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Customer Terms and Conditions

The terms that apply when Shields Group surveys, designs, installs, monitors and maintains an intruder alarm, CCTV or video doorbell system for you.

Effective 30 October 202641 minute read

Legal

In this document

1. Definitions and interpretation
2. About us and how to contact us
3. How our Agreement is formed
4. Information we give you before the contract
5. Your right to cancel (Consumers)
6. The Survey and the design of your System
7. Installation
8. Equipment and ownership
9. The Monitoring Service
10. Limits of the Service
11. The App, the Cloud Service and third-party terms
12. Your responsibilities
13. Using cameras and audio lawfully
14. False Alarms
15. Maintenance and repairs
16. Charges and payment
17. Changes to the Charges, the Services and these Terms
18. The Minimum Term and what happens afterwards
19. Ending the Agreement
20. What happens when the Agreement ends
21. Suspension
22. Our liability to you
23. Events outside our control
24. Your personal information and camera privacy
25. Complaints
26. Transferring the Agreement
27. Notices
28. General
29. Governing law and jurisdiction
30. Model cancellation form

At a glance

Your Order and these Terms form one Agreement. Your Order sets out your System, the Charges, any Minimum Term and who owns the Equipment.
If you are a Consumer, you can usually cancel within 14 days, by email or using the form in section 30.
Operators can only open your cameras when your alarm is triggered or you ask us to check, and your phone is alerted each time.
Maintenance and repairs are included while your monitoring is active, subject to the exclusions in section 15.
We report confirmed threats to the police, but the police decide whether and how to attend.
No security system can prevent every crime, so please keep your own insurance in place.

Contents

1. Definitions and interpretation
2. About us and how to contact us
3. How our Agreement is formed
4. Information we give you before the contract
5. Your right to cancel (Consumers)
6. The Survey and the design of your System
7. Installation
8. Equipment and ownership
9. The Monitoring Service
10. Limits of the Service
11. The App, the Cloud Service and third-party terms
12. Your responsibilities
13. Using cameras and audio lawfully
14. False Alarms
15. Maintenance and repairs
16. Charges and payment
17. Changes to the Charges, the Services and these Terms
18. The Minimum Term and what happens afterwards
19. Ending the Agreement
20. What happens when the Agreement ends
21. Suspension
22. Our liability to you
23. Events outside our control
24. Your personal information and camera privacy
25. Complaints
26. Transferring the Agreement
27. Notices
28. General
29. Governing law and jurisdiction
30. Model cancellation form

1. Definitions and interpretation

1.1In these Terms, the following words have these meanings.

“Agreement” means the contract between you and us, made up of your Order, these Terms and any Offer Terms that apply.
“App” means the app provided with your System for arming and disarming, alerts, live video and two-way talk.
“Business Customer” means a customer who is not a Consumer.
“Business Day” means a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday in England.
“Charges” means the charges set out in your Order or permitted by these Terms.
“Cloud Service” means the cloud service provided with your camera App, in which footage from your cameras is stored.
“Consumer” means an individual acting for purposes wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession.
“Equipment” means the alarm, camera, doorbell and other equipment we supply, including the SIM and any replacement.
“Installation” means installing and commissioning the System. “Installation Charge” means the charge in your Order for the Installation and any Equipment you buy.
“Keyholder” means a person you nominate to be contacted, and if necessary to attend the Property, when an alarm occurs.
“Minimum Term” means any minimum period stated in your Order, starting on the Service Start Date.
“Monitoring Charge” means the monthly charge in your Order for the Monitoring Service and the Maintenance Service.
“Monitoring Partner” means the outside company that handles alarm alerts with our monitoring team, on our behalf and under our instructions.
“Monitoring Service” and “Maintenance Service” mean the services described in clauses 9 and 15.
“Offer Terms” means the terms of any promotion that applies to your Order, such as our Free Video Doorbell Offer Terms.
“Operator” means a member of our monitoring team or our Monitoring Partner’s team.
“Order” means the Quote you accept, as confirmed by our written acceptance (the “Order Confirmation”), with any changes agreed in writing. It sets out your System, the Charges, any Minimum Term and early termination charge, any False Alarm charges, and who owns each item of Equipment.
“Our Equipment” means Equipment that your Order says remains ours. “Your Equipment” means Equipment that your Order says you are buying.
“Property” means the home or business premises named in your Order.
“Quote” means the tailored written quotation we give you after the Survey.
“Service Start Date” means the date the Monitoring Service begins, which we confirm in writing.
“Services” means everything we provide under the Agreement.
“SIM” means the roaming multi-network SIM through which your System communicates with us.
“Survey” means the free, no-obligation site survey carried out by one of our engineers.
“System” means the Equipment as installed, together with the App and the Cloud Service.
“Third-Party Provider” means a business we do not control that provides something your System relies on, such as the App, the Cloud Service, a mobile network, broadband or power.

1.2“We”, “us” and “our” mean Shields Group, as described in clause 2.1, and anyone to whom we transfer the Agreement. “You” means the customer named in your Order. “Terms” means these Customer Terms and Conditions.

1.3Headings do not affect interpretation, and “including” does not limit the words before it. A reference to a law includes it as amended or replaced, and “in writing” includes email. Clauses that apply only to Consumers or only to Business Customers say so.

2. About us and how to contact us

2.1These Terms are between you and Shields Group, the business that designs, installs, monitors and maintains intruder alarm, CCTV and video doorbell systems for homes and businesses under the Shields Group name.

