Courture / Company / Membership Rules
This document sets out the terms and conditions (“the Rules”) applicable to all members of Courture ("the Club"), which is operated and owned by Courture Limited ("Courture" as more precisely defined below).
Courture shall be entitled to change these Rules by posting the revised version on the Club Website, the revised Rules becoming effective 30 days after they are posted on the Club Website.
1. Definitions and Interpretation
1.1 In these Rules (unless the context requires otherwise):
"Club Website"   means http://www.courture.co.uk
"Corporate Member"   means a limited company or partnership to whom the rights set out in clause 3 have been granted in writing;
“Courture”   means Courture Limited a company incorporated in England (Co. No. 4644578) the registered office of which is situated at Charterford House, 75, London Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 9BB;
“Member”   means an individual who has been accepted in writing for membership by Courture;
“Renewal Month”   means the month in which the anniversary of the Member joining the Club falls;
“Requirements for Membership”    means such requirements set from time to time by Courture which must be met by an individual prior to being accepted as a Member and throughout their membership; and
"Supplier Partners"   means suppliers of goods and/or services who have been accepted by Courture as eligible to supply goods and/or services to Members.
1.2 Any reference in these Rules to a statutory provision shall include any amendment, replacement or re-enactment thereof.
1.3 Clause headings are for convenience only and do not effect interpretation. 
2. Applications for Membership
2.1 Before accepting an application for membership Courture shall be entitled to require that the applicant provides such information as Courture considers appropriate. Courture may from time to time require the Member to provide further information to enable Courture to satisfy itself that the Member continues to meet Courture’s membership criteria.
2.2 Courture may make enquiries to verify information provided by an applicant and/or to satisfy Courture that the applicant is suitable for membership of the Club.
2.3 By joining the Club the Member warrants that the information which the Member has provided in support of his or her application is true and accurate and consents to Courture making further enquires from time to time to ensure that the Member continues to satisfy Courture’s membership criteria.
2.4 By joining the Club the Member agrees to be bound by these Rules (as varied from time to time).
3. Corporate Membership
3.1 Courture may accept limited companies or partnerships to be Corporate Members.
3.2 The sole right of a Corporate Member is the right to nominate an agreed number of individuals who are connected with the Corporate Member either as an employee, contractor or customer of the Corporate Member (or by way of any other connection which is acceptable to Courture) to become Members of the Club. An individual nominated by a Corporate Member must supply the same information as any other individual applying to join the Club and will only become a Member if his or her application is accepted by Courture.
3.3 Courture shall be entitled to withdraw the rights of a Corporate Member by service of written notice on that Corporate Member at its principal trading address or registered office.
4. Supplier Partners
4.1 Courture thoroughly vets each Supplier Partner before allowing that Supplier Partner to appear on the Club Website and uses all reasonable endeavours to regularly monitor Supplier Partners but cannot accept responsibility for the acts or omissions of Supplier Partners nor can Courture give any guarantee as to the accuracy of information supplied on the Club Website by Supplier Partners.  Members should also be aware that Supplier Partners regularly change the information contained on the Club Website and offers and promotions may be withdrawn by Supplier Partners without notice.
4.2 Courture may act on behalf of the member when purchasing goods or services from a supplier partner. Either by verbal or written agreement, the member can request that Courture carries out a transaction and makes payment on behalf of the member. Where this is the case, the member is bound to pay for those goods or services from the point Courture acts on behalf of the member.
4.3 If a Member becomes involved in a dispute with a Supplier Partner or is in any way dissatisfied with the service which the Member has received from a Supplier Partner the Member should notify Courture via e-mail or verbally and Courture will proceed in accordance with its complaints policy (see clause 9 below).
4.4 Courture shall not be responsible for any losses which a Member may suffer as a result of the actions of a Supplier Partner except to the extent required by law.
4.5 Courture adopts a socially responsible approach to the running of its affairs particularly in relation to the use of child labour and the protection of the environment and will endeavour to select Supplier Partners who adhere to the same general principles.

4.6 Courture will normally take a commission from Supplier Partners or occasionally mark up the cost of supplier goods or services on business transacted on behalf of the Member. This will be in lieu of the time spent on the transaction or an agreed percentage of the transaction as determined between the Supplier Partner and Courture. Courture may also charge an advertising fee to its Supplier Partners. Where requested by a Member, Courture will provide a receipt for the transaction undertaken.

Where a member pays for goods and/or services by Credit Card they may be liable to any 3rd party transaction costs.

5. Membership Fees
5.1 The Club’s membership fees are published on the Club Website and no variation to the published fees will be binding on Courture unless agreed by Courture in writing.   Courture will give not less than 28 days notice of any increase in the joining and membership fees and will not normally increase these more than twice during each calendar year.
5.2 Acceptance of a new Member is conditional upon the payment by the new Member of the then current joining and membership fee.

