The Fashion Exchange website and related services are made available to you in accordance with the following Terms and Conditions and any other rules at www.fashionexchange.co.uk (the “Site”).
We may amend these Terms and Conditions at any time by giving you notice ("Notice") by posting the amended Terms and Conditions on the Site. Any amended Terms and Conditions will govern new user registrations from the date that they are posted on the Site. Existing users will be bound by the amended Terms and Conditions after the expiry of 30 days following the date of a Notice. If you do not agree to the amended Terms and Conditions, you may request the closure of your account. No other amendment to these Terms and Conditions will be effective.
Eligibility
In order to use our services you must be at least 18 years old and you must have the capacity to enter a legally binding contract in accordance with applicable laws. If you are under 18 years old, you can use this service only in conjunction with and under the supervision of a parent or guardian. If you are registering as a business entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms and Conditions.
Registration
You must complete our registration form before you can use this service. All information provided must be true and complete. All members are responsible for all actions taken under their User ID and password and shall only use the Site with their own User ID and password. You shall not transfer or sell your User ID to any other person.
Fashion Exchange serves as a Stage, not an Auction
Fashion Exchange is a medium where members can offer, bid, buy and sell fashion merchandise. Fashion Exchange does not own or hold any of the merchandise offered and sold on the Site and is not a party to the actual transaction. We are not responsible for the quality, quantity, and accuracy of description or authenticity of any goods listed and sold on the Site.
Authenticity of User
Fashion Exchange does not and cannot guarantee that a member is who they claim to be. If you have any suspicions as to whether the user is who they claim to be, we recommend that you review their feedback rating and comments. We also recommend getting in contact with the other member through the means available on the Site.
Feedback and Fraud
All members are required to act with honesty and integrity. Any member whose feedback ratings fall below the standards expected of Fashion Exchange members may have their account temporarily or permanently suspended.
Likewise, if we suspect that a member has initiated or been involved in any fraudulent activity, we have the right to terminate your account and report the matter to the appropriate authorities.
Legal Disputes
Any disputes between members of Fashion Exchange are to be settled without recourse to Fashion Exchange. We are released from all legal actions, claims and disputes. We are not responsible for the actions and/or omissions of any of our members.
Placing a Bid and Purchasing
Where a member places a bid for an item, that member implicitly states that they are able to pay and that they intend to pay for the item should their bid be successful. If you have a question in relation to an item being sold, you should ask the seller before placing a bid.
If your bid is the highest in an item auction, or if you decide to buy an item using the ‘buy now’ option, you will enter into a legally binding contract under the laws of England and Wales.
With regard to returns and refunds, please see our Returns Policy. Your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions entitles us to assume you have read the Returns Policy.
Withdrawing a Bid
A bid may be withdrawn in exceptional circumstances, namely:
a) The seller has made material changes to the description of the identity of the item after a bid had been placed.
b) The seller has given the bidder their clear and explicit permission to withdraw the bid.
c) The seller had made a material typographical error in the description of the item.
d) The sale and purchase of the item is prohibited by law.
Selling
The seller should only sell items the sale of which is permitted by the laws of England and Wales. It is also the seller’s responsibility to ensure that it is lawful to sell and export an item to the jurisdiction in which the buyer is based.
The contents of a seller’s listing should only consist of material that the seller has a right to use. The seller must respect all intellectual property rights of third parties.
The seller must be the absolute unencumbered legal owner with the right to sell the goods listed.
The seller must list all items in the correct category with accurate and appropriate descriptions and provide such information as we may request.
Cancellation of a Sale
Where an item has been purchased through the ‘bid now’ option, or where the auction for an item has been closed and the highest bidder has placed a bid in excess of the minimum bidding price, the seller is obliged to complete the transaction with that purchaser.
The Seller does not have the right to cancel any listing under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 or the equivalent legislation of other jurisdictions. The seller may cancel a bid in one of the following circumstances:
a) The item is no longer of satisfactory quality or has perished.
b) The identity of the buyer cannot be authenticated.
c) The buyer does not meet the requirements stipulated be the seller.
A listed item will be de-listed on receipt by us of a written notice from you intimating that you wish to de-list it, but we will retain the registration fee paid with respect to the item.
Listing Fees
The seller is responsible for the payment of a listing fee. All sellers have the opportunity to review and accept the applicable fee before they list an item.
