Current Terms & Conditions of Sale
Standard Terms & Conditions of Sale
Version 9
4 February 2024
- Scope – these Terms & Conditions (“the Terms”) shall apply to all quotations and offers made by SIGMA Technology Solutions and any purchase orders accepted by SIGMA Technology Solutions. The Terms shall apply to all sales made by SIGMA Technology Solutions to the extent that the Terms do not conflict with any express terms incorporated into any contractual undertaking between SIGMA Technology Solutions (the “Supplier”) and any person, firm, company or other legal entity (the “Client”) placing an order with SIGMA Technology Solutions. The Terms shall prevail over all other terms & conditions which the Client seeks to impose or incorporate either within any communication from the Client or implied by trade, custom or practice or course of dealing unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing by SIGMA Technology Solutions.
- The Contract – by placing an order with SIGMA Technology Solutions, either directly or via their website sigmatechnology.co.uk or the websites linked therein the Client is offering to purchase Products and/or Services from SIGMA Technology Solutions on the basis of these Terms. The contract shall only be formed when SIGMA Technology Solutions acknowledges acceptance of the order in writing or upon delivery of the Products or the commencement of delivery of the Services whichever occurs first. No pricing made available by SIGMA Technology Solutions shall constitute an offer capable of acceptance and SIGMA Technology Solutions expressly reserves the right to amend its prices at any time. Any images, drawings or descriptions made available by SIGMA Technology Solutions in any form or via any medium whatsoever are produced for guidance only and do not constitute part of an offer or part of the contract unless expressly agreed in writing. The Client is responsible for checking that the terms and details of any order are correct and accurate.
- Contract Variations –
- SIGMA Technology Solutions reserves the right to vary or alter the specifications of its Products and/or Services at any time and without notice unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Client.
- Any contract variation by the Client must be submitted in writing to SIGMA Technology Solutions for assessment as to impact on price and delivery. Such variation will not have contractual legal effect until agreed in writing by both parties.
- “Products” – Products governed by these Terms means any Products produced or sourced by SIGMA Technology Solutions as listed in the order and may include:
- Standard List Products – these are part of SIGMA Technology Solutions’ standard range of Products which are available for purchase by all Clients and are publicised as being for general sale in company marketing documents and/or on the company website, including Software as a Service (SaaS) Products;
- Bespoke Products – these are non-standard Products designed and produced by SIGMA Technology Solutions to the instructions and requirements of the Client;
- Sourced Products – these are Products sourced by SIGMA Technology Solutions from third party suppliers and made available for sale under lawful agreement either in their sourced form or incorporated into SIGMA Technology Solutions’ own Products. SIGMA Technology Solutions accepts no responsibility or liability for the performance, quality, or delivery of these Products;
- Client Nominated Sourced Products – these are Products sourced from a third-party supplier at the Client’s request and supplied to the Client either in the sourced form or incorporated into SIGMA Technology Solutions’ own Products. SIGMA Technology Solutions accepts no responsibility or liability for the performance, quality, or delivery of these Products.
- “Services” – Services governed by these Terms means any Services produced or sourced by SIGMA Technology Solutions as listed in the order and may include:
- Standard Services – these are part of SIGMA Technology Solutions’ standard range of Services which are available for purchase by all Clients and are publicised as being for general sale in company marketing documents and/or on the company website;
- Bespoke Services – these are non-standard Services designed and produced by SIGMA Technology Solutions to the instructions and requirements of the Client;
- Ad-hoc Services – these are Services performed at the request of the Client and may occur prior to, during, or after any delivery dates or timescales. Examples of the types of Services of services falling within this heading are:
- Business analysis and consultancy; most commonly, but not exclusively, in relation to business process review and improvement, digitisation, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analysis, and providing general technical expertise;
- Simple or complex technical reviews, and the documenting thereof, of existing systems, codebases and works in progress;
- Diagnosis and resolution of issues with existing products and services, including third-party systems;
- Support with or training on the usage of existing products and services, including third-party systems;
- Setup and configuration of infrastructure and Development Operations (Dev Ops) outside of those specified in the contract, such as web servers, blob storage, and cloud services such as, but not limited to Google Firebase, AWS, Docker Hub, and Kubernetes.
