Terms and conditions.

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Terms and Conditions for all work undertaken by Dark Art Composites (referred to as “Dark Art”)

1. Order Placement: Orders can be placed by the customer via email, phone, or in-person. All orders are subject to acceptance by Dark Art and may be declined at their discretion. Orders from established Vat registered businesses must be in the form of a purchase/works order (PO). Orders from individuals or non-registered entities will require formal written instruction to proceed and may require a deposit.

2. Pricing: Prices for composite products are quoted based on the current rates at the time of the order, and are exclusive of any applicable taxes, duties, or other charges, unless otherwise stated. Any non-standard materials specified by the customer may require minimum order quantities; this cost will be passed across directly to the customer. The customer may specify that any quantities that are not used to complete the job are to be returned to them, and agrees that this will be done at their cost. Dark Art will not store material or hardware on behalf of the customer if no PO exists to cover its usage or storage unless otherwise agreed in writing. If the customer does not want excess material or hardware returned to them, they hereby agree that ownership immediately passes to Dark Art. 

3. Payment: Payment terms will be agreed upon between the customer and Dark Art. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, payment is due immediately upon receipt of invoice. Late payments may be subject to late fees and interest will accrue on a daily basis until payment is made at the rate equivalent to 25% per annum. Ownership of composite products manufactured by Dark Art including any intellectual property rights in drawings, specifications, tooling etc. shall not pass to the customer until Dark Art has received cleared funds for any and all sums due to it in respect of the composite products produced or services rendered. In the event that a customer is unreachable after the completion and delivery of a product, Dark Art will continue to reach out for a maximum period of 30 days from the due date of the invoice. If the invoice and any late payment fees remains unpaid beyond the 30-day maximum term, Dark Art reserves the right to use all legal means to enforce the debt including but not limited to, passing customer information on to a third part collection agency. If any debt is outstanding and Dark Art is in possession of any parts or moulds relating to that debt, the client agrees that Dark Art may, at its sole discretion, use or sell such parts and will retain ownership of them indefinitely. 

4. Reverse Engineered Parts: Dark Art offer reverse engineering services on a case-by-case basis. Some are appropriate for direct moulding while others will require 3D scanning and patterns to be made. When direct moulding, the original part will need to tolerate a 60°c sustained temperature and 3-6 bar of positive pressure depending on the methods used. When a part is deemed suitable for reverse engineering by direct moulding there is always the risk that the original component will be damaged by this process. Dark Art will take all reasonable precautions to eliminate these risks where possible. However, the customer accepts that there is the risk of damage or total loss to the original component resulting from the moulding process. The customer agrees that Dark Art shall not be liable for any damage or loss caused by the moulding process and accepts that payment will be due for all services provided up to the point of damage. Corrective action may be needed after the initial cure to make the mould tool usable, this action will be discussed with the client and priced accordingly. 

5. Production Lead Time: Dark Art will provide an estimated production lead time for each order. However, this is an estimate and not a guarantee. Delays may occur due to factors such as material availability, production scheduling, or unforeseen circumstances. Dark Art will make all reasonable efforts to notify the customer of any delays and mitigate them where possible.

6. Shipment and Delivery: Shipment and delivery of composite products will be arranged by Dark Art, unless otherwise agreed upon with the customer. The customer is responsible for any shipping or transportation charges, unless otherwise specified. Delivery prices will be quoted based on the current rates provided by our courier services. Liability for risk of loss or damage to the composite products passes to the customer upon delivery. As part of our commitment to the environment and our ISO 14001 environmental standard we reuse and recycle our shipping packaging.

7. Quality Assurance: Dark Art will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all composite products are manufactured to meet industry standards and customer supplied specifications. However, the customer acknowledges that composite products may have inherent variations in colour, texture, weave, or other characteristics due to the nature of materials. As standard, parts will be trimmed, drilled where necessary, free from bagging consumables and hand safe. Parts will have a semi-gloss mould finish as standard unless otherwise specified and agreed in writing at the time of order.

8. Returns and Refunds: The customer must inspect all composite products upon receipt and report any defects or discrepancies to Dark Art in writing within 5 working days. Returns or refunds for defective products will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and may be subject to secondary inspection and verification by Dark Art or our chosen Inspector. Custom or specially ordered composite products are not eligible for returns or refunds.

9. Intellectual Property: Dark Art acknowledges that any intellectual property, including but not limited to designs, trademarks, or proprietary information, provided by the customer to Dark Art for the purpose of manufacturing composite products for the customer remains the property of the customer. Dark Art retains the right to use customer's intellectual property solely for the purpose of fulfilling the order including sharing it with its partners and suppliers for this purpose as outlined in our standard NDA, available on request.

10. Limitation of Liability: Dark Art offers no warranty or guarantee and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising out of or in connection with the sale, use, or performance of composite products, including but not limited to loss of profits, business interruption, or damage to property. The total liability of Dark Art shall be limited to the amount paid by the customer for the composite products giving rise to the claim.

As standard, no warranty is issued for any components for any UV, chemical or temperature resistance. Layups provided by Dark Art are based on experience in line with customer requirements and are advisory, full structural analysis can be arranged at the client’s expense and liability resulting from any failure will fall on the third party providing the service. 

11. Governing Law and Jurisdiction: These terms and conditions shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England where Dark Art is located. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions shall be resolved through negotiation in good faith. If no resolution is reached, the parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.

12. Amendments: These terms and conditions may be amended by Dark Art at any time without prior notice. Any amendments will be effective upon posting on Dark Art’ website or other means of communication. The customer's continued use of Dark Art products or services after any amendments constitutes acceptance of the updated terms and conditions.

13. Entire Agreement: These terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between the customer and Dark Art unless otherwise agreed in.

Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person's liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. Dark Art has a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery, and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships and to implement and enforce effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or our supply chain. 

We are also committed to ensuring there is transparency in our own business and in our approach to tackling modern slavery throughout our supply chain. We expect the same high standards from all our contractors, suppliers and other business partners. As part of our contracting processes, we include specific prohibitions against the use of forced, compulsory or trafficked labour, or anyone held in slavery or servitude, and we expect that our suppliers will hold their own suppliers to the same high standards. This policy applies to all persons working for us or on our behalf in any capacity, contractors, external consultants, third-party representatives and business partners. This policy does not form part of any employee’s contract of employment, and we may amend it at any time.