Which? Terms and conditions
These terms and conditions explain your rights and obligations when using Which? websites
1 Information about us
1.1 These terms and conditions govern your use of the Which? website at www.which.co.uk (including the Which? online shop at www.which.digitalstore.co.uk, the Which? Compare website at www.whichcompare.co.uk, (together 'our website').
Please read these terms and conditions carefully before you start to use our website. By using our website, you confirm that you accept these terms and conditions of use and that you agree to abide by them.
Where you purchase any subscription or other products from Which? then that purchase will be governed by these terms as supplemented or amended by those terms contained at Which? online and the Which? online shop as applicable.
1.2 The ‘Campaigns’, ‘Press’ and ‘About us’ parts of our website are operated by Consumers' Association trading as Which?. The rest of our website is operated by Which? Limited, and is part of a larger range of products and services offered by Which?.
The terms "Which?", "we", "us", or "our", refer to Which? or Which? Limited as applicable.
1.3 Consumers' Association is a company limited by guarantee and is registered in England & Wales under company number 00580128 and has its registered office at: 2 Marylebone Road, London NW1 4DF. Consumers’ Association is a registered charity under number 296072.
1.4 Which? Limited is a limited company registered in England & Wales under company number 00677665 and has its registered office at 2 Marylebone Road, London NW1 4DF. Its VAT registration number is GB238534158.
1.5 References to ‘terms and conditions’ means these terms and conditions, our acceptable use policy, and, where appropriate, the terms and conditions specific to the paid-for Which? Online subscription service and the Which? online shop.
2 Accessing our website
2.1 Access to our website is permitted on a temporary basis, and we reserve the right to withdraw or amend the service we provide on our website without notice (see below). We will not be liable if, for any reason, our website is unavailable at any time or for any period.
2.2 Which? tries to meet Worldwide Web Consortium standards of accessibility, but cannot guarantee that our website will be compatible with all hardware, software or assistive technologies that may be used by visitors to our website.
2.3 If you want to report an error or have any questions have a look at our frequently asked questions.
3 Information we collect about you
3.1 We process information about you in accordance with our privacy policy. Our privacy policy forms part of these terms and conditions and contains details on the types of information we collect, what we do with that information and other related matters such as cookies.
4 Intellectual property rights
4.1 We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our website, its contents (including any computer software) and in the content published on it (including in the member forums).
These intellectual property rights include, without limitation, copyright, trademarks, the underlying software, the design, graphics, layout, look and feel and structure of our website, database rights, design rights, domain names and rights to goodwill and/or to sue for passing off.
The trademarks, logos and service marks displayed on our website are registered and/or are common law trademarks of Which?, its affiliates, and various third parties. All intellectual property rights relating to our websites are and remain the sole property of us and/or our licensors.
4.2 You may view, use, print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our website for your personal reference and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to content posted on our website (provided you do so in a manner not detrimental to Which?).
Commercial use of our content is not permitted. Other than as stated in this clause 4.2 the redistributing, republishing, copying, adapting, modifying or otherwise making content on this website available to third parties is strictly prohibited.
5 Accuracy of the content on our website and our liability to you
5.1 The information on our website is given ‘as available’ and 'as is', in good faith and for general information and interest only. It is subject to change without notice. We make every effort to ensure that the information on our website is correct but we cannot guarantee that it is free of inaccuracies, errors and omissions.
We urge you to conduct your own research prior to purchasing from any of the retailers listed on our website to ensure the accuracy of the information. To the full extent permitted by law we make no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied in relation to any goods purchased from us or a retailer contacted using our website.
All actions taken by you on our website are your responsibility and we cannot make any guarantees that any information is correct or be held liable for any actions based on the product and pricing information provided. We do not provide any financial advisory or investment advice on our website.
5.2 Subject to clause 5.5 and unless specified otherwise in the terms and conditions, we shall not be liable to you for any direct or indirect losses of any kind whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or otherwise which arises out of or are in any way connected with, your use of our website or content, any failure or delay (including but not limited to the use or inability to use any component of our website) or the performance or non performance by us or any third parties even if we have been advised of the possibility of damages to you or any other party.
