Terms and Conditions of Supply
EFFECTIVE from 1st June 2013 until further notice.
This document sets out our complete Terms and Conditions of Supply for Trade Customers, and our Shopping facility asks you to confirm that you have read and accepted them before submitting your orders.
These Terms and Conditions, which may be updated from time to time, govern all transactions between ESB and the Customer, and may not be varied by any Customer's terms of purchase which have not been explicitly agreed in writing by a director of ESB.
- Orders
- Our online catalogue
- Prices
- Consolidation of orders
- Discounts
- Transmission of orders
- Delivery
- Payment
- Retention of title
- Special orders
- Bibliographical services
- Returns
- Subscriptions (periodicals)
- Non-observance
- Variations of terms and conditions
- Copyright
- Liability
1 Orders
Legally speaking, we accept orders on an offer to treat basis. While the price and other conditions shown are given in good faith on the basis of the latest information at our disposal, we are dealing with over 120,000 titles and 100s of publishers, and we cannot commit ourselves legally on their behalf.
You have the right to cancel your order at any time within the first seven (7) days after placing it.
2 Our online catalogue
The 80,000+ titles in our main catalogue are selected by ESB as suitable for the purpose (language learning, study of literature, leisure reading etc), age-groups and ability levels indicated. If any title in this section is shown to be unsuitable for the suggested purpose or category, we will accept its return without question for full refund.
Orders for titles shown as 'not a catalogue title' or special-ordered are accepted on a firm order basis only. Prices and other details are quoted as guidelines only, and we make no guarantees whatever as to their quality, suitability or availability.
3 Prices
Prices of catalogue titles shown are current and will always be invoiced as shown at the time of ordering. However, prices may be changed between successive orders, by the publisher, or by a variation in the exchange rate. Prices shown as 0.00 or N/A have not yet been fixed.
Prices of titles shown as 'Not a catalogue title - details provisional' are given as guidelines only, and may be varied according to the publisher's current prices and terms at the time of ordering. Any such price change will not apply to orders for goods which ESB has previously accepted.
Without prejudice to the above, ESB reserves the right to change prices shown on this site at any time, and for whatever reason, without prior notice.
4 Discounts
Web discounts are shown on the screen as marked-down prices, and are available to all retail customers, but only when buying online.
Standard trade discounts are available to booksellers, and educational discounts are available to schools and colleges on multiple copy orders. Special terms may be available on larger orders. All discounts must be agreed in writing by a director of ESB before or at the time of ordering. No retrospective adjustments can be allowed.
Discounts are not cumulative. The highest discount the customer is entitled to will always be applied to the full retail price.
5 Consolidation of orders
To manage more efficiently the large number of small orders received from bookshops, ESB operates an automatic order consolidation procedure. Orders are consolidated for sending every 7 or 14 days. A surcharge of not more than £5.00 on orders of less than £100 invoice value will be payable if we are instructed to deliver in advance of the Customer's next consolidation date.
6 Transmission of orders
If you do not wish to use the Shopping facility on this site for transmission of your orders, you can still use it to compile and print them, and then send them by fax, e-mail or ordinary mail.
If ordering by any other means please quote ISBNs or ESB catalogue numbers.
7 Delivery
Customers who have an existing ESB account (with a 5- or 6-digit account number) will be charged carriage according to their account terms. New Customers who have not yet been allocated an ESB account number will the charged as follows:
a) ESB will arrange the method of shipment of all consignments unless specifically instructed otherwise by the Customer.
b) Where ESB arranges the method of shipment and for all orders placed on our websites, deliveries within the UK mainland are charged at 10% of goods value, with a minimum of £1.50 and a maximum of £5, and ESB retains full responsibility for the condition of the goods until delivery at the Customer's premises.
c) Where the Customer specifies the carrier and/or method of delivery for all or any part of the delivery journey, the Customer is responsible for his carrier's charges, and for the condition of the goods from the moment they are delivered to that carrier and/or other agent.
d) VAT may be added to carriage charges according to the contents of the consignment: if they comprise only zero-rated items, then the carriage charges are also zero-rated; otherwise VAT must be added to carriage charges.
e) In the cases of special delivery instructions, delivery to any address other than a recognised Customer address, and all overseas deliveries, ESB may invoice related charges, on a separate invoice if necessary, after determining the total costs involved.