- Sourced Services – these are Services sourced by SIGMA Technology Solutions from third party suppliers and made available for sale under lawful agreement either in their sourced form or incorporated into SIGMA Technology Solutions’ own Services. SIGMA Technology Solutions accepts no responsibility or liability for the performance, quality, or delivery of these Products;
- Client Nominated Sourced Services – these are Services sourced from a third-party supplier at the Client’s request and supplied to the Client either in the sourced form or incorporated into SIGMA Technology Solutions’ own Services. SIGMA Technology Solutions accepts no responsibility or liability for the performance, quality, or delivery of these Services.
- Pricing –
- All pricing quoted is exclusive of VAT and any other applicable taxes or duties which will be charged at the prevailing rate where applicable.
- Unless otherwise agreed in writing all pricing for physical Products is exclusive of any delivery charges.
- Ad-hoc Services requested by the Client that are not explicitly included within the scope of an existing ongoing contract will be charged at the prevailing rate where applicable.
- Where the Client requests the Supplier investigates any issue(s) with the Products or Services, if it is beyond reasonable doubt that the cause of the issue(s) is due to the deliberate or accidental action(s) of the Client or a third party associated with the Client, the Supplier reserves the right to charge a reasonable fee for their time at the prevailing rate where applicable.
- Delivery –
- Products and Services are classed as being fully delivered when they are available for use by the Client and/or their customers regardless of whether they are actively being used.
- For software Products, this is often referred to as “going live” and this constitutes successful delivery.
- Any associated maintenance and/or license agreement will automatically come into effect from the delivery date.
- Testing environments described by the Supplier as “dev”, “development”, “staging”, “test”, “testing” or “User Acceptance Testing (UAT)” constitute interim deliveries and must not be used by the Client’s customers.
- Although SIGMA Technology Solutions shall try in all good faith to meet Product and/or Services delivery dates they are not guaranteed but are estimates based upon the information available to SIGMA Technology Solutions at the time of order confirmation. Under no circumstances shall SIGMA Technology Solutions be liable for any damages or losses whatsoever arising from any delay in delivery, unless there is specific written agreement between SIGMA Technology Solutions and the Client stating that delivery dates are guaranteed. Liability of SIGMA Technology Solutions shall be limited at SIGMA Technology Solutions’ sole discretion to;
- Delivering the Products and/or Services within a reasonable time;
- Refunding (including issuing a credit note against a raised invoice) the pro-rata price based on the quantity of the Products and/or Services that are undelivered.
- Delivery shall be made by SIGMA Technology Solutions to the delivery location specified by the Client and shall require the Client to have a responsible person at that location to accept and sign for the Products and/or Services. If there is no such person available at the specified delivery location then the Client consents to either:
- SIGMA Technology Solutions leaving the Products at that location and in this case risk in the Products will pass to the Client at that time and no further liability shall remain with SIGMA Technology Solutions with respect to the Products to the limit permitted by applicable law and/or
- SIGMA Technology Solutions refusing to perform the Services at that location.
- If the Client fails to take delivery of either Products and/or Services, delivery fails because of inaccurate delivery location information provided by the Client or any other reason due to the negligence or fault of the Client then SIGMA Technology Solutions can, at its sole discretion and without limitation to any other rights and remedies:
- Charge the Client for any delivery and recovery costs of the Products to and from the delivery location together with a £50 administration fee.
- Charge the Client for any costs associated with the Services delivery failure together with a £50 administration fee.
- Charge the Client for any storage costs in order to store the Products for future delivery.
- Invoice at full value for any Standard Services, Bespoke Services, or Ad-hoc Services for every failed delivery day not cancelled with a minimum of 48 hours’ notice.
- Invoice at full value for any Sourced or Client Nominated Sourced Products where such products cannot be sold elsewhere or returned for full refund to the original supplier within 15 days of the failed delivery.
- Invoice at full value for any Sourced or Client Nominated Sourced Services within 15 days of the failed delivery where such Services incur any charges from the original supplier.
