A.1 Invoice and Payment terms

New Installations – We will send you a deposit invoice for a stated percentage of the agreed basic system value. Any options or enhancements to the system(s) will be itemised and added in full to this invoice. Once payment has been made, the installation date will be finalised.  Following installation, commissioning and hand-over an invoice will be sent to you for the balance of the basic system value.

Annual Service Agreements – We will send you an invoice for an annual instalment in advance.  We will have agreed the invoicing period with you before we send the first invoice.

Additional minor works – We will send you an invoice on completion.  If the works require stage payments we will agree this with you in advance.

We would ask that all invoices are settled within 15 days of invoice date.  We reserve the right to charge an extra payment based on the Bank lending rates for late payment and to suspend the provision of service.

A.2 Cancellation terms

Annual Service Agreements may be cancelled by either party with no material reason in writing by giving 90 days’ notice.  If there is a reason that falls into one of the following categories then termination may be immediate as long as it’s done in writing stating the cause:

A.2.1   Repeated failure by us to provide the agreed service

A.2.2   Repeated failure by you to settle invoices on time

A.2.3   Either party going into Receivership, Administration, an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or Bankruptcy

All other reasons for cancellation should be provided to the other party in writing and should be the basis of a Service Agreement review meeting where the issues can be resolved in a reasonable amount of time and before we get to the stage where either of us wants to cancel the agreement.

A.3 Service Agreement renewal

We would expect to agree to renewal 30 days before the end of the current agreement.

A.4 Insurance

We carry insurance for public liability.  Our plant and equipment is only insured for use by our own staff.  We would expect you to carry insurance for all other aspects of the activity.

A.5 Things that aren’t covered by the service agreement

We won’t be able to provide for replacement parts and the labour required for undertaking work which arises due to negligence, poor previous maintenance and installation, vandalism, interference or misuse or abuse from people other than employees of Bedford Security Systems.

The only exception to this would be where we have provided a cost for this and this has been agreed in writing by T Patterson.

We don’t provide cover for consumables (for example: batteries, tapes, CDs, filters, access cards, hard drives and other such items) but will be pleased to provide you with a competitive price as part of the agreement.

We will work with you to determine whether advance replacements should form a part of your service agreement and this will be defined in the service description.

A.6 Old or obsolete equipment

We will always do what is reasonable when we service old or obsolete equipment but we can’t guarantee how long we can do this for, or to what level.

If we are unable to provide service for a particular component of your system we will let you know and we will work with you to decide the best approach.  We will also let you know of any relevant “end-of-life” or “last time buy” notices that we receive from manufacturers that relate to equipment you have.

The disposal of equipment under WEEE regulations remains your responsibility.  We can provide this service at an additional charge.

A.7 Software

Where software has been supplied as part of your system the licensing arrangements will be determined by the manufacturer’s license agreement.

Our service and support arrangements for software will also be governed by the manufacturer’s conditions for service and support.  We will confirm these to you, but in general they will cover areas such as:

A.7.1 Which software versions the manufacturer is prepared to support

A.7.2 Availability of patches for different versions of software

A.7.3 Upgrade options and services

We will work with you to make sure that the appropriate mechanisms are in place for your service agreement.

A.8 Software and platforms provided by others

Where you or one of your suppliers have provided the platform to be used for software provided by us then we will not normally provide for servicing this platform nor for any upgrade to hardware or software that may be required should an application upgrade provided by us require it.  If this is a requirement we can build this into your service agreement.

A.9 Meetings and reports

We will provide you with regular performance reports and attend review meetings to monitor the performance of the Service Agreement. The frequency and content of reports and meetings will be agreed with you before the agreement commences.

A.10 Escalation

If it becomes necessary for either party to escalate a call or situation within the other party’s organisation we should use the names, email addresses and telephone numbers listed in the Service and Support Agreement Schedule section of this document.  All escalation correspondence will be undertaken in writing to ensure clear communication and speedy resolution.

A.11 Force majeure

There may be circumstances outside either party’s control which cause problems with the delivery of the service.  Both parties will use their reasonable endeavours to surmount these problems but recognise that sometimes this will not be possible.  If such a situation arises then neither party will be held in breach of the Service Agreement.

A.12 Liabilities

We will endeavour to provide a quality service within the response times indicated and to the standard agreed with you. However whilst we will work diligently with you to overcome any problems that may arise, we cannot be held responsible for any loss, damage, actions, claims, costs or expenses incurred by you unless proven due to a negligent act or omission or due the wilful misconduct of us. Save for items that cannot be legally excluded, our liability will be limited to the maximum value of £10,000.

A.13 Indemnities

Except where the claim arises solely as a result of the negligence of us, you shall indemnify us in respect of any claim, loss or damage that may arise following work undertaken as part of the Service Agreement.’

A.14 Use of information – confidentiality

We may require your home work or billing address, work, home and mobile telephone numbers, personal and work email addresses to us to contact you regarding performing a service. We will use any information provided to us in the provision of the service solely for the purposes of performing the service.  We will not pass on your information to any other party without your express permission.  We will give you back any information that you have provided but will need a reasonable amount of notice to do so.

You will use any information provided by us solely for the purposes of working with us and will not disclose it to any other third party.

A.15 Recruitment of Bedford Security Systems staff

Every member of our staff is valuable to us and whilst we wouldn’t want to stop them from progressing in their careers we would ask that they are not solicited for employment.  Replacing a member of staff is a very costly activity for us, so should a member of staff join your organisation we would appreciate some financial assistance to replace them and believe that a rate of 20% of their Bedford Security salary would go some way to assist us.

A.16 Use of third party services

We may use third parties to provide specialist support services as a part of the Service agreement.  These third parties will be identified to you before the contract starts.

A.17 Some of the things that we expect from you

Our ability to deliver a good level of service to your system is also dependent upon a number of things that we would expect you to do as part of your normal use of the system, for example:

A.17.1  Ensuring that the power supplied to the devices is clean and supported by a UPS or other device

A.17.2  System operators are appropriately trained to use and manage the equipment

A.17.3  A documented change management system is in place and that these records are available to members of our staff who may need to refer to them

A.17.4  System backups are performed on a regular basis and are available should a member of our staff require them

A.17.5  System admin and housekeeping tasks are performed regularly and a record of such activity is kept and is available for members of our staff who may need to refer to them.

A.17.6  A copy of the system documentation is readily available containing current system drawings and configuration information

A.17.7 A knowledgeable member of your team is available on-site to assist our staff with their troubleshooting, particularly when this is done remotely

A.17.8 Calls are placed to our Service Desk by a knowledgeable member of your staff.  For complex systems we may ask you to nominate a number of people in your team who will be the people to place calls.

A.17.9 A safe working environment, access to the site and premises and compliance with all regulatory health and safety requirements.

A.18 Items the price does not include

We do our best to ensure that the price is as inclusive as possible; however there are some items that are not included within our standard pricing.

A.18.1  Plant and access equipment unless specifically stated.

A.18.2  Two-man working unless specifically stated.

A.18.3  Works that require additional or replacement cabling.

A.18.4  Cost of communications line installation and recurring charges for remote diagnostics use.

A.18.5  Cost of communications equipment and appropriate security software to make a remote diagnostics connection secure.

A.18.6  Congestion charging and car parking.

A.19 Advertising and Marketing

Either party may refer to the other in its general marketing and advertising activities.  Any press releases will be sent to the other party for their review before being issued.