General Terms & Conditions of Carriage for the Shipping4Shopping Service
1. Definitions
In these Terms & Conditions, and where the context so admits, the following words and expressions shall have the following meanings:
Shipping4Shopping Service (S4S) : shipping service between UK and Malta, normally by courier, for purchases effected online or outside the territory of Malta.
Service Providers : Arrow Express Ltd & VIVA Xpress Logistics (UK) Ltd as joint operators of the Shipping4Shopping Service.
Customer: The person or corporate body requesting the S4S service.
Hub: Any receiving and dispatching centre designated by the Service Providers from time to time.
Supplier: The person or corporate body supplying the customer with any goods or service as requested by the customer.
Prohibited Items: Items which are restricted for carriage due to their very nature or as defined and included in the most recent IATA Dangerous Goods Manual, including but not limited to, Alcoholic Beverages, Ammunition, Antiques & Fine Works of Art, Batteries, Bullion, Currency, Firearms & Explosives, Fireworks, Fresh Flowers & Plants, Furs, Gases (Compressed or Liquefied), Hazardous & Combustible Material, Human Remains of Ashes, Jewellery & Precious Metals, Liquids, Live or stuffed Animals, Narcotics, Perfumes and/or Perfumery Products, Perishable foodstuffs / beverages requiring refrigeration or a controlled environment, Pressurised Containers, Paint & Paint related material inclusive of thinners, Pesticides, Pornographic Material, Radioactive Material, Toxic & Poisonous Products, Weapons of any kind.
2. Preamble
These General terms & Conditions of Trading (Hereinafter referred to as “General Conditions”) govern the S4S courier service which is operated jointly by the Service Providers. The customers attention is drawn to the fact that the Service Providers may from time to time, change alter or update these terms and conditions at their own discretion and without notice to the customer. It is the customer’s responsibility to periodically check for any revisions to these terms and conditions as published on our website (www.arrow-express.eu) and which shall be effective on the date of publication thereof.
By availing him/herself of the S4S service, the customer declares to have read and accepted these General Conditions without reservation and agrees to be bound by them including any amendments / alterations thereto.
3. Services
(i) The S4S service includes the receipt of customer’s packages at a designated hub, and transporting such packages to the address in Malta or Gozo as designated by the customer in the shipment registration form.
(ii) The Service providers will not accept any postage due mail and/or cash on delivery items on behalf of the customer. Any such items will be refused by the service providers at time of delivery to their hub.
(iii) Packages received as S4S shipments will normally be dispatched within 2 working days from our designated hub. Any packages requiring more urgent shipping can be despatched on the same day of receipt against an additional “Express” charge which will be quoted separately. The Service Providers may change the frequency at any time without providing prior notice to the customer.
(iv) Customers are to note that our delivery agents will be unable to wait on site for packages to be checked upon delivery.
4. Fees
(i) An estimate of Shipping fees as per our latest tariffs shall be quoted to the customer in accordance with the shipment details and requirements inserted by the latter during completion of the shipment registration form on the Arrow Express website. The final charge to the customer shall be based on the actual weight of the shipment as check weighed by the Service Providers. In the event of a discrepancy between the weight provided by the customer and the checked weight by the Service Provider, the latter shall be deemed to be correct for all intents and purposes.
(ii) The shipping fees include VAT at 18% on the value of the carriage of the items between the hub and the designated address in Malta, but exclude any customs duties, taxes, levies, imposts, deposits or outlays payable on the customer’s goods to any legal or customs authority which shall be the responsibility of the customer.
(iii) Shipments ordered from outside any of the EU member countries shall be liable for the payment of duty and VAT to customs authorities at the first point of entry in the EU. The customer shall be responsible and liable for the payment of such duties and taxes in their entirety together with any additional costs incurred by the Service Providers in disbursing such amounts and for the preparation of any customs documentation required by any customs authority at the first point of entry within the EU. The service providers reserve the right to charge any customs duty and / or VAT disbursed on behalf of the customer at any time such amounts become known, even if delivery of the shipment in question has taken place.
(iv) Insurance cover is NOT automatically included in any of our quoted shipping fees.
(v) The Service Providers may charge additional storage on a daily basis and / or commercial shipping fees as the case may be for items :
a) Received at any of our depots without the shipment registration form having been completed on our website for each shipment expected.
b) Received by the service providers and which are insufficiently addressed or not immediately traceable to the customer.
c) Held by customs or any other appropriate authority whilst awaiting customs clearance or any documents as requested from the customer.
(vi) The service providers reserve the right to change any applicable fees at their own sole discretion at any time whatsoever and without prior notice to the customer.
5. Obligations of the customer
The customer hereby agrees that:
(i) Every package shall be legibly and correctly addressed as described and directed on our website from time to time. It is the customers’ responsibility to check for any changes in this regard between one order and another. The sender’s address should also be clearly indicated on every package.
