These terms apply to every order placed on cotswoldcontemporary.co.uk and form the contract between you and us, so please read them before you order.
1. About us and these terms
1.1 Who we are. cotswoldcontemporary.co.uk is run by Buckingham Fine Art Publishers Ltd registered in England and Wales under company number 01608690. Our registered office is 3a Tournament Court, Edgehill Drive, Warwick, CV34 6LG. Our VAT number is GB365989875.
1.2 How to contact us. Email info@cotswoldcontemporary.co.uk, or write to Buckingham Fine Art Publishers Ltd, Unit B, 25 Third Avenue, MK1 1DH. We will contact you using the email address or telephone number you gave when you ordered. Where these terms say “in writing”, that includes email.
1.3 What these terms cover. These terms apply to every order you place through our website. By placing an order you confirm that you have read and accepted them. If you do not agree with them, please do not order.
1.4 Who they are for. We sell to consumers, meaning people buying for personal use. If you buy for a business, the cancellation rights in section 7 and the statutory consumer rights in section 8 do not apply to you.
1.5 Changes to these terms. We may update these terms from time to time. The version on our website when you place your order is the version that applies to that order. If a change is required by law or by a regulator, it may apply to orders we have not yet fulfilled.
1.6 Your legal rights. Nothing in these terms limits the legal rights you have as a consumer.
2. Orders and when a contract is formed
2.1 Placing an order. You place an order by following the checkout process on our website. You can review and correct your order, including the artwork, size, frame and delivery address, before you submit it.
2.2 Order acknowledgement. After you submit your order you will receive an automated email confirming that we have received it. This email is not an acceptance of your order and does not create a contract between us.
2.3 Online sales are not final until we confirm them. An online sale is not final until a member of our fulfilment team has sent you a confirmation email (“Order Confirmation”). Your contract with us begins only when that email is sent. Until then, we may decline your order, and you may withdraw it by contacting us. Any payment taken will be refunded in full.
2.4 If we cannot accept your order. If we decline your order we will tell you by email or telephone and refund any payment taken without undue delay, and in any case within 14 days. Reasons may include:
- the artwork is no longer available, which can happen because many of our works are original or limited in number;
- we have found an error in the price or description of the product;
- we cannot authorise or verify your payment;
- we are unable to deliver to your address; or
- an unexpected limit on our resources.
2.5 Order number and checks. Your Order Confirmation will include an order number. Please quote it whenever you contact us about your order. Because we sell high-value artwork, we may ask for proof of your identity, and for details of your payment and delivery address, before we send Order Confirmation. This helps us meet our legal duties on fraud and money laundering. If we cannot complete these checks within a reasonable time, we may decline the order.
2.6 Where we sell. Our website is intended for customers in the United Kingdom. If you would like delivery elsewhere, please contact us before ordering. We accept orders for delivery outside the UK only at our discretion. If we do, you are responsible for any import duties, taxes and customs charges, which we will tell you about before you pay wherever we can, and for making sure you may lawfully import the artwork into your country. If you are buying for a business abroad, we may need your company’s VAT or tax number before we can dispatch your order.
3. Prices, payment and price matching
3.1 Prices. Prices are shown in pounds sterling (GBP) and include VAT where it applies. Delivery costs are shown at checkout before you pay. The price that applies to your order is the price shown at checkout when you place it.
3.2 Price changes. We may change our prices at any time. A change will not affect an order for which we have already sent Order Confirmation.
3.3 We do not price match. We do not price match. We will not match or beat a lower price offered by another retailer, gallery, auction house, marketplace or any other seller, whether for the same artwork or a similar one. This applies before and after you buy. Once your order has been placed, we will not reduce the price or refund the difference because the same or a similar artwork is later offered for less, by us or by anyone else, including during a sale or promotion that begins after your order.
3.4 Pricing errors. We take care to price our products correctly, but mistakes can happen. If the correct price is lower than the price shown, we will charge the lower price. If the correct price is higher, we will contact you before we send Order Confirmation, and you can choose to go ahead at the correct price or cancel. If a price is so obviously wrong that you could reasonably have recognised it as a mistake, we may cancel the order even after Order Confirmation and will refund you in full.
3.5 Payment. The payment methods we accept are shown at checkout. We take payment when you place your order, unless we tell you otherwise at checkout. Payments are handled by secure third-party payment providers, and we do not store your full card details. If we decline your order, we will release or refund your payment in full.
