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Terms and conditions for Bell ICT Telephony Services Contract
1. Introduction
These terms and conditions (“Conditions”) govern the basis we, Bell ICT Ltd(Company Number 07300437) whose registered address is at 956 Eastern Avenue, Newbury Park, Ilford, Essex IG4 5ND
(BELL ICT) will provide to you the customer as specified on the attached Order (“Customer”, “You”, “Your”). Reference to a “Condition” is to a term set out in these conditions.
2. Definitions
“Agreement”means these Conditions together with the attached order (the “Order”) “Charges” the charges to be paid by You to BELL ICT for the purchase and installation of Purchased Equipment, installation of Leased Equipment, Maintenance Services, and/or Network Services (as relevant to Your Order), but excluding any amounts detailed on Your Order which are payable to a Lessor (as defined in clause 4.1). These charges may comprise a fixed periodic element (“Periodic Fee”) Together with non-recurring charges based
on usage (“Additional Charges”). “Documentation” any specifications, technical manuals, user instructions and other literature relating to Equipment and supplied to You. “Equipment” means the Purchased Equipment and the Leased
Equipment as applicable. “IP right” means any copyright, patent, registered design, trademark or other intellectual property right (or applications therefore) of whatever nature subsisting anywhere in the world. “Leased Equipment”
means telecommunications hardware to be leased from a third party by You as set out in the Order. “Network Services” means telecommunication network services and/or information communication technologies provided or procured
by BELL ICT including without limitation, VOIP services, national, international, local telecommunication network services, line rental, broadband data services and non-geographical numbers, and other services set out in the Order or as notified by BELL ICT in writing from time to time, to be provided upon the terms of these conditions. “Maintenance Services” means the maintenance of the Equipment as set out in the Order “Purchased Equipment” means telecommunications hardware to be purchased from BELL ICT by You as set out in the Order. “Services” the Maintenance Services and/or the Network Services,
as the context requires. “Site” Customer’s premises as set out in the Order.“Small Business” a business comprising of 10 employees or less as otherwise determined by Ofcom from time to time. “Software” means any software included with the Equipment of provided by You to BELL ICT in connection with the Services. “Termination Fees” shall have the meaning set out in 7.12.3.
3. Conditions relating to Purchase of Equipment
3.1 The price of the Purchased Equipment shall be as set out in the Order. BELL ICT may Require that a deposit is paid prior to delivery. BELL ICT shall install the Equipment and You shall pay BELL ICT the balance of the price of the Purchased Equipment together with any Installation Charge (as set out in the Order) on or before such installation of the Purchased Equipment.
3.2 BELL ICT shall use reasonable endeavours to supply the Purchased Equipment on or before the agreed delivery date but shall not be liable for any loss or damage occurring as a direct or indirect result of any delay in delivery of the
Purchased Equipment.
3.3 You shall procure that the Site is in a proper condition for such installation and shall make available to BELL ICT free of charge all such light, heat, air, electric power and other things reasonably required for the installation of the Purchased
Equipment.
3.4 Risk in the Purchased Equipment shall pass to You on delivery. Title in the Purchased Equipment shall only pass to You upon payment in full of the price therefor and of all other sums whatever due from You under this Agreement.
Until title passes, You shall have possession of the Purchased Equipment as BELL ICT’s bailee and shall procure that the Purchased Equipment can be readily identified as BELL ICT’s property.
3.5 BELL ICT reserves the right to repossess any Purchased Equipment for which payment is overdue. For this purpose You hereby grant BELL ICT, and its employees and agents, the right to enter upon the site or any other of Your Premises with
or without vehicles during normal business hours, which right shall survive notwithstanding the termination or expiry of this Agreement for any reason and is without prejudice to any of BELL ICT’s accrued rights hereunder or otherwise.
3.6 During a period of seven days following installation BELL ICT will at its option
replace, repair or refund the price of any defective Purchased Equipment, after
which You will be deemed to have accepted the Purchased Equipment.
