Universal Drops Terms and Conditions of Carriage

Interpretation:- The following definitions and rules of interpretation apply to the terms and conditions set out below.

Booking:- A booking for the carriage of a Consignment placed by a Customer with the Carrier via telephone, email or Online.

Carrier:- It means Universal Drops.

Consignee:- The person to whom the Carrier delivers the Consignment.

Consignment:- The goods or property, whether or not contained in separate parcels, packages, containers or envelopes including any paper and documents, to be delivered by the Carrier for the Customer to the Consignee.

Customer:- It means the sender or consignor who contracts for the services of the Carrier.

Dangerous Goods:-

  • It means dangerous goods including, but not limited to, those specified in the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 1996,
  • The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical Instructions,
  • The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations
  • The International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code
  • The European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) regulations
  • Any other national or international rules applicable to the transport of, or the performance of other services regarding, dangerous goods.

Services:- The services to be provided by Universal Drops to the sender or consignor as described above.

Valuable Goods:- It means goods which may be carried by the Carrier pursuant to clause 4 which shall include, without limitation:

  • Antiques, art, bank, credit, pre-pay or other store cards with a cash equivalent value,
  • Bearer bonds, bills of exchange, china, documents of title to property,
  • Fragile and perishable goods, furs, glass,

Important documents that include:

  • Passports, tenders, share and option certificates.
  • Jewellery, Money, Photographs, Precious stones, precious metals, prescription drugs
  • Promissory notes, stamps, travellers cheques, vouchers
  • Watches, and any other goods which the Carrier may at its sole discretion deem to be valuable.

Services:- The Carrier provides an all-encompassing Consignment service to the Customer, which includes but is not limited to:

  • A booking service
  • The carriage of Consignments
  • Tracking of deliveries
  • Reporting of deliveries

Other features agreed between the Carrier and its Customer from time to time.

The Customer acknowledges that for the carriage element of its service, the Carrier will engage an employee, agent or subcontractor.

In providing the Services, the Carrier shall:

  • Co-operate with and comply with all reasonable instructions of the Customer
  • Perform the Services with care, skill and diligence in accordance with best practice in the Carrier’s industry
  • Use personnel who are suitably skilled and experienced to perform tasks assigned to them, and in sufficient number, to ensure that the Carrier’s obligations are fulfilled in accordance with these terms and conditions
  • Ensure that the Services will conform with all descriptions and specifications set out in the booking.

The Customer’s Obligations:- The Customer warrants;

  • That the description and particulars of any goods furnished by or on behalf of the Customer are full and accurate;
  • That all goods have been properly and sufficiently prepared, packed, labelled and/or marked, and that the preparation, packing, labelling and marking are appropriate to any operations or transactions affecting the goods and the characteristics of the goods;
  • That the consignee’s full address including postcode and contact details have been fully, accurately and legibly entered on our consignment note and on an address label securely fixed by you to a prominent position on the outer surface of the Consignment and can be clearly seen by the Carrier;
  • That where the Carrier receives the goods from the Customer already packed, the goods are in good condition, and are suitable for the carriage to the intended destination of the goods loaded therein or thereon
  • That no consignment will exceed any size or weight restrictions which the Carrier may from time to time specify
  • That no consignment will contain any dangerous goods and the Carrier will have no liability (whether caused negligently or otherwise) for loss, damage or miss-delivery or non-delivery or late delivery of the same
  • That the Customer will indemnify the Carrier and keep the Carrier indemnified against any cost, expenses, liabilities, injuries, losses, damages, claims, demands, proceedings or legal costs which the carrier suffers as a result of a breach of the warranties contained in this clause 3.1.