(ii) Each package shall not weigh more than 30 kgs each. Clients requiring carriage of any shipment containing one or more pieces of more than 30 kgs in weight should contact our customer service for further guidance and rates.
(iii) The contents of any shipment tendered to the service providers are not prohibited items or items which are restricted for carriage by air. The service providers reserve the right to take any course of action to dispose of any prohibited items at their own discretion, including but not limited to onforwarding the items by other modes of transport which are considered safe for the carriage of such goods, total destruction, or through any other method either with or without the customers’ consent.
(iv) Any liability for any costs associated with any action of disposal by the service providers, fines and penalties imposed by any authority and arising from any misdeclaration or misrepresentation by the customer or the supplier shall be borne by the customer without exception. Additional costs for alternative shipping methods used where necessary shall also be borne by the customer.
(v) Full consent is given to the service providers to open and inspect any package at any time whilst in their control and custody in order to ensure that the goods contained therein comply with all laws, rules and regulations imposed by any authority from time to time. Additionally any items which are locked or packed in such a way that the contents cannot be physically examined may also be refused for transport by air.
(vi) The goods shall be adequately packed in a container of sufficient strength and shall be surrounded inside such container with enough suitable material against the effect of any concussions and handling pressures to which the items are ordinarily exposed to during transportation. Items of a fragile nature shall be adequately marked on the package and shall be brought to the attention of the service providers by specifying this on the shipment registration form. The Service Providers shall reserve the right to pack or repack any item/s in question at an additional charge.
(vii) Any documentation required or requested by the Service Providers at any time, shall be duly furnished by the customer upon demand.
(viii) Any items which remain undeliverable to or unclaimed by the customer for a period of more than 30 days in storage shall automatically become the property of the Service providers and shall be disposed of at their discretion.
6. Liability and Limitation of Liability
In consideration of the Service Providers acceptance of handling customers packages and the substantial responsibilities involved therein:
(i) The customer expressly releases the service providers from all responsibility for all loss, damage or other disposition of any package. In accordance with this release, the customer further waives any and all rights of claim against the service providers in respect of the package/s.
(ii) The customer acknowledges that any transit times quoted are estimated and not guaranteed. Service providers will not be liable for the delayed delivery of the packages regardless of the reasons of such a delay.
(iii) The service providers will not be liable for any penalties imposed, or loss or damage incurred due to the customers’ packages being impounded by customs or other official authorities, and the customer hereby indemnifies the service providers against such penalty or loss.
(iv) All data and information provided by the customer for the use of the S4S service shall be processed in accordance with data protection laws and shall not be disclosed to third parties except as required for the provision of the S4S service. The Service providers however reserve the right to disclose customer information to any law enforcement agency or customs authority requesting it in connection with the commission of any offence, in order to comply with any applicable laws and lawful authority requests, to operate the S4S service properly, or to protect the service providers, it’s users or suppliers from cheating and defrauding. Cheating and defrauding shall be inclusive but not limited to fraudulent payment, use of stolen credit cards, unauthorized chargeback or other reversal of a payment, money laundering or any other unlawful act or transaction.
7. Miscellaneous
(i) The service providers may discard, destroy, auction, sell or confiscate any of the customer’s packages within 30 days after receipt by the service providers if:
(a) The shipping charges are not paid by the customer upon delivery.
(b) The mail package/s are not clearly addressed or clearly identified as belonging to the customer.
(c) The customer does not claim the package/s received by the service providers within the stipulated 30 day period.
(ii) Any notice, request and/or any other correspondence pursuant to or in connection with the S4S service shall be in English.
(iii) Any relaxation of terms, time or indulgence granted by the company to the client and any neglect or failure by the company to enforce any of its rights under this agreement, shall not be construed as a waiver of any rights and shall not prejudice or effect any of the company’s rights.
(iv) Each clause shall be deemed severable from the rest of the agreement such that the nullity or invalidity of any provision of this agreement as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction shall in no way affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions.
(v) The paragraph headings do not consititute part of the agreement and shall not be considered in the interpretation hereof.
8. Data Protection
By using our services, you consent to us processing your personal data for the purpose as described in our Data Protection Notice, the full version of which is available on our website at http://www.arrow-express.eu/subs.php?p=35
9. Jurisdiction
This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Malta. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this contract, or the breach, termination or invalidity thereof, shall be settled by arbitration in accordance with Part IV (Domestic Arbitration) of the Malta Arbitration Act and the Arbitration Rules of the Malta Arbitration Centre as at present in force. The appointing authority and administrator shall be the Malta Arbitration Centre. The number of arbitrators shall be one. The place of arbitration shall be Malta. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English.