Acorn Media | General Terms & Conditions

Related Policies & Additional Terms

• Acceptable Use Policy
• Service Level Agreement
• Data Processing Agreement
• Domain Terms & Conditions
• Social Media Services Terms
• Software Development Terms
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy

These terms, together with any applicable service-specific terms, data processing agreement, special offer terms and the acceptable use policy, form a binding contract between Acorn Media and you.

1. Changes and Updates

We may update these terms, specifications, or policies at any time to comply with law or business requirements. Changes may be made without prior notice.

2. Age Condition and Authority

• You warrant that you are at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into this contract.
• If purchasing on behalf of a company, you confirm you have the authority to bind that entity to these terms.

3. Duration and Renewal of Services

• Term: Services are provided for a minimum 12-month term unless otherwise specified.
• Auto-Renewal: Services automatically renew for further periods unless cancelled (see Clause 6).
• Cooling-off Period: Consumers have a 14-calendar-day cancellation right from the date of contract conclusion, except where you request services to start before this period ends.

4. Payment and Fees

• Advance Payment: All services must be paid in advance in UK pounds sterling (£), inclusive of taxes.
• Invoicing: Invoices are automatically generated at the end of the current period.
• Payment Methods: You must maintain a valid credit/debit card or PayPal account. Failure to do so may result in restricted access.
• Suspension for Non-Payment: Acorn Media reserves the right to immediately suspend all services—including hosting, SEO activity, and social media content creation/posting—if any invoice remains unpaid for 5 working days past its due date. We are not liable for any loss of traffic, search engine rankings, or social media engagement resulting from such suspension. Services will only resume once all outstanding arrears, including any late payment interest, are paid in full.
• Arrears: We may suspend services until arrears are paid. You are responsible for any third-party debt recovery costs.
• Hourly Minimum: All hourly-rated work is subject to a minimum charge of 1 hour, with subsequent time billed in 15-minute increments.
• Deposit Queue: Required deposits must be received and cleared before work enters our production queue.
• Price Changes: We may change prices with 30 days’ written notice; new prices apply at the start of your next renewal.
• Quote Validity: All prices listed are subject to change. Official quotations provided to clients are valid for 30 days from the date of issue.

5. Intellectual Property (IP)

• Client Content: All data, text, and images you upload remain your property.
• IP rights to any work produced by Acorn Media (including website code, designs, and social media graphics) only transfer to the Client once the relevant invoice is paid in full.
• Any third-party licences or services registered in your name are your responsibility. We are not liable for failures caused by expired payment details, cancelled accounts, access restrictions, or your failure to maintain these third-party services.
• Upon full payment, we grant you a non-exclusive licence to use such materials for the purpose they were provided.

6. Cancellation and Refunds

• Notice: You may cancel with at least 30 days’ notice before your next renewal date. Cancellations are only effective once confirmed by us in writing.
• Refunds: All fees are non-refundable. Pro rata refunds are at our sole discretion.
• Breach: If you breach these terms, you are not entitled to any refund.

7. Support and Maintenance (The "WordPress" Clause)

• Scope: Standard support is limited to the hosting environment. Bespoke development, SEO, or fixing issues caused by third-party plugins is not included and may be billed separately.
• Security: You are responsible for keeping your WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated unless you have a specific maintenance plan.
• Suspension: We reserve the right to suspend any site that is compromised or poses a security risk to our network.

8. Domain Names

• Responsibility: You are responsible for the renewal of domain names. We are not liable for the loss of a domain due to expired payment methods.
• Transfers: Any administrative requirements or outstanding balances must be cleared before a domain is released for transfer.

9. Data and Backups

• Responsibility: You must maintain your own adequate backups. While we make reasonable efforts to assist in data restoration after system failures, we are not liable for data loss.
• Backup Availability: Backup and recovery services are subject to the hosting plan purchased. We cannot promise restore availability outside the retention period or for data lost due to customer-supplied plugins, unsupported third-party integrations, or changes made without our agreement.
• Recovery Assistance: If a restore is requested, we may charge a fee for recovery work when loss arises from customer action, third-party code, or unsupported systems.
• Privacy: Our Data Processing Agreement applies to any personal data processed on your behalf.

10. Limitation of Liability

• Exclusions: We are not liable for indirect loss, loss of profit, revenue, or data.
• Cap: Our maximum liability for direct loss is limited to the fees paid for the relevant service in the 12 months prior to the claim.
• Exceptions: Nothing excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

11. Confidentiality and Force Majeure

Confidentiality: Both parties agree to keep sensitive information secure for the duration of the contract and for five years thereafter.

Force Majeure: We are not liable for failures caused by events beyond our control, including natural disasters, power outages, or third-party network failures.

12. Complaints Procedure

If you are unhappy with our service, please contact us at privacy@acorn-media.co.uk so we can resolve the issue. If you remain dissatisfied, you may request a formal complaint review by email.

13. What else are you missing?

• Privacy Policy: explains how customer data is collected, used and protected.
• Cookie Policy: explains the use of cookies for logins and analytics.
• Social Media Services Terms: campaign approvals, platform requirements and performance expectations.
• Software Development Terms: bespoke project scope, testing, support and IP transfer rules.
• Acceptable Use Policy: the service rule book and prohibited activities.
• Service Level Agreement: uptime targets, maintenance and support expectations.
• Data Processing Agreement: UK GDPR processor responsibilities.
• Domain Terms & Conditions: registrar relationships, renewals and transfer rules.

WordPress Maintenance Disclaimer: While we perform updates to WordPress core and plugins, we are not responsible for site breakages caused by incompatible third-party themes or custom-coded functions. Fixing such breakages is billable at our standard hourly rate.

Disclaimer: These materials are templates for guidance only. For full legal protection in the UK, you should have these documents reviewed by a qualified legal professional.

14. Governing Law

These terms are governed by English law, and disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

How to contact us

• Phone: 03300 554196
• Email: privacy@acorn-media.co.uk
• Address: Renown Works, Wellington Street, Clayton-Le-Moors, Lancashire, BB5 5HU
• Company Number: 15144493