2.2You can contact us by email at contact@shieldsgroup.co.uk, or in writing to the address shown in your Order or on your latest invoice. Please tell us promptly if your contact details change.

2.3If your System is not working or is not being monitored, email us with “URGENT” in the subject line and we will deal with it first. If you are in danger, or a crime is happening, call 999.

2.4If you have a disability or other need that affects how you deal with us, please tell us. We will make reasonable adjustments in line with the Equality Act 2010, such as providing documents in another format or arranging a call back.

3. How our Agreement is formed

3.1Survey and Quote. After a free, no-obligation Survey (see clause 6), we give you a tailored written Quote. It sets out the Equipment and where it will go, the Charges, any Minimum Term and early termination charge, and who will own each item of Equipment. The Quote is valid for the period stated on it.

3.2Order and acceptance. You place an Order by accepting the Quote in writing, for example by signing it or by email. In doing so, you confirm that you are 18 or over, that your information is accurate, and that you are entitled to place the Order for the Property or, for a Business Customer, to bind the business. The Agreement is formed when we send our Order Confirmation. If we cannot accept your Order, for example because the Property is outside the areas we cover or the Quote contained an obvious error, we will tell you and refund any payment.

3.3Type of contract. An Order placed at the Property while our team is present, or immediately after meeting our team in person away from our business premises, forms an off-premises contract. An Order placed later by email, online or by post is usually a distance contract. Consumers may cancel either type under clause 5.

3.4Order of precedence. If the documents conflict, your Order takes priority, then any Offer Terms (so far as they relate to the offer), then these Terms. This never reduces your legal rights as a Consumer.

3.5Other documents. Our Privacy Notice and Camera Privacy Commitment are not part of the Agreement, but we will act in line with them. Third-Party Provider terms are a separate agreement between you and the provider (see clause 11). For Business Customers, these Terms apply instead of any terms you seek to impose.

4. Information we give you before the contract

4.1Before you are bound, your Quote, your Order and these Terms give you the information the law requires. This includes the main characteristics of the Services, our identity and the address shown in your Order, the total price including taxes, the payment and Installation arrangements, any Minimum Term and how the Agreement ends, what the App needs to work, and how we handle complaints. For Consumers, it also includes the right to cancel, the model cancellation form and the costs that may apply on cancelling.

4.2For an off-premises contract with a Consumer, we give you this information on paper or, if you agree, by email, together with a copy of your signed Order or a confirmation of the Agreement. We send a copy of these Terms with every Order Confirmation.

4.3If you are a Consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes the information we give you before the Agreement part of the Agreement, and we will not change it unless you expressly agree.

5. Your right to cancel (Consumers)

5.1This clause applies only to Consumers whose Agreement is an off-premises or distance contract, and reflects the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

5.2The cancellation period. You may cancel without giving a reason within the cancellation period, which ends:

if your Order includes Your Equipment, 14 days after the day it comes into your physical possession, usually the day of Installation (or its last day, if it takes more than one day); you may also cancel before that period starts; or
in all other cases, 14 days after the day of our Order Confirmation.

5.3How to cancel. Tell us clearly that you have decided to cancel, by email to contact@shieldsgroup.co.uk or in writing to the address shown in your Order. You may use the model form in section 30, but you do not have to. Your cancellation is in time if you send it before the period ends, and we will acknowledge it by email.

5.4Starting early. We will not start the Installation or the Monitoring Service within the cancellation period unless you expressly ask us to. For an off-premises contract, we will ask you to make that request on paper or by email. Starting early does not remove your right to cancel, except that you lose it for a service fully performed within the period if you acknowledged this when asking us to start.

5.5Proportionate payment. If you cancel after asking us to start, you pay for what we have provided up to the time you told us, in proportion to everything the Agreement covers, such as installation work carried out and the Monitoring Charge for the days monitored. Your Order shows how the Installation Charge divides between Equipment and installation work.

5.6Refunds and deductions. We will refund your payments, less any amount due under clause 5.5, within 14 days after you tell us you are cancelling, by the method you used and without any fee. For Your Equipment, we may deduct for any reduction in value caused by handling or use beyond what is necessary to establish its nature, characteristics and functioning, but not for the effect of our own Installation work. If we have already refunded you, you must pay us that deduction.

5.7Returning Equipment. All Equipment must be returned. We will remove and collect it at our cost, at a time agreed with you, aiming to do so within 14 days, and clause 7.6 applies to the removal. Until then, you must take reasonable care of it and give us access.

5.8Cancelling also ends any Offer Terms and related agreements with us. The right to cancel does not apply where you specifically asked us to visit to carry out urgent repairs or maintenance, except for additional goods or services supplied on that visit.

6. The Survey and the design of your System

6.1At the Survey, our engineer assesses the Property and what you want to protect, checks mobile signal, Wi-Fi, power and mounting positions, and recommends a System.

6.2Accurate information. You must give us accurate and complete information, and tell us promptly of any change, including:

whether you own, rent or lease the Property, and any permission you need;
whether it is listed, in a conservation area or otherwise restricted;
any asbestos, hazards or hidden pipes and cables that you know of;
pets that will be in the Property while the System is armed;
any business use, letting or periods when the Property will be empty; and
any requirement your insurer has given you.

