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Lab M Limited Terms and Conditions of Sale

These terms and conditions (together with the documents referred to in them) (Conditions) inform each Buyer (as defined below) of the terms and conditions on which the Seller (as defined below) supplies any of the Goods (as defined below) listed on the website www.labm.com (the Website) to any Buyer. The Website is operated by the Seller.

Please read these Conditions before ordering any Goods from the Website.  The Buyer should understand that by ordering any Goods, the Buyer agrees to be bound by these Conditions. The Buyer should print a copy of these Conditions for future reference.

1                     Definitions and Interpretation

In these Conditions, unless the context requires otherwise:

Associated Company shall bear the meaning ascribed to it in relation to section 416 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.

Buyer means the person (acting on behalf of a business), firm or company with whom the Contract is made.

Contract means these Conditions and the Buyer's Order together forming the contract between the Buyer and the Seller for the sale and purchase of the Goods.

Goods means the goods and/or services (or any instalment or part of them) to be sold or supplied pursuant to the Contract.

Order means an order placed by the Buyer on the Seller for the sale or supply of Goods by the Seller.

Seller means Lab M Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 2903063 and VAT registration number GB636 2354 44, whose registered office is at Topley House, 52 Wash Lane, Bury BL9 6AS, United Kingdom,

Words in the singular shall include the plural and vice versa, reference to any gender shall include the others and references to legal persons shall include natural persons and vice versa.

The headings in these Conditions are intended for reference only and shall not affect their construction.

2                     General

2.1               All Goods sold to the Buyer are sold and/or supplied subject to the Contract. These Conditions which form part of that Contract shall be the sole conditions of any sale or supply by the Seller to the Buyer to the exclusion of any other terms and conditions contained or referred to in any order, letter, form of contract or other statement or communication sent or made verbally by the Buyer to the Seller.

2.2               The placing of an Order by the Buyer on the Seller is an acceptance of these Conditions and the Buyer's agreement to be bound by them.

2.3              Any amendment, variation or waiver of these Conditions requires acceptance in writing by the Seller.

2.4               No employee, representative or agent of the Seller has the authority to give any guarantee or warranty on behalf of the Seller or to transact business other than on the (unamended) terms of these Conditions, in relation to the sale of Goods.

2.5             The failure of the Seller to insist upon strict performance of any provision of the Contract by the Buyer shall not affect the Seller's right to enforce such provision later and shall not be construed as a waiver of it and shall not constitute a waiver of any subsequent default.

2.6               If, in any particular case, any of these Conditions shall be or be held to be invalid or shall not apply to the Contract the other Conditions shall continue in full force and effect.

2.7             The Seller will conclude Contracts in the English language only, unless otherwise agreed with the Buyer in writing.

3                     Orders

3.1              After placing an Order, the Buyer will receive an email from the Seller acknowledging receipt of the Order.  Acknowledgement of receipt of an Order should not be deemed acceptance of that Order.

3.2              The Contract will relate only to those Goods whose despatch has been confirmed in a separate email or letter that confirms the Seller's acceptance (Acceptance).  The Seller shall not be obliged to supply any Goods which may have been part of the Order until Acceptance has been issued. 

3.3             The Seller reserves the right to make reasonable changes to the specification of the Goods which do not materially affect the quality or performance of the Goods and the Buyer shall be liable for the Contract price notwithstanding such changes, provided that such changes do not result in an increase in the Contract price.

3.4              The Seller generally reserves the right at any time to discontinue the sale or provision of any Goods to any Buyer and to decline to accept Orders in any circumstances which the Seller considers appropriate.

3.5              The Buyer should check the acknowledgement of receipt to ensure the Order placed is correct and should inform the Seller immediately (but no longer than 24 hours from receipt of acknowledgement), via email (to info@labm.com) or telephone (on +44 (0)161 797 5729) if there are any errors or omissions in the Order.

4                     Quotations

4.1              Quotations are for information purposes only and shall not be  binding on the Seller.

5                    Prices

5.1             The price payable for Goods shall be the list price quoted on the Website (except in cases of obvious error), at the date of despatch. In the case of an Order for delivery by instalments the price payable for each instalment shall be the list price of the Seller current at the date of despatch of such instalment. All prices are liable to change but changes will not affect Orders in respect of which the Supplier has already sent confirmation of price in an Acceptance.

