Terms and conditions

Your completion of the on-line ordering process or by ordering via telephone, fax, post or email and/or agreement to pay for a Home Information Pack or Energy Performance Certificate and/or any additional services creates a binding Agreement with us and it is important that you read and understand our Terms and Conditions before making an order. If you have any queries you should contact HIPs Provider Ltd trading as Advantage HIPs. HIPs Provider Ltd trading as Advantage HIPs reserves the right to amend this agreement from time to time and new versions of this agreement will be posted on Advantage HIPs web site

General
These are the Terms & Conditions of the Agreement that you are deemed to accept when ordering a Home Information Pack or Energy Performance Certificate or any other services from HIPs Provider Limited trading as Advantage HIPs.

This Agreement is made between the person, firm, company or other party ordering a Home Information Pack or Energy Performance Certificate or any other services (the “Customer” “you” or “your”) and HIPs Provider Limited (“Advantage HIPs” ”we” “us” or “our”). The date of this Agreement is deemed to be the date of the order of the Home Information Pack or Energy Performance Certificate or any other service.

1.0 Definitions and Interpretation

1.1 The following words will have the meanings ascribed to them:

When payment is being made to us by the Seller, they are the “Customer” under the terms of this Agreement. When payment is being made to us by the Estate Agent or other agent, they are the “Customer” under the terms of this Agreement. When payment is made to us under a deferred payment arrangement entered into by the Seller then the Seller is the “Customer” under the terms of this Agreement. “HIP” means the Home Information Pack you are ordering from us through our online website facility “epc” means the Energy Performance Certificate you are ordering from us though our online website facility “Property” means the property for which the HIP/EPC or any other services is being provided “Working Day” means Mondays to Fridays except for public holidays “Order ”means Your completion of our on-line ordering process or by ordering via telephone, fax, post or email and/or agreement to pay for us to provide you with a HIP/EPC and/or any other additional service for you or the Property “Report” and “Third Party Report” means any report(s) you have asked us to deliver to you within the HIP/EPC as detailed in the Order “Services” means our compiling and delivery of the Reports and HIP/EPC and/or any other additional service “Required Information” means all the necessary information we require from the Customer to complete a HIP/EPC for the Property in accordance with the Housing Act 2004 and any amending Regulations.

1.2 Headings used in this Agreement are for convenience only and shall not affect their interpretation.

2.0 Your Obligations

2.1 You will provide us with the Required Information.

2.2 You will ensure that the information you supply to us in the Order, including without limitation details of the Property, is complete, accurate and up to date and will notify us immediately if you become aware of any inaccuracy contained within the Order.

2.3 If there is any conflict between a provision of any Third Party Reports relating to your permitted use of the Reports and the corresponding provisions in the terms of this Agreement, the provisions of the Reports will prevail.

3.0 Our Obligations

3.1 We reserve the right to reject an Order and if not rejected we may refuse to provide the Services at any time without giving any reason in which circumstances a proportional refund of any payment would be made. Each Order if not rejected by us will constitute a separate and severable Agreement.

3.2 We will use our reasonable endeavours to ensure that the information contained within any Report is accurate at the date of its publication. You accept, however, that information on which any Report is based may be subject to change from the date of its publication and we cannot be held liable for failing to include or omit any information in the Report which becomes available after the date of publication.

3.3 Any indication that we may give as to the time in which we will deliver the Reports will be a good faith estimate only. We will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver the Reports within the time-scale that we have estimated.

3.4 Subject to anything else contained within the terms of this Agreement, all other warranties, conditions, terms, undertakings and obligations, whether express or implied are expressly excluded.

3.5 We will begin compiling or actioning the HIP/EPC or any other services that is being provided for the Property or for you in accordance with your Order immediately upon the placement of your Order.

3.6 A HIP for a registered freehold property will usually be produced within 5 Working Days although this is not guaranteed and other types of properties particularly leasehold properties will usually take longer to produce.

3.7 When you place an Order with us, we will send you an email confirming receipt of your Order.

4.0 Cancellation

4.1 In order to provide a HIP as soon as possible, our process for compiling it is automatically commenced, and the consequential costs incurred, immediately it is ordered and paid for. Therefore if a HIP is cancelled only a partial refund can be made and this is only if the instructed Domestic Energy Assessment or Home Condition Report (whichever is ordered) can be cancelled before it is carried out and provided further that the time allocated for it by the instructed Energy Assessor or Home Inspector can be reallocated.

5.0 Intellectual Property Rights

5.1 Any and all Intellectual Property Rights in the HIP/EPC shall vest in us and remain our property. We disclaim all proprietary rights including, without limitation, Intellectual Property Rights in Third Party Reports.

5.2 You will not acquire or attempt to register any Intellectual Property Rights in any Reports whether on your own behalf or on behalf of anyone else. You further agree not to use the Reports in whole or part other than as is expressly permitted by the terms of this Agreement.

6.0 Limitation of Liability

6.1 You are advised that our compilation of the HIP is dependent upon both you and others providing information and in compiling it we will not visit the Property. Although we will be responsible for the compilation of the HIP and for ensuring that it contains all required documents and information we accept no responsibility for any decisions made by or any third party relying on a HIP that is correctly compiled by us.

6.2 We cannot accept any liability for any error in a Report which is based on any error or inaccuracy in a public register. Nor will we be liable for any information contained within a Report which is based on information that we have obtained from a third party.

6.3 We cannot accept any responsibility for any inaccuracy or error in the HIP/EPC/Floor Plan or any other service that is based on incomplete or inaccurate information provided in the Order.

6.4 We will use reasonable skill and care in carrying out and supplying floor plans. All floor plans supplied by Advantage HIPs are intended for indicative purposes only, they are not intended to be scale drawings and measurements and areas quoted are approximate, whether or not a suitable disclaimer appears on the drawing. Advantage HIPs draws Your attention to the requirements of the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 ('PMA'). It is Your responsibility to ensure that a floorplan is an accurate representation of the property. Advantage HIPs accepts no liability whatsoever for any error or omission or inadvertent mis-statement in a floor plan.

7.0 Force Majeure

7.1 We will not be liable for any failure to perform the Services due to an event beyond our reasonable control. If our performance of the Services is delayed due to an event beyond our reasonable control we will notify you promptly of the reason for such a delay and you agree to give us such an extension to perform the Services as is reasonable in the circumstances.

8.0 Enforceability

8.1 If at any time any one or more of the terms of this Agreement are held to be unenforceable, illegal or otherwise invalid in any respect such unenforceability, illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining terms of this Agreement which shall remain in full force and effect.

8.2 Any failure by us to enforce a breach of the terms of this Agreement by you will not be deemed to be a waiver of any subsequent breach of the terms of this Agreement that you make.
8.3 These Conditions will be governed exclusively by English law and in the event of a dispute both parties will submit exclusively to the jurisdiction of the English courts.