TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE
A C Engineering (North East) Limited / EarthBosses.com
These Terms and Conditions apply to the supply of goods and services by A C Engineering (North East) Limited (“A C Engineering”, “we”, “us” or “the Supplier”), including goods and services supplied, advertised, quoted or ordered through or in connection with EarthBosses.com.
For the purposes of these Terms and Conditions, “EarthBosses.com” or “the Website” means the website operated in connection with the sale and promotion of goods and services supplied by A C Engineering.
Unless expressly stated otherwise, any Contract entered into through or in connection with EarthBosses.com is between the Customer and A C Engineering (North East) Limited.
These Terms and Conditions are intended for business-to-business transactions.
- DEFINITIONS
In these Terms and Conditions:
Contract means the agreement between A C Engineering and the Customer for the supply of Goods and/or Services.
Customer Materials means any material, component, casting, forging, blank, tooling, fixture, sample or other property supplied by or on behalf of the Customer.
Customer Specification means any drawing, CAD model, sample, specification, instruction, purchase order, material specification, tolerance requirement or other technical information supplied or approved by the Customer.
Deliverables means any Goods, components, drawings, reports, inspection records, certificates or other items we have expressly agreed to provide.
Goods means any components, products, assemblies, fabricated items, machined parts, tooling or other goods supplied by us.
Intellectual Property Rights means patents, copyright, design rights, registered designs, trademarks, database rights, know-how, trade secrets and all similar intellectual property rights whether registered or unregistered.
Order means an order or purchase order submitted by the Customer, the Customer's written acceptance of our quotation, or an order submitted through EarthBosses.com.
Services means machining, fabrication, welding, design, repair, modification, inspection, assembly, engineering support or any other services supplied by A C Engineering.
Website means EarthBosses.com and any associated online store or webpage operated in connection with the Goods and/or Services supplied by A C Engineering.
- BASIS OF CONTRACT
2.1 These Terms and Conditions apply to all quotations, Orders and Contracts entered into by A C Engineering unless otherwise expressly agreed by us in writing.
2.2 These Terms and Conditions shall apply to the exclusion of any terms or conditions contained in or referred to in the Customer's purchase order, procurement portal, specification or other documentation unless we expressly agree to those terms in writing.
2.3 A quotation issued by us is an invitation to place an Order and does not itself constitute a binding Contract.
2.4 An Order placed by the Customer constitutes an offer to purchase the Goods and/or Services specified in the Order.
2.5 An Order submitted through EarthBosses.com constitutes an offer by the Customer to purchase the relevant Goods and/or Services subject to these Terms and Conditions.
2.6 A Contract comes into existence when we accept an Order in writing, issue an order acknowledgement, confirm acceptance of an online Order, commence work on the Order or otherwise communicate our acceptance.
2.7 An automated acknowledgement confirming that an online Order has been received does not necessarily constitute acceptance of that Order unless expressly stated.
2.8 No employee or representative of A C Engineering has authority to vary these Terms and Conditions unless that variation is confirmed in writing by an authorised representative of A C Engineering.
2.9 The Contract constitutes the entire agreement between the parties in relation to the relevant Order.
- QUOTATIONS
3.1 Unless otherwise stated, quotations are valid for 5 working days from the date of issue.
3.2 Quotations are based upon the drawings, specifications, quantities, materials and other information available to us at the time the quotation is prepared.
3.3 We reserve the right to amend a quotation if:
a. the Customer changes the quantity, specification, material, drawing, tolerance or delivery requirement;
b. additional operations or inspection requirements become necessary;
c. information supplied by the Customer proves to be incomplete or inaccurate;
d. the condition of Customer Materials requires additional work;
e. material, subcontract, energy, transport or other costs materially change before an Order is accepted; or
f. circumstances arise which could not reasonably have been identified when the quotation was prepared.
3.4 Unless specifically included in our quotation, prices do not include special tooling, fixtures, gauges, inspection equipment, certificates, testing, treatment, plating, specialist packaging, delivery or other additional requirements.
- CUSTOMER SPECIFICATIONS, DRAWINGS AND INSTRUCTIONS
4.1 The Customer is responsible for ensuring that all information supplied to A C Engineering is complete, accurate and suitable for its intended purpose.
