Terms & Conditions of Service

By using services provided by Bournemouth IT Solutions Ltd ‘bits’ you are entering into a contract with us. The terms below set out our obligations to you and what you are agreeing to. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please refrain from accessing or using the Site or our services. We may revise the Terms and Conditions at any time by amending this page.

1 – Definitions:

Bournemouth IT Solutions Ltd, trading as Bournemouth IT Solutions or bits; hereinafter referred to as “we”, “us” and “bits”. bits is a limited company specialised in Apple and computer repairs, registered in England, number 7216794 with its registered office at: 117 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth. BH1 1EP.

The customers of bits may include individuals, unincorporated businesses, partnerships, limited companies and other organisations or anyone requiring the services of bits; hereinafter referred to as “the customer”.

“Item” within this document refers to any article, software, hardware and associated accessories or other tangible objects belonging to the customer that is the subject of any discussion with bits. Item is also inferred to be singular or plural.

2 – Customer Service:

(a) Withdrawal of Services: bits reserves the right to withdraw offers and services at any time at its discretion, including any free services.

(b) Quotations: any price quoted for a part cannot be guaranteed, either because the price of the part has increased, the part required for the repair is different or the part is not available anymore. If the price is more than that which was agreed upon to perform the repair, and the customer does not wish to proceed with the repair, bits will return the item back to the customer unrepaired free of charge.

(c) Discounts: any discounts offered are only applicable to labour charges. bits will only accept one discount with any single purchase, bits will take the highest applicable discount when faced with multiple options.

(d) Free Loan of a Laptop Computer: “Laptop” refers to a MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or laptop computer and accessories. bits offers, at its discretion, free loan of a laptop whilst a customer’s item is with bits for repair, available on request, subject to availability, ID required. bits reserves the right to verify the identity of the customer, to its own satisfaction, by sight of suitable documentation. bits will load a suitable operating system, wherever possible, as well as word processing software. The customer is responsible for loading any personal data that they require whilst the laptop is on loan. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that any personal data and files, open sites and passwords have been erased from the loan laptop after use. bits will endeavour to remove any residual software and files at the end of the loan period at its premises and will not be able to provide the customer with any data left on the loan laptop. bits cannot be held responsible for loss or theft of data.

The customer is responsible for the care of the bits loaned laptop whilst on loan to the customer. The condition of the loan laptop will be checked visually by both parties before and after the period of loan (subject to an operational check following its return). Any damage will be charged at the cost of repair or replacement, whichever is the lesser amount. Should the loaned laptop not be returned, for whatever reason, within 20 working days of a request by bits to return it, or if the laptop is lost, stolen or for any reason is unable to be returned to bits, then the customer will be liable for a charge of £500 for laptops or £1000 for Apple products. If such an event occurs, the ownership of the laptop is then transferred to the customer and becomes the customer’s property.

bits reserves the right to withdraw the loan laptop service at any time. Once the customer has been informed that the service has been withdrawn they will have 5 working days to return the laptop to bits, after which there will be a charge of £5 per day for every extra day that the customer does not return the laptop to bits.

(e) Repair Times: Repair times are not guaranteed and are only a rough timeframe – our colleagues will do their best to provide a time estimate, however, this may not be met depending on service availability, the complexity of repair and such.

(f) Collection of Items: Only you or the person designated by you may pick up the item(s) left in our possession. Where another person is designated bits must be made aware of this instance. bits is not responsible for actions taken by the third party once your item(s) have been picked up. Where a person is unable to collect their item any longer due to illness or death, bits is unable to provide their device to another person by default – in this case, legal paperwork must be provided in order for us to ascertain that you are legally permitted to appropriate their property – such as a Court of Protection, Deputyship or Lasting Power of Attorney.

3 – Repair Service:

Some repairs may require the re-installation of your item’s operating system. This involves wiping your hard disk clean and re-installing the operating system back to the point when your item was first purchased. We will contact you prior to doing this but if you require your data to be backed up prior to the wipe and restored back to your item once the operating system has been re-installed, please let us know. Original/faulty parts can be retained for customers if requested upon booking in a repair.

Loss of Computerised Data:
bits strongly recommends that all customers backup their computerised data before any item is given to or left with bits for any repair. If required bits can backup data on its premises before any work commences, if it is possible, but cannot guarantee this. bits will in no way be responsible for any loss of business, data, files, pictures, information, programs or software. The customer is fully responsible for backing up such data.