3.6 Finance. If we offer finance at checkout, it is provided by a third-party lender under its own terms and is subject to status. The price of an artwork is the same however you pay, and we do not add a surcharge for using finance. We may withdraw finance for discounted or promotional items, in which case you can pay another way or decide not to go ahead. If you cancel your order with us, you must also cancel your finance agreement with the lender separately, as we cannot do this on your behalf.
4. Our products
4.1 Images and colour. The images on our website are for illustration. Screens display colour differently, so artwork may look slightly different in person. Frame finishes can also vary slightly from the images shown.
4.2 Sizes and finishing. We state sizes and edition details as accurately as we can. Original works and hand-finished or embellished pieces are made by hand and may differ slightly from the images and from other works in the same edition. This kind of variation is part of the nature of the work and is not a fault.
4.3 Originals and limited editions. An original artwork is one of a kind. For a limited edition, the edition size is shown on the product page. Where an edition number is allocated when we dispatch the work, we cannot guarantee a particular number unless we confirm it in your Order Confirmation.
4.4 Availability. Many of our works are one of a kind or available in small numbers, and stock levels on the website may not always be up to date. Availability is confirmed only when we send your Order Confirmation.
4.5 Packaging. The packaging of your artwork may differ from any images on our website.
4.6 Authenticity. We take reasonable steps to confirm that every work is by the artist named. If an original work is shown not to be by that artist, we will refund the full price you paid.
4.7 Caring for your artwork. To keep your artwork in good condition, display it indoors away from direct sunlight, heat, damp and sharp changes in temperature, and clean it only with a soft dry cloth or feather duster, unless we have told you in writing that a piece is suitable for outdoor display. Ordinary ageing, or damage caused by not following this advice, is not a fault. This does not affect your legal rights.
4.8 Not investment advice. We cannot give financial or investment advice. The value of art can fall as well as rise, and we do not promise that any work will increase in value. If you are buying as an investment, please speak to an independent financial adviser.
5. Delivery and collection
5.1 Delivery costs. Delivery costs are shown at checkout and depend on the size, weight and destination of your order. Large or framed works may need specialist delivery.
5.2 Delivery times. We will give you an estimated delivery date in or soon after your Order Confirmation. Unless we agree otherwise, we will deliver within 30 days after Order Confirmation. If a piece is made or framed to order, we will tell you the expected timescale before we confirm your order.
5.3 Taking delivery. We deliver to the address you gave at checkout, and a signature may be required. If nobody is available to receive your order, the carrier will leave a note explaining how to rearrange delivery or collect it from a depot. If you do not take delivery after reasonable attempts, we may charge you reasonable redelivery or storage costs, or end the contract under section 9.
5.4 Check your order on delivery. Please check the packaging and the artwork when it arrives. If anything is damaged, note it on the carrier’s paperwork if you can, keep all packaging, take photographs, and contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 3 working days, so that we can deal with the carrier promptly. This does not affect your legal rights.
5.5 Collection. If we agree that you may collect your order, we will tell you when it is ready. Please collect it within 30 days of that notice. If you do not, we may charge reasonable storage and insurance costs, and after giving you written notice we may end the contract under section 9, keeping only our reasonable costs and refunding the rest of what you paid.
5.6 Late delivery. If your order is late, please contact us. If we fail to deliver on time, you may have the right to end the contract, as set out in section 9.4. Delays outside our control are covered by section 14.
5.7 Split deliveries. If we cannot send your whole order at once, we may deliver it in separate parts at no extra delivery cost to you. A late or faulty part does not entitle you to cancel the rest of the order unless the law says otherwise.
6. Risk and ownership
6.1 Risk. Your artwork is at your risk from the time it is delivered to your address, or from the time you (or someone you nominate) collect it. Until then it remains at our risk.
6.2 Ownership. You own the artwork once we have received payment in full. Until then it remains our property.
6.3 Insurance. We recommend that you insure high-value pieces from the moment they are delivered.
7. Changing your mind and returns
7.1 Your 14-day right to cancel. If you buy online, you have a legal right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to cancel your order without giving a reason. You can do this at any time after your contract begins and up to 14 days after the day you (or someone you nominate) receive the artwork. If your order arrives in separate deliveries, the 14 days run from the day you receive the last item.