- Products and Services are classed as being fully delivered when they are available for use by the Client and/or their customers regardless of whether they are actively being used.
- Delivery in Instalments – if the Products and/or Services are delivered in instalments then each delivery shall constitute a separate contract. Any failure by SIGMA Technology Solutions to deliver any one or more instalment in accordance with these Terms shall not entitle the Client to repudiate the entire contract.
- Inspection of the Products –
- It is the Client’s responsibility to check:
- That the quantities and specifications of the Products correspond to the contract and that there are no visible signs of damage before accepting and signing for delivery;
- That the delivery of the Services complies with the specifications within the contract;
- That any Products delivered as part of the Services are fit for purpose;
- That when a test version of any Products has been provided by the Supplier, the Products have been adequately tested by the Client prior to delivery.
- Claims for damaged or faulty Products and/or non-compliance with the Services specification will only be accepted if made within two working days of delivery unless otherwise agreed in writing.
- Where there has not been a test version of the Products or Services provided by the Supplier prior to delivery, claims for damaged or faulty Products and/or non-compliance with the Services specification will only be accepted if made within 14 days.
- The Client must retain and store the disputed Products in good and unmodified condition for inspection and/or collection.
- It is the Client’s responsibility to check:
- Payment –
- SIGMA Technology Solutions will grant credit at its absolute discretion and reserves all rights to refuse credit to the extent of applicable law.
- SIGMA Technology Solutions will, unless otherwise agreed in writing, require a non-refundable deposit to be paid at the time of order.
- Unless otherwise agreed in writing payment for all Products and/or Services must be made in full, without any deductions unless agreed in writing, within 14 days from date of invoice. Time for payment shall be of the essence.
- Failure to pay any overdue invoices or charges shall entitle SIGMA Technology Solutions to suspend any unexecuted or future orders without further notice and at their sole discretion.
- Failure to pay according to these terms, or as otherwise agreed in writing, shall entitle SIGMA Technology Solutions to, at its sole discretion and without further notice, to charge Statutory Interest on any overdue balances together with a late payment fee of £50. Statutory Interest will be charged for the period from the payment due date until the date the date on which payment is made. Failure to pay any Statutory Interest and late payment fees shall also invoke clause 10(iv).
- If failure to pay is due to any cheques, standing orders or directs debits in the Client’s name being dishonoured then this will invoke clause 10(iv) together with a further charge of £90 to cover bank and administrative costs.
- Set-off – SIGMA Technology Solutions reserves the right to, at any time and without limiting any other rights and remedies that it has, set-off any amount owed to it by the Client against any amount owed by SIGMA Technology Solutions to the Client.
- Risk, Title and Ownership –
- Risk in the Products will pass to the Client upon delivery. Ownership is established by the transfer of title which shall not pass to the Client until payment has been made in full and the funds have been cleared. Until title has passed the Client must act in his capacity of fiduciary owner and hold the Products as SIGMA Technology Solutions’ Bailee and, at no cost to SIGMA Technology Solutions, must also:
- Store the Products safely in suitable conditions separately from other Products such that they remain easily identifiable as SIGMA Technology Solutions’ property.
- Maintain in good condition and do not destroy or deface any labelling, identifying marks or packaging associated with the Products.
- Maintain adequate insurance on SIGMA Technology Solutions’ behalf for full value/price against all risks and to hold any proceeds of such insurance on trust for SIGMA Technology Solutions and not mix them with other monies or pay them into an overdrawn bank account.
- The Client shall not be entitled to resell the Products or Services until title has passed to the Client.
- Where title has not yet passed to the Client and the Client commits a material breach of any of the obligations contained within these Terms or any contract governed by these Terms is terminated under clause 22 then SIGMA Technology Solutions shall be entitled to recover payment for the Products and Services notwithstanding that the Client does not have title to them.
- The Client grants SIGMA Technology Solutions, its agents, sub-contractors and employees an irrevocable licence to enter premises and/or access computer infrastructure (hardware and software) where the Products and Services are known to be or believed to be stored to inspect and where the Client has never had or no longer has title to recover the Products and Services.
- On termination of any contract governed by these Terms, the Clients obligations and SIGMA Technology Solutions’ rights under this clause 11 shall remain in effect.
