Terms of business

This website is operated by Esa Couriers of Chicksand Avenue, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. You can reach us at info@esacouriers.co.uk or 01908 822 779.

In these terms, “we” and “us” means Esa Couriers; “you” means the customer booking the work; and “the goods” means the consignment we are asked to carry.

All goods are carried subject to the Road Haulage Association Conditions of Carriage 2020. A copy is available free of charge on request, and those conditions take precedence over anything in these terms that conflicts with them.

Those conditions set out, among other things, the basis and the limits of our liability, the time limits for making a claim, and our right to a lien over goods for unpaid charges. If any of it matters to your business, ask us for a copy and read it before you book.

A price generated on this website is a quotation for the job exactly as you have described it: the vehicle selected, the number of pallets, the total weight, and the collection and delivery postcodes given.

A quotation is not a contract. A contract is formed only when we confirm your booking. We may decline a job, or re-quote it, where the goods, the pallet count, the weight or the access at either end turns out to differ from what was entered.

Prices exclude VAT unless the figure is expressly labelled as including it. Every quote records the VAT rate applied on the day it was produced. Quotations are open for acceptance for 30 days unless we say otherwise.

Quoted prices assume normal working hours, kerbside or dock access suitable for the vehicle quoted, and reasonable loading and unloading times. Waiting time, failed collections or deliveries, re-deliveries, congestion and low-emission-zone charges, ferry crossings and out-of-hours work may be charged in addition, and we will tell you before we incur them wherever it is practical to do so.

Mileage is calculated between the two postcodes you supply, using the road route a goods vehicle would ordinarily drive. Where routing data is temporarily unavailable, an estimated distance is used and the quote is marked to say so.

Mileage actually driven on the day may differ because of road conditions, diversions, restrictions or access requirements. The quoted price stands unless the job itself changes.

Requesting a booking through your account tells us you wish to proceed. It does not commit you to payment. We will confirm the collection slot with you, and the booking becomes binding when we mark it confirmed.

You may cancel a request yourself, from your account, at any time before we confirm it, at no charge. After confirmation, a cancellation may be charged for to cover costs already committed — including a vehicle despatched or a driver allocated to your job.

If we cannot perform a confirmed booking, we will tell you as soon as we know and will not charge you for it.

You must describe the goods, their weight and their packaging accurately. Goods must be properly palletised, wrapped, secured and labelled so they can withstand normal handling and carriage.

You must make sure the collection and delivery points can take the vehicle booked, and that suitable labour or equipment is available at each end unless a tail lift has been agreed. Where we cannot access a site, or nobody is there to receive the goods, a failed-delivery charge may apply.

We do not carry dangerous or hazardous goods, livestock or other live creatures, bullion, cash, jewellery, precious metals or stones, antiques, works of art, tobacco, alcohol in duty suspension, firearms, illegal or prohibited items, or anything requiring temperature control, unless we have expressly agreed to in writing beforehand. The RHA Conditions of Carriage list further excluded goods.

Our liability for loss of, damage to, or delay in delivering goods is governed and limited by the RHA Conditions of Carriage 2020. Under those conditions liability is limited by reference to the weight of the consignment — currently £1,300 per tonne on the gross weight — and not by reference to the value of the goods.

If the goods are worth materially more than that, tell us before collection so cover can be arranged. Otherwise the limit applies even if the goods are worth far more.

Claims must be notified to us in writing within the time limits set out in those conditions. Those periods are short, and a late claim can be refused for that reason alone, so tell us straight away if something is wrong — a note on the delivery paperwork at the time is the best possible start.

We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of contracts or loss of market.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded.

We may sub-contract all or part of the carriage. Where we do, the work is carried out on these terms and on the RHA Conditions of Carriage, and we remain your point of contact for the job.

Payment terms are agreed with you before collection. Where we have granted credit, invoices are payable within the agreed period, and we may charge interest and costs on overdue amounts under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

You may not withhold or set off any sum against an invoice on account of a claim unless we have agreed it in writing.

You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for anything done through your account. Tell us immediately if you think someone else has gained access to it.

We may suspend an account where we reasonably believe it is being misused, or where information given through it is materially false.

We handle personal data as described in our privacy notice, which forms part of these terms.

These terms, and any dispute arising out of them or out of any carriage we undertake, are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.