Design and Development Terms & Conditions

Acceptance

When you accept our quotation or place an order by email, telephone, mail or fax or you make payment of any advance fee then you are accepting our terms and conditions. An 'order' is deemed to be a written or verbal contract between NRC UK and the client, this includes telephone and email agreements.
Definitions:
1. The Client
  - The company or individual requesting the services of NRC UK.
  
  NRC UK
  - Primary designer/site owner & employees or affiliates.
  
  The Project
  - the body of work that is being undertaken, normally consisting of several connected parts, such as consultation, graphic design, website or software development and/or hosting
  
  Site
  - this comprises the website, software, service or system developed or provided to the client
Site Design and Development
1. Whilst every endeavour will be made to ensure that the website and any scripts or programs are free of errors, NRC UK cannot accept responsibility for any losses incurred due to malfunction, the website or any part of it.
2. In order to reduce project costs and timeframes quoted to the client, NRC UK may utilise previously developed components within their library or third party components and apply appropriate customisations appropriate to the client's requirements. For this reason, the site, graphics and any programming code designed or developed by NRC UK remain the intellectual property of NRC UK and the fees charged to and paid in full by the client effectively grant the client a licence to use the materials designed and developed including their assembly into the site provided all accounts are paid in full.
  Any scripts and code developed in any languages including cgi applications, php scripts, or software (unless specifically agreed) written by NRC UK remain the copyright of NRC UK and may only be commercially reproduced or resold with the permission of NRC UK. The only exception to this clause is where the site is a public website meaning the public facing site promoting a client's business or organsational interests, which the client will retain ownership and intellectual property rights (with the exception of third party components) on full payment of all amounts invoiced.
3. NRC UK cannot take responsibility for any copyright infringements caused by materials submitted by the client. We reserve the right to refuse any material of a copyrighted nature unless adequate proof is given of permission to use such material.
4. Any additions to the brief will be carried out at the discretion of NRC UK and where no charge is made by NRC UK for such additions, NRC UK accept no responsibility to ensure such additions are error free and reserve the right to charge an according amount for any correction to these or further additions.
5. The client agrees to make available as soon as is reasonably possible to NRC UK all materials required to complete the site to the agreed standard and within the set deadline for any part of the project.
6. NRC UK will not be liable for costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to the failure to meet agreed deadlines.
  NRC UK will not be liable or become involved in any disputes between the site owner and their clients and cannot be held responsible for any wrongdoing on the part of a site owner.
7. NRC UK will not be liable for any costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to the work carried out on behalf of the client or any of the clients appointed agents.
8. NRC UK will not be liable for any costs incurred, compensation or loss of earnings due to the unavailability of the site, its servers, software or any material provided by its agents.
9. A deposit is required with any project before any work willl be carried out unless otherwise agreed in writing. The amount of such deposit will be stipulated in any quotation provided or other communications between the client and NRC UK.
10. Once a site or software has been designed and completed the final balance of payment is then due in accordance with our payment terms. There are no exceptions to this, i.e. If the client decides they no longer want the site, as they have commissioned the work and paid a deposit they are still obliged to pay for the work that has been done. Non payment will result in legal action being taken if necessary.
Database, Application and E-Commerce Development
1. NRC UK cannot take responsibility for any losses incurred by the use of any software created for the client. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure products are problem free and accurate, the ultimate responsibility lies with the client in ensuring that all software is functioning correctly before use.
2. The client is expected to test fully any application or programming relating to a site or software developed by NRC UK before being made generally available for use. Where "bugs", errors or other issues are found after the site is live, NRC UK will endeavour (but is not obliged to) to correct these issues to meet the standards of function outlined in the brief.
Compatibility
1. NRC UK will endeavour to ensure that any developed/designed site or application will function correctly on the server it is initially installed in and that it will function correctly when viewed with the web browsing software specified in project proposals and quotations to an acceptable level. NRC UK can offer no guarantees of correct function with all browser software.
Site Hosting
1. Whilst NRC UK may provide hosting or recommend hosting companies to host sites, no guarantees can be made as to the availability or interruption of this service by NRC UK cannot accept liability for losses caused by the unavailability, malfunction or interruption of this service, or for loss of turnover, sales, revenue, profits or indirect, consequential or special loss.
2. NRC UK reserves the right to refuse to handle in any way, material which may be deemed offensive, illegal or in any way controversial, and also to terminate the hosting service should the necessity arise.
Third Party Services

