Terms of sale

1. These terms

1.1  What these terms cover. These are the terms and conditions on which we supply goods to you.

1.2  Why you should read them. Please read these terms carefully before you submit your order to us. These terms tell you who we are, how we will provide products to you, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information. If you think that there is a mistake in these terms, please contact us to discuss. These terms set out the standards that apply when you use our site, link to our site or interact with our site in any other way. By using our site, you confirm that you accept these terms and that you agree to comply with them.

1.3  We may make changes to these terms. We amend these terms and our terms of sale and other policies from time to time. Every time you wish to use our site, please check these terms to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time.

1.4  In some areas you will have different rights under these terms depending on whether you are a business or consumer. Provisions of these terms which are specific to consumers only or to businesses only shall be stated as such.

2. Information about us and how to contact us

2.1  Who we are. We are Cuchet & Co Wine Merchants Limited, a company established in England and Wales with company number 11037173. Our registered office is at Walkhurst Lodge, Walkhurst Road, Benenden, Kent, TN17 4DR and our registered VAT number is 316740315.

2.2  How to contact us. You can contact us by:
telephoning our customer service team on 01892 710760
emailing us at wine@cuchet.co.uk
writing to us at Walkhurst Lodge, Walkhurst Road, Cranbrook, TN17 4DR.

2.3  How we may contact you. If we have to contact you we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to us in your order.

2.4  “Writing” includes emails. When we use the words “writing” or “written” in these terms, this includes emails.

3. Our contract with you

3.1  How we will accept your order. Our acceptance of your order will take place when we email you to accept it, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us.

3.2  If we cannot accept your order. If we are unable to accept your order, we will inform you of this in writing and will not charge you for the product. This might be because the product is out of stock, because of unexpected limits on our resources which we could not reasonably plan for, because the item does not satisfy our quality control standards, because we have identified an error in the price or description of the product or because we are unable to meet a delivery deadline you have specified.

3.3  Your order number. We will assign an order number to your order and tell you what it is when we accept your order. It will help us if you can tell us the order number whenever you contact us about your order.

3.4  We accept orders from the UK and internationally. However, we only arrange delivery to addresses in the mainland UK. Non-mainland and international orders can be collected by your nominated freight forwarder, by appointment at our warehouse.

3.5  We only sell to adults. Our website and brochures are solely for the promotion of our products to persons over 18 years old. Products are not suitable for persons under 18 years old. Deliveries can only be made to persons over 18 years old.

3.6  En primeur orders. Some goods can be ordered “en primeur” meaning they are ordered more than 30 days in advance of being available for delivery. The price of en primeur goods is fixed and payable upon acceptance of an order and the order cannot be cancelled. The value of such goods may fluctuate and is not influenced by us. The value of the goods may be less than you have paid for them.

4. Our products

4.1  Products may vary slightly from their pictures. The images of the products on our website or in our brochure are for illustrative purposes only. Where expressly requested, we may send photographs of products to illustrate the condition. Such photographs indicate the condition of the product at the time the photograph was taken only. Although we have made every effort to display the colours accurately, we cannot guarantee that a device’s display of the colours or a picture in our brochure accurately reflects the colour of the products. Your product may vary slightly from those images.

4.2  Product packaging may vary. The packaging of the product may vary from that shown in images on our website or in our brochure.

4.3  We will make reasonable efforts to verify the authenticity (including provenance) of the product but as a result of difficulty in gaining confirmation due to the nature of the product and the industry, we are unable to guarantee authenticity or provenance.

4.4  Taste is subjective. We may indicate the qualities that we believe a product has, but taste is a personal matter and we cannot guarantee you will share our thoughts or opinions with regard to a particular product.

5.  Making changes

5.1  If you wish to make a change to the product you have ordered please contact us. We will let you know if the change is possible and discuss implications of the change with you.

5.2  Changes by us. We may be required to change the product for example to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements, for example where labelling requirements have changed. We will discuss implications of the change with you.

6.  Providing the products

6.1  Delivery costs. The costs for delivery to the mainland UK will be as set out in our brochure or on our website.

6.2  When we will provide the products. Except en primeur orders, if we are delivering the products, we will deliver the products as soon as reasonably possible and in any event within 30 days after the day on which we accept your order. If you are collecting the products, the products will be available for collection from our warehouse 30 days after we have accepted your order or earlier if we agree early collection with you.

6.3  We are not responsible for delays outside our control. If our supply of the products is delayed by an event outside our control, then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay. Provided we do this, we will not be liable for costs, losses or delays caused by the event.