7.2 How to cancel. Tell us clearly that you want to cancel, by email to info@cotswoldcontemporary.co.uk, or by post to Buckingham Fine Art Publishers Ltd, Unit B, 25 Third Avenue, MK1 1DH. Please give your name, address and order number. You can use the model form below, but you do not have to.
7.3 Returning the artwork. You must send the artwork back to us within 14 days after you tell us you are cancelling. Please contact us first so that we can arrange a safe return. You must take reasonable care of the artwork while it is with you, and return it in its original packaging or equally protective packaging, because artwork is fragile and can be easily damaged in transit. We recommend a tracked and insured service, as the artwork remains at your risk until we receive it.
7.4 Cost of returns. If you change your mind, you pay the cost of returning the artwork. Larger framed works cannot normally be returned by post and may need a specialist courier. The cost depends on size and location, and we will give you an estimate before you order or arrange a return if you ask.
7.5 Your refund. We will refund the price you paid and the cost of standard delivery, using the payment method you used for your order. We will do this within 14 days after we receive the artwork back, or after you give us proof that you have sent it back, whichever is earlier. If you chose a more expensive delivery option than our cheapest standard one, we will refund only the standard cost.
7.6 Deductions. We may reduce your refund to reflect any loss in value of the artwork caused by you handling it more than was needed to check its nature, condition and quality, as you could in a gallery. We will not refund until we have received the artwork and had a chance to inspect it.
7.7 What you cannot cancel. You do not have a legal right to change your mind about commissioned or personalised artwork, or any item made to your specification, including bespoke framing or a custom size, or items that become inseparably mixed with other goods after delivery.
7.8 Faulty items. If your artwork is faulty or not as described, your rights are different and are set out in section 8.
8. Faulty, damaged or misdescribed products
8.1 Your legal rights. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for their purpose. If they are not, you have legal rights, summarised below. Nothing in these terms affects them. For independent advice, you can contact Citizens Advice at citizensadvice.org.uk.
8.2 Summary of your rights. If your artwork is faulty or not as described:
- within 30 days of delivery, you can reject it and get a full refund;
- within 6 months, you can ask us to repair or replace it, and if that cannot be done or does not work, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund;
- after 6 months and up to 6 years (5 years in Scotland), you may still be entitled to a remedy if the fault was present when it was delivered, though you may need to show this.
8.3 Telling us about a problem. Please contact us with your order number and photographs of the problem. We may ask you to return the artwork so that we can inspect it. If it is faulty or not as described, we will pay the reasonable cost of returning it.
8.4 Damage in transit. If your artwork arrives damaged, we will arrange a repair, replacement or refund in line with your legal rights. Please follow the steps in section 5.4.
9. Our right to cancel or refuse an order
9.1 Before Order Confirmation. We may decline any order before we send Order Confirmation, for any of the reasons in section 2.4.
9.2 After Order Confirmation. We may end the contract by writing to you if:
- payment is not made when it is due;
- you do not provide information we need to supply your order within a reasonable time;
- delivery or collection cannot be completed within a reasonable time because of you, despite our reasonable attempts;
- you seriously breach these terms and, if the problem can be put right, you fail to do so within 5 days of our asking;
- the price was an obvious mistake, as set out in section 3.4; or
- the artwork becomes unavailable for reasons outside our control, for example because it is damaged or withdrawn.
9.3 Refunds when we end the contract. If we end the contract, we will refund any money you have paid for products we have not provided. If we end it because you broke these terms, we may deduct the reasonable costs we have incurred as a result, such as storage or redelivery.
9.4 Your right to end the contract because of something we do. You can end the contract and receive a full refund for products not provided if:
- we tell you about a significant change to the product or to these terms and you do not accept it;
- we tell you the price or description was wrong and you would rather not go ahead;
- events outside our control are likely to delay delivery by more than 4 weeks; or
- the law lets you end the contract because of something we got wrong.
10. Promotions and discount codes
10.1 How promotions work. Promotions, discount codes and free gifts apply only to the products and dates stated, while stocks last. They cannot be combined with any other offer unless we say so, and they have no cash value or substitute.
10.2 Using a code. A discount code must be entered at checkout before you place your order. We cannot apply a code, or adjust the price of an order, after it has been placed.