5.3 If notwithstanding clauses 5.2 and 5.4, we are held liable to you by a court of competent jurisdiction for losses arising out of our breach of these terms and conditions and/or our negligence in relation to your use of our website, you agree that our liability to you is capped at £50 (subject to clause 5.5).
5.4 We do not accept liability for direct or indirect losses sustained by you arising out of transactions or arrangements you enter into with any third party named, referred to or linked to on our website. If you access other sites using the links provided, we cannot be responsible for the content of those sites or for the way in which they deal with you or use any information including personal data that they might acquire about you.
5.5 We do not exclude or in any way limit liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by our negligence or any liability to the extent the same may not be excluded or limited as a matter of law.
6 Changes we need to make to our website and its content
6.1 We aim to update our website regularly, and may change the content at any time. If the need arises, we may suspend access to our website, or close it indefinitely.
7 Uploading content to our website
7.1 Whenever you make use of a feature on our website that allows you to upload content such as text (for example in the form of reviews), images and/or video and audio sequences to our website, or to make contact with other users of our website, you must comply with the content standards set out in our acceptable use policy.
You warrant that any such contribution does comply with those standards, and you shall be responsible for any losses, expenses or other costs incurred by Which? which are caused by your non-compliance.
Which? and/or PriceRunner Limited (in relation to content uploaded to the Which? Compare website) shall be entitled to publish, edit, refuse, or delete content added to our website.
7.2 Any content you upload to our website will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary, and we and our sub-licensees have the right to use, copy, distribute and disclose to third parties any such content for any purpose. By uploading content to our website, you are automatically deemed to have granted us a licence to use and sub-licence that content as we see fit, including for commercial purposes. By submitting content, you are also deemed to have waived any moral rights which you may have had in that content.
8 Downloads
8.1 Any material downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of our website is done at your own discretion and risk.
8.2 You will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or for any loss of data that results from the download of any such material.
9 Your liability to us
9.1 You agree to be liable for any liability, loss, claim, and expense (including reasonable legal fees) related to any breach by you of these terms and conditions or arising from your misuse of our website. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter or dispute arising from your use or misuse of our website and you agree to co-operate with the defence of such a dispute or claim by us.
10 Links from our website
10.1 Where our website contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of these sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them or their use of any information they may acquire about you (including personal data).
10.2 A link from our website does not constitute an endorsement by us of the use of that link, the company or organisation behind that link or the contents of the website reached using that link.
11 Links to our website
11.1 We welcome links to our home pages at www.which.co.uk and www.whichcompare.co.uk, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.
11.2 Our website must not be framed on any other website and you must not create a link to any part of our website other than the home pages at www.which.co.uk and www.whichcompare.co.uk unless you have obtained prior written permission from the editor of Which? Online (email: editor@which.co.uk).
The website from which you are linking must comply in all respects with the content standards set out in our acceptable use policy.
11.3 Any link to our website must comply with the following conditions:
i) the link must consist of the following text only: Which? and the URL;
ii) the link must not create the impression that your organisation or any of its products or services is recommended by or associated in any way with Which?;
iii) the existence of the link, its position, appearance or any other aspect of it must not damage or be likely to damage the name or reputation of Which?;
iv) selection of the link by a user must display our website as a full screen and not within a frame on the website on which the link appears;
v) you shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure that the use and existence of the link does not cause the transmission to our website of viruses or other deleterious programming routines; and
vi) you must not establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.
11.4 We reserve the right to require the removal of any link to our website at any time (whether or not previous consent to such link has been given).
11.5 The framing, mirroring, scraping or data mining of our website or any conduct by you that in our sole discretion restricts or inhibits any other user from using or enjoying our website (or any linked site) is strictly prohibited.
11.6 If you wish to make any use of content on our website other than that set out above, please address your request by email to: editor@which.co.uk.
12 Relationship with retailers
12.1 Retailers listed on our website are independent third parties and Which? is not acting as a principal, agent or broker with respect to them. Your relationship with any retailer you contact through our website is solely between you and the retailer.