6.4  You agree to inspect all wines on delivery. You agree to notify us of any defects in the products obvious from a simple inspection within 30 days from the delivery date if you are a consumer and within 14 days from the delivery date if you are a business.

6.5  Business customers are deemed to have accepted the goods 14 days after the delivery date unless the goods have been expressly rejected.

6.6  Collection by you. If you have asked to collect the products from our warehouse, you can collect them from us by appointment at any time during our working hours of 09:00 to 17:30 on weekdays (excluding public holidays). Orders being collected on your behalf by a freight forwarder should be similarly made by appointment.

6.7  When you become responsible for the goods. Goods will be your responsibility from the time we deliver the product to the address you gave us or you (or a carrier organised by you) collect it from us. The goods may deteriorate as a consequence of poor handling or storage. We are not responsible for defects in the products resulting from poor handling or storage following delivery.

6.8  When you own goods. You own a product which is goods once we have received payment in full. If you have taken delivery before payment is made to us in full, we are entitled to inspect such goods upon reasonable notice to you and you shall ensure that such inspection rights are binding against any third party who has physical control of the goods. We may require you to deliver up the goods at our request. .

6.9  If you are a business and you do not pay, we may seek to resell the goods elsewhere by a method at our discretion. We shall notify you of our intention to do so. We may be unable to sell the goods at the price agreed with you and you shall be liable for any loss to us plus our costs for arranging the resale.

7.  Your rights to end the contract

7.1  You can always end your contract with us. Your rights when you end the contract will depend on what you have bought, whether there is anything wrong with it, how we are performing and when you decide to end the contract:

7.2  When you don’t have the right to change your mind. You do not have a right to change your mind in respect of:

7.2.1  Purchases made by a business;

7.2.2  products sealed for health protection or hygiene purposes, once these have been unsealed after you receive them;

7.2.3  any products which become mixed inseparably with other items after their delivery; or

7.2.4  “en primeur” sales due for delivery more than 30 days after the order has been accepted by us and the value of the goods may fluctuate and cannot be controlled by us

7.3  Ending the contract where we are not at fault and there is no right to change your mind. Even if we are not at fault and you do not have a right to change your mind (see clause 7.1), you can still end the contract before it is completed, but you may have to pay us compensation. A contract for goods is completed when the product is delivered and paid for. If you want to end a contract before it is completed where we are not at fault and you have not changed your mind, just contact us to let us know. The contract will end immediately and we will refund any sums paid by you for products not provided but we may deduct from that refund (or, if you have not made an advance payment, charge you) reasonable compensation for the net costs we will incur as a result of your ending the contract.

8. How to end the contract with us (including if you have changed your mind)

8.1  Tell us you want to end the contract. To end the contract with us, please let us know by doing one of the following: Call customer services on 01892 710760 or email us at wine@cuchet.co.uk. Please provide details of your order number, what you bought, when you ordered or received it and your name and address.

8.2 Returning products after ending the contract. If you end the contract for any reason after products have been dispatched to you or you have received them, you must return them to us. You must either return the goods in person to where you bought them, post them back to us at Walkhurst Lodge, Walkhurst Road, Cranbrook, TN17 4DR If you are exercising your right to change your mind you must send off the goods within 14 days of telling us you wish to end the contract.

8.3  When we will refund the costs of return. At our discretion, we shall either pay the costs of return or refund the price you paid:

8.3.1  if the products are faulty or misdescribed; or

8.3.2  if you are ending the contract because we have told you of an upcoming change to the product or these terms, an error in pricing or description, a delay in delivery due to events outside our control or because you have a legal right to do so as a result of something we have done wrong.
Please contact us to discuss return options.
In all other circumstances (including where you are exercising your right to change your mind) you must pay the costs of return.

8.4  What we charge for collection. If you are responsible for the costs of return and we are collecting the product from you, we will charge you the direct cost to us of collection. The costs of collection will be the same as our charges for standard delivery, as set out in our brochure.

8.5  How we will refund you. We will refund you the price you paid for the products (including delivery costs, if applicable) by the method you used for payment or alternatively at our discretion, we will use the refund to off-set unpaid sums on other orders from you. However, we may make deductions from the price, as described below.

8.6  Deductions from refunds if you are exercising your right to change your mind. If you are exercising your right to change your mind:

8.6.1  We may reduce your refund of the price (excluding delivery costs) to reflect any reduction in the value of the goods, if this has been caused by your handling them in a way which would not be permitted in a shop. If we refund you the price paid before we are able to inspect the goods and later discover you have handled them in an unacceptable way, you must pay us an appropriate amount.