5.3 Membership fees can be paid annually, biannually or quarterly in advance and on occasion for corporate members there may be the option for monthly installments. During a Members first year of membership, a Member is committed to paying a joining fee and a full 12 months fees. Where a member pays in installments and decides to cancel their membership they are liable to pay the outstanding fees for the 12 month contract.

5.4 For annual fees, Courture will collect the annual membership fee on the 20 th day of the Renewal Month (“the Due Date”) and any other monies due to Courture by such payment method as Courture may notify to the Member from time to time unless the Member has ceased to be a Member in accordance with the clause 12.

5.5 For bi annual and quarterly fees, Courture will accept payment by bank transfer, standing order, cheque or credit card payable in advance of the next period. Where payment of goods and/or services is received by Credit Card, the Member may be liable for any 3rd party transaction costs.

5.6 If the membership fee/s or any fees due under clause 8 are not received by Courture by the Due Date (without prejudice to it’s other rights and remedies) Courture shall be entitled to:
5.6.1 suspend the availability of some or all of the benefits of the Member; and/or
5.6.2 charge interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 2% per month until payment is received by Courture in cleared funds.
6. Opening Times
6.1 Courture will respond promptly to any general enquiry, between the hours of 8am - 7pm GMT during weekdays and 10am - 4pm GMT at weekends. During Bank Holidays and out of hours, Courture will not be responsible for assisting the request until the next available opening time when they will deal with your request promptly and efficiently. If Courture is unable to assist with a particular request under the concierge service Courture will notify the Member or suggest an alternative source of assistance.
6.2 There may be times when due to circumstances beyond Courture's control the service is unavailable. In such circumstances, Courture will do all that it reasonably can to restore the service but Courture does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage which Members may suffer as a result of the lack of availability of the service.
6.3 When ordering a product or service or accessing a benefit, you may be required to provide your Payment Card details and can request and authorise Courture to use your Payment Card to pay a Supplier for products or services. In doing this you acknowledge and agree that Courture has no liability or responsibility whatsoever in respect of the use of your Payment Card provided that Courture acts in accordance with the instructions issued by you in relation thereto.
6.4 All details you provide to us for the purpose of booking, ordering or purchasing products or services are correct and that the Payment Card you use is your own and that there are sufficient funds to cover the cost of the product or service.

6.5 You shall not be entitled to cancel any services requested where the sale has already begun, unless otherwise agreed by the Supplier.
6.6 On occasion Courture may make payment for goods and/or services on behalf of the Member and subsequently seek reimbursement from the Member to cover the full costs of the goods and/or services and any additional commission earnings levied by Courture or any other 3rd party. Courture will require immediate payment for these goods and/or services. Where the Member does not settle payment within the timescales of payment (typically 7 days) Courture shall be entitled to take payment from the Member's credit card for non payment. The Member will be liable for any 3rd party transaction charges.

6.7 Courture will request that written confirmation is given by the Member for any goods and/or services made by Courture on behalf of the Member prior to payment being made.  Where this is not practical Courture will accept verbal confirmation up to a value of £100 but written confirmation should be given as soon as practicable.
7. Availability of the Club Website, Viruses and Links
7.1 Whilst Courture shall use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Club Website is accessible to Members at all times, there may be times when due to circumstances which are beyond Courture’s control or for maintenance purposes, the Club Website will not be accessible.   In such circumstances Courture will do all that it reasonably can to restore the Club Website and to keep the “downtime” to a minimum, but Courture does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage which Members may suffer as a result.
7.2 Courture shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure that Supplier Partner’s websites and the Club Website and all email communications which it sends are free of viruses but cannot guarantee that it will be completely free of viruses.   Courture recommends that all Members maintain up to date virus protection software on their own computers as Courture does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage which Members may suffer as a result of a virus received through the Club Website.
7.3 Courture may from time to time provide links to sites which are operated by third parties who are not Supplier Partners.   Any such links are provided with a view to assisting Members but may not have been vetted by Courture and accordingly Courture accepts no responsibility for the information contained on such sites nor does it warrant that such sites will be virus free.
8. Privacy Policy

8.1 Courture is committed to protecting the privacy of Members and will handle all information which it receives from Members strictly in accordance with the applicable Data Protection legislation (see Data Protection below),

8.2 Information supplied by Members to Courture will not be passed to any other organisation without the Member's specific permission.

8.3 Some of the information which Courture holds about Members is available for inspection by the relevant Member via the Club Website and the Member may update that information himself or herself.  Other information can be updated by a Member sending an email to Courture.   It is the Member's responsibility to advise Courture of any change to information which has been provided (contact information is particularly important).

