Terms of Business

TERMS OF BUSINESS
Edition 14
THESE TERMS OF BUSINESS APPLY TO ALL CONTRACTS FOR WORK AND FACILITIES OR GOODS UNDERTAKEN BY US ON OR AFTER 10 APRIL 2007
Published by the British Marine Federation and approved by the RYA, who recommend that disputes are submitted to alternative
dispute resolution under the Marine Dispute Resolution Rules published by the British Marine Federation.
©BMF 2007

1 LIABILITY
1.1 We shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused by events or circumstances beyond our
reasonable control (such as severe weather conditions, the actions of third parties not employed
by us or any defect in a customer’s or third party’s property); this extends to loss or damage to
vessels, gear, equipment or other property left with us for work or storage, and harm to persons
entering our premises or using any of our facilities or equipment.
1.2 We shall take reasonable and proportionate steps having regard to the nature and scale of our
business to maintain security at our premises, and to maintain our facilities and equipment in
reasonably good working order; but in the absence of any negligence or other breach of duty by
us vessels and other property are left with us at the customer’s own risk and customers should
ensure that their own personal and property insurance adequately covers such risks.
1.3 We shall not be under any duty to salvage or preserve a customer’s vessel or other property from
the consequences of any defect in the vessel or property concerned unless we have been
expressly engaged to do so by the customer on commercial terms. Similarly we shall not be under
any duty to salvage or preserve a customer’s vessel or other property from the consequences of
an accident which has not been caused by our negligence or some other breach of duty on our
part. However we reserve the right to do so in any appropriate circumstances, particularly where
a risk is posed to the safety of people, property or the environment. Where we do so we shall
be entitled to charge the customer concerned on a normal commercial basis.
1.4 Customers may themselves be liable for any loss or damage caused by them, their crew or their
vessels and while their vessel or other property is on our premises or is being worked on by us
they shall be obliged to maintain adequate insurance, including third party liability cover for not
less than £2,000,000, and, where appropriate, Employers’ Liability cover in respect of any
employee. Customers shall be obliged to produce evidence of such insurance to us within 7 days
of a request to do so.

2 PRICES AND ESTIMATES
2.1 In the absence of express agreement to the contrary our price for work shall be based on labour
and materials expended and services provided.
2.2 We will exercise reasonable skill and judgement when we give an estimate or indication of price.
However such estimates are always subject to the accuracy of information provided by the
customer and are usually based only on a superficial examination and will not include the cost
of any emergent work which may be necessary to the vessel, gear or equipment nor the cost of
any extensions to the work comprised in the estimate.
2.3 We will inform the customer promptly of any proposed increase in estimated prices and the
reasons for it and will only proceed with the work or supply with the approval of the customer.
The customer shall remain responsible for the cost of labour and materials already supplied or
remaining to be supplied which are not affected by the proposed increase in price.

3 DELAYS
3.1 Any time given for completion of our work is given in good faith but is not guaranteed. We shall
not be responsible for any delay in completion of the work or for the consequences of any such
delay unless it arises from our wilful acts or omissions or from our negligence.

4 VESSEL MOVEMENTS
4.1 We reserve the right to move any vessel, gear, equipment or other property at any time for
reasons of safety, security or good management of our business and premises.

5 PAYMENT
5.1 Unless otherwise agreed between us payment for all work, goods and services shall be due
immediately on invoice date. Payment shall be deemed to have been made when we receive cash
or cleared funds at our bank.
5.2 We have the right to charge interest on any sum outstanding for more than 30 days (except in
the case of a reasonable and proportionate retention by the customer of any amount genuinely
in dispute between us and the customer) on the outstanding balance at 4% above Bank of
England base rate which may be calculated daily up to the date of actual payment. In the case
of business customers this rate will be substituted with the current rate applicable under late
payment legislation.
5.3 We reserve a general right (“a general lien”) to detain and hold onto a customer’s vessel or other
property pending payment by the customer of all sums due to us. We shall be entitled to charge
the customer for storage and the provision of any ongoing services at our normal daily rates until
payment (or provision of security) by the customer and removal of the vessel or property from
our premises. The customer shall be entitled to remove the vessel or other property upon
providing proper security, for example a letter of guarantee from a Bank reasonably acceptable
to us or lodgement of a cash deposit with a professional third party agent, sufficient to cover the
debt with interest and, where the debt is contested, a reasonable provision for our prospective
legal costs. This right does not affect the customer’s entitlement to withhold a proportionate part
of the price in respect of alleged defects but where that amount is in dispute between us the
customer shall be required to provide security for the full amount pending resolution of the
dispute.
5.4 Our customers’ attention is drawn also to the note at Clause 10.2 of these Terms of Business
regarding other rights which exist at law.

6 RETENTION OF TITLE / RISK
6.1 Title to all goods, equipment and materials supplied by us to a customer shall remain with us
until full payment has been received by us.
6.2 Risk in all goods, equipment and materials supplied by us to a customer shall pass to the
customer at the time of supply to the customer.

