Terms and conditions

About these terms

The agreement between you and The Unite Group Ltd (registered number 07035799) is made up of these customer terms, your service agreement, any order schedules, the applicable tariffs and any supplementary service-specific conditions. If a service-specific condition conflicts with these terms, the service-specific condition applies. In these terms "we", "us" and "our" mean The Unite Group Ltd, and "you" means the customer.

1. Provision of the services

1.1 The services are those you order by phone, online, through a third party, in writing or by email, and that we confirm. They include telephone calls, line rental, broadband, inbound numbers, mobile, IP telephony, data and other services we offer.

1.1.1 The contract starts on the date you sign the service agreement. For phone or web orders it starts on the date you confirm in writing or by email, or the date in our correspondence. If these conflict, the date you first use the services applies.

1.2 We will use reasonable efforts to start or restart services on the agreed dates, but we are not liable for delays.

1.3 We will provide services with the skill and care expected of a competent communications provider.

1.4 Broadband: we may restrict, suspend or increase charges for abnormal usage, and will try to warn you first. Use is at your own risk and we are not liable for viruses, spam or malicious content.

1.5 Outbound calls must route over the network we choose. Calls routed elsewhere may be billed at the leakage tariff, except during notified outages.

1.6 Inbound numbers: a monthly charge applies to numbers with no traffic for three consecutive months, unless there is traffic that month. A nominal monthly charge applies where inbound is your only service. Premium-rate use must comply with the law. If Ofcom or a supplier withdraws a number, we may reclaim it and will try to offer an acceptable replacement.

1.7 IP telephony: you must update your address for emergency calls when equipment moves. We are not liable if you don't.

1.8 All services are subject to our latest acceptable use policies.

1.9 Call recording: you must comply with all legal requirements and are liable for any failure to do so.

2. Telephone numbers

2.1 You don't own your numbers. The agreement is personal to you, and numbers can't be sold or transferred.

2.2 We may reallocate numbers unused for six months, unless recurring rental continues to be paid.

2.3 Porting requests carry an administration fee that varies by network. We are not responsible for loss of service during porting.

3. Telephone books and directory enquiries

3.1 Your name, address and number are listed in BT's directory and enquiries database unless you opt out.

3.2 Special listings carry an extra charge and need a separate agreement. 3.3 IP telephony listing arrangements are available on request.

3.4 You must check your listings. We are not liable for errors unless we caused them through negligence.

4. Changes and interruptions

4.1 We will restore interrupted services as quickly as reasonably possible.

4.2 We may change codes, numbers or technical specifications for operational reasons, interrupt services for operational reasons or emergencies, and issue health, safety or quality instructions.

4.3 If a change has a material adverse effect on you, you may terminate under clause 19.3.

4.4 Services are not guaranteed to be uninterrupted or fault-free. Quality may suffer for reasons outside our control (clause 14), and we are not liable for the resulting losses.

5 to 7. Equipment

5. We will pass on manufacturers' warranties where possible.

6. Sale equipment: quantity, quality and specification are as stated in the agreement. We deliver to the stated address, and time is not of the essence. Risk passes to you on delivery, and you pay to repair or replace anything lost, stolen or damaged. Title stays with us until you have paid in full, and we may require return or collection at your cost if payment is late. You install the equipment, and we are not liable for faults caused by installation, misuse or damage.

7. Rental equipment: we own it. You may not sell, let, charge, sub-license or alter it, or remove labels. We may replace it with equal or better equipment. During usual working hours we will install it where needed and try to repair faults under our standard procedures. You must look after it, insure it while it is with you, report faults, loss, theft or damage promptly, and not allow anyone else to repair or alter it without our written consent. On termination you must return it in reasonable condition allowing for fair wear and tear, or we may invoice its original cost less depreciation, plus reasonable costs. If we don't receive returned equipment and there is no reasonable proof of delivery, you remain liable.

8. Call monitoring

We may record customer service and telemarketing calls for training and complaint handling, and may record 999 and 112 calls.