Please note, failure of your hard disk, Solid State Drive ‘SSD’ or any other components inside your item can occur without warning during our intensive diagnostics. Virus and malware infections, corrupted operating systems can also damage your data and could lead to unpredictable problems and could result in data loss.

BitLocker: Built-in encryption that exists on Windows 10. When your drive is encrypted, you are provided with a unique 48-digit numerical password to unlock your drive. When we perform any repair or diagnostic on your Windows computer, there is a chance BitLocker will ask for this 48 character key to unlock your drive. This is an intentional measure as the computer does not know whether the access is authorised or not. We take no responsibility for data loss due to a customer not retaining this unique 48-digit numerical password.

Data Recovery: bits cannot guarantee the full recovery of customer’s data when recovering data from failed, unhealthy or damaged hard drives, or any other storage devices. However, the customer will still be liable to pay the full price, even if only part of the data is recovered (we may lower the cost at our discretion).

License Keys and Login details: bits may on occasion need your login details as part of the repair, without which certain repairs will not be possible. The customer is responsible to keep any Licence keys, Product keys or login details. Although we may have a record of this information (for a limited time period), we will in no way be held responsible if the customer has not kept their own record and are unable to login or find license keys for products they purchased.

Passwords
To test your device thoroughly, we require the password, as in many cases, such as iPhones & iPads, we cannot test all functions without it. We cannot check whether every function of your device is working correctly without a passcode.

Display Repairs on the 14″/16″ MacBook Pro:
14″ and 16″ MacBook models (Models A2442, A2779, A2485, A2780) feature a serialised chipset soldered to the display (LCD panel) which is linked directly to the logic board, as an anti repair mechanism to deter third party repair and recycling of parts. Where this chip fails or is replaced, the serial number no longer matches, display artifacts will result: On the 14″ model, shadows will appear stretching down 2-3cm down from the top edge. On the 16″ model, the backlight will appear ‘blocky’/patchy and not light evenly when at roughly 50% brightness. As part of our display repairs, we transplant the serialised chipset to mitigate this issue.

This chipset will be subject to numerous thermal cycles (heated from room temperature to 340c to desolder it, then cooled back to room temperature. It is then heated again to 340c for it to be soldered to the new display). These constant thermal cycles can cause this sensitive chip to crack, inducing these aforementioned display artifacts. Given the nature of the chipset’s sensitive design, we cannot guarantee avoidance of display issues, particularly if the device has previously undergone display replacement.

By booking repairs on these 14″/16″ models with serialised chipsets, customers acknowledge and accept the potential risks associated with subsequent thermal cycles. If the device is repaired and the aforementioned issues do arise, the fixed price listed on our website would still be payable. We shall not be held responsible, in tort or financially, for defects arising from these inherent design limitations.

4 – Guarantee:

bits offers a one year guarantee on most Mac, laptop, iPad, and iPhone and computer repairs (see below for exclusions).
bits offers guarantees only on hardware repairs, however, there may be some exceptions to the rule, which will be specified at the time of repair stating that there is no guarantee for this particular type of repair, and customers can decide if they wish to proceed with the repair with no guarantee. Issues caused by viruses, malware infections, problems with operating systems, software/applications, faults arising from accidental/physical damage (e.g. cracked iPhone or iPad screen) or incorrect use of the product are not covered by our guarantees.

Our guarantee does not cover known manufacturer issues (e.g. MacBook Pro screen anti-reflective issue). Any parts we fit or items we sell are subject to the accepted industry quality standards (e.g. most display manufacturers will allow for a few dead/stuck pixels per million pixels on the display). Likewise, dust particles present in-between a display and front glass/fascia/digitiser is not covered under our guarantee, as dust buildup in electronic devices cannot be remedied due to the static created by the electrical current within.

If the device develops a fault unrelated to our repair, our guarantee does not cover this – our guarantee will cover the repair and not the device itself; it is not the same your manufacturer warranty. If you decide to take apart your device after the repair and cause any damage, this will void any warranty.

We do not cover data – for brevity, if we replace your storage medium (i.e. HDD/SSD) and this drive fails, we will not cover the recovery cost of any data – our guarantee will cover the cost of labour and any parts that we have supplied.

Your statutory rights are not affected, and common law protects you if you have been sold a misdescribed or a faulty product. The Consumer Rights Act gives you 30 days to return a faulty product for a full refund. After the 30 days have elapsed, you are entitled to demand a refund / price deduction if bits are not able to repair or replace the product adequately.