4.2 Where Goods are manufactured to a Customer Specification, we are entitled to rely upon that specification without independently verifying its design, suitability, performance or fitness for the Customer's intended application unless we have expressly agreed to provide design responsibility as part of the Contract.
4.3 The Customer must identify all critical characteristics, special processes, inspection requirements, material specifications, certification requirements and tolerances before manufacture begins.
4.4 Where a dimension, tolerance, surface finish, material condition or other requirement is not specified, we may manufacture the Goods using reasonable commercial engineering practices appropriate to the manufacturing process concerned.
4.5 Verbal instructions affecting specification, quantity, quality, delivery or price must be confirmed in writing.
4.6 We shall not be responsible for loss, delay or additional cost caused by incorrect, conflicting, incomplete or late information supplied by the Customer.
4.7 Where we identify an apparent error or inconsistency in a Customer Specification, we may suspend manufacture while clarification is obtained.
4.8 Any resulting delay shall not make us liable for failure to meet an originally anticipated delivery date.
- CUSTOMER-SUPPLIED MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS
5.1 Customer Materials are supplied to us at the Customer's risk unless otherwise agreed in writing.
5.2 The Customer is responsible for ensuring that Customer Materials:
a. are of the correct material and specification;
b. are suitable for the required manufacturing operation;
c. contain sufficient machining or processing allowance;
d. are free from defects which could adversely affect manufacture; and
e. are supplied in sufficient quantity to complete the Order.
5.3 We shall not be liable for defects, porosity, inclusions, cracking, hardness variation, distortion, dimensional inconsistency or other defects inherent in Customer Materials which could not reasonably have been identified before processing.
5.4 If Customer Materials prove unsuitable, defective or insufficient, we may suspend work and charge the Customer for work carried out and costs incurred up to that point.
5.5 Where replacement Customer Materials are required following a manufacturing error caused solely by us, our responsibility shall be subject to the limitations of liability contained in these Terms and Conditions.
- TOOLING, FIXTURES AND MANUFACTURING EQUIPMENT
6.1 Unless otherwise expressly agreed, all general-purpose tooling, workholding methods, CNC programs, manufacturing methods, process sheets and production know-how developed or used by A C Engineering remain our property.
6.2 Where the Customer separately pays for dedicated tooling, jigs, fixtures or gauges specifically manufactured for the Customer, ownership shall only transfer if expressly stated in our quotation or Order acknowledgement and after all sums due to us have been paid in full.
6.3 Payment towards the cost of tooling does not automatically transfer ownership of that tooling.
6.4 We may dispose of Customer-specific tooling which has not been used for a prolonged period after giving reasonable notice to the Customer, unless separate storage arrangements have been agreed.
- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
7.1 Intellectual Property Rights owned by either party before the Contract remain the property of that party.
7.2 The Customer warrants that it has the right to provide us with any drawings, models, specifications, designs, samples or other information supplied for the purposes of manufacture.
7.3 The Customer shall indemnify A C Engineering against claims arising from our authorised manufacture of Goods to a Customer Specification which infringes a third party's Intellectual Property Rights, except to the extent that the infringement arises from a design independently created by us.
7.4 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Intellectual Property Rights in manufacturing processes, CNC programs, programming techniques, tooling concepts, fixtures, production methods and know-how developed by A C Engineering remain our property.
7.5 Where we undertake design work specifically commissioned and paid for by the Customer, ownership or licence rights in the resulting design shall be as stated in the relevant quotation or Contract.
- PRICE
8.1 Prices are those stated in our quotation, order acknowledgement, Website or other written acceptance of the Order, subject to these Terms and Conditions.
8.2 Unless otherwise stated, all prices are exclusive of VAT.
8.3 VAT shall be added at the applicable rate.
8.4 Unless otherwise expressly stated, prices exclude carriage, specialist packaging, inspection by external bodies, material testing, certification, plating, heat treatment and other externally supplied services.
8.5 Where an Order involves third-party processing, such as heat treatment, coating, plating, grinding, testing or specialist inspection, those services may be subcontracted.
8.6 We may charge additional costs reasonably incurred as a result of:
a. changes requested by the Customer;
b. incorrect Customer information;
c. delayed approvals or instructions;
d. rejected or unsuitable Customer Materials;
e. additional inspection or documentation not included in the original quotation; or
f. circumstances outside our reasonable control.