5.2             The Website contains many Goods and it is possible that despite the Sellers best efforts, some Goods on the Website may be inaccurately priced.  The Supplier will endeavour to verify prices at Acceptance.  If the Goods correct price is less than our stated price, we will charge the lower amount when dispatching the Goods to the Buyer.  If the Goods correct price is higher than the price stated on the Website, the Supplier will normally at its discretion, contact the Buyer for instructions, or reject the Order and notify the Buyer of such rejection.

5.3             The Supplier is under no obligation to provide the Goods to the Buyer at the incorrect (lower) price, even after Acceptance has been sent, if the pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could have reasonably been recognised by the Buyer as a mis-pricing.

5.4               All prices are exclusive of value added tax which will be charged by the Seller and will be payable by the Buyer at the appropriate rate.

5.5              All prices quoted by the Seller are based upon these Conditions and reflect the limitations upon the Seller's liability which they contain.

6                     Delivery

6.1             The Goods will be delivered Ex Works (Incoterms 2000) unless otherwise agreed by the Seller in writing.

6.2              If the Seller shall arrange for carriage on behalf of the Buyer, carriage shall be effected at the Buyer's risk and cost.

6.3               Time of delivery or performance shall not be of the essence of the Contract.

6.4               All times, dates or periods given for delivery of the Goods are given in good faith but without any responsibility on the Seller's part. In no circumstances shall the Seller be liable for any loss or damage sustained by the Buyer in consequence of failure to deliver within such time or by such date or in consequence of any other delay in delivery howsoever caused.

6.5               Where the Goods are handed to a carrier for carriage to the Buyer or to a United Kingdom port for export, any such carrier shall be deemed to be an agent of the Seller and not of the Buyer for the purposes of sections 44, 45 and 46 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

6.6               The Buyer agrees that section 32(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 shall not apply to Goods sent by the Seller.

6.7              If, for any reason, the Buyer is unable to accept delivery of the Goods at the time when the Goods are due and ready for delivery the Seller may, at its sole discretion and without prejudice to its other rights, dispose of the Goods; pass title (without any encumbrance in favour of the Buyer) in the Goods to a third party purchaser; and to retain the proceeds of sale which shall be set off against the invoice price for the Goods and any other sum payable hereunder in respect of which (for the avoidance of doubt) the Buyer shall remain liable.

6.8              The Seller shall have the right to make delivery by instalments of such quantities and at such intervals as it may decide, and any express provision as to instalments in the Contract shall be in addition to and not in derogation of this right.

7                     Passing of title and risk

7.1               From the time of delivery in accordance with Condition 6, the Goods shall be at the Buyer's risk and the Buyer shall be solely responsible for their custody and maintenance but, unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, the Goods shall remain the Seller's property until all payments to be made by the Buyer under the Contract and any other contract between the Seller and the Buyer and on any other account whatsoever, have been made in full and unconditionally. Whilst the Seller's ownership continues, the Buyer shall keep the Goods labelled as belonging to the Seller and separate and identifiable from all other goods in its possession as bailee for the Seller.

7.2               The Buyer may only re-sell the Goods to the Buyer's customers in the ordinary course of the Buyer's business as a fiduciary and trustee for the Seller. In the event of any resale by the Buyer of the Goods, the Sellers' beneficial entitlement shall attach to the proceeds of sale or other disposition thereof so that such proceeds or any claim therefor shall be assigned to the Seller and, until such assignment, shall be held on trust in a separate identified account for the Seller by the Buyer and such proceeds shall not be mingled with other moneys or paid into any overdrawn bank account and shall at all times be identifiable as the Seller's moneys.

7.3               Without prejudice to the equitable rules as to tracing, in the event of failure to pay the price in accordance with the Contract the Seller shall have power to re-sell the Goods, such power being in addition to (and not in substitution for) any other power of sale arising by operation of law or implication or otherwise, and for such purpose the Seller and its servants and agents may forthwith enter upon any premises or land occupied or owned by the Buyer to remove the Goods.

7.4               Pending payment of the full purchase price of the Goods, the Buyer shall at all times keep the Goods comprehensively insured against loss or damage by accident, fire, theft and other risks usually covered by insurance in the type of business carried on by the Buyer, in an amount at least equal to the balance of the price for the same from time to time remaining outstanding. The policy shall bear an endorsement recording the Seller's interest.

8                     Terms of payment

8.1             Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the Buyer shall pay for the Goods in cash in Sterling within 30 days of the date on the invoice. Payment shall become due in any event forthwith upon the occurrence of any of the events referred to in Condition 13 below.