13 Viruses, hacking and other things we do not like
13.1 You must not misuse our website by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful.
You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our website, the server on which our website is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our website. You must not attack our website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack.
14 Jurisdiction
14.1 The English courts will have jurisdiction over any claim arising from, or related to, a visit to our website although we retain the right to bring proceedings against you for breach of these terms and conditions in your country of residence or any other relevant country. These terms and conditions of use are governed by English law.
15 Severability
15.1 If any of these terms and conditions are determined by any competent authority to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent, such term, condition or provision will to that extent be severed from the remaining terms and conditions which will continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by law.
16 Waiver
16.1 No failure or delay by us in exercising any right under these terms and conditions shall operate as a waiver of this right. Similarly, any single or partial exercise of any right shall not preclude any further exercise of any of these rights or the exercise of any other right.
17 Entire Agreement
17.1 These terms and conditions and any document expressly referred to in them and any guidelines or rules posted on our website represent the entire agreement between us in relation to the subject matter of these terms and conditions and supersede any prior agreement, understanding or arrangement between us, whether oral or in writing.
18 Matters beyond our reasonable control
18.1 We will not be liable for any breach of these terms and conditions if such a breach is caused by a matter beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, internet failures, computer equipment failures, telecommunication equipment or other equipment failures, electrical power failures, fire, lightning, explosion, war, flood, industrial disputes, sabotage, severe weather, or acts of local or central Government or other competent authorities.
19 Taxes
19.1 Unless specified otherwise, all charges and rates set out in the terms and conditions shall include any applicable taxes (including VAT).
20 Changes to these terms and conditions
20.1 We may revise these terms and conditions from time to time and the amended terms will be posted on our website. Any amendments to these terms and conditions will be effective immediately. Some of the provisions contained in these terms and conditions may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on our website.
Terms applicable to the Which? Online subscription service
The terms below (the “Which? Online Terms”) are the terms that govern your use of the paid for Which? Online subscription service. These terms are in addition to the terms and conditions of website use (including the acceptable use policy). In the case of a conflict between those website terms and conditions and these Which? Online Terms the provisions of these Which? Online Terms shall prevail.
Which? at its absolute discretion can change any prices mentioned at any time. Prices charged will be those confirmed to you at the time of registration and the below prices are for example only.
1 Purchasing a subscription to Which? Online
1.1 We make the following offers to new subscribers. The terms and conditions specific to each offer are set out in clauses 1.2 to 1.5 below. The terms and conditions applicable to all Which? Online subscriptions are set out in clauses 1.6 to 1.10 below.
1.2 Where we offer you a trial of Which? Online, such trial will run for at least one month from the date you register. You will be notified of your first payment date upon registration.
If you do not want to continue your subscription after your trial you must contact us in the first three weeks of your trial, otherwise your subscription will automatically continue after your trial ends and you will be charged the full Which? Online monthly subscription rate which is £7.75 per calendar month, payable in advance.
1.3 If you subscribe to Which? magazine, you are entitled to a discount of £3 a month on the monthly subscription rate to Which? Online. If you decide to continue with your subscription after your trial, the price will be the reduced members' rate of £4.75 per calendar month, payable in advance.
If you cancel your subscription to Which? magazine, you will no longer be entitled to this discount and the price for your Which? Online subscription will be £7.75 per calendar month, payable in advance.
1.4 Where we offer you a discount for your first month's subscription to Which? Online, your first payment will be at the reduced amount, payable within 14 days of registration. Unless you tell us you no longer wish to continue your subscription, your subscription to Which? Online will then automatically continue at the full Which> Online monthly subscription rate of £7.75 per calendar month, payable in advance.
1.5 Where we offer you a discount for the first year's subscription to Which? Online, the first annual payment will be at the reduced amount payable in advance.
1.6 If you continue with your subscription after the first year, the price will be £93 a year, payable in advance.
1.7 If you currently subscribe to Which? magazine, you are entitled to a discount of £36 a year on the annual price of Which? Online subscription. If you decide to continue with your subscription after your first year's subscription the price will be the reduced members rate of £57 a year, payable in advance. If you cancel your subscription to Which? magazine, you will no longer be entitled to this discount and the price will be £93 a year, payable in advance.