8.4 Courture may use technology to monitor the use of the Website and this may involve the use of a "cookie" which will be stored on the Member's web browser.  Members are free to set their own web-browsers so as to prevent the cookie being downloaded.  Courture will use the cookie for no purpose other than monitoring the use of the Club Website.

9. Complaints Policy

9.1 Courture will use all reasonable endeavours to respond to complaints received in writing from Members in accordance with the following procedure:

9.1.1 complaints will be acknowledged within two working days of receipt;

9.1.2 if the complaint concerns the conduct of a Supplier Partner the matter will be referred to the relevant Supplier Partner who will be asked to respond in writing direct to the complainant (supplying Courture with a copy of the response) within 10 working days;

9.1.3 in respect of other complaints, Courture will carry out an investigation and respond to the Member in writing within 10 working days of acknowledging the complaint;

9.1.4 Courture will contact the complainant approximately five days after delivery of the response in accordance with clause 9.1.2 or 9.1.3 (as the case might be) to discuss the response and (if necessary) the possibility of escalating the complaint.

9.2 The Member hereby authorises Courture to request information concerning the transaction (if any) which forms the subject of the complaint from the relevant Supplier Partner and the Member hereby authorises the Supplier Partner to release such information to Courture.

10. Termination of Membership

10.1 Members shall be entitled to terminate their membership of the Club by service of not less than 30 days written notice to expire on or before the first day of the Renewal Month.

10.2 Courture shall be entitled to terminate the membership of a Member in any of the following circumstances by serving written notice on the relevant Member:

10.2.1 if the Member commits any material breach of any of these Rules (other than the obligation to pay annual membership fees which shall be dealt with in accordance with clause 10.2.2); or

10.2.2 if the Member fails to pay membership fees or any other monies due to Courture within seven days of the Due Date; or

10.2.3 if the Member is unable to pay his or her debts as they fall due, is adjudicated bankrupt, enters into an individual voluntary arrangement or becomes insolvent; or

10.2.4 if the Member has ceased to satisfy Courture's Requirements for Membership of the Club.

10.3 In the event of termination under clause 10.2.4 the Member shall be entitled to a refund of the annual membership fee calculated on a pro-rata basis but in no other circumstances shall Courture be obliged to refund any part of the membership fees which have been paid.

10.4 Until membership is terminated in accordance with the provisions of these Rules the Member remains liable to pay the annual membership fees.

11. Data Protection Act 1998

11.1 Courture is fully committed to compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The following principles will apply when we handle any of our members or suppliers personal information:

Your personal information is only processed with your knowledge

Only information that we actually need is collected and processed

Your personal information is only seen by those who need it to do their jobs

Personal information is retained only for as long as it is required

Decisions affecting you are made on the basis of reliable and up to date information

Your information is protected from unauthorised or accidental disclosure

We will provide you with a copy of your personal information on request

Inaccurate or misleading data will be corrected as soon as possible

Procedures are in place for dealing promptly with any disputes

These principles apply whether we hold your information on paper or in electronic form.
12. General Matters

12.1 Courture is not a members club and other than the benefits expressly granted under the Rules a Member shall acquire no right or interest in the Club or in Courture.

12.2 The information, documents, drawings and illustrations published on the Club Website are save as otherwise stated the sole and exclusive property of Courture.  The copyright and other intellectual property rights in the contents of the Club Website belong to Courture (or to Courture’s suppliers or contributors to the Club Website including but not limited to Supplier Partners) and nothing in these Rules shall be construed as granting to a Member any right or interest in such copyright and other intellectual property rights.

12.3 These Rules constitute the entire agreement between Courture and the Members and no previous negotiations, quotations, correspondence or other communication shall form part of that agreement.

12.4 Nothing in these Rules shall limit or exclude Courture's liability for death or personal injury resulting from Courture's negligence and nothing in these Rules shall limit or exclude the Members statutory rights.

12.5 The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 shall not apply to these Rules and unless specific provision is made in these Rules to the contrary no person other than Courture and the Members shall have any rights under them or be entitled to enforce them.

12.6 Any and all notices or other information to be given by Courture to the Member or vice versa shall be deemed sufficiently given when (i) delivered by hand or (ii) forwarded by prepaid, registered or certified first class mail (or air mail if the Member is not resident in the United Kingdom); or (iii) sent by electronic mail to: members@courture.co.uk

To PO Box 5510, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK5 6XN, United Kingdom. as may be notified to the Member by Courture from time to time, or, if to the Member, to: the postal address or email address last posted by the Member.

12.7 These Rules shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
Copyright 2006 Courture Ltd. All rights reserved.
Corporate & personal concierge services.
Designed by WebActiv