- Risk in the Products will pass to the Client upon delivery. Ownership is established by the transfer of title which shall not pass to the Client until payment has been made in full and the funds have been cleared. Until title has passed the Client must act in his capacity of fiduciary owner and hold the Products as SIGMA Technology Solutions’ Bailee and, at no cost to SIGMA Technology Solutions, must also:
- Intellectual Property –
- All intellectual property and related material not explicitly defined in clause 12(i)(a), including any trade secrets, moral rights, goodwill, relevant registrations or applications for registration, and rights in any patent, copyright, trade mark, trade dress, industrial design and trade name (the "Intellectual Property") created by SIGMA Technology Solutions during the performance of this Agreement is and shall remain the property of SIGMA Technology Solutions.
- Where there is a publicly available website that is available without restriction or authentication (the “Public Website”) designed as part of the Agreement, all intellectual property and related material directly associated with the Public Website, including any relevant registrations or applications for registration, and rights in any patent, copyright, trade mark, trade dress, industrial design and trade name created by SIGMA Technology Solutions during the performance of this Agreement ownership of the intellectual property will be transferred to the Client upon completion of the Agreement and when payment has been made as defined in clause 11.
- Unless confirmed in writing (referencing clause 12 of this version of the Terms & Conditions) and signed by an authorised representative of SIGMA Technology Solutions nothing in the terms of this agreement shall vest any other ownership rights in the Client.
- SIGMA Technology Solutions hereby grants, for the sum of £1, a sole, non-exclusive licence to the Client to use the Intellectual Property created by SIGMA Technology Solutions during the performance of this Agreement for the purposes for which it was created as part of the Agreement subject to the following conditions:
- Full payment has been made by the Client for the work completed according to the terms of this agreement.
- The Intellectual Property cannot be used for any purposes which are libellous, defamatory, pornographic, obscene or otherwise unlawful in the jurisdiction in which they are used.
- The Client may not sub-licence the Intellectual Property without the prior written consent of SIGMA Technology Solutions.
- The use of the Intellectual Property other than for the purposes for which it was created as part of the Agreement will require further written licence, the terms of which will be determined and agreed in writing at that time by SIGMA Technology Solutions and the Client.
- This licence, granted to the Client, shall be automatically revoked if any of the terms in clause 12(ii) are breached.
- SIGMA Technology Solutions warrants that it does not hold any intellectual property rights which may affect its ability, either directly or indirectly to perform its obligations under this agreement.
- SIGMA Technology Solutions may use material created during the performance of this Agreement for their own publicity campaigns.
- All intellectual property and related material not explicitly defined in clause 12(i)(a), including any trade secrets, moral rights, goodwill, relevant registrations or applications for registration, and rights in any patent, copyright, trade mark, trade dress, industrial design and trade name (the "Intellectual Property") created by SIGMA Technology Solutions during the performance of this Agreement is and shall remain the property of SIGMA Technology Solutions.
- Limitation of liability – SIGMA Technology Solutions limits its liability to the total price paid by the Client in respect of the Services falling within the scope of the contract, and we expressly exclude:
- The price of any Ad-hoc Services requested by the Client that are not explicitly included within the scope of an existing contract.
- The price of any Sourced Products, Client Nominated Sourced Products, Sourced Services, and Client Nominated Sourced Services.
- The price of any maintenance agreement and any license agreement that has not yet been performed.
- Any liability for any direct, indirect, or consequential loss or damage incurred by the Client in connection with use of the Products. This includes liability in respect of the Client and/or any third party for:
- Loss of income or revenue; Loss of profits; Loss of business; Loss of data; Loss of goodwill; Loss of opportunity;
- Any indirect, consequential or special loss or damage;
- Wasted management or staff time;
- Client-generated content, or lack thereof, that results in a breach of legal requirements such as but not limited to the General Data Protect Act and European Accessibility Act;
- Nothing in this disclaimer will:
- Limit or exclude our or our liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence;
- Limit or exclude our or our liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
- Limit any of our liabilities in any way that is not permitted under applicable law;
- Exclude any of our liabilities that may not be excluded under applicable law.