3.7 BELL ICT will use reasonable endeavours at Your expense, to pass to You the benefit of any warranty offered by the manufacturer and/or BELL ICT’s supplier of the Purchased Equipment.
3.8 BELL ICT shall not be liable in respect of:
3.8.1 Defects in the Purchased Equipment arising as a result of any modification or repair carried out by You;
3.8.2 Use of the Purchased Equipment other than in accordance with BELL ICT’s and/or the manufacturer’s operating instructions, or in any improper way; or
3.8.3 Any defect caused by Your, or any third party’s negligence or default.
3.9 Any software is provided expressly subject to the terms of its license, and you undertake to enter into, and to comply with all terms (including and prohibition on copying, modifying, decompiling, or disclosing of Software) of, any license required by the manufacturer/licensor of the software and to indemnify BELL ICT against any losses it may suffer if you breach this clause. BELL ICT makes no representation or warranty in relation to the software and in particular but not by limitation does not represent or warrant that the operation of the software will be uninterrupted or error free or that any specific requirement that you may have informed BELL ICT of will be met. You acknowledge that BELL ICT may not be success-fully diagnose or correct any faults or errors in the Software. No title in any Software shall pass to You under any circumstances.
4. Conditions relating to Leasing of Equipment
4.1 The terms of the agreement under which Leased Equipment is leased to You will be set out in a separate agreement between You and the third part lessor (“Lessor”), to which BELL ICT is not a party, nor is BELL ICT the agent of a party. The price for the lease of the Leased Equipment shall be set out in the Order but shall be payable to the Lessor.
4.2 where expressly agreed in writing BELL ICT shall install the Equipment and You shall pay to BELL ICT any Installation Charge set out in the Order on or before such installation of the Leased Equipment.
4.3 You shall ensure that the Site is in a proper condition for such installation and shall make available to BELL ICT free of charge all such light, heat, air, electric power and other necessaries as may be required for the installation and preparation of the Leased Equipment
5. Conditions relating to Network Services
5.1 All Network Services shall be supplied utilising the telephone lines, cabling, equipment and machinery of such third party telecommunication service provider “Service Provider” as BELL ICT may from time to time select.
5.2 You undertake that you shall not use the Network Services:
5.2.1 For the transmission of any material which is defamatory, offensive or abusive or of an obscene or menacing character;
5.2.2 In a manner which constitutes a violation or infringement of the rights of any person, firm or company (including but not limited to rights of copyright or confidentiality);
5.2.3 In any way which is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent effect; or
5.2.4 in any manner which shall contravene with the requirements from time to time of any Service Provider.
5.3 Additional Charges for Services will be calculated by sole reference to the data and records maintained by BELL ICT which shall be final in determining the amount payable by You, except only in the case of manifest error, and will be shown on a monthly statement issued by BELL ICT (“Account”). Any such allegation of manifest error must be notified in writing by You to BELL ICT within 30 days of the date of the applicable Account following which BELL ICT will investigate and inform You of whether BELL ICT accepts that there was a manifest error in which case are fund of erroneous Charges shall be made by way of credit against your next Account.
5.4 BELL ICT may add to any Account any installation charge levied by a Service Provider.
5.5 You shall pay the Charges shown in any Account within 7 days of the date of such Account. The customer will be liable for any Charges incurred as a result of unauthorised use of the Services whatsoever and howsoever and whether fraudulently, through misuse or otherwise.
5.6 Any unused free call allowance will not be carried forward to any subsequent Account unless otherwise agreed in writing and You will not be compensated in respect thereof.
5.7 BELL ICT makes no representation or warranty that the Network Services will be available at any particular time or continuously.