8.2             The price of the Goods shall be due in full to the Seller in accordance with the Contract and the Buyer shall not be entitled to exercise any set-off, lien or any other similar right or claim. Whenever under the contract any sum of money shall be recoverable from or payable by the Buyer, the same may be deducted by the Seller from any sum then due or which at any time thereafter may become due to the Buyer under this or any other contract with the Seller (or any other member of the Lab M Holdings Limited group of companies from time to time). Exercise by the Seller of its rights under this Condition shall be without prejudice to any other rights or remedies available to the Seller under the Contract, or otherwise howsoever, at law or in equity.

8.3               The time of payment shall be of the essence of the Contract.

9                     Conditions and warranties

9.1               The Contract shall not constitute a sale by description or sample.

9.2               By submitting an Order the Buyer warrants that they are capable of entering into a binding contract and if acting on behalf of a firm, company, partnership or other such entity, that that person has authority to act on behalf of the same.

9.3               Any conditions or warranties (whether express or implied by statute or common law or arising from conduct or a previous course of dealing or trade custom or usage or otherwise howsoever) as to the quality of the Goods or their fitness for any particular purpose (even if that purpose is made known expressly or by implication to the Seller) or as to the correspondence of the Goods with any description or sample are hereby expressly negated.

9.4              The Buyer shall ensure that it complies or (if appropriate) that its customer complies with: (a) all local laws, regulations or guidance which may apply to the Goods, their sale, disposal, use or performance in the territory in which they are sold or are to be delivered, used or performed; and (b) all recommendations made by the Seller and all laws, regulations and orders which may apply in the territory in which the Goods are to be used and which relate to health and/or safety.

9.5              And accordingly the Buyer agrees to indemnify the Seller and to keep the Seller fully and effectually indemnified from and against all direct and indirect losses, costs, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses which the Seller may suffer or incur as a result of the failure by the Buyer, its customer or any of their respective employees, servants or agents to comply with such laws, regulations or guidance and instructions as aforesaid and whether or not such losses or the consequences of the Buyer's failure were foreseeable at the relevant time.

10                 Defective Goods

10.1           In substitution for all rights which the Buyer would or might have but for these Conditions, the Seller undertakes, in the case of Goods manufactured or supplied by the Seller, that if a defect in materials or workmanship appears therein, being a defect which would not be obvious on reasonable inspection of the Goods (whether such an inspection was carried out or not), it will, at its own discretion, either credit to the Buyer the full price paid by the Buyer to the Seller for such item, or repair it or supply a replacement thereof, free of charge, at the place of delivery for the original Goods, provided that in any case:

(a)               the defect has not arisen from fair wear and tear, wilful damage, negligence, abnormal working conditions or environment, improper use, misuse or alteration or repair of the Goods;

(b)              the Goods have been stored in accordance with the instructions of the Seller and in the case of consumables the lesser of 12 months from delivery or the expiry date has not passed;

(c)                 the Goods have not been used whilst allegedly defective or in need of repair;

(d)                no person other than the Seller has attempted to dismantle or repair the Goods;

(e)                the Buyer shall notify the Seller within 7 days of the date upon which such defects appeared or ought reasonably to have been discoverable and provide a detailed written account of the nature of the defect and the conditions under which such defect occurred;

(f)                  the Buyer shall, within 7 days of a request by the Seller, return the defective Goods carriage paid, to the Seller; or, at the Seller’s discretion, give the Seller all reasonable access to its premises in order to investigate such defects and to inspect and test such Goods, and the Seller shall be satisfied that such defect is evident; and

(g)                the original Goods have been accepted and paid for in full by the Buyer.

10.2            In the case of Goods not manufactured by the Seller, the Seller will pass on to the Buyer, to the extent that it is able, any benefits obtainable under any warranty given by the Seller's supplier, provided that the Goods concerned have been accepted and paid for.

10.3          Nothing in these Conditions shall impose any liability upon the Seller in respect of any defect in the Goods arising out of the acts, omissions, negligence or default of the Buyer, its servants or agents, including in particular (but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing) any failure by the Buyer to comply with any recommendation of the Seller as to use, storage and handling of the Goods.

10.4           Where the Goods are for delivery by instalments, any defect in any instalment shall not be a ground for cancellation of the remainder of the instalments and the Buyer shall be bound to accept delivery thereof.