- Subject to the preceding provisions the limitations and exclusions of liability govern all liabilities arising from the supply of the Products and/or Services under contracts governed by these Terms including all liabilities arising in contract, tort (including negligence) and for breach of statutory duty.
- Confidentiality - The Client agrees that they will not disclose SIGMA Technology Solutions’ Confidential Information to anyone other than an employee or consultant with the Client, nor will they use any Confidential Information for any purpose other than for the execution of any contract governed by these Terms. Upon termination of this Agreement the Client agrees to return all Confidential Information in their possession to SIGMA Technology Solutions. For the purposes of this clause Confidential Information includes any information that is not already in the public domain that is:
- Information specifically designated by SIGMA Technology Solutions as confidential
- Information relating to the components, costs, production processes, profitability, development programmes or any information identified by SIGMA Technology Solutions as “trade secret” of any Product produced by SIGMA Technology Solutions
- Information relating to business and marketing plans, Clients or clients, associates, agents, partners or affiliates of SIGMA Technology Solutions
- Information relating to business structure, processes, turnover, profitability or forward strategy of SIGMA Technology Solutions.
- The obligations of this clause shall survive the termination of the Agreement in perpetuity.
- Unlawful software or content – SIGMA Technology Solutions reserves the right:
- To refuse to handle any software or content material that is unlawful because of copyright or licensing infringements or any content material that under the laws of England & Wales is deemed to be discriminatory, obscene (including material in breach of the Obscene Publications Act 1959, the Protection of Children Act 1978, the Sexual Offences Act 2003), blasphemous, offensive to religion or defamatory towards any person living or dead and contains material that has been obtained in violation of the Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protection Regulation 2018, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations 2003, the Official Secrets Act or any analogous domestic or foreign legislation and contains any material that will constitute a contempt of court. If any such material is found on any equipment then SIGMA Technology Solutions, at its sole discretion, may report this fact to the relevant authorities.
- Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013
- If the Client is a consumer and if SIGMA Technology Solutions has agreed your requirements at a face-to-face meeting away from our premises and the Client has either confirmed the contract at that meeting or immediately after that meeting or has purchased services from SIGMA Technology Solutions via an organised distance selling operation then the above Regulations may apply.
- Right to cancel: If these Regulations apply, the Client has the right to cancel the order within 14 days of SIGMA Technology Solutions receiving the confirmation of order. In order to do so the Client must cancel the agreement in writing or by email to SIGMA Technology Solutions. In the case of contracts for service SIGMA Technology Solutions cannot start to supply the service until the 14 days cancellation period has expired unless we receive a request in writing from the Client to start the service within the 14 day cancellation period. PLEASE NOTE: In requesting an early start to the service the Client agrees to forfeit their right to cancel within 14 days as provided for in the Regulations.
- SIGMA Technology Solutions shall carry out the agreed services as efficiently as possible, but the nature of the services may mean that we are unlikely to be able to perform the contract within the maximum period of 30 days laid down by the Regulations. PLEASE NOTE: By accepting these terms of business, the Client is agreeing that we need not perform the contract within a maximum of 30 days.
- Bribery and ethics - Neither party shall, at any time, engage in, nor require the other party to engage in, activities which are contrary to The Bribery Act 2010, The Competition Act 1998 or any other analogous local laws including but not limited to:
- The offering of any inducement or reward whether financial or otherwise to any 3rd party whatsoever in relation to the activities covered by this agreement.
- Any attempt to manipulate markets or engage in any activity that constitutes a restraint of free trade including, but not limited to, market share agreements, pricing fixing, predatory pricing or resale price maintenance.
- Both parties agree to uphold the highest standards of business ethics in their dealings with each other and 3rd parties associated with the activities covered by any contract governed by these Terms.
- Health and Safety – Both parties shall ensure that any employees, associates, consultants or anyone else for whom they are vicariously liable shall at all times comply with any existing health and safety requirements on either party’s premises and will at all times conduct themselves in a way that is in accordance with safe working practices whilst performing their duties under any contract governed by these Terms.