Valuable Goods:-

  • If the proposed Consignment contains Valuable Goods, the Customer must notify the Carrier at the time of Booking as to the content and value of such Consignment of Valuable Goods and the Carrier may (in its sole discretion) elect to carry such Valuable Goods.
  • The Carrier shall not be liable to the Customer for any loss, however caused, unless the Carrier has agreed in writing to the Customer to accept such liability.
  • The Carrier reserves the right to charge the Customer (and the Customer shall pay) an additional sum for the carriage of the Consignment of Valuable Goods and will inform the Customer of such sum prior to accepting the Booking.
  • If the Customer fails to so inform the Carrier in accordance with this clause 4, such Consignment will be delivered solely at the Customer’s risk and the Customer shall indemnify
  • Keep the Carrier indemnified against any and all losses, damages, claims, liabilities, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, legal costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by the Carrier arising out of, or in connection with, the delivery of the Consignment comprising such Valuable Goods in whole or in part.

Prohibited Items:- The Customer shall not submit for carriage any Consignment which contains:

  • Firearms, munitions, inflammable items or other explosives
  • Livestock or other animals, human remains, any obscene, defamatory,
  • Blasphemous, Scandalous or other indecent material
  • Any item (including, without limitation, drugs or other illegal substances) which is prohibited or illegal to possess or import into any country through or into which the carriage of the Consignment is to take place (the “Prohibited Items”).
  • If the Customer submits Prohibited Items as a Consignment (and regardless of whether or not the Carrier has agreed to carry such Consignment)
  • The Customer shall indemnify and keep the Carrier indemnified against any and all losses, damages, claims, liabilities, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, legal costs and expenses).

Restricted Items:- Customers are not allowed to pack or ship restricted items as listed below.

  • Animals (including birds, fish, insects, larvae, pupae etc.).
  • Animal products (including but not limited to ivory, fur and garments trimmed with fur).
  • Antiques and art works.
  • Bullion.
  • Complete firearms and firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, weapons.
  • Dangerous /hazardous goods (including but not limited to flammable substances, loose lithium batteries, dry ice, biological substances, UN classified dangerous goods and any goods specified as such under International Air Transport Association regulations (“IATA”), the Agreement on Dangerous Goods by Road (“ADR”) or International Maritime Dangerous Goods (“IMDG”) regulations.
  • Flowers and plant products.
  • Human remains or ashes.
  • Illegal goods (goods which are considered illegal in the origin, the transit points and / or the destination countries and would include but not be limited to pirated goods, counterfeit goods and narcotics).
  • Imitation (replica) firearms, toy guns, weapons, explosive devices or ammunition
  • Medical samples (including but not limited to bodily fluids and tissue samples)
  • Perishable items that require a temperature controlled environment
  • Prescription drugs and pharmaceutical products
  • Foodstuffs, perishable food articles and beverages requiring refrigeration or other environmental control.
  • Packages that are wet, leaking or emit an odor of any kind.
  • For international carriage there may be additional prohibited items specified by the country of origin and/or destination.
  • The Carrier may at its sole discretion refuse to carry other items not listed above.

Delivery:-

  • The Carrier will use all reasonable efforts to collect and deliver the Consignment within the times specified for collection and delivery by the Carrier when confirming a Booking but unless otherwise agreed these are estimates only and time is not of the essence.

Cancellation:-

  • The Carrier and Customer shall each be entitled to cancel a Booking and terminate the Contract at any time for any reason with immediate effect by written notice to the other.
  • Where the Carrier cancels a Booking pursuant to clause 8.1 by reason of a breach of these Conditions by the Customer, the Carrier may, without prejudice to any rights or remedies it may have at law or under these Conditions, charge (and the Customer shall pay) a reasonable fee for time and effort incurred by the Carrier in connection with that Booking, up to the full value of the charges specified by the Carrier..
  • In the event of cancellation of any Booking for a Consignment by the Customer, where the Carrier has collected the Consignment in question, the Customer shall be liable to the Carrier for the Carrier’s charges in full for the carriage of the Consignment.
  • The Customer has a legal right to cancel any Booking with immediate effect by written notice to the Carrier during a 7 Working Day period beginning the day after the date of the confirmation of the booking.
  • Where the Customer cancels a Booking pursuant to clause 8.4, the Carrier shall refund to the Customer all sums paid by the Customer to the Carrier in connection with that Booking prior to the date of cancellation as soon as possible and, in any event, within 30 calendar days of cancellation.

