TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR DOING BUSINESS - Revised July 2004
Please also see Additional Terms and Conditions which apply to any orders placed over the internet or by telephone.

Guarantee Terms

1 Equipment produced by this company carries a twelve-month guarantee unless some other time period is clearly stated on the contract.

2 Guarantee date commences at completion of works by this company, or in the case of supply only contract, at the time the goods

are received in good condition and in full by the client.

3 All responsibilities toward goods and equipment cease upon termination of guarantee period, unless a subsequent contract for

maintenance is agreed upon in writing.

4. Any guarantee applies to the goods sold to the client by the company, on the understanding that the goods are not in any way abused, or used by persons for whom the equipment was not intended.

5. The client should at all times maintain a responsible attitude towards equipment with respect to ongoing inspection of equipment in line with recommendations outlined by the British Standards Institution, (B.S. E.N.1176 & 1177.), R.O.S.P.A. and any other body who have advised on day to day monitoring of play equipment which has been installed on a permanent basis.

Any faults or defects should be reported to the company at once, and equipment should be put out of commission until faults have been rectified by the company. Upon receipt of payment in full, PlayQuest shall issue our Operators Inspection Form and our Accident report form which must be put into operation to comply with B.S. E.N. 1776 & 1177.

6. Equipment which has been put out of commission for a period owing to product failure, due to manufacturing or installation failure that is proven to be our responsibility, will have its guarantee extended to compensate for the period of none-use.

7. The company reserves the right to make a charge for any repairs or call out time involved where product failure is considered to be the result of equipment abuse.

Safety

PlayQuest endeavours to comply with current standards. Our operatives receive on-going training through recognised professional bodies. Our equipment is regularly inspected by RoSPA, and changes made when agreed upon. However, some controversy exists over issues concerning play equipment, and agreed interpretations are issued from the British Standards Institution on a regular basis. To the forefront in matters of establishing a safe play environment is the method of ‘Risk Assessment’. Provided that our equipment is installed in a suitable environment, all of our equipment would be deemed ‘low risk’ (‘medium risk’ at worst). It is our understanding that this should be the goal of all play providers.

Therefore the following applies to any equipment sold by this company;-

1. British Standards. As active members of the API (Association of Play Industries) PlayQuest manufacture and install play areas to conform to BS EN 1176 & 1177 as interpreted by this company, making changes when notified by the API as the standards progress. We also work closely with RoSPA to verify the equipment is installed as low-risk to BS EN 1176 & 1177. BS EN 1176 & 1177 are complex standards. Strict compliance may in some cases be overly restrictive, and even increase risk. Where this is so PlayQuest have chosen

a lower risk method over strict compliance. Customers requiring strict compliance to BS EN 1176 & 1177 should be specific in requesting this and it will be clearly written into the contract to avoid any confusion.

2. In circumstances where the company agrees to install equipment which does not conform as low-risk to the British Standard (B.S. E.N. 1176 & 1177), the customer will entirely bear the responsibility for this decision, and will have no claim against the company in the event of an accident. The insurers of this company will only accept liability if this company adheres to these safety standards as and where they are seen to apply. (For full rounded discussion of these matters please consult the booklet ‘Play ground Safety Guidelines’. published by the Dept. of Ed. in conjunction with the Welsh Office, and The Children’s Play and Recreation Unit).

3. The equipment designed and manufactured by this company is not suitable for universal usage. It is “Adventure Play Equipment “ and as such by its very nature carries an inherent risk of injury. This is reduced by responsible design, installation and usage. This company does not generally recommend some of our equipment to be suitable for children of seven years and under, (eg Fitness Equipment).

Equipment contracted for children under seven years, should not in any circumstances be used by children who are unsupervised by a responsible adult. Any decision to offer any of our equipment for use in an unsupervised setting, will be the responsibility of the customer, who becomes the play area provider from the time of installation onwards. Equally, this company will not accept responsibility for injury, for authorised usage, or miss-use of equipment, by anybody. The purchaser should provide all that is required to limit the use of the equipment. Necessary signage and restrictive fencing should be used to prevent the use of equipment by persons for whom it is neither suitable or intended for.

4. The customer is advised to ensure that they are covered by their insurers as to injuries and actions which may be brought against them as a result of the general usage of the play area.

5. The customer should have in force the program for ensuring that the equipment in the play area is REGULARLY MONITORED, It is the customers responsibility to use the Operators Inspectors form in line with the standards set out by the British Standards Institution (B.S.E.N. 1176 & 1177), and that any faults observed should be immediately dealt with by decommissioning the offending apparatus, until repairs have been executed. If the equipment is under normal or extended guarantee or if the equipment shows signs of negligence on behalf of this company beyond the term of guarantee, then this matter should immediately be reported to us.

General

It is considered by some authorities that the type of equipment produced by the company can not always be measured against B.S.E.N. However, it is the policy of this company to apply where possible those points contained in B.S.E.N., as they can be seen to apply.