11                 Liability

11.1           Nothing in these Conditions shall exclude or limit the liability of the Seller for death or personal injury resulting from the negligence of the Seller or any of its officers, employees or agents or the liability of the Seller for fraud in so far as the same is prohibited by United Kingdom statute.

11.2           The Buyer agrees that the Seller shall not be liable for:

(a)               any error, mistake or omission in any documentation issued by the Seller to the Buyer, and shall be subject to correction by the Seller; or

(b)                imperfect work caused by any inaccuracies in any drawing, bill of quantities or specification supplied by the Buyer.

11.3         Subject to Conditions 11.1 and 11.2, the maximum aggregate liability of the Seller (whether in contract, tort or for negligence or breach of statutory duty or otherwise arising out of, or in connection with, the Contract) to the Buyer in respect of any and all acts, omissions, defaults or events shall be limited to and in no circumstances shall exceed the price of the Goods giving rise to the liability in question.

11.4           The Seller shall in no circumstances be liable (whether in contract, tort or for negligence or breach of statutory duty or otherwise arising out of, or in connection with, the Contract) to the Buyer to the extent that such liability:

(a)               is calculated by reference to loss of profits or contracts, loss of income or revenue, loss of production or accruals, loss of business, loss of data, loss of goodwill, loss of anticipated savings;

(b)            arises from any inaccuracies or omissions in any instructions, information, drawings, calculations, or specifications or material supplied by the Buyer to the Seller;

(c)                 is of an indirect or consequential nature;

(d)                is recovered by the Buyer under the terms of any insurance policy (apart from any excess applicable to the relevant insurance); or

(e)                has been made good or is otherwise compensated without cost to the Buyer.

11.5         No liability (whether in contract or for negligence or otherwise howsoever) for loss of or damage to the Goods occurring prior to delivery, or for any claim that any item delivered pursuant to the Contract is defective or is otherwise not in accordance with the Contract, (being a defect, inherent defect or loss, damage or non-compliance which would be obvious upon a reasonable inspection of the Goods) or for non-delivery, will attach to the Seller unless claims to that effect are notified in writing by the Buyer to the Seller (and in the case of claims for loss, damage or non-delivery, with a copy to the carrier if the Seller's own vehicles have not been used to deliver the Goods):

(a)               within 7 days of delivery, in the case of loss, damage, defect or non-compliance with the Contract; or

(b)                within 10 days of the date of the invoice, in the case of non-delivery.

11.6            In the event of a valid claim for defect, defective performance, loss, damage or non-compliance with the Contract or non-delivery, the Seller undertakes, at its option, either to reprocess or replace the items concerned, at its expense but shall not be under any further or other liability in connection with such non-delivery, non-performance, defective performance, loss, damage or non-compliance.

11.7            If the Buyer shall fail to give notice in accordance with Condition 11.5, the items delivered shall be deemed to be in all respects in accordance with the Contract and, without prejudice to earlier acceptance by the Buyer, it shall be bound to accept and pay for the same accordingly and all claims in respect of non-delivery, non-performance, defective performance, loss, damage, defect or non-compliance shall (save as set out in Condition 9) thereafter be wholly barred.

12                 Additional costs

The Buyer shall indemnify the Seller against all actions, suits, claims, demands, costs, charges, damages, losses and expenses suffered or incurred by the Seller and/or for which it may be liable to any third party due to, arising from or in connection with, directly or indirectly:

(a)                 the Buyer's instructions or lack of instructions; or

(b)                any failure or delay whatsoever in taking delivery or any other act, neglect or default on the part of the Buyer, its servants, agents or employees; or

(c)                 the breach of any provision of the Contract by the Buyer; or

(d)                the possession, use or modification of the Goods, or the mixing of the Goods with other products or materials by the Buyer.

13                 Default or insolvency of the Buyer

If the Buyer shall be in breach of any of its obligations under the Contract or any other contract between the Buyer and the Seller or any Associated Company of the Buyer; or if any distress or execution shall be levied on the Buyer's property or assets; or if the Buyer shall make or offer to make any arrangement or composition with its creditors or commit any act of bankruptcy; or if any bankruptcy petition be presented against it or (if the Buyer is a company) if any resolution or petition to wind up such company shall be passed or presented; or if a receiver, administrative receiver or administrator of the whole or any part of such company's undertaking, property or assets shall be appointed or the Buyer shall suffer any similar process under the laws of its domicile and without prejudice to any other right or claim, may, by notice in writing, determine, wholly or in part, any and every contract between the Seller and the Buyer or may (without prejudice to the Seller's right subsequently to determine the Contract for the same cause, should it so decide) by notice in writing suspend delivery or any further deliveries or performance (as the case may be) of Goods until any default by the Buyer has been remedied.