8.7 Where an obvious pricing, description or availability error appears on EarthBosses.com, we reserve the right to correct that error before accepting the Customer's Order.
- PAYMENT
9.1 Payment terms shall be those stated on our quotation, Order acknowledgement, invoice or at checkout on EarthBosses.com.
9.2 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, invoices are payable within 30 days of the invoice date.
9.3 Orders placed through EarthBosses.com may require payment in full at the time the Order is submitted.
9.4 We may require payment in advance, a deposit, staged payments or payment on delivery for new Customers, high-value Orders, material purchases or other Orders where we reasonably consider this appropriate.
9.5 All invoices shall be paid in pounds sterling unless another currency has been expressly agreed.
9.6 Payments must be made in full without deduction, withholding, set-off or counterclaim except where required by law.
9.7 If an invoice is not paid when due, we may:
a. suspend manufacture;
b. suspend delivery;
c. refuse to accept further Orders;
d. withhold Goods awaiting collection;
e. withdraw previously agreed credit terms; and
f. exercise any other rights available to us.
9.8 We reserve the right to charge statutory interest, compensation and reasonable recovery costs in accordance with applicable UK late-payment legislation.
9.9 The Customer shall remain responsible for payment of undisputed amounts even where another part of an invoice is disputed.
- DELIVERY AND COLLECTION
10.1 Any delivery or completion date stated by us is an estimate unless we expressly confirm in writing that time is of the essence.
10.2 We will use reasonable endeavours to achieve agreed delivery dates but shall not be liable solely because an estimated delivery date is not achieved.
10.3 Delivery may be made in one or more instalments.
10.4 Each instalment may be invoiced separately.
10.5 A delay affecting one instalment does not entitle the Customer to cancel other instalments or Orders.
10.6 Where Goods are to be collected from our premises, the Customer must collect them within a reasonable period following notification that they are ready.
10.7 Where the Customer fails to collect Goods or prevents delivery, we may store the Goods and charge reasonable storage, handling, insurance and redelivery costs.
10.8 If Goods remain uncollected for an unreasonable period after notice has been given, we may take reasonable steps to recover our costs, subject to applicable law.
10.9 Delivery charges, where applicable, shall be as quoted, displayed on EarthBosses.com or otherwise charged at our reasonable cost.
- RISK AND OWNERSHIP OF GOODS
11.1 Risk in the Goods passes to the Customer:
a. upon collection where the Goods are collected from our premises; or
b. upon delivery where we have agreed to deliver the Goods.
11.2 Ownership of the Goods shall not pass to the Customer until A C Engineering has received payment in full for:
a. those Goods; and
b. all other sums which are due and payable by the Customer to A C Engineering.
11.3 Until ownership passes, the Customer shall:
a. keep the Goods identifiable as our property where reasonably practicable;
b. keep the Goods properly stored and protected;
c. insure the Goods for their full value; and
d. not intentionally dispose of or encumber the Goods other than in the ordinary course of its business.
11.4 Our retention of title shall not prevent us from bringing a claim for payment when an invoice becomes due.
- INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE
12.1 The Customer must inspect Goods as soon as reasonably practicable following delivery or collection.
12.2 Any claim relating to visible damage, quantity discrepancy or readily identifiable dimensional or manufacturing defect should be notified to us in writing within 5 working days of delivery or collection.
12.3 The notification should include sufficient information for us to identify the Goods and investigate the issue, including where appropriate:
a. purchase order number;
b. our job, Website order or delivery note number;
c. part number;
d. quantity affected;
e. description of the alleged defect;
f. relevant measurements; and
g. photographs or inspection reports.
12.4 Goods which are the subject of a claim must not be altered, reworked, repaired, installed or otherwise processed without giving us a reasonable opportunity to inspect them.
12.5 Failure to notify us promptly may affect our ability to investigate a claim and our responsibility for any additional loss caused by continued use of allegedly defective Goods.
12.6 Latent defects which could not reasonably have been identified during initial inspection must be reported promptly after discovery.
- NON-CONFORMING GOODS
13.1 Where Goods are demonstrated to fail to comply materially with the agreed Customer Specification due to an act or omission for which A C Engineering is responsible, we shall be given a reasonable opportunity to investigate.