Fair Trading
All members must act fairly and correctly. This means that members may not take any actions that amount to interference, interruption or manipulation of the Fashion Exchange Site or auction system. Prohibited actions include, but are not limited to, bidding on an item which you have listed for sale, contacting a bidder in order to dissuade them from bidding for an item, encouraging another member to conclude a transaction outside of the Site forum, or making bids using a false User ID.
Personal Information and Privacy
Personal information is any information that a member provides to Fashion Exchange and other members of the Site. This includes your membership details, feedback, messages, listings and bids.
Members must ensure that the information they provide is honest, accurate and fully compliant with all laws, including the intellectual property rights of others. Such information shall not contain any viruses or other malicious computer programming routines and shall not link to any other website.
The use of personal information by Fashion Exchange is regulated by the company’s Privacy Policy. Please see our Privacy Policy. Your acceptance of these Terms and Conditions entitles us to assume you have read the Privacy Policy.
Information of Other Members
You may only use the personal information of other members obtained through the Site for genuine Fashion Exchange related purposes. You may only use such information in accordance with the law.
Non-observance of the Terms and Conditions
Failure to act in accordance with this agreement may lead to the restriction, suspension or termination of your account without refund of any fees paid and without liability for any loss or damage you may claim as a result of our actions.
Limitation of Liability
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury, dishonesty, fraudulent misrepresentation or the statutory rights of consumers that cannot be waived or limited by contract or otherwise to the extent permitted by law.
However, Fashion Exchange (its officers, directors, agents and employees) will not be liable for any lost profits, revenue, any special, indirect or consequential damages (however arising, including negligence) resulting from or in connection with this agreement or the use of the Site.
Fashion Exchange excludes all warranties, terms, undertakings and representations of any kind, expressed or implied, statutory or otherwise, in connection with the services and the Site to the fullest extent permitted by the law. Fashion Exchange has no control whatsoever over the quality, legality or safety of any advertised items or of any other characteristics on which the buyer may rely, the accuracy of any of the listings and the capacity of any seller or any buyer to transact.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold us and (as applicable) our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your breach of these Terms and Conditions (including the documents incorporated by reference), or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.
Availability of Site
While we use all reasonable endeavour to make our services and website available, we cannot guarantee that they will operate continuously or without interruptions. This could impact on bidding or other aspects of an auction or sale.
Notices
Except as otherwise stated, any notices that you wish to send to Fashion Exchange should be made via email or registered mail. Any notices that we may wish to draw to your attention will be displayed on the Site or will be sent to the email address registered under your account.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms and Conditions are governed by and constructed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and any disputes are to be resolved by the courts of England and Wales.
Third Party Rights
A person who is not a party to this agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any of the terms of this agreement but this does not affect any right or remedy of a third party specified in this agreement or which exists or is available apart from that Act.
Unforeseen Events
Fashion Exchange will not be in breach of this agreement or otherwise liable for any delay in performance to the extent that any delay or failure is due to the circumstances beyond its reasonable control and including, without limitation, strikes, lock-outs and other industrial disputes, breakdown of systems or network access, flood, fire, explosion or accident.
Invalidity
If any part of the terms of this agreement is unenforceable, including any provision in which we exclude our liability to you, the enforceability of any other parts of this agreement will not be affected.
Entire Agreement
This agreement, together with any document expressly referred to within its provisions, contains the entire agreement between us relating to the subject matter covered and supersedes any previous agreements, arrangements, undertakings or proposals, written or oral, between us in relation to such matters or any statements made to you by any person, including (without limitation) any of our employees or agents. Save for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, we shall have no liability for any such representation being untrue or misleading.
Fashion Exchange Legal Guidance for Business Sellers
Sellers who run a business selling items on Fashion Exchange. i.e. have a number of legal obligations, ranging from general trading laws such as the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, to specific trading laws that may apply depending on the type of goods traded. For those selling goods to consumers, the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs website is a useful starting point for further information. In addition, you should note that specific laws apply to online sales, such as the distance selling regulations. This page is a brief introduction to the most important laws applicable to online trading, together with links to other websites that offer further information.
Please note that this page is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. If you are unclear about the way that any of these laws may apply to you, please seek advice from a lawyer, trading standards officer or similar professional.
Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act
The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 and the Sale of Goods Act 1979 are some of the most important laws to be aware of when selling goods on Fashion Exchange i.e. in the course of a business. You are responsible for ensuring that any goods you sell on Fashion Exchange:
• correspond with the description you have given in the item listing;
• are of merchantable quality; and
• are fit for their purpose.
Goods are of merchantable quality if they are as fit for the purpose(s) which goods of that kind are commonly bought and as durable as it is reasonable to expect having regard to any description applied to them, the price (if relevant) and all other relevant circumstances. Indications of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety. It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible for the goods.
This is a complicated law and for more information on your responsibilities we recommend that you look at the ODCA website http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Learning_Zone/Guides_To_Consumer_Law/Buying_Onlin .
Other trading and consumer protection laws
Trade descriptions and fair trading laws will also apply to you when selling on Fashion Exchange i.e. as a business. For example, the Consumer Information Act 1978 makes it an offence to:
• apply a false or misleading description to any items; or
• supply or offer to supply any items to which a false or misleading description is applied.
For further information, please visit the ODCA’s guide of Consumer Information Act. In addition if you are a business selling to consumers you should be aware of consumer's legal rights, and further information can be obtained at the ODCA’s website.
Distance Selling Regulations
The European Communities (Protection of Consumers in respect of Contracts made by means of Distance Communication) Regulations, 2001 apply to sales to consumers made by sellers acting in the course of a business which have been concluded at a distance. In other words, where there is no face to face contact between the seller and the consumer. This would usually cover sales made over the internet, for example, via Fashion Exchange. i.e.
Business sellers need to comply with a certain number of obligations such as:
• providing clear information about themselves and their items (this information could be contained in your listing or on your page); and
• providing consumers with a period of seven working days in which the consumer can cancel the contract (often referred to as the "cooling off" period).
To get a general idea of the laws governing distance sales, we recommend that you review the summary of the Regulations which are available at http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories and/or the European Consumer Centre’s website.
Please note that, although the guidance states that the Regulations do not apply to sales at internet auctions, this refers to traditional auctions carried out via the internet and not sales made via Fashion Exchange's auction-style selling format.
E-Commerce Regulations
In addition to the Distance Selling Regulations, which apply to businesses selling to consumers, there are further rules in the European Communities (Directive 2000/31/EC) Regulations 2003 (“Electronic Commerce Regulations”) which apply regardless of whether the buyer is a consumer or another trader. In addition to providing the required information under the Distance Selling Regulations (where applicable) the seller must also provide other information such as
• the name, geographic address and email address of the seller's business;
• details of any relevant trade registers on which the seller is registered;
• details of any authorisation scheme relevant to the seller's online business; and
• the seller's VAT number, if the online activities are subject to VAT.
Tax Policy
As a seller on Fashion Exchange, you agree to comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of our service and your listing, solicitation of offers to purchase, and sale of items.
You are also responsible for paying all fees associated with using our service and our website and all applicable taxes.
VAT and your Fashion Exchange sales
Laws and regulations dealing with VAT on sales transactions are complicated. These laws and regulations address, for example, whether a seller’s business should be registered for VAT, whether a seller is required to charge VAT on sold items, and, if so, how much VAT should be charged on those items. For this reason, a seller should consult an independent tax advisor and/or local tax authority to determine what laws and rules apply, including whether a business should be registered and whether and how much VAT is required to be charged on an item.
Auction site returns policy
At no stage during any transaction does or will Fashion Exchange become contractually involved. Should any of the goods displayed on our site and subsequently sold via our site prove unsatisfactory, we cannot be held responsible in any way due to the absence of our contractual participation in the transaction. We provide a forum for the transaction and do not purport to buy or sell any of the goods listed on www.fashionexchange.co.uk
We want every user of www.fashionexchange.co.uk , both buyers and sellers, to be certain of the conditions under which they deal, all the while feeling secure that the transaction they may enter into is valid and reliable. To this end, we have devised the following Returns Policy by which all buyers and sellers agree to abide.
We must emphasise that under no circumstances will we accept the return of any goods directly to us. Due to the absence of any contractual responsibility, Fashion Exchange is both unsuitable and unwilling to accept any goods that any buyer wishes to return. Any product to be returned must be returned to the seller and NOT to us.
As the products have been bought and sold at auction, they may only be returned to the seller if they prove to have been both materially and incorrectly described when listed. Otherwise there is no right to return the goods. For each buyer’s protection, we recommend a recorded delivery service is used for all returns.