9. Data protection and use of information

9.1 How we use personal data is explained in our privacy policy (/privacy-policy/).

9.2 We will only send you marketing if you have agreed to it separately, or where the law allows us to contact business customers about similar services. You can opt out at any time.

9.3 You may request a copy of your data.

9.4 You must tell us promptly about changes to your information.

9.5 We may rely on technical information a dealer gives us on your behalf.

10. Paying our charges

10.1 You pay the tariff charges whoever uses the services and whether or not you agreed to the use. This includes rogue-dialler calls, unbarred premium numbers and unauthorised third-party access.

10.2 Installation costs are as stated in your documents. If third-party constraints stop us giving a quote we will estimate in advance. Excess construction charges may apply, and you pay costs incurred even if installation is cancelled midway.

10.3 Sale equipment is invoiced on the first invoice after dispatch. Rental is invoiced monthly.

10.4 The first invoice is sent at the start of the month after commencement, then monthly.

10.5 Rental is charged from when a service is made available, usually in advance, with a part-month charge on the first invoice. Call charges are billed in arrears from network records.

10.6 Advance payments cannot exceed our estimate of your next invoice, and surpluses are credited or refunded after deducting cancellation charges. We may ask for a deposit as reasonable security.

10.7 Standard terms are payment within 14 days of invoice by Direct Debit. Other payment methods may carry a nominal monthly charge. Charges exclude VAT.

10.8 Tariffs assume you meet minimum spend and term commitments. Non-geographic call rates follow BT's banding. Changes take effect from the 1st of the following month, sometimes without notice. You pay for bundle excesses and excluded items.

10.9 Finance and credit: you consent to credit reference searches on your company and its officers. When arranging finance we act as your agent. If finance fails, deposits are returned unless the required third-party indemnities are not provided. If finance documents aren't completed or payments haven't started, the full order value plus VAT is payable within seven days of invoice.

10.10 Inbound rebates may be offset against debts and are paid only once they reach £5 cumulatively per month.

10.11 We may set off amounts we owe you against amounts you owe us.

10.12 Online orders become binding once we confirm the order and payment by email. We may refund payments for rejected orders.

10.13 You must cancel trials in writing, or you are billed for the rest of the contract term.

10.14 A nominal fee applies to paper itemised bills (online billing is free). A £5 monthly minimum applies where invoices fall below £5.

11. Your other responsibilities

11.1 You must follow our reasonable instructions on services and equipment.

11.2 Entry to premises: you will allow access during working hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) or as agreed, with mutual safety requirements. You obtain any third-party permissions needed and pay related costs, and you reinstate and redecorate after work.

11.3 Misuse: you must not use the services for abusive, hoax or harassing communications, unlawful or infringing material, network-damaging data use, fraud or criminal activity, breaching our instructions, accessing restricted network areas, or damaging our reputation or breaching our obligations. You indemnify us against resulting claims.

11.4 Business customers indemnify us against third-party claims that services are faulty, and for third-party products we bill. You may not deduct disputed amounts from payments.

11.5 Line rentals: calls must route via our network and other providers may be barred. You are responsible for invoices from other providers and must tell us about them. You must make sure new contracts don't breach existing ones and give any required notice to other suppliers. You must maintain resilience against loss of data, service or connectivity, including separate power for IP phones, and make sure emergency calling works during power failures. You must keep usernames, passwords and PINs private, and remain liable for charges until a compromise is reported and access is disabled.

12. Repairing faults

12.1 We investigate reported faults under our standard procedures and will try to repair faults we caused.

12.2 Out-of-hours work is charged at the tariff's extra rate.

12.3 If no fault is found, or you or a third party caused it, we may charge for investigation and repair. We are not liable for faults we didn't cause.

12.4 You may need to run tests and report the results.

12.5 For IP-routed calls, quality and availability depend on factors outside our control, such as bandwidth contention. We are not liable for these.