LCD Screens

Our guarantee does not cover any physical damage to displays, including, but not limited to, hairline cracks, scratches, dents, chips or liquid damage. Cracks may sometimes be difficult to spot, and can occur on the peripheries of the display, including in the bezel area on the very edge of the display. Drops or impacts to a display can cause no visible cracks or damage (for example, cracked solder joints) which can result in lines on the display or general artifacts, flickering, no display/backlight symptoms, ghosting (duplicated/smeared text/images) and more. As such, bits reserves the right to refuse warranty service where inspection has determined any physical damage to be the cause of a display failure.

Please note cracks to any area of the screen, including any display bezels on or around the display will void your warranty. On Apple Macs for example, the glass display bezel covers sensitive screen (LVDS) cables, and any crack to this glass bezel can cause display issues. As such, cracked bezels also void any warranty. Glass, by its nature, cannot break without an external force or stress applied to it. Its molecular structure and composition prevents it from spontaneously shattering or breaking without any external influence – rapid pressure changes, impact, or rapid temperature changes. There are exceptions for tempered glass which you might find in car windows, house windows, cookware etcetera – but it is impossible for a LCD display to crack by itself; this would violate the laws of physics.

For clarity, under no circumstance will bits entertain any warranty claim where a display has any cracks, fractures or physical damage.

Our screen repairs comply with the ISO 13406-2 standard. This standard regulates acceptable defect levels, ensuring your protection as a valued customer. Given modern manufacturing methods, achieving completely flawless displays is not always possible. Therefore, ISO 13406-2 defines the acceptable number of defects within a display before it qualifies for replacement under the warranty.

Your statutory rights remain unaffected by this. For your reference, we have provided details below regarding the permitted number of defective sub-pixels according to the LCD’s native resolution. This calculation allows for up to 2 defective pixels per million.

Limited Guarantee:
Although we offer good comprehensive guarantees for most of our repairs, there are some exceptions. Expensive parts for Apple Macs, laptops and PCs will only receive the guarantee offered by the third-party supplier, which is usually 3 months. E.g. MacBook Pro top assembly (screen, glass and lid) will be covered by a 3 months guarantee.
Logic Board, Motherboard, liquid damage, component level repairs and battery replacement will be covered by a 3 months guarantee.

In the event of a guarantee return where a hardware repair has been performed with no parts purchased, we will do our best to repair it. However, if the guarantee repair requires any parts, the customer will pay for them. If the customer wishes not to pay for the parts, bits will return the item without repair to the customer and no part/full refund of the costs of the original repair will apply.

If the customer supplies their own parts, there will be no guarantee/warranty on the service offered, as if the parts fail the onus is not on our supplier or on ourselves to remedy faulty parts/components. We will sometimes inspect and diagnose a device regardless, at our discretion.

In the case of Apple Mac screen repairs, if the customer does not create a new account for testing, we are unable to test the display properly, and we cannot test the FaceTime camera and ambient light sensor whatsoever. If an issue is discovered with either the FaceTime camera or ambient light sensor after the repair, we cannot rectify the issue. This is because the replacement screen cannot be removed without damage. Hence, we require access to the system to test these two components before adhering the new display.

Screen Protectors:

There is no warranty on any screen protectors, given that they can only break through force applied to the glass, and not by themselves.

Apple warranty:
Please note that if we repair your Apple device, it is Apple Policy to invalidate your warranty as we are an independent company using third-party parts. We cannot be held responsible if you are then, after a repair or diagnosis, refused service by Apple or any of their AASP’s either under warranty, an “Apple Service Program(s)”, or any other repair service they offer.

Postage:

Postage costs are fully covered under our warranty for nationwide customers. However, if the issue is found to be outside the scope of the warranty, or if we are unable to reproduce the reported fault, a £30 fee will apply. This fee is simply to cover the costs associated with collecting and returning your device.

For instance, if your Mac had a screen replacement and you send it to us to claim under warranty, but the screen is cracked upon inspection, this would not be covered under warranty. In such cases, if you choose not to proceed with a paid repair, the £30 fee will be charged to cover postage expenses.

