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Literate Systems logoLiterate Systems Puts You On The Internet

Literate Systems logo

Literate Systems Puts You On The Internet

Terms and Conditions

Terms & Conditions

Literate Systems operates under the following terms and conditions which you should read to check where they apply to your relationship with us and any work that we may complete on your behalf.  These terms and conditions were last checked and updated 1 March 2021.

The terms and conditions below relate to all aspects of any business we may undertake with you covering website development, website and email hosting, sale of domain names and search engine optimisation (SEO) work.

1.  Completion of Work

1.1  We will carry out any work that may be accepted from you to the best of our professional ability.

1.2  Subject to you providing all information and material that, in our opinion, may be required for the work to progress, we will make every effort to complete work within the timescale as may be agreed with you.

2.  Copyright

2.1  You attest that all material provided by you for inclusion on your web site is free of copyright issues, or that the copyright is vested in you and that you are content for such material to be included on the World Wide Web. You agree to indemnify Literate Systems against third party claims arising as a result of a breach of copyright on material provided by you for inclusion on your site.

2.2  Copyright in all material drafted by us for you is vested in us. On payment of our fees you are granted a non-exclusive licence without further charge to use the material without amendment for the purposes of your business.

2.3  Copyright of all programming techniques (both foreground and background) developed by Literate Systems for your website remains with us and cannot be transferred. This includes website layout and look-and-feel where this has been developed by Literate Systems.

3.  Ownership

3.1  Any documents, photographs, graphics or other materials provided by you in connection with such work shall remain your property and shall be returned on request.

3.2  In the case of product supplied by us, including hardware, software and domain names, ownership of such items will remain with Literate Systems until paid for in full by you.

4.  Privacy

4.1  Literate Systems will keep confidential all personal or business information disclosed to us by you while completing work accepted from you and will continue to do so after the work is completed.

5.  Premature Termination of Work

5.1  The work may be terminated by you at any time by notifying us in writing. On termination, we will be entitled to be paid on the hourly basis as set out herein, or the specific fee agreed for the work, whichever is the less.

6.  Payment

6.1  Unless otherwise agreed, we shall be entitled to be paid at our current hourly rate for all time directly attributable to the work, together with all directly attributable expenses. Where these expenses include travel by rail this may be at first class fare, and where by air at club/business class rates. Travel by car will be charged at our current mileage rate as guided by various motoring organisations. Unusually large expenses are payable in advance if so requested by us.

6.2  For substantial contracts, Literate Systems will invoice you for one third the estimated total sum at the inception of work, one third when the work is presented for approval and the remaining outstanding sum on completion of all work. For website development work, sites will not be submitted to any search engines until all outstanding invoices are paid.

6,3  The minimum charge for work undertaken on website development or amendments is £30.

6.4  We will accept no payment or benefit from any party other than you in connection with the work we undertake for you.

7.  Non-payment

7.1  Our fees are due within 14 days of the invoice date. Interim invoices may be submitted for payment while work remains current.

7.2  If you are dissatisfied with any products or the service provided you must bring this to our attention as soon as possible such that the circumstances may be investigated. Dissatisfaction with any part of the service or with part of the product(s) supplied is not justification for non-payment of the entire invoice.

7.3  Interest may be charged on outstanding sums in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 at the prevailing rate (currently Bank of England Base Rate plus 8%) and we shall not be bound to continue with any work on your behalf while an invoice remains outstanding.

7.4  In the case of website development work or annual hosting fees remaining unpaid, we may, in addition to the above and at our discretion, disable access to that domain or for the work that remains unpaid including e-mail addresses connected with that domain, and may notifying website visitors accordingly.

7.5  In the event that domain name registration fees remain unpaid Literate Systems reserves the right to either use that domain name for its own purposes or to sell the domain name concerned to the highest bidder.

7.6  In the case of invoiced amounts for hardware or software supplied by us remaining unpaid we reserve the right to remove any such items from your premises after due notice.

7.7  While Literate Systems would prefer to settle any differences in a friendly, straight-forward manner, outstanding debts will be pursued to the maximum extent of the law.

7.8  In the event that Literate Systems has to use a debt recovery agency to recover any outstanding sums, their charges will be added to the outstanding debt ie you will be responsible for the recovery costs as well as the outstanding debt.

8.  Third Party Terms

8.1  Where Literate Systems is acting as a reseller for third party products or services, you agree to be bound by their terms and conditions access to which will be provided on request.

9.  Notification of Price Changes

9.1  Literate Systems reserves the right to change prices or institute new charges for our services at any time. Such changes will only apply in respect of new work, including continuing monthly maintenance fees, hosting fees and domain renewal fees when they fall due.

10.  Warranty and Disclaimers

10.1  We provide our services to the best of our endeavours using a commercially reasonable level of skill and care. But there are certain things that we do not promise about our services.  Literate Systems does not make any specific promises about the services provided.  We do not make any commitments about the specific functions of the services or their reliability, availability or ability to meet your needs. We provide our services on an "as is" basis.

11.  Liability for our Services

11.1  Literate Systems and its suppliers and distributors will not be responsible for lost profits, revenues or data, financial losses or indirect, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages.  To the extent permitted by law, the total liability of Literate Systems and its suppliers for any claims under these terms, including for any implied warranties, is limited to the amount that you paid to use the services.

12.  Business uses of our Services

12.1  If you are using our services on behalf of a business, that business accepts these terms. It will hold harmless and indemnify Literate Systems and its affiliates, officers, agents and employees from any claim, action or proceedings arising from or related to the use of the services or violation of these terms, including any liability or expense arising from claims, losses, damages, judgements, litigation costs and legal fees.

13.  About these Terms

13.1  We may modify these terms or any additional terms that apply to a particular service to, for example, reflect changes to the law or changes to our services.  You should look at the terms regularly. We’ll post notice of modifications to these terms on this page.  Changes will not apply retrospectively and will become effective no earlier than fourteen days after they are posted. However, changes addressing new functions for a Service or changes made for legal reasons will be effective immediately.  If you do not agree to the modified terms for a service, you should discontinue your use of that service and notify us accordingly.

14.  Jurisdiction

14.1  This agreement shall be governed by English law and the Courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any matters arising under it.