1.8 If at any time during your subscription we decide to increase the price of Which? Online, we will give you at least six weeks' notice in advance to give you time to decide whether you wish to continue your subscription. If you do not wish to continue, you should let us know during this six-week period and we will cancel your subscription.
1.9 Under UK legislation, you have the right to cancel your subscription within seven working days of the commencement of your subscription. If this right is exercised, any subscription fee paid will be refunded within 30 days. Please contact us to cancel your subscription on this basis. Please note, this right is immediately lost should you access any of the subscriber content contained on the Which? Online website.
1.10 If you wish to cancel your monthly Which? Online subscription at any time, we require seven days' notice of cancellation and no refunds can be made of periods less than one month. Please contact us to cancel your subscription.
2 Access to subscription only content
2.1 When we have accepted your application to receive access to Which? Online, we will provide you with a user identification code and password as part of our security procedures. You must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any third party.
We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of the Which? Online Terms or the website terms and conditions.
2.2 Your right to use and access Which? Online is personal to you, and you must not allow any other person to gain access to Which? Online using your username and password. You must keep your username and password confidential.
2.3 Where you have registered using our online registration form, your username will be your email address. Where you have registered by other means, your username will generally be of the form 'firstname.lastname' and the next sequential number for that name combination.
2.4 You are entitled to use and access Which? Online in accordance with the Which? Online Terms and the website terms and conditions from the time you receive a username and password until your subscription is terminated in accordance with the terms and conditions.
3 Member Forums
3.1 Which? Online staff may encourage the lawful use of and contribution of user-generated content to member forums (the 'Forums'). Forums may come into existence following editorial contribution or member suggestion. The Forums should enable subscriber-to-subscriber advice and groups of like-minded subscribers, to co-operate and achieve common aims.
3.2 The Forums must be used in accordance with the acceptable use policy. We reserve the right to monitor the use of these Forums to ensure lawful use, but we have no obligation to do so.
4 Forum rules
4.1 You may use the Forums to ask questions to our staff or other subscribers on consumer issues.
4.2 If you choose to post a message you may be disclosing personal data about yourself to other subscribers to Which? Online (who may be outside the European Economic Area), but you must not, through using the Forums, collect, store, or otherwise process personal data about other subscribers to Which? Online.
4.3 If, while using Which? Online, you discover anyone in breach of the acceptable use policy you should inform us as soon as possible.
4.4 To ensure the continuing quality of the Which? Online service, telephone calls to our Technical Support and Customer Support lines may be monitored or recorded for training purposes.
5 Name
5.1 You confirm that you are the owner of, or that you have been authorised by the owner to use, any trademark or name requested by or allocated to you.
5.2 We cannot guarantee that any name requested by you will be available or approved for use. If we have reasonable grounds for thinking that the name you have chosen is contrary to clause 5.1 above, we may ask you to choose a replacement name.
6 Assignment
6.1 You shall not assign or otherwise transfer the subscription to any other person without obtaining our prior written consent. This consent will not be refused without good reason.
6.2 We reserve the right to assign all or part of these Which? Online Terms at any time to any company or person. Any assignment will not prejudice your rights under these Which? Online Terms.
7 Default
7.1 We may suspend or terminate your subscription to Which? Online with immediate effect if you:
i) do not pay the subscription fees within 28 days of them becoming due;
ii) breach the terms and conditions (which, for the avoidance of doubt, includes these Which? Online Terms and acceptable use policy) in any way; or
iii) become the subject of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings.
7.2 You will still be liable for all charges that you owe us up to the date of termination if we terminate your subscription under this clause 7.
8 Warranty and Liabilities
8.1 Subject to clause 8.2 below and clause 5.5 of the terms and conditions for website use, in the event that we are liable to you for losses arising out of our breach of these Which? Online Terms and/or our negligence in connection with your subscription to Which? Online, our liability to you is capped at three times the value of any Which? Online subscription fees paid by you under these Which? Online Terms in the period of 12 months prior to your claim.