13.2 Subject to these Terms and Conditions, our primary remedy shall, at our option, be to:
a. rework the affected Goods;
b. repair the affected Goods;
c. replace the affected Goods; or
d. refund or credit the price paid for the affected Goods.
13.3 The Customer shall not arrange third-party rework or replacement at our expense without our prior written approval unless reasonably necessary in an emergency and we have first been given a reasonable opportunity to respond.
13.4 We shall not be responsible for defects resulting from:
a. incorrect Customer Specifications;
b. Customer Materials;
c. misuse;
d. incorrect installation;
e. modification or repair by another party;
f. normal wear and tear;
g. use outside the Goods' intended application;
h. failure to follow applicable instructions; or
i. circumstances outside our reasonable control.
- QUALITY AND CERTIFICATION
14.1 Goods shall be manufactured to the specification, tolerances and inspection requirements expressly agreed in the Contract.
14.2 Inspection documentation, certificates of conformity, material certificates, first article inspection reports, dimensional reports or other quality documentation shall only be supplied where agreed or where normally provided as part of our quality system.
14.3 Where traceability, special certification, specific inspection standards or third-party inspection are required, the Customer must specify these requirements before manufacture begins.
14.4 Additional certification or inspection requested after manufacture has commenced may be subject to additional charges and may not always be possible.
- SERVICES
15.1 We shall perform Services using reasonable care and skill.
15.2 Where Services are carried out at the Customer's premises, the Customer shall provide:
a. safe access;
b. a safe working environment;
c. appropriate utilities where required;
d. relevant site information;
e. permits or authorisations reasonably required; and
f. cooperation necessary to allow us to complete the Services.
15.3 The Customer shall inform us of site-specific hazards before our personnel attend the premises.
15.4 Where Services cannot be performed because the Customer has failed to provide suitable access, equipment, information or facilities, we may charge for reasonable abortive time and expenses.
15.5 Any dates given for completion of Services are estimates unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing.
- SUBCONTRACTING
16.1 We may subcontract any part of the manufacture or Services where we reasonably consider this appropriate.
16.2 This may include operations such as heat treatment, plating, coating, grinding, specialist machining, material testing, non-destructive testing, transport or other specialist processes.
16.3 We remain responsible to the Customer for subcontracted work to the extent required under the Contract, subject to these Terms and Conditions.
- CONFIDENTIALITY
17.1 Each party shall keep confidential any technical, commercial or other information received from the other which is clearly confidential or which ought reasonably to be regarded as confidential.
17.2 Confidential information may only be used for the purposes of performing the Contract.
17.3 Information may be disclosed to employees, professional advisers and subcontractors who reasonably require access to it, provided they are subject to appropriate confidentiality obligations.
17.4 This clause shall not apply to information which:
a. is already lawfully in the public domain;
b. was lawfully known to the receiving party before disclosure;
c. is independently developed without reference to the confidential information;
d. is lawfully obtained from a third party; or
e. must be disclosed by law or regulatory requirement.
- LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
18.1 Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so.
18.2 In particular, nothing excludes or restricts liability for:
a. death or personal injury caused by negligence;
b. fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
c. any other liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.
18.3 Subject to clause 18.2 and to the fullest extent permitted by law, A C Engineering shall not be liable for:
a. loss of profit;
b. loss of revenue;
c. loss of production;
d. loss of business;
e. loss of opportunity;
f. loss of anticipated savings;
g. loss of goodwill;
h. business interruption; or
i. indirect or consequential loss.
18.4 Subject to clause 18.2, our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with an individual Contract shall not exceed the total price paid or payable to A C Engineering under that Contract.
18.5 We shall not be liable for losses caused by the Customer continuing to use Goods after the Customer knew or reasonably ought to have known that the Goods may be defective.
18.6 Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall require the Customer to indemnify us or limit our liability to an extent prohibited by law.
- CANCELLATION AND CHANGES TO ORDERS
19.1 Once an Order has been accepted, it may not be cancelled or materially changed without our written agreement.
19.2 This is particularly important for bespoke or custom-manufactured Goods because materials, tooling, programming, subcontract services and production capacity may have been committed specifically for the Customer's Order.
19.3 Where we agree to cancellation, the Customer shall pay for:
a. Goods already completed;
b. work in progress;
c. labour already undertaken;
d. materials purchased or committed;
e. tooling and programming undertaken;
f. subcontract services committed or completed; and
g. other reasonable costs and liabilities arising from the cancellation.