7 GUARANTEE
7.1 Advice on whether a customer is “a consumer” or otherwise protected by some or all of the
consumer protection legislation in force in the United Kingdom may be obtained from any local
Trading Standards Office, the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Office of Fair Trading or any firm of
Solicitors (who may charge). Online guidance may be obtained at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk
7.2 A customer who is a consumer has certain minimum statutory rights regarding the return of
defective goods and claims for losses. These rights are not affected by these terms.
7.3 In addition to the statutory rights provided by English law we guarantee our work for a period
of 12 months from completion against all defects which are due to poor workmanship or
defective materials supplied by us. This guarantee applies only to the customer to whom the
work or materials were supplied. We shall be liable under this guarantee only for defects which
appear during this 12 month period and which are promptly notified to us in writing at our
trading address or registered office set out on our letterhead. The geographical area within which
this guarantee will be honoured is restricted to the United Kingdom.
7.4 On notification by the customer of such defects, we will investigate the cause and if they are our
responsibility under the terms of this guarantee we will promptly remedy them or, at our option,
employ other contractors to do so. Any remedial work which is put in hand by the customer
directly without first notifying us and allowing us a reasonable opportunity to inspect and agree
such work and its cost will invalidate this guarantee in respect of those defects.
7.5 Where we supply goods or services to a partnership or company or to a customer who is acting
in the course of a business or a commercial operation (a “Business Customer”) then:
7.5.1 No article supplied by us to a Business Customer shall carry any express or implied term as to its
quality or its fitness for any particular purpose unless prior to the supply the Business Customer
has sufficiently explained the purpose for which it is required and made it clear that he is relying
on our skill and judgement.
7.5.2 No proprietary article specified by name, size or type by a Business Customer shall carry any such
express or implied term but we will assign to the Business Customer any rights we may have
against the manufacturer or importer of that article.
7.5.3 We accept no liability to indemnify a Business Customer against any loss of profit or turnover
which he or his customer or any other person may sustain in consequence of the failure of any
faulty or unfit article supplied by us.

8 QUALITY STANDARDS
8.1 We will complete our work to the agreed specification and, in the absence of any other
contractual term as to quality, to a satisfactory quality.

9 ACCESS TO PREMISES/WORK ON THE VESSEL
9.1 No work or services shall be carried out on a vessel, gear, equipment or other property on our
premises without our prior written consent except for minor running repairs or minor
maintenance of a routine nature by the customer or his regular crew. It shall be an absolute
condition that all work is carried out in full compliance with our Health and Safety, environmental
and access policies and that it does not cause any nuisance or annoyance to us, any other
customer or person residing in the vicinity, and does not interfere with our schedule of work or
the good management of our business. We shall not be responsible to customers or third parties
for the consequences of any person’s failure to respect any part of this condition but we shall be
entitled to demand the immediate cessation of any work which in our view breaks these
requirements.
9.2 While we or our subcontractors are working on a customer’s vessel or equipment the customer
shall not have access to it except by prior arrangement. We will agree reasonable access when
it is safe to do so and when it will not interrupt or interfere with our work schedule.

10 RIGHT OF SALE
10.1 We accept vessels, gear, equipment and other property for repair, refit, maintenance or storage
subject to the provisions of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. This Act confers a
Right of Sale on us in circumstances where the customer fails to collect or accept re-delivery of
the goods (which includes a vessel and any other property). A sale will not take place until we
have given notice to the customer in accordance with the Act. For the purpose of the Act it is
recorded that:
10.1.1 Goods for repair or other treatment are accepted by us on the basis that the customer is the
owner of the goods or the owner’s authorised agent and that he will take delivery or arrange
collection when the repair or treatment has been carried out;
10.1.2 Our obligation as custodian of goods accepted for storage ends when we give notice to the
customer;
10.1.3 The place for delivery and collection of goods shall normally be at our premises.
Advice regarding the Act and its effect may be obtained from any of the sources referred to at
Clause 7.1 above.
10.2 Maritime Law entitles us in certain circumstances to bring action against a vessel to recover a
debt or damages. Such action may involve the arrest of the vessel through the Courts and its
eventual sale by the Court. This right of arrest and sale may continue to exist against a vessel
after a change of ownership. Sale of a vessel or other property may also occur through the
enforcement of a court order or judgement.

11 SUBCONTRACTING
11.1 We may subcontract all or part of the work entrusted to us by the customer, on terms that any
such subcontractor shall have the protection and benefit of all rights and conditions, and of all
limitations and exclusions of liability, which exist for us under these Terms of Business. Where
we exercise this right we shall remain responsible to the customer for the performance of our
subcontractor.

12 NOTICES
12.1 Notice to a customer shall be sufficiently served if personally given to him or if sent by first class
post to the customer’s last known address. Notices to us should be sent by first class post to our
principal trading address or registered office.

13 LAW AND JURISDICTION
13.1 Any contract or series of contracts made subject to these terms shall be subject to and governed
by English law and
13.2 In the case of Business Customers any dispute arising under them shall be submitted to the
exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
13.3 In the case of customers who are consumers or who are not contracting in the course of business
any dispute shall be submitted to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and
Wales.

14 DISPUTE RESOLUTION
14.1 The BMF and the RYA recommend that disputes arising under a contract which is subject to these
terms shall, when they cannot be resolved by negotiation, with the written agreement of the
parties be submitted to mediation or failing that to arbitration under the BMF’s Dispute
Resolution Scheme, which is approved by the RYA.
14.2 Details of the mediation scheme operated by the BMF are available at
www.britishmarine.co.uk/mediation.
14.3 Matters suitable for arbitration shall be submitted to a single Arbitrator in accordance with the
BMF’s Dispute Resolution Scheme. The provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 shall apply.

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Send mail to M&P Steelcraft ltd with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2006 M&P Steelcraft Ltd. Last modified: July 06, 2009

Send mail to M&P Steelcraft ltd with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2006 M&P Steelcraft Ltd.
Last modified: July 06, 2009