8.2 Subject to clause 5.5 of the terms and conditions for website use, with respect to a breach of these Which? Online Terms by us and/or our negligence relating to your subscription to Which? Online under these terms Which? Online Terms, we shall not be liable to you for any and all:
(i) loss of income or revenue;
(ii) loss of business;
(iii) loss of actual or anticipated profits;
(iv) loss of, damage to or corruption of data;
(v) loss of goodwill or reputation;
(vi) loss of anticipated savings;
(vii) wasted management or office time; and/or
(viii) indirect loss or damage of any kind, in each case however so arising, whether such loss or damage was foreseeable and whether arising out of breach of contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise.
8.3 For the purposes of the Which? Online subscription service we warrant that we use all reasonable skill and care in creating the online content. All other warranties, either express or implied by law, are excluded in accordance with clause 5.1 of the terms and conditions for website use.
Terms applicable to the Which? online shop
The terms below (the 'Which? Shop Terms') apply specifically to your purchase of any books via the Which? online shop ('Which? Shop'). These terms are in addition to the terms and conditions of website use (including the acceptable use policy). In the case of a conflict between those website terms and conditions and these Which? Shop Terms the provisions of these Which? Shop Terms shall prevail.
Terms and conditions specific to the Which? Shop
1 Which? book ordering
1.1 All orders for Which? books via Which? Shop are subject to acceptance and product availability. By submitting your order you are offering to buy the products at the price set out in the order and allowing us to use your personal details to supply the products.
1.2 You should print and retain a copy of your order details for your records.
1.3 We are not obliged to supply the products you have ordered until we have confirmed that we have accepted your order. No contract will exist between you and us until we have accepted your order.
1.4 If the product is out of stock or we are unable to supply exactly what has been ordered (or if there has been a price increase) we will contact you before deducting any payment.
1.5 If the product is out of stock or we are unable to supply exactly what has been ordered (or if there has been a price increase) and you wish to cancel or change your order, we will not deduct payment from you. If you choose to proceed with the order, please remember that no contract will exist until we have accepted your offer to purchase a product.
1.6 We aim to process your order within 48 hours, but please allow up to 14 days for delivery. Postage and packing will be charged at the advertised rate. If we have not delivered the products within 30 days of the date given in our acceptance you may cancel the contract and we will refund any money you have paid.
1.7 Goods will be sent by second-class post but may take longer to arrive at non-UK addresses.
1.8 You can pay by credit or charge card. We also accept Amex, MasterCard, Visa, and Maestro. Payments will show on your bank/credit card statement as being made to our distributor: Littlehampton Book Services.
1.9 All credit and charge-card purchases are subject to validation checks and authorisation by the card issuer.
1.10 If the issuer of your payment card refuses to authorise payment to us, we will not confirm acceptance of the order, no contract will be formed, and we will not be liable for any delay or non-delivery. We retain legal title to the goods until we have received payment in full.
2 Books cancellation policy
2.1 After your offer has been accepted by us, you have the right to cancel the order for up to seven working days, starting from the day after the day on which you received the item(s). This applies to all of our products. However, we regret that we cannot accept cancellations of contracts for the purchase of sealed products where the item has been unsealed.
2.2 To cancel your order, you can call our book distributors mail order department at Littlehampton Books on 01903 828503, alternatively email your cancellation request for your books order to mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk. To cancel your order in writing, please send your cancellation request to; Littlehampton Book Services, Mail Order Department, Faraday Close, Durrington, Worthing, West Sussex, BN13 3RB.
2.3 You should arrange for the goods to be returned to the above address and we shall arrange for a full refund (excluding return postage) within a maximum period of 30 days from notice of cancellation.
2.4 If we do not receive the goods back from you we may arrange for the item(s) to be collected from you within 14 days of your notice of cancellation and charge the cost of collection to you.
2.5 Please note that your statutory rights are not affected. This cancellation policy is separate and additional to our returns policy.
3 Book returns policy
3.1 If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase for any reason, you can return it to us at the above address within 14 days of receipt for a full refund (excluding return postage) as long as the goods are in the condition in which you received them.