6.3We design the System on the basis of the Survey and your information. If that information is inaccurate, we may need to change the design or the Charges (with your agreement), and we are not responsible for any resulting failure. If you decline Equipment we recommend, or ask for a position we advise against, we will record your decision in your Order and are not responsible for the resulting gap in protection.

6.4Cameras. Our engineers position cameras to keep neighbours’ property and public areas out of shot where possible, and explain the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance on domestic CCTV at the Survey (see clause 13).

6.5Limits of the Survey. The Survey is not a structural or electrical survey, and we are not responsible for defects that existed before the Installation. Unless your Order says otherwise, we do not represent that the System meets any particular insurer’s requirements, so please check with your insurer before ordering.

7. Installation

7.1We will agree an Installation date with you. On the day, we may send you a link showing your engineer’s approximate location. We carry out all work with reasonable care and skill.

7.2Access and site conditions. An adult aged 18 or over must be present at every visit, and you must give us safe access to the work areas and power supplies and any Wi-Fi details we need. Our engineers may stop work if conditions are unsafe or they are threatened. We will agree the cost of any scaffolding or specialist access with you first.

7.3Cabling. We use wireless Equipment where suitable and route any cabling as neatly as reasonably practicable. Unless your Order says otherwise, we do not lift floor coverings or chase cables into walls.

7.4Drilling. We take reasonable care to avoid hidden pipes, cables and other services. We are not responsible for damage to hidden services that you did not tell us about and that we could not have found with reasonable care.

7.5Asbestos and other hazards. Buildings built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos. You must tell us about any asbestos you know of or suspect and, if you are a Business Customer responsible for non-domestic premises, give us the information you hold under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. If our engineer finds or suspects asbestos or another hazard, such as unsafe wiring, work in that area will stop until you show it is safe, which may need a survey or removal at your cost, or we may redesign the System to avoid it.

7.6Making good. We tidy up, remove our waste, fill unused holes we make and seal holes through external walls. When we remove Equipment, we fill fixing holes where reasonably practicable and leave cabling in place, made safe. We do not redecorate, re-plaster, repaint or re-tile, and small marks may remain. We are not responsible for damage to surfaces already in poor condition, such as loose plaster or render, unless we failed to take reasonable care.

7.7Permissions. You must obtain any permission needed before Installation, such as from a landlord, freeholder or managing agent, and any listed building consent or planning permission. If you tell us you have a permission and you do not, you are responsible for the reasonable costs that result, including removing or moving Equipment.

7.8Electrical work. Any new electrical work is carried out by a suitably qualified person in line with the applicable regulations, and if it is not in your Order, we agree the cost first.

7.9Rescheduling. Please give us at least two Business Days’ notice to rearrange an appointment. If we cannot get access at an agreed appointment without that notice, we may charge the missed appointment charge in your Order, which reflects our reasonable costs. If we need to rearrange, we will tell you as soon as we can and offer another date.

7.10Unexpected conditions. If we find something we could not reasonably have identified at the Survey that prevents Installation as designed, we will explain your options, and any change to the Charges needs your agreement. If we cannot agree, either of us may end the Agreement without an early termination charge, and you pay only for Equipment you keep and work you ask us to complete.

7.11Handover. On completion, we test the System and its connection to our monitoring, set up the App with you, show you how to use the System and ask you to set your own codes. We then confirm the Service Start Date in writing.

8. Equipment and ownership

8.1Your Order states whether each item of Equipment is Your Equipment, which you are buying, or Our Equipment, which is supplied as part of the Services and remains ours. An Order may include both.

8.2Your Equipment becomes yours when we have received payment in full for it, and is at your risk from when it comes into your physical possession, usually on installation. Until it is paid for, you must not sell it or allow anyone to take security over it. We will not enter the Property to recover unpaid Equipment without your permission or a court order.

8.3Our Equipment remains ours even though it is fixed to the Property. You may use it only at the Property while the Agreement continues, and must not sell, lend, move or alter it or allow anyone to take security over it. If you sell or let the Property, tell the buyer or tenant that it belongs to us. We may inspect, maintain, replace or remove it on reasonable notice.

8.4You must take reasonable care of Our Equipment. If it is lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair, other than through fair wear and tear, a fault or our own act, we may charge its reasonable replacement cost as set out in your Order. We will not do so if the cause was outside your reasonable control, such as a break-in you promptly report to us and to the police.

8.5Care of all Equipment. Follow our and the manufacturer’s instructions, keep the Equipment free from obstruction and do not paint over or cover it. Unless clause 15.2 says we will do so, replace or recharge batteries when prompted, using the type we specify.

8.6Manufacturer’s warranty. We pass on to you the benefit of any manufacturer’s warranty on Your Equipment and handle claims for you while the Maintenance Service applies. A manufacturer’s warranty is in addition to your legal rights.

8.7Replacements and updates. We may replace discontinued or unsupported items with equivalent or better ones. Parts we remove become ours, and replacements for Your Equipment become yours. We and the manufacturer may update the Equipment’s software remotely. If an update significantly reduces the main functions of your System and we cannot restore them within a reasonable time, clause 19.2 applies.

8.8The SIM is supplied as part of the Monitoring Service, even where you own the other Equipment. It may only be used for your System to communicate with us, and its connection ends when the Monitoring Service ends.

9. The Monitoring Service

9.1The Monitoring Service operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year, from the Service Start Date. It is provided by our own monitoring team together with our Monitoring Partner. Every Operator is background checked, and we remain responsible to you for the part of the service our Monitoring Partner provides.