- Data Protection – Both parties undertake and agree that they will comply fully with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018, General Data Protect Regulation 2018 and any other relevant analogous local legislation during the performance of their duties under any contract governed by these Terms. In this respect both parties will indemnify and hold harmless the other party from any of their actions in breach of data protection that lead to the other party being sued by a third party.
- Equality Act – Both parties undertake and agree that they will comply with all aspects of the Equality Act 2010 and will not directly or indirectly discriminate against any person during the performance of their duties under any contract governed by these Terms.
- Privacy – Neither party will, under any circumstances, share or sell any of the other party’s details or information to any 3rd party without that party’s prior written consent.
- Waiver – No waiver, by either party, whether implied or express, of any particular provision of these Terms, or of any breach or default of either party, shall constitute either a continuing waiver of such provisions or a waiver of any other provisions of the Terms.
- Termination of Contract –
- Cancellation by Client - any contract governed by these Terms may not be cancelled by the Client without SIGMA Technology Solutions’ prior written consent. Upon giving consent SIGMA Technology Solutions reserves the right to charge a cancellation fee relating to Products and Services that are the subject of the contract in order to cover liquidated losses by SIGMA Technology Solutions arising from the cancellation.
- Cancellation by SIGMA Technology Solutions – SIGMA Technology Solutions can terminate any contract governed by these Terms immediately upon written notice to the Client and suspend any further deliveries if the following happen or SIGMA Technology Solutions reasonably believes that they may happen:
- The Client fails to perform any of its obligations within the contract.
- The Client suspends all payments and ceases or threatens to cease trading or performing its business obligations.
- A receiver or administrator is appointed over any assets, including property, of the Client.
- The Client makes or proposes to make any voluntary arrangement with its creditors, enters into administration, is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, makes an application to a court to suspend enforcement action against it goes into liquidation or becomes insolvent.
- Force Majeure - SIGMA Technology Solutions shall not be liable for delay in performing or for failure to perform its obligations if the delay or failure results from any of the following: Acts of God; Pandemic; Outbreak of hostilities, riot, civil disturbance, acts of terrorism; The act of any government or authority (including refusal or revocation of any licence or consent); Fire, explosion, flood, fog or bad weather; Power failure, failure of telecommunications lines, failure or breakdown of plant, machinery or vehicles; Default of suppliers or sub-contractors; Theft, malicious damage, strike, lock-out or industrial action of any kind; Any cause or circumstance whatsoever beyond SIGMA Technology Solutions’ reasonable control.
- Notice - Any notice or communication served during the performance of this agreement shall be sent by hand or by recorded delivery first class post to the following address: SIGMA Technology Solutions, The Brewery Works, Stanhope Street, Liverpool, L8 5RE.
- Severability - The provisions of these Terms are severable and if any part thereof is held to be invalid or unenforceable by any court then it will not affect the validity or enforceability of any of the remaining provisions.
- Governing Law - Any differences arising between SIGMA Technology Solutions and the Client concerning this Agreement or the rights and liabilities within it shall be governed by and interpreted, in all respects, in accordance with the Laws of England. The parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
- Third Party Rights – A person who is not a party to any contract governed by these Terms (a 3rd Party) shall have no rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any of these Terms.
- Dispute Resolution – The parties shall attempt to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to this contract through negotiations between representatives of the parties, who have authority to settle such disputes. If the matter is not resolved by negotiation within 30 days of receipt of a written 'invitation to negotiate', the parties will attempt to resolve the dispute in good faith through an agreed Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedure. If the matter has not been resolved by an ADR procedure within 60 days of the initiation of that procedure, or if any party will not participate in an ADR procedure, the dispute may be referred to arbitration by any party. Nothing in this clause shall be construed as prohibiting a party or its affiliate from applying to a court for interim injunctive relief.
Whole Agreement – In the absence of a formal contract or service agreement incorporating these Terms, the Terms governing any other contract established with the Client constitute the entire Agreement between SIGMA Technology Solutions and the Client and supersede any and all prior terms whether written or oral. No modification to the Terms or any claimed waiver shall be deemed to be valid unless in writing, referencing a specific clause in the Terms, and signed by authorised representative of SIGMA Technology Solutions.