5 – Cancellation / Diagnostic Fee:

As it can take many hours to carry out a full diagnostic check on your item, often resulting in having to carry out elements of the repair up front, we will charge a diagnostic fee in the event of the repair being cancelled, if a part is not available or if it is not economical to repair. The diagnostic fee will be equal to half the labour cost of the repair, plus any parts which may have been ordered. We may waive any of these charges fully or in part, at our discretion. However, if the repair is cancelled after the item has been repaired or data has already been recovered, then the full repair cost/charge will be payable.
We reserve the right to charge the full labour fee, even if a repair has not been carried out, and we have only performed a diagnosis. This is to cover the time spent working on the device, as often a repair must be carried out in part to achieve a diagnosis.

6 – Abandoned / Unclaimed Items:

Any item not collected within 90 days will be disposed of if prior arrangements have not been made. Once the customer’s item has been repaired, declared irreparable or awaiting a response from the customer, it must be collected within 90 days from the time the customer is informed. If the customer fails to collect the said item, bits will dispose of, recycle or sell the item to recover costs. bits is not responsible for any data loss from unclaimed items. It is important that you check your details on your receipt at the time of booking to ensure that we have your correct contact details. We will not be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the details provided.

7 – Payment:

bits accepts payment by cash or card. Any item received for repair, will remain the property of bits until the invoice is paid in full. Payment must be received prior to return of the repaired item. Failure to pay will result in your item being retained for a period of 90 days before being disposed of, recycled or sold to recover costs.

Once the customer has agreed to any work being undertaken, bits reserves the right to ask for full or part payment prior to the work being commenced. Where part or full payment is still pending, it will be required on return of the repaired item.

Should payment not be received on the due date or an online payment not received or is reversed, then bits will charge interest as detailed in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended and supplemented by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002 which allows interest to be charged at 8% over the Bank of England Base rate and allows recovery of other expenses (https://payontime.co.uk).

bits takes the non-payment of its invoices very seriously and does pursue outstanding accounts.

8 – Nationwide Collections & Deliveries:

We use Royal Mail for nationwide collection/deliveries, using their Special Delivery by 1pm service, with additional £1000 insurance. Additional insurance cover up to £2,500 is available for an additional £10; you must let us know during the process of booking of your collection/delivery by leaving a note in the message box on our Nationwide Booking Form.

If there are any issues with items, where they are either lost or damaged during transit, this will need to be taken up with the particular courier company that was in possession of your item at the time, bits will in no way be responsible for any loss or damage during transit. During transit, the responsibility remains with Royal Mail to ensure your item arrives without damage, and is not subject to theft. All claims regarding any instances of damage or theft are left to Royal Mail, and it is up to Royal Mail to approve the claim and arrange any reimbursements.

Delivery/Collection date is never guaranteed – please note that we cannot reimburse customers for delivery that does not arrive on the estimated delivery date, even where tracking indicates otherwise.

9 – Data Protection:

bits will not share the customer’s data with any third party for any reason without the prior consent of the customer. All data will be collected, processed and held in accordance with our rights and obligations arising under the provisions and principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018.

As part of data recovery, particularly in the case of faulty drives, this may involve processing and analyzing the data on any digital storage medium, both to detect and analyse any important files that you deem to be most important in data recovery, and also to ensure that data we do recover is not corrupt. There are instances where amounts of data will be recovered, even with file names and directory links, and data will still be corrupt.

In the performance of such work, if we recover images/data that may pertain to serious offenses such as Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, Sexual Offences Act 2003, or the Terrorism Act 2000 – we have a moral obligation to report person(s) in the interest of public safety and protection.

bits has the right to pass on any data provided by the customer to relevant authorities and law enforcement agencies where the law requires such or there is a moral obligation to do so (serious indictable crime), or for example in the event of a warrant, including but not limited to any UK/European Police Force such as Dorset Police/Metropolitan Police, South West Forensics, Interpol, NCA, Home Office and so on.

The UK GDPR nor Data Protection Act does not prevent us from sharing personal data with law enforcement authorities (known under data protection law as “competent authorities”) who are discharging their statutory law enforcement functions. The UK GDPR and the DPA 2018 allow for this type of data sharing where it is necessary and proportionate and where there is a lawful basis under Article 6.

Where required to by any law/act/statute and/or warrant (i.e. Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Section 19), bits reserves the right to surrender any and all customer property to law enforcement (i.e. Dorset Police, Metropolitan Police, Counter Terrorism Policing South West) for any purpose.

In the event that the customer is in breach of these Terms and Conditions, bits may also pass on any such information to credit reference agencies and debt recovery agencies to recover any accrued debts.