9.2When your alarm is triggered, you receive an alert on your phone and an Operator handles the alarm. As the circumstances require, the Operator:

checks live video and audio from your cameras to verify what is happening;
may speak to people at the Property through the camera speaker, and may set off the siren and strobe;
escalates a confirmed threat to the police and, where your Order includes one or one is needed, arranges a security response; and
contacts you or, where appropriate, your Keyholders.

9.3Operators use their judgement, and not every step is taken for every alarm.

9.4Access to your cameras and audio. Operators cannot open your cameras, or listen or talk through them, unless your alarm has been triggered or you have asked us to check your Property. When your alarm is triggered, an Operator may view up to 40 seconds of live video and audio, and up to 20 seconds of recorded footage from immediately before the trigger, to verify the alarm; if a threat is confirmed, access continues only for the minimum time needed to protect the Property and anyone in it. You receive an alert on your phone every time an Operator views your cameras, provided App notifications are on. You can switch indoor cameras off in the App, but while they are off, Operators cannot use them to verify an alarm, which may limit our response. You can also choose in the App which cameras Operators can view; Operators cannot view a camera while its access is switched off, which may also limit our response.

9.5The police. We report confirmed threats to the police. The police decide whether and how to attend, and how quickly, under their own policies. We cannot guarantee attendance, arrival times or any police action. If anyone is in danger, call 999 yourself.

9.6Security response. Where your Order includes a security or guard response, or an Operator considers one is needed, we may arrange one. Any charges for it are set out in your Order, and we will not arrange a chargeable response that your Order does not include without your or a Keyholder’s agreement.

9.7Keyholders. We contact Keyholders in the order you give us, but we are not responsible for whether they attend or what they do. Keyholders should never put themselves at risk, and should wait for the police where there are signs of a break-in.

9.8Other notifications. We and the App may also tell you about faults, low batteries and loss of connection, by App notification, text message or email, so please keep App notifications on.

9.9What is not included. Unless your Order says otherwise, the Monitoring Service does not cover fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, flood or medical alarms, and it is not a substitute for the emergency services.

10. Limits of the Service

10.1A security system reduces the risk of crime, but no system can prevent every intrusion, loss or injury, and we do not promise that the System or the Services will. Our responsibility for the matters in this clause is set out in clause 22.

10.2Connectivity. Your System sends alerts over mobile networks using the SIM, which can roam between available networks but cannot work where none is available. Some devices, such as cameras and doorbells, may rely on your broadband and Wi-Fi instead. Networks are run by Third-Party Providers and may suffer outages or withdraw technologies. Anti-jamming detection is designed to detect attempts to block signals and raise an alert, but cannot identify every form of interference.

10.3Power. Battery backup keeps key parts of the System working during a power cut for a limited time, depending on the batteries’ condition, the temperature and use. A long power cut can stop the System, and devices using Wi-Fi stop if your router loses power.

10.4Your Wi-Fi and broadband are your responsibility. If you change your router, Wi-Fi details or provider, Wi-Fi devices must be reconnected. We can help, but this is not part of the Maintenance Service.

10.5Detection limits. Sensors and cameras work within set ranges and can be affected by obstructions, sunlight, heat, weather, dirt, pets and changes to the Property. Person detection uses automated analysis and may occasionally miss or misreport an event. The System covers only areas where Equipment is installed, and cannot protect the Property if it is not armed.

10.6Technology changes. If a Third-Party Provider’s change, such as a network switching off an older technology, means part of the System must be upgraded, we will tell you as early as we reasonably can and explain any cost first. We upgrade Our Equipment at no extra charge. If you are a Consumer and do not want to pay to upgrade Your Equipment, clause 19.2 applies.

11. The App, the Cloud Service and third-party terms

11.1Your System is used through an App provided by a Third-Party Provider, usually the manufacturer. We will tell you which App it uses when we install it. You need a compatible device and an internet connection.

11.2Third-party terms. You may need to accept the provider’s terms of use and privacy policy. They form an agreement between you and the provider, which handles information under its own privacy policy. Any charge for the App or a Cloud Service plan is set out in your Order or the provider’s terms.

11.3Your account. Keep your login secure, use a strong password and two-step verification where offered, and do not share your login. You are responsible for anyone you invite to use the App. Do not remove our access to your System without telling us, as this may stop us responding to alarms.

11.4Your footage. Footage is encrypted and stored in the cloud via your camera App, in the Cloud Service provided with it. Where your camera supports an SD card, recordings on that card stay on the device and we have no access to them. How long it is kept depends on that service and your settings or plan, which we do not control, so download anything you need to keep. We cannot recover footage the Cloud Service has not stored, for example while a camera had no connection, or has deleted. We access footage only to verify and respond to alarms, when you ask us to, or when the law requires.

11.5Changes and availability. Providers may change or withdraw features, and their services may sometimes be unavailable. We are not responsible for this unless it results from our breach or our failure to use reasonable care and skill. If a change significantly reduces the main functions of your System, we will use reasonable efforts to provide an alternative; if we cannot do so within a reasonable time, clause 19.2 applies. The App and the Equipment’s software are licensed, not sold.

12. Your responsibilities

12.1You must pay the Charges on time, use and arm the System as we show you, keep it powered, keep any broadband and Wi-Fi it relies on working, and give us reasonable access for maintenance. You must not let anyone other than our engineers alter, move or disconnect the Equipment, and you must treat our staff with courtesy.