NRC UK may require the usage of third party services - for example, credit card processing - to complete the Client's project requirements and will ensure these services are integrated into the project and working correctly upon completion. NRC UK cannot be held responsible for subsequent changes or issues with these third party services that may result in issues on the Client's site and may require a one-off Development charge before resolving any problems that may arise.
Charges and Payment

Charges for services to be provided by NRC UK are defined in the project quotation or proposal emailed to the Client. Quotations are valid for 30 days from the date sent.
Unless agreed otherwise with the Client, all services including development require an advance payment to be specified in the relevant project quotation total as a deposit before work commences. The remaining balance of the project quotation total will be due upon completion of specified milestones typically relating to modules of design or functionality. Deposits are non-refundable. Payment for services is due by bank transfer or cheque. Cheques should be made payable as specified on invoices and sent to the address shown on the invoices. Bank details will be made available on invoices. Accounts that remain unpaid fourteen (14) days after the due date of the invoice may be levied a late payment charge in the amount of the higher of one and one-half percent (1.5%) or £30 per invoice.
Client Review

NRC UK will provide the Client with opportunities to review the appearance and functioning of the site during the design and development phases. Once the site goes live either by hosting or the client's use of the site, the work will be deemed to be accepted and approved unless the Client tells NRC UK otherwise by email within ten (10) days of the date the completed site is made available to the Client.
Project timeframe

Where a client has a specific deadline this must be stated to and accepted by NRC UK prior to the commencement of a project. Where no deadline is stated, NRC UK may estimate a timeframe based on the client's broad requirements. However, where the project is undertaken using the Agile Methodology of Development, the project may be broken down into incremental releases and timings dependent on the provision of detailed requirements by the client and subsequent analysis by NRC UK as well as any changes, client testing, feedback and further review.
Termination

Termination of services by the Client must be requested in a written notice (email or letter) and will be effective on receipt of such notice. Telephone requests for termination of services will be honoured after confirmation in writing (email or letter). The Client will be invoiced for development work completed to the date of first notice of cancellation for payment in full within thirty (30) days. If the client fails to pay for work completed they forfeit the right to use the software or site and continued use will give rise to further charges to the client.
Complaints Procedure
1. Informal procedure
  
  Anyone who experiences a problem with their web service provided by NRC UK should raise the matter in writing by email or post, giving sufficient information to locate the material (such as an url) and clearly outlining the grounds for complaint.
  NRC UK will investigate with a view to resolving the matter to the satisfaction of the complainant.
2. Formal complaints procedure
  
  The formal complaints procedure should only be used where the complainant feels that the nature of the complaint is too serious to be dealt with informally, or where a satisfactory conclusion has not been reached after following the informal procedure.
  A formal complaint should be made in writing to NRC UK, who will acknowledge receipt and ensure that the matter is looked into as soon as possible. An initial response to any complaint can be expected within seven days of its receipt; a full and considered response to the complaint should be completed within 30 days and any subsequent remedy implemented with the minimum of delay.
Copyright

The Client retains the copyright to data, files and graphic logos provided by the Client, and grants NRC UK the rights to publish and use such material. The Client must obtain permission and rights to use any information or files that are copyrighted by a third party. The Client is further responsible for granting NRC UK permission and rights for use of the same and agrees to indemnify and hold harmless NRC UK from any and all claims resulting from the Client's negligence or inability to obtain proper copyright permissions. Evidence of permissions and authorities may be requested.
Design Credit

A link to NRC UK may appear in small type at the bottom of the Client's site.
Access Requirements

If the Client's site is to be installed on a third-party server, NRC UK must be granted temporary read/write access to the Client's storage directories. This must be accessible via FTP. Depending on the specific nature of the project, other resources might also need to be configured on the server.
Post-Placement Alterations

NRC UK cannot accept responsibility for any alterations caused by a third party occurring to the Client's site once installed. Such alterations include, but are not limited to additions, modifications or deletions.

General

Site design by Mike Edwards