6. Conditions relating to Maintenance Services
6.1 BELL ICT’s obligation to perform Maintenance Services is subject to the condition that You:
6.1.1 Make available free of charge such computer and communication facilities, office facilities and services and suitable office space are reasonably requested;
6.1.2 Procure that Your employees or any contractors or other third parties at the Site co-operate fully with BELL ICT and its employees or agents;
6.1.3 Immediately notify BELL ICT of any faults affecting Equipment and promptly furnish BELL ICT with such information and documents as it requests;
6.1.4 Procure that BELL ICT is granted the right to use any IP Rights (including, if applicable, the right to modify software or other materials which are subject of IP Rights) which it requires in order to supply Maintenance Services;
6.1.5 Procure that adequate electrical power is supplied to the Equipment;
6.1.6 Store, operate and maintain the Equipment in accordance with any relevant user manual or other documentation and maintain appropriate air conditioning, humidity, and other environmental conditions at the Site;
6.1.7 Do not move, or make any addition, repair, modification or adjustment to, the Equipment without the prior written consent of BELL ICT.
6.2 The Periodic Fee for Maintenance Services does not include any maintenance which becomes necessary as a result of:
6.2.1 Damage by vandalism, fire, water or adverse weather conditions;
6.2.2 Movement or relocation of the Equipment not performed by or on behalf of BELL ICT;
6.2.3 Furnishing of the Equipment with accessories or attachments, painting or finishing the Equipment or removing accessories or attachments;
6.2.4 Any breach of Your obligations in this Agreement;
6.2.5 Changes, alterations, additions, modifications or variations to the Site;
or
6.2.6 Loss or corrupted data arising for any reason (other than BELL ICT’s negligence), and such services, and any additional services, shall be charged at BELL ICT’s standard rates.
6.3 You shall pay BELL ICT the Periodic Fee in respect of Maintenance Services in advance, the first payment due on or before installation of the Equipment, and you shall pay the Additional Charges in respect of Maintenance Services monthly in arrears in accordance with condition 5.3.
6.4 BELL ICT shall have the right to charge You at BELL ICT’s Standard rates for any and all work carried out or costs incurred where BELL ICT is requested to carry out any maintenance or repair which in BELL ICT’s reasonable opinion is unnecessary.
6.5 Any work which You require to be performed outside of 9am-5:30pm Monday-Friday will incur an additional charge at 50% of BELL ICT’s standard rates.
7. General Conditions
7.1 BELL ICT may, by written notice, cancel any Order for Equipment at any time prior to delivery and may cancel any Order for Services at any time prior to commencement of provision of those services. BELL ICT may cancel any order if the Order becomes impossible or impracticable to perform in whole or in part for any reason whatsoever beyond BELL ICT’s reasonable control.
7.2 This Agreement shall, unless varied overleaf in “agreement term”, continue for a minimum term of 84 months (the “Minimum Term”), following which the Agreement shall, in respect of Small Businesses continue until either party terminates by giving 90 days’ written notice, and in all other cases automatically renew for successive periods of 12 months (each a “Renewal Term”) until either party gives 30 days’ written notice of its intention not to renew the term.
7.3 All Charges (quoted in the Order or on standard rates) are exclusive of value added tax and you shall pay the Charges (including any Termination Fees) in full without deduction or set off.
7.4 On or after each anniversary of this Agreement, BELL ICT may increase the Charges by up to 10% upon giving written notice to You. Any reference to BELL ICT’s standard rates are to BELL ICT’s rates as published from time to time or available upon request; BELL ICT may increase these without notice. BELL ICT shall be entitled to vary the Charges where the variation arises due to changes imposed by third party manufacturers, third party suppliers or regulatory bodies, upon giving as much notice in writing as reasonably practicable. You shall be entitled to terminate the agreement by providing 30 days’ notice in writing, if the variation o the Charges (whether due to third party change or regulatory change, or whether by way of annual increase) would have increased your immediately previous quarterly total bill for that specific Network Services (if the increase(s) had applied for the whole of that quarter) by more than the greater of: (i) the Retail Price Index; or (ii) the Consumer Price Index annual inflation rate at the date BELL ICT notifies You of the applicable price increase; or (iii) 10%.
7.5 Payments to BELL ICT for all Equipment and/or Services shall be made by Direct Debit and all invoices must be settled within 30 days of the invoice date.