12.2Keyholders and contact details. Before the Service Start Date, give us the Keyholders we ask for; we recommend at least two. Each must be 18 or over, have agreed to act and to their details being shared, hold keys, know how to use the System and be able to reach the Property within a reasonable time. Keep your and their details up to date. We are not responsible if out-of-date details delay our response.

12.3Codes and passwords. Change any default codes at handover, keep codes, logins and any password agreed with us confidential, and tell us straight away if they may have been compromised. You are responsible for use of the System by anyone you have given them to. We may refuse instructions from anyone who cannot identify themselves satisfactorily.

12.4Testing. Test the System regularly, as we show you, and report faults promptly.

12.5Changes to the Property or occupancy. Tell us promptly, and in advance where possible, about building work or redecoration near the Equipment, furniture that may block sensors, changes in who lives at or uses the Property, letting or business use, long absences, moving out (see clause 19.6) and changes to your router. Any adjustment needed is chargeable unless the Maintenance Service covers it, and we will agree the cost first.

12.6Pets. Tell us about pets at the Survey and about any new pets. We position and set Equipment to reduce activations by pets where possible, but pet-tolerant sensors have limits, and larger or climbing animals may still trigger them.

12.7Insurance. The System does not replace insurance. Keep suitable insurance in place, tell your insurer about the System and comply with its conditions, such as arming the System when the Property is empty.

12.8Lawful use. You must not use the System for any unlawful purpose, to harass or spy on anyone, or in a way that breaches anyone’s privacy.

13. Using cameras and audio lawfully

13.1You decide what your cameras record and how footage is used, and you are responsible for using them lawfully.

13.2Home customers. If your cameras capture only your own property, data protection law does not usually apply. If they capture areas beyond your boundary, such as a street or a neighbour’s home or garden, you may have responsibilities under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, such as telling people that recording is taking place, keeping footage secure, deleting it when no longer needed and responding to people who ask for footage of themselves. Follow the ICO’s guidance on domestic CCTV, which our engineers explain at the Survey, and put up a sign where cameras record beyond your boundary.

13.3Audio. Recording sound is more intrusive than recording images. We recommend that you keep audio recording off unless you have a clear need, and use two-way talk responsibly.

13.4Household and staff. Tell members of your household, and anyone who regularly works at the Property, such as a cleaner or carer, where indoor cameras and audio are in use. Do not place cameras where people expect privacy, such as bathrooms. You can switch indoor cameras off in the App when they are not needed.

13.5Business Customers are the controllers of their CCTV and are responsible for its lawful basis, signs, CCTV policy and privacy information, any data protection impact assessment, telling staff about monitoring, retention periods, and requests from people recorded.

13.6You must deal with any complaint about your cameras; we can re-angle them, at a cost agreed first unless the Maintenance Service covers it. If we reasonably believe the System is being used unlawfully, we may suspend or end the Services (see clauses 19 and 21).

14. False Alarms

14.1A “False Alarm” is an alarm alert not caused by an intrusion, attempted intrusion or other genuine threat, for example a wrong code, a door left open, a pet, or a test we were not told about. You must take reasonable steps to avoid False Alarms. If you set off an alarm by mistake, disarm the System at once and confirm the mistake if an Operator contacts you.

14.2Charges. We charge for False Alarms only as set out in your Order, for example where a security response attends one, or for repeated False Alarms caused by user error. Charges reflect our reasonable costs and are not penalties, and we will tell you when and why one applies. We never charge for False Alarms caused by an Equipment fault, our design, Installation or error, or anything outside your reasonable control.

14.3Repeated False Alarms. We will contact you to find the cause, investigate any fault under clause 15 and recommend changes. If False Alarms continue after a written warning, we may stop escalating alerts from the affected devices until the cause is fixed, or suspend or end the Services (see clauses 19 and 21).

15. Maintenance and repairs

15.1Maintenance and repairs are included in the Monitoring Charge while the Monitoring Service is active, for all Equipment we supplied, whether Your Equipment or Our Equipment.

15.2What is included:

investigating faults, remotely first and by an engineer visit where needed;
repairing or replacing Equipment that fails through normal use, fair wear and tear or a manufacturing defect, including parts, labour and visits;
replacing the backup battery in the alarm hub or control panel at the end of its normal life;
software and firmware updates; and
adjusting Equipment that is not working as designed, and any routine maintenance visit set out in your Order.

15.3What is not included. Work needed because of:

accidental damage, misuse, neglect or failure to follow instructions;
tampering, vandalism or other damage by anyone other than us, including during a break-in, which your insurance may cover;
Equipment moved, altered or disconnected by anyone other than us;
building work, redecoration or other changes to the Property or its use;
your power supply, wiring, broadband, router, Wi-Fi, phone or other devices;
fire, flood, lightning, power surges, pests or an Event Outside Our Control;
batteries in sensors, key fobs, video doorbells and other battery-powered devices, unless your Order includes them;
cosmetic wear, or moving, adding or upgrading Equipment at your request; or
equipment we did not supply.

15.4Reporting a fault. Email contact@shieldsgroup.co.uk describing the fault, with “URGENT” in the subject line if your System is not working or not monitored. We may ask you to carry out simple checks so that we can fix it remotely. We aim to respond promptly, giving priority to faults that affect security. Target response times in your Order are aims, not guarantees, unless your Order says otherwise.