14                 Force majeure

The Seller shall be entitled to delay or cancel delivery or performance or to reduce the amount of Goods delivered or performed if and to the extent that it is prevented from or hindered in or delayed in performing, manufacturing, obtaining or delivering the Goods by normal route or means of delivery through any circumstances beyond its control including (but not limited to) strikes, lock-outs, accidents, war, terrorist attacks or threat of terrorist attacks, fire, explosion, storms, floods, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disaster, reduction in or unavailability of power at manufacturing plant, breakdown of plant or machinery or shortage or unavailability of raw materials from normal sources of supply.

15                 Intellectual property

15.1          The Buyer shall indemnify the Seller against all costs, claims, losses, expenses and damages incurred by the Seller or for which it may be liable due to or arising directly or indirectly out of any infringement or alleged infringement of patents, trade or service marks, copyright, design right or other intellectual property right occasioned by the importation, manufacture or sale of the Goods if made to the specification or special requirements of the Buyer.

The Buyer shall promptly give notice in writing to the Seller in the event that it becomes aware of any claim that the Goods infringe the rights of any third party and shall: (a) not make any admission to any such third party without the consent of the Seller; and (b) at the request of the Seller, permit the Seller or its duly authorised representative to conduct and/or settle all negotiations and litigation and give to the Seller all reasonable assistance in relation thereto.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing between the parties, the Buyer acknowledges that all copyright and all other intellectual property rights (including without limitation, design rights, registered designs, patents, trademarks and know-how) arising out of or in connection with the sale of Goods belongs to and shall remain vested in the Seller.

16                 Notices

16.1           The Buyer accepts that communication with the Seller may be by electronic means.  The Seller will contact the Buyer by e-mail.  For contractual purposes, the Buyer agrees to electronic communication and the Buyer acknowledges that all contracts, notices, information and other communications that the Seller provides to the Buyer, comply with any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

16.2            All notices given by the Buyer must be given to the Seller at: Topley House, 52 Wash Lane, Bury, BL9 6AS or via email at info@labm.com.  The Seller may give notice to the Buyer at either the email address provided on the Order or in compliance with 16.1.  Notice will be deemed received and properly served immediately when posted on the Website, 24 hours after an email is sent, or 3 days after the date of posting a letter.  In proving the service of any notice, it will be sufficient to prove, in the case of a letter, that such letter was properly addressed, stamped and placed in the post and in the case of an email, that such email was sent to the specified email address of the addressee.

17                 Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999

No person who is not a party to the Contract, other than members of Lab M Holdings Limited's group of companies (of which the Seller is a part of) is entitled to enforce any of its terms, whether under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise.

18                 Cancellation

Save as provided in Conditions 13 and 14 above, Contracts may not be cancelled except by agreement in writing of both parties and upon the payment to the Seller of such amount as may be necessary to indemnify the Seller against all loss resulting from the said cancellation.

19                 Sub-contracting

The Buyer may not assign the Contract with the Seller or subcontract the whole or any part thereof to any person, firm or company without the Seller's prior written consent.

20                 Right to vary the Conditions

20.1           The Seller reserves the right to revise and amend these Conditions at any time.

20.2           The Buyer will be subject to the policies and terms and conditions in force at the time that it places an Order, unless a change to those terms and conditions is required to be made by law or governmental authority, or if the Seller notifies the Buyer of the change to those policies or these Conditions before the Seller sends to the Buyer Acceptance (in which case the Seller has the right to assume that the Buyer has accepted the change to the Conditions, unless the Buyer notifies the Seller to the contrary within 7 working days of receipt of the Goods).

21                 Proper law

The Contract shall in all respects be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and shall be deemed to have been made in England, and the Buyer and the Seller agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Lab M’s ‘one-stop sakazakii shop’ launches at Medica

17 October 2008 For microbiology culture media specialist Lab M, Medica 2008 will see the international launch of a new range of media for Cronobacter sakazakii isolation and identification. Formerly known as Enterobacter sakazakii, this largely environmental organism has been associated with serious infections in newborns fed on infant formula milk. Lab M’s range of three media, which includes both broth and chromogenics, is designed to meet the various testing regimes of different laboratories, providing a ‘one-stop sakazakii shop’.