Some repairs may require the recovery of customer’s data onto our system, if the customer does not provide a storage medium for us to transfer the data onto. This recovered/backed-up/transferred data may be held on our server for as long as practicable, until the customer provides a storage medium for us to transfer data on to. When data is stored on our server(s)/computer(s) it is encrypted to an AES 256 standard. Once data is transferred and there is no longer a necessity for its storage, it is deleted securely to the HMG Infosec Standard 5.

For Macs that possess a ‘T2 Chip’ or Apple Silicon (Apple Macs 2018 onwards), we are unable to run any diagnostic software or run your Mac from our macOS system for testing without your password due to the security features of your device. In order to run diagnostics to ensure your issue has been resolved, your password is required to perform diagnostics. Your login details and user profile will only be accessed and used for the explicit purpose of diagnostics, to identify any faults and ensure they have been resolved as part of the repair process.

A Subject Access Request, Data Erase Request, and all other Data Protection/GDPR enquiries must be sent in writing via email to [email protected]. By law bits has 30 calendar days to respond.

10 – Sales:

Most of the products that we sell come with a 12 month limited guarantee (unless otherwise specified).
The guarantee excludes issues with: battery, charger, charging port, any physical damage, general wear & tear and any OS issues like crashing, freezing, app issues, viruses, etc. If the item/product fails within its guarantee period, we will either fix, replace with a similar item or refund. Which option we decide on is entirely at our discretion.

11 – Video and Audio Recordings – CCTV/Telephone:

We use CCTV, audio and video recording technology on our premises to:

• Ensure the safety of our colleagues, customers and visitors and for the prevention and detection of crime
• Investigate accidents, incidents and claims
• For records of transactions and contract details

Where necessary we share footage and images from CCTV with the police, local authorities and government agencies for the prevention and detection of crime. Where requested by a law firm or insurance company acting on behalf of an individual, we may disclose CCTV footage or images for use by them as evidence in relation to a claim, for example, damage to a device or injury to ones person. Footage is not shared with any third party. These recordings are stored locally, within the United Kingdom.

The Telecommunications Regulations 2000 states that businesses can record calls without consent for the following purposes:

• To record evidence of business exchanges
• To review whether quality standards are being met
• To ensure a business complies with regulations
• To prevent and detect criminal activity
• To investigate the suspicious use of a network

As such, phone recordings may be made and kept for training and monitoring purposes, security of our staff and business, and to keep a record of business transactions and agreements. These recordings are stored locally, within the United Kingdom. Recordings are not shared with third parties. Where necessary we share telephone recordings with the police, local authorities and government agencies for the prevention and detection of crime, and where we are legally obligated, such as in court or with a law firm.

• CCTV footage is stored for up to 60 days.
• Telephone recordings are stored for up to 3 years.

A Subject Access Request, Data Erase Request, and all other Data Protection/GDPR enquiries must be sent in writing via email to [email protected]. By law bits has 30 calendar days to respond.

12 – Disclaimer:

bits accepts no liability in respect of any problem(s) it may not be able to remedy due to any matter beyond its control. This includes, but is not limited to the age, specification or condition of the customer’s item (e.g. liquid damage, accidental impact damage, GPU issues (failed reflow), etc.).

Under no circumstances shall bits be liable, either in contract, tort or otherwise, to the customer, its employees, agents, or any third party, for any injury or damages, including without limitation, any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages, expenses, costs, profits, lost savings or earnings, interruption to business activity, lost or corrupted data, or other liability arising out of, or related to the services provided by bits, or out of the installation, de-installation, deployment, configuration, use of, or inability to use the customer’s computer equipment, hardware, software or peripherals, or through an Act of God.

The customer will, upon demand, indemnify bits in respect of any loss, damage or injury arising from the provision of the services. For the avoidance of doubt, bits has no liability for customer data loss or damages, to the greatest extent permitted by law, incurred in any circumstances whatsoever. Where a customer decides to take apart or tamper with their device after repair, any damage found will void any warranty. Where a customer takes apart their device and brings it in parts (with exception for custom desktop PCs) bits reserves the right to refuse repair or increase labour fees to cover additional time spent.

It is completely down to the customer to test and check their item fully (not just the repair that was carried out) when they receive their item back from us, to confirm that all works have been carried out as per agreement with BITS, including any data. Any issues whatsoever must be reported within 14 days of the customer receiving their item from bits.
bits will in no way be responsible or liable for the loss or damage to an item, or any missing parts or any faults reported after this period – other than any work or parts that are covered by the guarantee.