19.4 Where materials or components cannot reasonably be cancelled or returned to our supplier, the Customer shall be responsible for their cost.
19.5 Any change requested by the Customer may result in a revised price and delivery date.
- FORCE MAJEURE
20.1 We shall not be liable for failure or delay in performing our obligations where caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
20.2 Such circumstances may include, without limitation:
a. fire, flood or severe weather;
b. war, terrorism or civil disturbance;
c. epidemic or pandemic;
d. government action;
e. import or export restrictions;
f. energy or utility failure;
g. failure or breakdown of machinery despite reasonable maintenance;
h. transport disruption;
i. shortage of raw materials or components;
j. industrial disputes; or
k. failure of a supplier or subcontractor caused by circumstances beyond that supplier's reasonable control.
20.3 Our obligations shall be suspended to the extent affected for the duration of the relevant event.
20.4 We shall use reasonable endeavours to minimise disruption and resume performance when reasonably possible.
- SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION
21.1 We may suspend work, withhold delivery or terminate a Contract where:
a. the Customer fails to make payment when due;
b. the Customer commits a material breach of the Contract;
c. the Customer fails to provide information or cooperation necessary for us to perform the Contract;
d. we reasonably believe the Customer will be unable to pay amounts due;
e. the Customer becomes insolvent or enters administration, liquidation or another formal insolvency procedure; or
f. continuing the Contract would cause us to breach a legal or regulatory obligation.
21.2 Suspension or termination does not affect any rights or liabilities which arose before suspension or termination.
21.3 Upon termination, all sums properly due for Goods supplied, work completed, work in progress, committed materials and other recoverable costs shall become immediately payable.
- COMPLIANCE WITH LAW
22.1 Each party shall comply with applicable laws and regulations relevant to its obligations under the Contract.
22.2 The Customer shall not require A C Engineering to manufacture or supply Goods where doing so would knowingly breach applicable export controls, sanctions, anti-bribery requirements or other legal restrictions.
22.3 We may refuse, suspend or terminate an Order where we reasonably believe fulfilling that Order would breach a legal or regulatory requirement.
- ASSIGNMENT
23.1 The Customer shall not assign or transfer a Contract without our prior written consent.
23.2 We may assign or transfer our rights under a Contract as part of a bona fide transfer or reorganisation of our business, subject to applicable law.
- SEVERABILITY
24.1 If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be treated as modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable where legally possible.
24.2 The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
- WAIVER
25.1 Failure or delay by either party in exercising a contractual right shall not constitute a waiver of that right.
25.2 A waiver relating to one breach shall not automatically constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach.
- THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS
26.1 Unless expressly stated otherwise, a person who is not a party to the Contract shall have no right to enforce its terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
- NOTICES
27.1 Notices relating to a Contract shall be made in writing and sent to the relevant business address or email address normally used between the parties.
27.2 This clause does not apply to the formal service of legal proceedings.
- GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION
28.1 These Terms and Conditions and every Contract formed under them shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales.
28.2 The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle disputes arising out of or in connection with a Contract.
- WEBSITE AND EARTHBOSSES.COM
29.1 EarthBosses.com is used in connection with the advertising, promotion and supply of Goods and/or Services by A C Engineering (North East) Limited.
29.2 Unless expressly stated otherwise, the legal entity entering into any Contract arising from an Order placed through EarthBosses.com is A C Engineering (North East) Limited.
29.3 Information provided on EarthBosses.com is provided for general information and does not constitute a binding quotation or contractual commitment unless expressly stated otherwise.
29.4 Photographs, illustrations, specifications, dimensions, descriptions and examples displayed on EarthBosses.com are indicative only unless expressly incorporated into a Contract.
29.5 We may amend, update or withdraw Website content, product information, availability and prices from time to time.
29.6 Website privacy, personal data and cookie use are governed by A C Engineering's applicable Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.
A C Engineering (North East) Limited
Trading online through EarthBosses.com
Registered Office: Unit 6 Stephenson Court, Barrington Industrial Estate, Bedlington, NE22 7DN
Company Number: GB03758266
VAT Number: 633568426
Email: info@ac-engineering.uk
Telephone: 01670 826163
Last Updated: 5th September 2026