13 and 14. Limits on our liability

13.1 Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else the law does not allow us to limit. To confirm: solicitor to review clause 13

13.2 We are not liable for lost profits, revenue or savings, wasted expenditure, financial loss, data loss, unavailability of systems we didn't supply, reputational damage, or unforeseeable, indirect or consequential loss.

13.3 Our total liability is capped at £100,000 per event or series of related events, and £500,000 in any twelve-month period.

13.4 Implied conditions, warranties and terms are excluded as far as the law allows.

13.5 Each limit operates separately, so if one is ineffective the others still apply.

13.6 We are not responsible for pricing or typographical errors and may reject orders where they occur.

13.7 This clause survives termination.

14. We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as severe weather, fire, flood, war, civil disorder, government action, acts of other network operators and industrial disputes, including those involving our own staff or suppliers.

15. Breach and suspension

15.1 We may suspend services or terminate immediately by written notice if you materially breach the agreement and fail to remedy it within a reasonable time, if the services are used in a way forbidden by clause 11.3, even unknowingly, or if you become insolvent, enter liquidation or an arrangement with creditors, or fail to pay a court judgment.

15.2 We may suspend services without notice if a payment we request by letter or email isn't made within seven days, if two consecutive Direct Debits are rejected, or if a payment is missed after two earlier failures that were remedied within seven days.

15.3 Late payments accrue interest at 5% a year above the Bank of England base rate.

15.4 Suspended services are restored only once the issue is resolved or assurances are given.

15.5 Suspension does not end the agreement, and rental remains payable.

15.6 Termination during the minimum term triggers cancellation charges for each service: the remaining months multiplied by the monthly rental, the remaining months multiplied by the monthly minimum spend or three-month average, repayment of subsidies under clause 18.3, repayment of term-based discounts, and any cease charges in the tariff.

15.7 Reactivation requires payment of the reactivation charge.

16. Cancelling before provision

16.1 You may cancel up to seven working days after you receive, or are deemed to receive, these terms, or before supply starts if sooner. Cancellation must be in writing, and equipment must be returned undamaged in its original packaging by special delivery to our Newcastle address. Using a service or equipment means acceptance and loss of this right.

16.2 Domestic customers pay no cancellation charge but must return equipment or pay collection costs, and statutory rights are unaffected. Business customers must pay for work done and costs incurred up to the cancellation date. To confirm: solicitor to confirm how these terms apply to consumer and domestic customers, including statutory cancellation and refund rights

17. Termination after provision

17.1 Either party may end a service with at least 90 days' written notice, effective at or after the end of the minimum term. Rental continues through the notice period, plus call charges. If you give no notice, rental is payable for 90 days after you stop using the service. If notice isn't given at least 90 days before the end of the minimum term or a renewal term, the service renews for 12 months on the same terms. Cease charges in the tariff apply. To confirm: solicitor and client to confirm the 30 or 90 day notice period; see clauses 17.5 and 18.4

17.2 Early termination needs 90 days' written notice. Charges include remaining rental, remaining minimum spend, repayment of subsidies, the notice period charge, repayment of term-based discounts and cease charges. Early termination charges unpaid within 10 days of invoice may lead to suspension.

17.3 Rental paid after termination is refunded or offset against debts.

17.4 You pay all charges until we stop providing services and through the notice period.

17.5 We may terminate immediately under clause 15 without the notice period. To confirm: the live text says 'thirty (90) day'; confirm the intended notice period

17.6 Additional provisions: you arrange a new supplier at the end of the agreement. On receipt of notice, standard rates apply to all services on the account. After the notice period we may give 48 hours' notice of suspension, and reconnection incurs a charge and a new minimum period. If you give notice but don't move services, standard rates continue until transfer. Leased line terms run from delivery. Hosted telephony with upfront handsets carries a 36-month minimum from delivery.

18. Minimum term, minimum spend and renewal

18.1 The minimum term and spend are as stated in your documents. If no minimum term is stated, it is 12 months from the contract start date. New installations have at least a 12-month term.