3.2 Should your goods be faulty or damaged you can return it to us at Littlehampton Book Services, Mail Order Department, Faraday Close, Durrington, Worthing, West Sussex, BN13 3RB within 14 days for a full refund (including return postage) or request a replacement. Please mark any book returns clearly for the attention of the Returns Department or ring 01903 828503 to request a replacement. This returns policy is separate and additional to your right to cancel you order as set out in clause 2 above.
4 Our liability to you in relation to purchased Which? books
4.1 Subject to clause 4.2 below and clause 5.5 of the terms and conditions for website use, in the event that we are liable to you for losses arising out of our breach of these Which? Shop Terms and/or our negligence in connection with the purchase of Which? books purchased by you under these Which? Shop Terms, our liability to you is capped at three times the value of the books purchased from us.
4.2 With respect to a breach of these Which? Shop Terms by us and/or our negligence relating to the purchase of Which? books by you under Which? Shop Terms, we shall not be liable to you for any and all:
(i) loss of income or revenue;
(ii) loss of business;
(iii) loss of actual or anticipated profits;
(iv) loss of, damage to or corruption of data;
(v) loss of goodwill or reputation;
(vi) loss of anticipated savings;
(vii) wasted management or office time; and/or
(viii) indirect loss or damage of any kind, in each case however so arising, whether such loss or damage was foreseeable and whether arising out of breach of contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise.
4.3 We warrant that we use all reasonable skill and care in creating the content contained in any Which? published books. All other warranties with respect to Which? published books, either express or implied by law, are excluded in accordance with clause 5.1 of the terms and conditions for website use.
Acceptable use of our website and user-generated content
This acceptable use policy sets out the terms between you and us under which you may use our website (the 'acceptable use policy'). This acceptable use policy forms part of the terms and conditions for the use of our website and applies to all users of, and visitors to, our website.
This acceptable use policy applies to any and all content which you contribute to our website ('user-generated content') and to any interactive services associated with it.
1 Prohibited uses
1.1 You may use our website only for lawful purposes. You must not use our website:
(i) in any way that breaches any applicable local, national or international law or regulation;
(ii) in any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect;
(iii) for the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way;
(iv) to send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any content which does not comply with our content standards;
(v) to transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar communication (spam); or
(vi) to knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation of any computer software or hardware.
1.2 You also agree:
(i) not to use the Forums (as defined in the Which? Online Terms), or any of the interactive services available to access and/or use confidential information about another subscriber to the Which? Online subscription service; attempt to discover and/or use the password and account details of another subscriber to the Which? Online subscription service; or attempt to impersonate any other person;
(ii) not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt:
a. any part of our website;
b. any equipment or network on which our website is stored;
c. any software used in the provision of our site; or
d. any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party.
2 Electronic communication and notices
2.1 When using our website, you accept that communication with us will be mainly electronic. We will contact you by e-mail or provide you with information by posting notices on our website. For contractual purposes, you agree to this electronic means of communication and you acknowledge that all notices, information and other communications that we provide to you electronically comply with any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
2.2 Notices to us may be sent by normal post or by e-mail. Postal notices should be sent to Which? Limited, 2 Marylebone Road, London NW1 4DF.
3 Interactive Services
3.1 We may from time to time provide interactive services on our website, including, without limitation:
(i) chat rooms;
(ii) subscriber/member forums;
(iii) a facility that enables content to be uploaded such as text, images, video (with or without audio), audio sequences or any other form of user generated content;
(iv) a mechanism for contacting other users of our website;
(v) blogs;
(vi) podcasts/webcasts;
(vii) web-forums; and/or
(viii) streaming of text, images, video (with or without audio), audio sequences or any other form of user generated content;
(together: 'Interactive Services').
3.2 Where we do provide any Interactive Services, we will do our best to provide clear information to you about the kind of service offered, if it is moderated and what form of moderation is used (including whether it is human or technical). If a piece of user generated content remains on our website in a moderator area it does not mean that it has been sanctioned or approved by our moderator.
3.3 We may operate a search facility within an Interactive Service to identify any user generated content (including forum postings) that contain key words likely to indicate that content would be unlawful or offensive. We reserve the right to edit or remove any user generated content that we deem to be unlawful or offensive.