10.3 Returns and promotions. If a promotion depended on a minimum spend and a return or cancellation takes your order below it, we may recalculate the discount and reduce your refund accordingly. If you cancel an order that included a free gift, the gift must be returned with it.
10.4 Changes. We may change or withdraw promotions at any time. This will not affect an order for which we have already sent Order Confirmation.
11. Our responsibility to you
11.1 What we are responsible for. If we break these terms or fail to take reasonable care, we will compensate you for losses that were a predictable result of what we did wrong. We are not responsible for losses that could not reasonably have been predicted, meaning losses that were not an obvious consequence of our failure and that neither of us had in mind when the contract was made.
11.2 What we do not limit. We do not exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, for breach of your legal rights in relation to goods as summarised in section 8, or for anything else the law does not allow us to limit.
11.3 Business use. Our products are sold for personal use. If you buy for a business or to resell, we are not responsible for lost profits, lost business or lost opportunities.
11.4 Our website. We try to keep our website accurate and available, but we do not guarantee that it will be uninterrupted or error free. We are not responsible for the content of any third-party website linked from ours.
11.5 Third-party suppliers. If we use a third party to frame, deliver or install your artwork on our behalf, we remain responsible to you for how that work is done. If you hire someone yourself, for example to hang a piece, that arrangement is between you and them and their own terms apply.
12. Intellectual property and use of the website
12.1 Artists’ rights. Copyright and moral rights in every artwork stay with the artist or their estate. Buying a work gives you ownership of the physical piece, not the right to reproduce it. You must not copy, publish or sell reproductions of any artwork, including on social media, online marketplaces or auction sites, without the permission of the rights holder.
12.2 Our content. The design, text, photographs, logos and other content on our website belong to us or our licensors. You may view and print pages for your own personal use. You must not copy or use them commercially without our written permission.
12.3 Acceptable use. Please use our website lawfully. You must not use it for fraud, try to interfere with its operation, or attempt to gain unauthorised access to it.
12.4 Accessibility. If you have difficulty using our website, please contact us and we will help you place your order another way.
13. How we use your personal information
13.1 What we use it for. We use the personal information you give us to process and deliver your order, take payment, carry out fraud and identity checks, and handle returns and complaints. If you agreed to this when you ordered, we will also send you news and offers. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails or by contacting us.
13.2 Who we share it with. We share your information only with those who help us fulfil your order, such as payment providers, delivery companies and fraud prevention services, or where the law requires it.
13.3 Privacy Policy. Our Privacy Policy, available on our website, explains what we collect, why, how long we keep it and your rights under UK data protection law. Please read it alongside these terms.
14. Events outside our control
14.1 What counts. We are not responsible for any delay or failure to meet these terms caused by events outside our reasonable control. Examples are severe weather, fire, flood, strikes, failure of a carrier or supplier, power or network failure, epidemic, and government action.
14.2 What we will do. If this happens, we will contact you as soon as possible and take reasonable steps to limit the effect on your order.
14.3 Long delays. If the delay is likely to last more than 4 weeks, you may end the contract and receive a full refund for anything you have paid for but not received.
15. Complaints, governing law and general terms
15.1 Complaints. If something goes wrong, please contact us first at info@cotswoldcontemporary.co.uk or on 01908 658830. We aim to reply within 5 working days and to resolve the problem fairly.
15.2 Independent dispute resolution. If we cannot resolve your complaint, you may ask an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider to review it.
15.3 Transfer of rights. We may pass this contract to another business, and we will tell you if we do; your rights will not be affected. You cannot pass your rights to anyone else without our written agreement.
15.4 Third parties. Only you and we can enforce this contract. It gives no rights to anyone else, whether under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise.
15.5 If part of these terms is unenforceable. If a court finds that part of these terms cannot be enforced, that part falls away and the rest continues to apply.
15.6 Delays in enforcing. If we choose not to enforce a term straight away, or are slow to act, that does not stop us enforcing it later.
15.7 Governing law. English law applies to these terms and to any dispute about them, and the courts of England and Wales can hear it. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also go to your local courts.
15.8 Respect for our team. We expect our staff to be treated with respect and will not accept abuse or harassment of any kind.
15.9 Notices. We will send notices to the email or postal address you gave when you ordered. An email is treated as received 24 hours after we send it, and a letter 3 days after posting. Please send notices to us using the contact details in section 1.2.