8.6.2  The maximum refund for delivery costs will be the costs of delivery by the least expensive delivery method we offer. For example, if we offer delivery of a product within 3-5 days at one cost but you choose to have the product delivered within 24 hours at a higher cost, then we will only refund what you would have paid for the cheaper delivery option.

8.7  When your refund will be made. We will make any refunds due to you as soon as possible. If you are exercising your right to change your mind then:

8.7.1  If the products are goods and we have not offered to collect them, your refund will be made within 14 days from the day on which we receive the product back from you or, if earlier, the day on which you provide us with evidence that you have sent the product back to us. For information about how to return a product to us, see clause 9.2.

8.7.2  In all other cases, your refund will be made within 14 days of your telling us you have changed your mind.

9.  Our rights to end the contract

9.1  We may end the contract if you break it. We may end the contract for a product at any time by writing to you if:

9.1.1  you do not make any payment to us when it is due and you still do not make payment within 14 days of us reminding you that payment is due;

9.1.2  you do not, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information that is necessary for us to provide the products, for example, delivery information; or

9.1.3  you do not, within a reasonable time, allow us to deliver the products to you or collect them from us.

9.2  You must compensate us if you break the contract. If we end the contract in the situations set out in clause 9.1 we will refund any money you have paid in advance for products we have not provided but we may deduct or charge you reasonable compensation for the net costs we will incur as a result of your breaking the contract.

9.3  We may withdraw the product. We may write to you to let you know that we are going to stop providing the product. We will let you know at least 5 days in advance of our stopping the supply of the product and will refund any sums you have paid in advance for products which will not be provided.

10. If there is a problem with the product

10.1  How to tell us about problems. If you have any questions or complaints about the product, please contact us. You can telephone us on 01892 710760 or email us at wine@cuchet.co.uk.

10.2  Summary of your legal rights if you are a business. We are under a legal duty to supply products that are in conformity with this contract but we do not warrant that the quality of any goods purchased or obtained by you will be fit for a particular purpose or meet your expectations. The terms implied by sections 13 to 15 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from the Contract.

10.3  Corked wine is not considered a fault unless you can show that our handling of the goods is the cause.

10.4  Poorly stored or handled products. The expected lifespan and/or quality of the products will be significantly reduced by poor handling and storage. In particular proximity to light or heat or excess cold will damage the goods. Poor handling and storage may effect your right to claim the goods are not of satisfactory quality.

10.5  Your obligation to return rejected products. If you wish to exercise your legal rights to reject products you must contact us on 01892 710760 or email us at wine@cuchet.co.uk. At our discretion, we may require you to return the goods or dispose of them, on our behalf. If we require you to return the goods, you may either return them in person to where you bought them, post them back to us or (if they are not suitable for posting) allow us to collect them from you. We will pay the costs of postage or collection when goods are faulty and we have required their return.

11.  Price and payment

11.1  What happens if we got the price wrong. It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the products we sell may be incorrectly priced. We will normally check prices before accepting your order so that, where the product’s correct price at your order date is less than our stated price at your order date, we will charge the lower amount. If the product’s correct price at your order date is higher than the price stated to you, we will contact you for your instructions before we accept your order. If we accept and process your order where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing, we may end the contract, refund you any sums you have paid and require the return of any goods provided to you.

11.2  When you must pay and how you must pay. We currently only accept bank transfer.

11.3  We can charge interest if you pay late. If you do not make any payment to us by the due date we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 3% a year above the base lending rate of the Bank of England from time to time. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with any overdue amount.

11.4  What to do if you think an invoice is wrong. If you think an invoice is wrong please contact us promptly to let us know. You will not have to pay any interest until the dispute is resolved. Once the dispute is resolved we will charge you interest on correctly invoiced sums from the original due date.

12. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you

12.1  If you are a consumer, we are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for example, if you discussed it with us during the sales process.

12.2  If you are a business, our total liability to you in respect of all breaches relating to the contract shall not exceed the total charges paid by you to in relation to the contract under which the breach(es) occurred.

12.3  We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; for breach of your legal rights in relation to the products as summarised at clause 10.1; and for defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

13. Other important terms

13.1  We may transfer this Agreement to someone else. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation. We will contact you to let you know if we plan to do this.

13.2  You need our consent to transfer your rights to someone else (except that you can always transfer our guarantee). You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if we agree to this in writing.

13.3  Nobody else has any rights under this contract (except someone you pass your guarantee on to). This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms. Neither of us will need to get the agreement of any other person in order to end the contract or make any changes to these terms.

13.4  If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

13.5  Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you but we continue to provide the products, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.

13.6  Which laws apply to this contract and where you may bring legal proceedings. These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in the English courts. If you live in Scotland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.