Payment

1. All equipment supplied by this company remains its property until it has been paid for in full, by the customer according to the terms of the contract. The company reserves the right to repossess any equipment which is not paid for in full. This will include situations in which part payment has been received, but the balance of payment remains outstanding. The company in this circumstance reserves the right to repossess the whole, or to sell on to a third party all equipment, in order to recover the outstanding monies owed, including legal and administrative costs and interest on monies owed.

2. Should the repossession and sale of the equipment as outlined above fail to realise the full extent of the debt, the company reserves the right to pursue the balance through whatever means. It is logical that the customer should realise that the resale value of the equipment will be only a fraction of its value at time of first sale, because the equipment is purpose-built and very difficult to remove.

3. The customer has no right whatsoever to sell on any of the equipment sited, unless:- a. All equipment has been paid for in full according to the terms of the contract. b. The customer has obtained permission to do such (in writing), by this company. Any attempt to do so will be considered to be in breach of The 1978 Theft Act, and will be treated accordingly.

4. Payments not received on time by this company will be liable to the following additional costs:-

a. Statutory Late Payment & Intrest Charges, under The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, as ammended and supplemented by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002. These at present are a one off fee + Intrest at 8% above Bank of England base rate. Should this company have incurred other financial penalties as a result of the customer non payment to us this will also be passed on to the customer.

b. Administrative charges. In the case of our directors involvement these will be charged at no less than £50.00 per hour.

c. All legal costs, incurred by this company in recovering the debt.

d. Other cost involved in recovering the debt.

5. The customer has no rights whatsoever to interfere with the equipment in any way, which may damage its potential resale value, unless the equipment has been paid for in full. No matter what the circumstances it shall not be removed in part or in full without the permission of the company.

6. The company reserves all rights to repossess equipment either directly or through a third party, without making good the damage done to the site through the removal of such, as this would only incur further costs to the company. The customer in signing any contract with this company agrees not to interfere with a walk on repossession arrangement in case of default of payment as outlined elsewhere in this document.

Limited Companies, PLC‘s

1. This company will not do business with Limited Companies, PLC‘s, unless the following conditions apply:

a. The person or persons signing the contract will become personally liable for the debt. This will mean that the person signing will personally guarantee the payments in case of default by the Limited Company, (PLC.).

b. The person signing on behalf of the Limited Company (PLC.) will provide evidence prior to installation that the funds are available and set aside for payment. This may involve appointing a trustee. Also a deposit will be required prior to the commencement of works. Failure to meet with the conditions outlined above, will invalidate the contract.

c. Any persons entering into a contractual agreement with this company on behalf of a Limited Company or PLC., will supply full details of the company’s name as registered at Companies House, the position or title of the person signing, and will need to be clearly presented as a supplementary part of the contract.

d. References regarding a company’s financial standing or credibility will be supplied at the request of this company, if deemed to be necessary, prior to commencement of works.

Other Companies, Individual Traders or Partnerships

1. Any person entering into a contractual agreement with company, will make themselves , personally responsible for the debt. By signing a contract with this company they are acknowledging the fact that this company will act with all the legal means at its disposal to recover Monies owed to it according to the contract. This often involves a persons personal belongings or privately owed property.

Complaints

1. By signing a contract the customer acknowledges that any complaint against this company does not give the customer a right to

withhold payment, Valid complaints against the goods purchased from this company, shall be dealt with as a separate matter, and will be presented by the customer in writing. In turn this company agrees to deal with any complaint promptly and fairly.

2. In the case of an unresolved dispute, the customer agrees to have the matter resolved by arbitration. An arbitrator most likely to be familiar with the nature of the complaint will be appointed. The person appointed will be seen to be wholly impartial, and will if necessary be appointed by a disinterested third party. The two sides will agree in advance to abide by the decision of the arbitrator, whose costs will be met to reflect the balance of his decision. The arbitrator will be instructed to be balanced in his decisions, to take the opinions of both sides on board, and to reach a position of compromise (a proportioned judgement), if he should feel that this is the fairest decision. Both parties must abide by the decision of the arbitrator and act on these decisions immediately. An agreement signed by both sides will be made prior to arbitration commencing.

3. Complaints regarding equipment will not be valid beyond the guarantee period.

4. The company reserves the right to replace equipment or to make a refund to the customer of payments made.

Planning

The choice of siting of the equipment is solely the responsibility of the customer and the customer will be held fully responsible for any damage to underground cables or pipes due to the installation of the equipment.