15.5Chargeable work. Before doing excluded work, we will tell you the cost, as set out in your Order or a separate quote, and go ahead only with your agreement. If a visit finds the cause was excluded, we may charge for it only if we warned you beforehand that a charge might apply.

15.6Replacements may be new or refurbished and will be of equivalent or better specification. The Maintenance Service ends with the Monitoring Service and is in addition to your legal rights (see clause 22.8).

16. Charges and payment

16.1The Charges are set out in your Order, including any charges for security responses, False Alarms, missed appointments, chargeable repairs or unreturned Our Equipment. We will not charge anything else unless these Terms allow it or you agree in writing.

16.2For Consumers, the price in your Order is the total price, including any VAT. For Business Customers, your Order states whether VAT is included, and VAT is added where it applies.

16.3When you pay. You pay the Installation Charge as set out in your Order, which may include a deposit. The Monitoring Charge is payable monthly in advance from the Service Start Date, with a proportionate first payment for any part month.

16.4Direct Debit. Where your Order provides for Direct Debit, you must keep a mandate in place. We will give you advance notice of collections as the scheme requires, and you are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.

16.5Late payment. If a payment is missed, we will tell you and give you a reasonable opportunity to pay. We may apply any failed payment charge or interest set out in your Order, which will not exceed our reasonable costs. Business Customers must pay without set-off, and we may claim interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. Continued non-payment may lead to suspension (clause 21) or ending the Agreement (clause 19).

16.6Disputed invoices. Tell us promptly if you think an invoice is wrong, and pay any undisputed part. We will not suspend the Services over an amount genuinely disputed while we investigate, and we will promptly refund any overcharge.

17. Changes to the Charges, the Services and these Terms

17.1Price changes. We may change ongoing Charges by giving you at least 30 days’ written notice. If we increase them, you may end the Agreement without an early termination charge by telling us before the increase takes effect, paying the existing Charges until then. A change in the rate of VAT, or an increase set out in pounds and pence in your Order, is not a price change under this clause.

17.2Changes to these Terms. We may change these Terms to reflect changes in law, regulation, official guidance, technology, our Third-Party Providers or how we provide the Services, or to make them clearer. We will give at least 30 days’ written notice of any change that materially affects you, unless the law requires it sooner. If a change is to your material disadvantage, you may end the Agreement without an early termination charge before it takes effect.

17.3Changes to the Services. We may make changes that do not materially reduce the Services, such as updating software, replacing Equipment with equivalent items or changing our Monitoring Partner, whose Operators will also be background checked.

17.4Changes you ask for, such as extra Equipment, are recorded as an update to your Order. Adding Equipment does not extend any Minimum Term unless you expressly agree in writing.

18. The Minimum Term and what happens afterwards

18.1Any Minimum Term is stated in your Order and starts on the Service Start Date. If your Order does not state one, the Agreement runs from month to month.

18.2After the Minimum Term, the Agreement continues from month to month until you or we end it under clause 19. A new Minimum Term applies only if you expressly agree to one in writing. We aim to remind you before your Minimum Term ends.

19. Ending the Agreement

Ending by you

19.1If you are a Consumer, you may cancel within the cancellation period under clause 5. Otherwise, you may end the Agreement at any time on at least 30 days’ notice by email or in writing. If it ends during the Minimum Term, the early termination charge in clause 19.3 applies unless clause 19.2 applies. No early termination charge applies after the Minimum Term.

19.2Ending without an early termination charge. You may end the Agreement at any time without an early termination charge, by telling us in writing, if:

we seriously or repeatedly break the Agreement and do not put it right within 14 days of your written notice;
we increase the Charges or change these Terms to your material disadvantage (clause 17);
an Event Outside Our Control prevents the Monitoring Service for more than 30 days (clause 23);
a suspension not caused by you lasts more than 14 days in a row (clause 21);
an update, or a change to the App or the Cloud Service, significantly reduces your System’s main functions and we cannot put this right (clauses 8.7 and 11.5);
you are a Consumer and decline to pay to upgrade Your Equipment after a Third-Party Provider’s change (clause 10.6);
you reasonably object to a new sub-processor (clause 24.4); or
you object to a transfer to anyone other than a Successor Company (clause 26.2).

19.3Early termination charge. If the Agreement ends during the Minimum Term because you end it (other than under clause 5 or 19.2), or because we end it under clause 19.4, you must pay the early termination charge set out in your Order. It reflects the loss we reasonably expect when an Agreement ends early, such as the remaining Monitoring Charges less the costs we save, and the unrecovered cost of any Equipment or Installation supplied at a reduced price. It will never exceed the Monitoring Charges for the rest of the Minimum Term, and it is a fair estimate of our loss, not a penalty. Charges for unreturned Our Equipment are separate (clause 20.3).

Ending by us

19.4We may end the Agreement by written notice, immediately or from a date we state, if:

an amount remains unpaid 14 days after our written warning that we may end the Agreement;
you seriously or repeatedly break the Agreement and do not put it right within 14 days of our written notice;
the System is used unlawfully or to harass anyone;
anyone at the Property threatens, abuses or is violent towards our staff;
information you gave us was materially false and affects our ability to provide the Services safely;
False Alarms continue after our written warning (clause 14.3); or
you are a Business Customer and become insolvent, make an arrangement with creditors or stop trading.

