entitled to a reasonable extension of time for the performance of our obligations.

Documents

The client will ensure that they hold the title to scan or the copyright of any documents sent to PaperMountains for processing or uploaded into the Online Archive or other systems. The client will ensure that all documents processed by PaperMountains or held on the online archive are legal and comply with all relevant legislation, including data protection legislation. The client will indemnify PaperMountains against any action taken against PaperMountains in respect to the client’s use of the systems or services anywhere in the world.

PaperMountains Online Archive

Documents will be held in the online archive for the duration of the contract period.

The PaperMountains online archive is accessible from any computer with a suitable web browser. Performance differences may be noticeable when using certain browser configurations and internet connections. Where every effort is made to enable the archive to work with as wide a range of web browsers as possible, support for certain browsers may be withdrawn as the underlying technology becomes obsolete and the user may be required to upgrade their browser to bring versions in line with the recommended supported configuration.

Security Retention Periods

Where documents are being scanned and securely destroyed PaperMountains will retain the original paperwork, electronic images and data to enable the client to verify the job is completed satisfactorily and raise questions.

Original documents, scanned images and data will be kept for three months from the date the completed job is delivered to the client.

Upon termination of the online archive contract a security retention period for all client data held within the online archive will be set for three months from the date of termination in which the client may reinstate the contract or arrange with PaperMountains for the export of images and data at the current applicable cost.

Satisfaction sign off will be sought at the end of the security retention period after which point all original paper, and electronic images and data will be destroyed. In the event that sign off can’t be obtained PaperMountains will deem it received thirty days after the end of the security retention period. Should there be any issues raised before sign off the retention time will be extended as appropriate to affect a resolution.

Where PaperMountains delivers the scanned images and data electronically into the clients own systems or on dvd, cd, ftp or other media it is the client’s responsibility to verify the integrity of the data and ensure that adequate backups are taken and suitably managed as copies cannot be obtained from PaperMountains after the security retention date.

When PaperMountains delivers images and data via the Online Archive, the client may request a security copy for their own safe keeping.

Contract Periods

The minimum contract period for reoccurring services such as Archiving, Respite Storage, Confidential Destruction Consoles and On-Line Archive is twelve months.

PaperMountains reserve the right to terminate the contract for any or no reason at any time.

Where services are purchased on a contract basis, early termination requires the payment in full of any monies outstanding until the end of the contract period.

The contract charges for subsequent terms shall be the current charges in effect at the start of the new contract period. The contract will automatically renew for a period of twelve months on the expiry of the contract unless notice of cancellation is given in writing to contracts@papermountains.com no later than ninety days prior to the expiry date. The charges for subsequent contract periods shall be the current charges in effect at the start of the new contract period.

Upon Renewal, the contract will be bound by the current terms and conditions in force at that time, which can be found at www.papermountains.com/terms renewal deems acceptance of these amended terms.

Exclusions

We do not exclude liability for death or personal injury, however we shall not be liable for any direct loss or damage suffered by you howsoever caused, as a result of any negligence, breach of contract, misrepresentation or otherwise.

We shall not under any circumstances be liable for any indirect or consequential loss howsoever caused whether by negligence, breach of contract, misrepresentation or otherwise. We or our insurers shall not be liable or investigate any claim for loss unless you have given written notice to us within 21 Days of its occurrence and given us or our insurers every facility to investigate such occurrence.

Complaints

We aim to provide a high level of service. If you do have an enquiry or complaint regarding the goods or services provided please address them to customer.service@papermountains.com

Jurisdiction

If any part of these terms and conditions are found to be unlawful it shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining clauses. These terms and conditions shall be construed in accordance with the laws of England and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.