8 Payment
a) ESB's terms are strictly nett. No settlement discounts or other deductions may be taken against the amount due. All amounts shown are in Sterling unless clearly indicated otherwise.
b) The Customer may apply all credit notes received from ESB against the oldest outstanding amounts due to ESB.
c) For trade and professional customers, ESB offers standard credit terms of 30 days from the end of the month of invoicing, subject to status. Any special terms must be agreed in writing by a director of ESB at the time of ordering. No retrospective adjustments can be allowed. Payment is due on or before the due date shown on each invoice. ESB will charge interest on all overdue amounts at an annual rate of 5% above Barclay's Bank Base Rate for the time being in force, and pro rata.
d) All legal costs and other expenses of any kind incurred by ESB in recovering overdue amounts will be payable by the Customer.
9 Retention of title
All goods supplied by ESB to the Customer remain the property of ESB and/or ESB's suppliers until fully paid for, when ownership passes to the Customer. ESB reserves the right to repossess, or to pass to an agent or other third party the right of possession of, any goods which shall not have been fully paid for by the due date as shown on the invoice.
10 Special orders
'Specials' are titles shown as 'not a catalogue title' or other titles we may find for you through bibliographical research. They fall into 2 categories: (a) specials from publishers with whom ESB has regular wholesale or distributor terms; (b) all others.
Terms for category (a) books and materials will normally be similar to your standard terms for ESB catalogue products. Terms for category (b) items will normally be based on a net invoice price, which resellers will be expected to mark up according to their established procedures.
11 Bibliographical research
ESB's bibliographical research facilities are provided through our own bookshop and are based on a variety of databases of books in print in the major European language areas. The service is free to regular customers, but may not be very quick at busy times of year. We regret we cannot answer bibliographic enquiries by phone.
12 Returns
ESB has very limited possibilities for returning goods to the publishers, or recycling them. Even when it is possible, the costs are usually prohibitive. We must therefore apply the following general rules:
12.1 No returns will be accepted for any reason of any goods not supplied by ESB, or of any title which the Customer does not buy exclusively from ESB.
12.2 No returns other than those covered by Clause 12.3 below can be accepted from customers outside the United Kingdom.
12.3 Returns not requiring authorisation
ESB errors, faulty manufacture, damage in transit
Returns will be accepted without prior authorisation of goods which have manufacturing faults, or have been supplied in error, or (subject to paragraph 7 (c) above) have arrived damaged, provided that such returns are notified to ESB by the Customer by email or post not more than two (2) weeks after receipt of the goods.
The complete book or article must be returned; title pages or covers alone are not sufficient.
ESB will refund the carriage costs of all such returns.
ESB reserves the right to refuse or reduce any claim for damage or error submitted by the Customer more than two weeks after receipted delivery of the goods.
12.4 Returns requiring authorisation
Overstocks, customer errors, cancellations (Overstocks)
Under ESB's Standard Terms & Conditions all goods are supplied on firm sale only. Returns facilities are only available to ESB Business Partners.