7.6 Neither party shall divulge any confidential information to any third party as required by law and except to such of its employees, contractors, suppliers and agents as may need to know the same for the purposes of the implementation and/or performance of this Agreement and in each case who agree to be bound by the provisions of this Condition 7.6.
7.7 BELL ICT reserves the right, without prejudice to any other right BELL ICT may have in respect of late payment, to charge You interest on any monies due under this Agreement (both before and after any judgement) on a daily basis from the date of invoice until payment in full is made at a rate of 4% above Barclays Bank Plc
base rate. Any reasonable debt collection costs incurred by BELL ICT shall also be payable by you.
7.8 Without prejudice to any right of termination BELL ICT shall be entitled to suspend the provision of Network Services during any period in which any of the circumstances specified in Condition 7.10 is in existence or in which:
7.8.1 there are any sums due to BELL ICT hereunder which have not been paid;
or
7.8.2 BELL ICT is prevented from accessing the Site; or
7.8.3 BELL ICT is required to suspend any Services by any competent authority or Service Provider. In all cases You shall remain liable for all charges during any period of Suspension of Services and will be liable for any re-connection charges that may apply
7.9 BELL ICT may terminate this Agreement, in whole or in respect of certain Services only, at any time upon giving twenty-eight (28) days’ written notice to You.
7.10 BELL ICT may terminate this Agreement by written notice if any of the following events occur:
7.10.1 You commit any breach of the Conditions of this Agreement, including failure to pay amounts due, and, if remediable, fail to remedy such breach within twenty-eight (28) days after receiving written notice requiring remedy;
7.10.2 You become insolvent, make an arrangement with Your creditors, enter into administration or liquidation, have a receiver or manager appointed over and of your assets or undertaking;
7.10.3 An event of force majeure as referred to in Condition 7.14 continues for a period of more than 3 months;
7.10.4 You are suspected in BELL ICT’s reasonable opinion, of involvement with fraud or attempted fraud in connection with the use of the Network Services;
7.10.5 Your use of the Network Services results in a breach (by You or BELL ICT) of the terms imposed by a Service Provider, or any Service Provider refuses to transmit telecommunications originating from You; or
7.10.6 You are in breach of any agreement for the rental of Equipment or any finance agreement in connection with the purchase of Equipment.
7.11 Subject to Condition 7.12, You may terminate this Agreement, in whole or in respect of certain Services only, at any time by giving 30 days written notice.
7.12 If this Agreement is terminated under Condition 7.10 or 7.11 (in whole or in part), You will (without prejudice to any claim for damages by BELL ICT for breach of this agreement) pay to BELL ICT:
7.12.1 All sums which have fallen due to BELL ICT up to and including the date of termination; and
7.12.2 All costs and expenses incurred by BELL ICT in collecting or attempting to collect from You the Equipment; and
7.12.3 All of the charges that would have been payable by You to BELL ICT in respect of the period from the date of termination to the date of expiry of the Minimum Term or the current Renewal Term, as applicable, had the Agreement not been terminated (on the assumption that the usage of Network Services would have continued at the average level in the twelve (12) months prior to the termination and on the assumption that the charges would not have been increased for the remainder of the minimum term or Renewal Term as applicable) (“Termination Fees”); and
7.12.4 Any “Porting Away Charges” that are incurred by BELL ICT from any Network or Service Provider in respect of numbers or services covered under this agreement being moved to a new provider.
7.13 Except as expressly provided in this agreement no warranty, condition, undertaking or term, expressed or implied, statutory or otherwise as to the condition, quality, performance or fitness for purpose of any goods or services provided hereunder will be given by BELL ICT and except as expressly provided in this Agreement all such warranties, conditions, undertakings and terms are hereby excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law.
7.14 BELL ICT shall not be liable for any failure or delay in its performance under this Agreement caused by any circumstances beyond its reasonable control.
7.15 Each party agrees that the limitations of liability contained in this Condition
7.16 have been discussed, negotiated and agreed between the parties in the context of the other provisions of this Agreement and satisfy the requirement of reasonableness within the meaning of sub-section 2(2) and section 11 if the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.