Planning Permission

The obtaining of Planning Permission for the siting of equipment, as it may be deemed to be required by any local planning authority, is solely the responsibility of the customer. This company will act on instruction of the customer, and will not be in any way held responsible if a planning dispute occurs.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION WHICH AFFECTS ALL PRICING THROUGHOUT THIS CATALOGUE

1. All prices are exclusive of V.A.T.

2. Prices within this catalogue are a guide, made as accurately as possible, but can be subject to variation.

3. Unless stated otherwise, Prices are subject to delivery and installation charges which will vary depending on the following criteria.:-

a. Distance of installation from home base.

b. Condition of site (Ground condition, Accessibility etc.)

c. Amount of equipment to be ordered

d. Seasonal offers

e. Whether customer is able to offer our operatives food and/or accommodation, during period of installation.

f. Flexibility, e.g. If a playground is ordered whilst we are working in a particular area, obvious savings can be made, which will be passed on to the customer.

4. This company offers standard guarantee terms. The standard guarantee is for a one-year period. The prices contained within this catalogue are for our standard guarantee terms.

5. Equipment ordered directly from the catalogue, without the requirement for the involvement of sales personnel, will generally be subject to some discount. Generally a site visit only will be required for measuring, discussing layout etc. (although this is not absolutely necessary).

6. This company retains the right to make offers, reductions, or even in extreme circumstances, to apply price loading.

General Product Information.

Equipment manufactured by this company carries a standard guarantee of one year from time of installation. For the vast majority of our customers, our standard guarantee has proved sufficient, as it has been seen that the equipment remains sound well after guarantee has expired. For reasons of peace of mind, or for insurance purposes, customers often will take out a maintenance agreement for subsequent twelve-month periods. This will be quoted for by request.

Timbers

PlayQuest has gone to much endeavour to supply the best timber available for rustic play equipment. With this in mind, we now offer our range of equipment (with few exceptions) manufactured from Quarter-sawn, machine rounded or planed square edged timber, (with the exception of walkways, which are manufactured from sawn timber for anti-slip). This is pressure impregnated, treated timber with a life expectancy of up to twenty years. This treatment is against insect attack or fungal decay. We believe that with proper, recommended maintenance the timber would last indefinitely.

PlayQuest is a market leader in the use of quarter-sawn timber, which, because of the removal of heartwood, is relatively split free. It should be noted, however, that in spite of seasoning and timber selection, all timbers will develop some air cracking which will occur as the timber dries. No play company can guarantee completely against such, this is the nature of timber, but we attempt to purchase timbers which have had a proper drying period in order to keep air cracks to a minimum. Air cracking will normally have ceased after a single summer has passed.

Although quarter-sawn timber is more than double the cost of timber containing heartwood, it represents value and peace of mind for the following reasons: 1. The timber cost in providing a play area is usually about 20% of the overall cost, so to use the very best timber only increases this portion of the cost. 2. The cosmetic appearance is improved due to the lack of splitting. 3. The preservative treatment is even more effective because minimal splitting occurs. 4. We guarantee to replace any timber that develops any splitting in excess of 8mm width within the first twelve months after installation.

Heartwood full round timber is still available. Ninety-five percent of our playgrounds to date are built from this, with little complaint. However, if you choose our standard range, built from slow-grown pine containing heartwood, we will not guarantee this timber from splitting whatsoever. Timber that does split and need replacing will be done at cost to the customer.

All timbers will benefit from regular timber care, equipment which has not been treated for a period will start to look jaded. With all timbers, the area most susceptible to rot is where the timber meets the ground. With this in mind, your maintenance program should allow for timber treatment.

Fabrications

All fabrications, as well as any other steelworks, are produced to a very high specification by fabricators contracted by this company. All are designed to be able to function to specifications well beyond normal requirements. All are finished with a hot or cold anti corrosion treatment, or may be epoxy coated.

Fixings

All fixings and fittings are either Bright Zinc Plated or Galvanised. Where possible, fixings are recessed and covered with a plastic ‘bung’ as a tamper resisting method. Nylon-insert nuts are also used to prevent tampering, (without the use of specialist tools).

Chainwork

Chainwork is made from 8mm short link galvanised chain. (Shrink wrapped plastic sheathed chain is available upon request.)

Rope-Work and Netting

Two types of rope-work and netting are available. 1. Polypropylene. Nets- 18mm knotted rope to form squares, secured with 12mm BZP eyebolts. Ropes- Climbing ropes are 20mm. 2. Combination. Nets- 16mm Steel reinforced rope with huck and ball fittings, secured with 12mm plated compression stud fittings. Ropes- 16mm Steel reinforced rope with plastic climbing blocks.

Surfacing

PlayQuest is able to offer all types of safer surfacing, all complying to BS EN 1177.

Safety

The principle body advising on safety standards in this country is probably the British Standards Institution. The National Playing Fields Association, also plays a keen part in advising on safety standards. R.O.S.P.A. (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents,) is also increasingly becoming involved in such matters, as are Play Wales, and The National Play and Recreation Unit. The accepted standard for determining if a playground is safe, is B.S.E.N. 1176 & 1177. This company endeavours to design and install our equipment in accord with the recommendation of these well established bodies.

Insurance

This company carries five million pounds public liability insurance, and five million pounds products liability insurance.

Additional insurance cover is available upon request, at additional cost.

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