ESB may agree, exceptionally and at its own discretion, to take back specific overstocks. All returns must comply with the following conditions:
i) All Overstock Returns must be authorised beforehand in writing by a director or a member of ESB's Customer services department.
ii) No Overstock Returns requests will be considered for goods supplied more than six (6) months before the date of the request.
iii) No Overstock Returns of single copies will be authorised, or of any title(s) of which the individual line value is less than £10.
iv) Overstock Returns requests must quote the original ESB invoice number(s) and either the ISBNs or ESB's catalogue code(s).
v) Overstock Returns of 'specials' cannot normally be considered (see above). Where a return of 'specials' is exceptionally allowed, a handling charge will be made in the form of a (supplementary) discount from the original net price charged of between 10% and 20%.
vi) All Overstock Returns must be in clean and resaleable condition. No stickered, priced or otherwise marked books will be processed or credited.
vii) Credit for Overstock returns can only be issued when the goods have been received in ESB's warehouse, and checked as fit for re-sale. No money can be refunded.
viii) In the event of receiving unauthorised returns, ESB will notify the Customer and request her/him to make arrangements for their collection or disposal. If no such arrangements have been made within a further four (4) weeks, ESB may dispose of the goods as most convenient to itself, and without compensation of any kind.
ix) The Customer is responsible for carriage charges for all Overstock Returns, and for all costs arising from the treatment of unauthorised returns by ESB
13 Subscriptions (periodicals)
ESB offers its subscription service on the following conditions:
i) in accepting subscription instructions ESB is agreeing only to act for and on behalf of the Customer in the performance of those administrative tasks and functions which are required to initiate, administer and pay for the subscription;
ii) in that capacity, and because ESB at no stage has sight of, or any control over, the physical publication or its distribution and delivery, ESB accepts responsibility only for its own actions, errors and omissions, and explicity disclaims responsibility for any default on the part of the Publisher of the periodical, or his Distributor or the postal or other delivery service used to deliver the periodical to the Customer;
iii) the Customer will carefully check all invoices and other documentation received from ESB and/or the Publisher and/or the Distributor, and will ensure that all material details conform to his wishes, to what is actually received from the Publisher, and to what has been invoiced or otherwise notified by ESB;
iv) the Customer recognises that subscription invoices are payable in advance and, notwithstanding any credit arrangements that may otherwise be in force between ESB and the Customer, ESB shall have absolute discretion to delay or cancel the subscription unless and until the related invoice has been paid;
v) in the event of having any complaint, the Customer will promptly notify ESB in writing giving full and accurate details of the default;
vi) in the event of any default whatsoever, whether on the part of ESB or of the Publisher and/or his Distributor and/or the delivery service, ESB will use its reasonable endeavours to obtain appropriate redress or compensation, which will however be limited to one of the following remedies at its discretion:
a) replacement of any missing issue(s);
b) a refund of a proportionate part of the subscription paid;
c) a proportionate extension of the subscription period.
ESB shall be entitled to infer that a complaint has been settled to the Customer's satisfaction if the Customer has not informed it otherwise after an appropriate interval.
14 Non-observance of terms and conditions
All services, discounts and credit facilities offered to the Customer in this document or by any other contract or agreement are subject to all the terms and conditions set out in this document, and may be withdrawn at any time in the event of non-observance. In particular, ESB reserves the right to withdraw all such facilities without prior notice if at any time a significant portion of the total balance of the Customer's account becomes overdue.
15 Variation of terms and conditions
ESB is always willing to consider specific variations to these Terms and Conditions to meet particular needs, or to support initiatives by the Customer which may promote the learning of European languages and the study of European literatures. But to avoid any misunderstandings, all such variations must be agreed in advance, and in writing.
16 Copyright
All books and other materials are sold subject to the overriding condition that the Customer will strictly observe the copyright conditions printed in or on them.
17 Liability
ESB shall not be liable to the Customer for any loss or damage which may be suffered by the Customer as a direct or indirect result of the supply or use of any goods or the purpose of the contract for supply being directly or indirectly hindered or delayed by reason of any circumstance outside the reasonable control of ESB including (without limitation) any act of God, war, riot, trade dispute or labour disturbance, accident, breakdown of machinery or plant, difficulty in obtaining workmen, materials or transport, refusal of any licence or permit.