7.15.1 Subject to 7.15.3 and 7.15.4, the liability of BELL ICT, under this Agreement or any other duty to Customer or for negligence in connection with the subject matter of this Agreement, in respect of any one event or series of connected events shall be limited:
7.15.1.1 in respect of any Equipment, to the price of the Equipment if purchased or to six (6) months’ rental charges of the Equipment if rented; and
7.15.1.2 in respect of any Network Services, to the Charges paid to BELL ICT in respect of Network Services in the six (6) month period prior to the event giving rise to the claim; and
7.15.1.3 in respect of any Maintenance Services, to the Charges paid to BELL ICT in respect of Maintenance Services in the six (6) month period prior to the event giving rise to the claim, provided that BELL ICT’s aggregate liability shall not exceed one million pounds (£1,000,000).
7.15.2 BELL ICT shall not be liable to You for:
7.15.2.1 Anticipated savings or loss of profits, business, revenue, data, goodwill; or
7.15.2.2 Indirect of consequential loss or damage.
7.15.3 Neither party excludes or limits liability to the other party for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any breach of any obligations implied by Section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 or Section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
7.15.4 BELL ICT shall not be liable to You in respect of any third party interference with the Equipment or Services (including but not limited to “hackers”) howsoever arising.
7.16 You undertake to indemnify and keep indemnified BELL ICT at all times against all actions, proceedings, costs, claims, demands, liabilities and expenses whatsoever (including legal and other fees and disbursements) sustained, incurred or paid by BELL ICT directly or indirectly in respect of:
7.16.1 any breach by You of any of the provisions of this Agreement or of any law, code, regulation relating to this Agreement or its subject matter; and
7.16.2 any infringement of any IP Rights of a third party resulting from any act or omission by You or any of your employees or agents.
7.17 This agreement represents the entire Agreement and understanding of the parties and supersedes all prior agreements, negations, representations, proposals and understandings, whether written or oral.
7.18 Any variation of these Conditions must be in writing and signed on behalf of both parties.
7.19 No waiver of any breach of the other party’s obligations hereunder shall represent a waiver of the waiving party’s rights hereunder or of any subsequent breach.
7.20 No provision of this Agreement is intended to or will operate to confer any benefit on a person who is not a party to this agreement, whether pursuant to the contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise.
7.21 You may not assign, sub-contract, transfer or otherwise deal with, in whole or in part, your rights under this Agreement without the prior written consent of BELL ICT. BELL ICT shall have the right without notice to assign, sub-contract, transfer or otherwise deal with all or any of its rights and obligations under this Agreement.
7.22 Any notice shall be in writing and either delivered personally or sent by first class recorded delivery or sent by email to the party to whom the notice is addressed at its address or email address set out in the Order or such other
address in the UK or email address as a party may specify by notice in writing to the other. In the absence of evidence of earlier receipt notice shall be deemed to have been duly given:
7.22.1 if delivered personally, when left at the address;
7.22.2 if sent by first class recorded delivery, at the time recorded by the delivery agent; or
7.22.3 if sent by email, at the time received by the addressee of the notice ( of which a delivery receipt shall be conclusive evidence).
7.23 Nothing in this Agreement shall create a partnership or joint venture between the parties and nothing in the Agreement shall appoint one party as the distributor, dealer or agent of the other.
7.24 In the event that any term of this agreement is found to be unenforceable such term shall apply having been amended to the minimum extent possible, and preserving to the extent possible the commercial intention of the parties, in order to make such term enforceable.
7.25 BELL ICT may allocate telephone numbers, IP addresses and other codes to You as it sees fit in its absolute discretion and nothing in the Agreement shall be construed as to transfer from You to ownership, or an right to sell or dispose of, any telephone numbers, IP addresses or other codes. All of Your rights to use such telephone numbers, IP addresses or other codes will cease upon termination of the Agreement or relevant Network Service.
7.26 This Agreement shall be governed by English Law and subject to the nonexclusive
jurisdiction of the English Courts.