3.4 We are under no obligation to oversee, monitor or moderate any Interactive Service we provide on our website, and we expressly exclude our liability for any loss or damage arising from the use of any Interactive Service by a user in contravention of our content standards or our website terms and conditions, whether the service is moderated or not.
3.5 The use of any of our Interactive Services by a minor is subject to the consent of their parent or guardian. We advise parents who permit their children to use an Interactive Service that it is important that they communicate with their children about their safety online, as moderation is not foolproof. Minors who are using any Interactive Service should be made aware of the potential risks to them.
3.6 Where we do moderate an Interactive Service, we will normally provide you with a means of contacting the moderator, should a concern or difficulty arise.
4 Content standards
4.1 These content standards apply to any and all user generated content which you contribute to our website, and to any Interactive Services associated with it.
4.2 You must comply with the spirit of the following standards as well as the letter. The standards apply to each constituent part of any piece of user generated content as well as the piece as a whole.
4.3 User generated content must:
(i) be accurate (where it contains a factual statement);
(ii) be genuinely held (where it states opinions or beliefs); and
(iii) comply with applicable law in the UK and in any country from which it is uploaded or posted.
4.4 User generated content must not:
(i) contain anything which is defamatory of any person;
(ii) contain anything which is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory;
(iii) contain or promote sexually explicit material;
(iv) promote violence;
(v) promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;
(vi) infringe any copyright, database right or trade mark of any other person;
(vii) be likely to deceive any person;
(viii) be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence;
(ix) promote any illegal or unlawful activity;
(x) be threatening, abuse or invade another’s privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;
(xi) be likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person;
(xii) be used to impersonate any person, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person;
(xiii) give the impression that they emanate from us, if this is not the case;
(xiv) contain press releases or advertising;
(xv) advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse;
(xvi) adapt, translate, modify, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer our website or any software or program used in connection with it;
(xvii) restrict or inhibit any other user from using or enjoying our website (or any linked website); or
(xviii) modify, alter or deface any of the trademarks, service marks, trade dress or other intellectual property made available by us in connection with our website or otherwise infringe or facilitate infringement of any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary, publicity or privacy rights of any part, including the rights of third parties.
5 Breach of this policy
5.1 Using our discretion, we will determine whether there has been a breach of this acceptable use policy through your use of our website. A breach of this acceptable use policy constitutes a material breach of the terms and conditions governing your website use.
5.2 If we decide that you have not complied with this acceptable use policy, we may take one or more of the following courses of action:
(i) immediately, temporarily or permanently withdraw your right to use our website;
(ii) immediately, temporarily or permanently remove any piece of user generated content uploaded by you to our website;
(iii) issue you with a warning about your conduct;
(iv) bring legal proceedings against you to recover all our costs and losses that result from your breach of this policy (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs);
(v) further legal action against you; and/or
(vi) disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we deem appropriate.
5.3 We exclude liability for actions taken in response to breaches of this acceptable use policy. The responses described in this acceptable use policy are not limited, and we may take any other action we reasonably deem appropriate.
5.4 You should not use our website for any commercial purpose. For the avoidance of doubt, reviewing a product that promotes your own or your employers business or hinders a competitors business shall be deemed to be a commercial purpose. In the event that Which? discovers that you have acted in contravention of this clause it reserves the right to publish a statement on the website detailing your actions.
6 Changes to this policy
6.1 We may revise this acceptable use policy at any time by amending this policy. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we make because they are legally binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in this acceptable use policy may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on our website.
7 Which? Legal Service Package
7.1 Service provided
Which? Legal Service is provided by qualified lawyers who offer telephone advice (‘the Advice’) between 8.30am and 6pm Mondays to Fridays, excluding bank/public holidays.
The Advice is available to you and permanent members of your household on consumer issues: all aspects relating to goods that you buy or consumer services you pay for eg disputes with utility companies, mobile phone contracts, problems with faulty goods etc, provided they fall within the UK jurisdiction.
We are able to deal with civil legal disputes with the following financial limitations – £5,000 in England & Wales, £3,000 in Scotland and £2,000 in Northern Ireland – as they fall within the Small Claims procedure. Although we may advise in part on other claims we reserve the right not to deal with claims of a value over the Small Claims limit or on claims that fall outside the small claims procedure.