19.5We may also end the Agreement on at least 60 days’ written notice for a valid reason, such as ceasing to serve your area, or for any reason after the Minimum Term. No early termination charge then applies, and we will refund any Charges paid in advance.

Moving and bereavement

19.6Moving. Please tell us at least 30 days before you move. We may be able to move the Services to your new address if we cover it, or transfer the Agreement to the new occupier, and if so no early termination charge applies. Otherwise, clause 19.1 applies.

19.7Bereavement. If a Consumer customer dies, their personal representatives or next of kin may end the Agreement without an early termination charge, and we will not charge for any period after we are told.

20. What happens when the Agreement ends

20.1The Monitoring and Maintenance Services stop on the end date, which we will confirm in writing. After that date we will not respond to alarms, so please make other arrangements. We may disconnect the System from our monitoring, remove our App access and deactivate the SIM.

20.2Your Equipment stays with you and may continue to work through the App, subject to the provider’s terms, but will no longer be monitored or maintained by us. Your legal rights and any manufacturer’s warranty continue.

20.3Our Equipment must be returned. We will arrange to collect it, or send packaging for its return, within a period we reasonably specify of at least 14 days, and you must give us reasonable access. Unless your Order says otherwise, removal is free, and clause 7.6 applies. If it is not returned, or is returned damaged beyond fair wear and tear, we may charge the amount in your Order, which reflects its reasonable replacement value.

20.4You must pay any amounts due within 14 days of our final invoice, and we will refund any Charges paid for a period after the end date within 14 days. We keep your information as set out in our Privacy Notice, usually for six years after the Agreement ends.

20.5Ending the Agreement does not affect rights already arisen, or clauses intended to continue, including clauses 8, 16, 19.3, 20, 22, 24 and 29.

21. Suspension

21.1We may suspend all or part of the Services:

for maintenance, upgrades or urgent work;
because of an Event Outside Our Control, or where the law, the police or another authority requires it;
where we reasonably suspect fraud, unlawful use or a security compromise of your System or account;
for non-payment, after at least 14 days’ written notice;
if False Alarms continue after a written warning (clause 14.3); or
if it is unsafe for us to work at the Property.

21.2Except in an emergency, we will tell you before suspending, explain why and what you can do, keep the suspension as short as possible and tell you which parts of the System are affected. Alarms from those parts may not be answered, so please make other arrangements.

21.3If a suspension is not caused by you, you will not pay for the suspended period, except short planned maintenance we told you about in advance, and if it lasts more than 14 days in a row, clause 19.2 applies. Otherwise, the Charges remain payable.

22. Our liability to you

22.1What we never exclude. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or that of our staff or subcontractors, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, for breach of the terms implied by law about our right to supply the Equipment, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Nothing in these Terms affects your legal rights as a Consumer.

22.2We are not an insurer. The System and the Services reduce the risk of loss but cannot prevent all loss. Our Charges reflect the value of the Services, not of the Property or its contents, so you should keep your own insurance. Where loss results from someone else’s crime, we are responsible only for the part caused by our breach or our failure to use reasonable care and skill.

22.3Matters outside our responsibility. Except to the extent caused by our breach or failure to use reasonable care and skill, we are not responsible for loss caused by your breach or inaccurate information, an Event Outside Our Control, the police, the emergency services, your Keyholders, Third-Party Providers (other than our subcontractors), or failures of power, networks, broadband, Wi-Fi, the App or the Cloud Service.

If you are a Consumer

22.4We are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach or our failure to use reasonable care and skill. Loss is foreseeable if it is an obvious consequence of the breach, or if both of us contemplated it when the Agreement was made. We supply the Services for domestic and private use and are not responsible for business losses.

22.5If we damage the Property while working there, we will repair it or pay the reasonable repair cost, except for work that is a necessary part of the agreed Installation or removal, such as drilling, and matters that clauses 7.4 and 7.6 exclude.

If you are a Business Customer

22.6We are not liable, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, misrepresentation or otherwise, for loss of profit, revenue, business, contracts, opportunity, anticipated savings, goodwill or data, or for indirect or consequential loss.

22.7Subject to clause 22.1, our total liability under or in connection with the Agreement is limited to the Charges paid and payable in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim (or, for an event in the first 12 months, the Charges payable for those months), unless your Order states a different limit. We do not promise that the System suits a particular business purpose unless your Order confirms it, and other terms implied by law are excluded so far as the law allows. These limits reflect the level of the Charges and that you are better placed than we are to insure your business and property.

Your key legal rights as a Consumer

22.8Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Equipment must be as described, fit for purpose, of satisfactory quality and correctly installed, and the Services must be provided with reasonable care and skill. If they are not, you have legal remedies, which may include a repair, a replacement, repeat performance, a price reduction or a refund. You may reject faulty Equipment for a refund within 30 days of Installation. The Citizens Advice consumer service can tell you more.

23. Events outside our control

23.1An “Event Outside Our Control” is an event beyond our reasonable control, such as failure of public mobile networks, broadband or power; failure of a Third-Party Provider’s platform we do not control; extreme weather, flood or fire; pandemic; war, terrorism or civil unrest; government action; or industrial action other than by our own staff. It does not include anything we could have avoided by reasonable precautions, or a failure by one of our subcontractors unless itself caused by such an event.

23.2We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by an Event Outside Our Control. We will tell you promptly, take reasonable steps to limit its effect and restore the Services as soon as we can. You do not pay for Services we cannot provide, and we will refund any advance payment for them. If the Monitoring Service is prevented for more than 30 days, either of us may end the Agreement without an early termination charge.