Undelivered and Unclaimed Goods:-

  • Where the Carrier is unable to effect delivery of a shipment for whatever reason the Carrier shall try to leave a notice at the Consignee’s address stating that delivery has been attempted and the whereabouts of the shipment.
  • If delivery has not been made after a second attempt by the Carrier, or the receiver refuses to accept delivery, the Carrier will try to contact the Customer and agree the appropriate next action.
  • You agree to pay us any costs we incur in forwarding, disposing of or returning the Consignment and our charges (if any) for making a third or more delivery attempt and for the agreed appropriate next action.
  • If the Carrier does not receive the Customer or Consignee’s instructions within a reasonable period after our second attempt to deliver the Consignment, then you agree that we may destroy or sell the content of the Consignment without any further liability to you.
  • Where the Carrier sells the Consignment to a third party pursuant to clause 9.3, the Carrier shall use its reasonable endeavors to obtain a reasonable price for the Consignment and shall apply the proceeds of sale to the payment of all its proper expenses and charges suffered or incurred in relation to the carriage, storage and sale or disposal of the Consignment.
  • Any proceeds left over shall be paid to the Customer upon which the Carrier shall be discharged from all liability in respect of the Consignment.
  • Where the proceeds of sale do not meet or exceed the total value of the Carrier’s expenses and changes, the Carrier shall charge the Customer (and the Customer shall pay) a sum equal to the shortfall.

Incorrect Addresses:-

  • If the Carrier is unable to deliver a shipment because of an incorrect address the Carrier will make all reasonable efforts to find the correct address.
  • The Carrier will notify the Customer of the correction and deliver or attempt to deliver the shipment to the correct address although additional charges may apply.

Dangerous Goods:-

  • The Carrier will do not carry, nor perform other services, regarding goods which are, or are in our sole opinion, dangerous goods.
  • The Carrier may at its discretion accept some dangerous goods for carriage, or for the performance of other services, in some countries if the Customer has been accorded the status of an approved customer and this must be provided to the Carrier in writing before the Customers shipment can be accepted.
  • The dangerous goods will only be accepted if they comply with the applicable regulations and The Carriers requirements.
  • If the good are accepted the Customer must provide the Carrier with a full written declaration of the nature and content of such goods and the nature of the hazard presented by such good together with the instructions for the safe handling of these goods.

Liability and Limitations:-

  • Notwithstanding any other clause of these Conditions, neither party excludes or limits liability for personal injury or death arising from the negligence or willful default of either party, its servants, dealers or sub-contractors; or for any fraudulent misrepresentation.
  • Except as expressly provided in these Conditions, the total liability of the Carrier which arises out of or under these Conditions (whether in contract, tort, statute or otherwise) in respect of any contract arising from a Booking is specified in the tables below.
  • The Carrier shall not be liable to the Customer, whether in contract, tort or by statute, or otherwise in respect of any loss of profits and/or for any special, indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage suffered by the Customer howsoever caused including, without limitation:
      1. loss due to delay in delivery; and/or
      2. loss of anticipated savings; and/or
      3. loss of business and/or goods; and/or
      4. loss of goodwill; and/or
      5. loss of use; and/or
      6. loss of data or other information; and/or
      7. loss relating to the procurement by the Customer of any substitution of goods or services.

The types of loss and/or damage specified in the clauses above shall not constitute direct loss for the purpose of these Conditions.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction:-

  • These Conditions and any act or contract to which they apply shall be exclusively governed by the laws of England and Wales and any dispute arising out of any act or contract to which these Conditions apply shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.