Marketplace Collection and Delivery Terms

1. About these terms

1.1 These terms supplement the Booking and Service Terms for collecting goods you have bought from a third-party seller, shop or marketplace.

1.2 Our details are set out in Company Information and Contact Details. General rules on payment, cancellation, additional charges and claims are in the central policies supplied with your Booking.

1.3 These terms apply only where we supplied them before you accepted the Booking, or where they were later agreed. They supplement the main contract without reducing your mandatory consumer rights. The agreed version continues to govern the Booking despite later website changes.

2. Transport and the purchase are separate

2.1 Bities supplies the agreed collection and delivery service. We are not the seller, marketplace operator, buyer, product valuer or independent inspector.

2.2 We do not hold purchase money, authenticate goods or resolve the underlying sale, unless a separate lawful arrangement expressly says otherwise.

2.3 You are responsible for checking the seller, description, condition, completeness, dimensions, working order, suitability, ownership and sale terms. This does not excuse loss caused by Bities failing to use reasonable care and skill.

3. Before collection

3.1 Please give us the item description, dimensions, approximate weight, relevant photographs, collection and delivery details, access restrictions, stairs and contact people.

3.2 Tell us about any fragile or high-value items, and provide the inventory and values required by the Booking and Service Terms.

3.3 You must arrange payment with the seller and confirm that the item is ready and may be released to Bities. Make sure the seller has agreed the collection arrangements and can be contacted.

3.4 We are not required to pay the seller, or to collect goods, where ownership or authority to release them is reasonably in doubt.

3.5 Unless we agree otherwise, the seller must prepare and protect the goods for ordinary loading. Packing, dismantling and specialist lifting are not included merely because an item was bought online.

3.6 You must pay for our service in advance, no later than the evening before the collection. If we have not received payment by then, we may cancel the Booking. Payment for our service is separate from your payment to the seller.

4. What we do at collection

4.1 We may record visible condition or tell you about an obvious discrepancy. This is not a guarantee of completeness, authenticity or working order.

4.2 We do not routinely test electrical items, inspect hidden components or carry out a technical survey.

4.3 If the item is materially different, unsafe, unavailable or cannot be released, we will contact you where practical and ask for your instructions.

4.4 If, after Arrival, you change your mind, a person needed to hand over the goods is not available, or we have to wait for the seller, you pay a minimum of £35 for that Booking. This is either the £35 waiting charge or the £35 cancellation fee, as applicable. We do not charge both for the same period.

4.5 If waiting continues for more than one hour, waiting charges are calculated under the Additional Charges Schedule. Any return visit or changed work needs the charging basis set out in that schedule and the agreed Booking or variation. We make no separate failed-collection charge.

4.6 The collection time in your Booking Confirmation is the slot we have available when you accept the Booking. It is not a guaranteed arrival time, because arrival times can change during the day’s operations. We may arrive up to two hours earlier or later, and on the day we send you an ETA message. We do not give a discount for late arrival caused by traffic conditions or by delays on earlier jobs for other customers. Clauses 11.4 and 11.5 of the Booking and Service Terms apply. This does not affect your statutory rights.

5. Delivery and concerns

5.1 The agreed access and carrying service are set out in your Booking Confirmation. An authorised recipient should be available.

5.2 A delivery signature records receipt. It does not automatically waive your rights in respect of concealed damage.

5.3 Transport damage and service concerns are handled under the Damage Claims and Refund Policy.

5.4 Purchase defects and seller refunds are separate matters for the seller or marketplace, except to the extent that Bities caused the loss or expressly accepted responsibility for it.

6. Cancellation

6.1 You may cancel Bities transport at any time. There is no cancellation fee if you cancel before Arrival. If you cancel after Arrival, a cancellation fee of £35 per Booking applies, as set out in the Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy.

6.2 Reasonable work already performed may remain payable. We refund payments for unprovided work under clause 7 of the Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy.

6.3 If the seller cancels your purchase, Bities is not automatically notified. Please tell us promptly.