We cannot advise anyone who telephones us on your behalf unless we have written authority to do so, or unless we have received verbal confirmation from you and it has been recorded by us. As we endeavour to connect you directly to the Advice line we cannot guarantee continuity of lawyer.
The following areas are not included with this subscription but are available through a separate subscription with Which? Legal Service by calling 01992 822828:
holiday and travel issues, civil neighbour disputes in England & Wales, employment matters: all aspects of employment law given to employees, working in the UK excluding those relating to personal injury, consumer advice for small businesses (partnerships and sole traders), speeding fines, parking and clamping (but we do not advise on legal proceedings against a local authority), tenancy advice to private residential tenants in England & Wales.
7.2 Exclusions
(a) The Advice is offered to individuals on consumer issues.
(b) We cannot enter into discussions directly with third parties nor can we review or respond to individual correspondence.
(c) We abide by the Law Society’s Rules and Principles of Professional Conduct of Solicitors (‘the Rules’) and the Bar Code of Conduct (‘the Code’) and as a result we cannot deal with any legal problem where:
(i) there is (or there is a risk of) a conflict of interest between your interests and that of the work of Which? or with another client’s legal problems in accordance
with the Rules and the Code.
(ii) We cannot advise on any aspect of a solicitor’s advice nor can we advise you when a solicitor is still acting for you.
(iii) Dealing with your problem would (or is likely to) cause us to compromise or impair our professional integrity or good repute in accordance with the Code.
(d) We will not assist if you do not have a genuine legal case and we can only help you to recover sums to the extent that you are legally entitled to them.
7.3 Levels of Service
We aim to connect you directly to a lawyer, however if no lawyer is available when you call we will call you back.
7.4 Cancelling your membership and changes in your membership
To cancel any part of your membership package you should write to us at the address in paragraph 7.5 below within seven working days of subscribing. Depending on what part of your membership package you want to cancel your membership fee will be reduced accordingly.
We will advise you of the price reduction on application and you will be refunded for the cancelled element of your membership within 30 days.
Please note however, the right to cancel the Which? Legal Service or Which? Online element of your package is immediately lost should you receive any legal assistance or access the Which? Online services within these seven working days.
If you wish to cancel any part of your membership package at any time, we require seven days’ notice of cancellation and no refunds can be made of periods less than one month. Please contact us at the address below in paragraph 7.5 to cancel. If Which? Legal Service is in the process of providing you with any legal assistance when you cancel your membership, any such assistance will stop.
Which? will notify you at least six weeks in advance of any detrimental changes to any of the terms of your membership, including any changes to the price, to give you time to decide whether you wish to continue with your membership. If you do not wish to continue you should let us know within this six week period and we will cancel your membership.
Nothing contained in this term or any other terms affects your statutory rights.
7.5 Complaints
If you are not happy with any aspect of the service you have received, then please write to the Manager, Which? Legal Service at Gascoyne Way, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG14 1LH. We aim to respond fairly and speedily, usually within five working days.
If your response relates to the service offered by Which? Legal Service then the decision of the Manager of Which? Legal Service is final. If however, your complaint is about the advice received from a specific lawyer then we will inform you how to make a complaint about that individual lawyer to their professional body.
Cancelling your subscription
You can cancel your subscription at any time. There is no obligation and no fixed term contract. If you do not wish your subscription to continue beyond the trial period, simply write and tell us that you wish to cancel it (and to your bank/building society to cancel your Direct Debit instruction if you were paying by Direct Debit) before the date of your 1st subscription payment. You can keep everything you have already received and you won't owe us a penny.
We require 7 days notice of cancellation and are unable to make refunds for periods of less than one month. Your subscription will then expire the day before your next payment would have been due. Details of where to send your cancellation request is located in contact us. Please quote your name, address and membership number. Should you respond by email title your email 'cancel'. If you do not cancel your subscription, it will continue without interruption until you contact us.
The Which? trial and free delivery offer is limited to your first order only and is strictly limited to one per customer.