24. Your personal information and camera privacy

24.1We handle personal information in line with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, as explained in our Privacy Notice and Camera Privacy Commitment. You can contact our data protection lead at contact@shieldsgroup.co.uk.

24.2In summary:

Operators cannot open your cameras, or listen or talk through them, unless your alarm has been triggered or you have asked us to check;
you receive an alert on your phone every time an Operator views your cameras, and you can switch indoor cameras off in the App;
footage is stored in the cloud via your camera App, in the Cloud Service provided with it, for as long as that service and your settings or plan allow;
we access footage only to verify and respond to alarms, when you ask us to, or when the law requires;
we share clips with the police when a threat is confirmed, with your insurer if you ask us to, or where the law requires; and
we never sell footage or use it for advertising, marketing or profiling.

24.3Alarm events and verification clips we hold are usually kept for no more than 31 days, unless needed for a police investigation, an insurance claim or a legal matter. Our Monitoring Partner acts as our processor under a written contract. Please tell your Keyholders and authorised users that you are giving us their details, and refer them to our Privacy Notice.

24.4Business Customers are the controllers of the personal data their System captures. Where we process footage, audio and alarm events on your behalf to provide the Monitoring Service, we act as your processor and will: act only on your documented instructions, which are set out in the Agreement; keep the data confidential and secure; use sub-processors, including our Monitoring Partner, only on equivalent written terms, telling you of changes; help you with individuals’ requests, breaches and impact assessments; tell you of a personal data breach without undue delay; delete or return the data at the end, as you choose, unless the law requires us to keep it; and provide the information needed to show compliance, including for reasonable audits. Where we use information for our own purposes, such as police reports or legal claims, we are a controller. If you reasonably object to a new sub-processor and we cannot avoid using it, clause 19.2 applies.

25. Complaints

25.1If something has gone wrong, please email contact@shieldsgroup.co.uk with your name, the Property address, what happened and what you would like us to do. Our Complaints Procedure explains the process in full.

25.2We aim to acknowledge complaints within 2 Business Days and to respond in full within 10 Business Days, telling you if we need longer. We aim to give our final response within 8 weeks.

25.3We are not a member of an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme. If we cannot resolve your complaint, we will tell you so in writing, give you the name and website of a certified ADR provider and say whether we agree to use it. You can also get free advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service, bring a claim in the courts, including through the small claims track, or, for data matters, complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

26. Transferring the Agreement

26.1Transfer to a Successor Company. We may transfer the Agreement, with all our rights and obligations and ownership of Our Equipment, to a company we set up to carry on the Shields Group business (a “Successor Company”). It will take over the Agreement on the same terms, including the Charges and any Minimum Term, and your rights will not be reduced. You agree to this transfer now. We will tell you in writing when it happens and give you the company’s details. Your personal information will pass to the Successor Company, which will become its controller.

26.2Other transfers. We may transfer the Agreement to another organisation, for example on a sale of our business, provided your rights are not reduced. We will tell you in writing, and you may end the Agreement without an early termination charge within 30 days after we do.

26.3Subcontractors and transfers by you. We may use subcontractors, including our Monitoring Partner, partner engineers and security response providers, and we remain responsible for them. You may transfer the Agreement only with our written consent, which we will not refuse unreasonably, for example for a new occupier of the Property.

27. Notices

27.1Notices to us must be sent by email to contact@shieldsgroup.co.uk, or in writing to the address shown in your Order or on your latest invoice. We send notices to the email or postal address in your Order, or any new address you give us.

27.2An email is treated as received when sent, unless a delivery failure message is received; if sent after 5pm or on a day that is not a Business Day, it is treated as received at 9am on the next Business Day. A first-class letter is treated as received on the second Business Day after posting. Messages through the App are not formal notices. This does not change clause 5.3.

28. General

28.1Entire agreement. The Agreement is the entire agreement between us about its subject matter. Business Customers confirm that they have not relied on any statement not set out in it, but this does not limit liability for fraud. For Consumers, this does not affect information that the law makes part of the Agreement (see clause 4.3).

28.2Third-party rights. No one other than you, us and anyone to whom the Agreement is transferred under clause 26 may enforce it, including under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

28.3Severance and waiver. If a court finds any clause unlawful or unenforceable, the others remain in force. A delay or failure by either of us in enforcing a term does not waive it.

28.4Variation. The Agreement may be changed only under clause 17 or in writing agreed by both of us.

29. Governing law and jurisdiction

29.1The Agreement, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it, including non-contractual disputes or claims, is governed by the law of England and Wales.

29.2If you are a Consumer, you may bring proceedings in the courts of England and Wales or, if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in the courts there. If you are a Business Customer, the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

30. Model cancellation form

30.1If you are a Consumer and want to cancel within the cancellation period (see clause 5), you may copy and complete this form and email it to contact@shieldsgroup.co.uk, or send it to the address shown in your Order or on your latest invoice. You do not have to use it.

Model cancellation form

(Complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

To: Shields Group, email contact@shieldsgroup.co.uk, at the address shown in your Order or on your latest invoice

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) cancel my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*)/for the supply of the following service (*),

Ordered on (*)/received on (*),

Name of consumer(s),

Address of consumer(s),

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper),

Date

(*) Delete as appropriate.

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