18.2 Shortfalls below the annualised minimum spend are billed the month after expiry, or immediately on early termination.

18.3 If you received a subsidised installation or other contributions and terminate early, the charge is the original cost divided by the term length, multiplied by the remaining months.

18.4 After the initial term, the contract renews for 12 months and continues to renew annually unless cancelled with 30 days' written notice, effective no earlier than the end of the current term. To confirm: this conflicts with the 90 days in clauses 17.1 and 18.5; client and legal to confirm

18.5 Each service renews for successive 12-month terms unless notice of non-renewal is given at least 90 days before the end of the current term. Renewals keep the same terms, including minimum spend. To confirm: solicitor and client to confirm the 30 or 90 day notice period; see clause 18.4

19 and 20. Changing and transferring the agreement

19.1 Change requests from you must be confirmed in writing, and take effect when we confirm in writing.

19.2 We may change these terms or the tariffs on 14 days' notice, posted on our website and on invoices. Continued use means acceptance. We may pass on cost increases with 14 days' notice, except as set out in clause 10.8.

19.3 If a change (other than a cost pass-through) materially harms you or the services, you may terminate before the minimum term ends without the standard termination charges. Subsidy charges still apply.

20. You may not assign or transfer the agreement or your rights. We may transfer it to an associated company.

21 to 30. General conditions

21. Notices must be delivered by hand, email or prepaid post to the addresses in the service agreement or last invoice.

22. The documents form the whole agreement and replace all earlier communications about the services.

To confirm: solicitor to add Ofcom-required information for communications customers (complaints procedure, alternative dispute resolution scheme, and any General Conditions of Entitlement obligations)

23. If a term is invalid or unenforceable, it is severed and the rest stays in effect.

24. You confirm you did not enter the agreement relying on statements outside the documents, except in cases of fraud.

25. We don't lose our rights by failing to act on a breach.

26. Terms expressed to survive termination continue to apply.

27. No third party may enforce these terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

28. English law governs the agreement, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

29. The agreement continues for each service's minimum term and then until terminated. These conditions apply to all services, and separate service-specific conditions apply alongside them and prevail in a conflict.

30. To confirm: definitions (associated company, BT, call, line, service, minimum term, minimum spend, rental and sale equipment, service agreement, tariff, conditions) to be pasted from the current terms

31 to 36. IT and cyber services (supplementary terms)

31.1 We maintain and support your IT system. Your contract defines the items covered, the activities and how issues are handled.

31.2 The contract starts on the signed date, runs for an agreed minimum term, then rolls over every 12 months. It may be reviewed by agreement. Cancelling needs written notice at least 90 days before renewal.

Users covered: cover follows a table of users and licences, which may change. Increases or decreases must be agreed in writing, and changes are limited to 20% either way of the average user count per contract year unless both parties agree otherwise. Pricing adjusts pro rata, with annual reviews. Microsoft licences not on monthly plans run for a 12-month rolling period with continuing charges. We will tell you about licensing changes.

Exclusions: cover excludes misuse, unauthorised configuration changes, blocked maintenance, events outside our control and non-payment. We commit to best efforts, in a spirit of partnership.

32. Responsibilities: we maintain and support the system, provide availability in line with the SLA, respond reasonably quickly, escalate effectively and communicate well. You use the system as intended, report issues promptly, give us access for maintenance, tell us about system changes (such as staff connecting personal devices) and communicate well.

33. Activities: daily tasks include backup checks, event-log and disk-space monitoring. Weekly tasks include patching, server maintenance and network performance monitoring. Quarterly tasks include backup tests with partial restores. Ongoing tasks include monitoring uptime, cloud status and internet connection. Other tasks are done as needed, such as documentation, reboots, user account management, disaster recovery, firewall and router log review, security checks, investigating suspicious activity, permissions management and password policy enforcement.

34. Reactive support: raise issues by email to the support address or by phone. We triage them and measure response times against the SLA. Tier one handles first contact and basic troubleshooting, tier two handles complex escalations, and tier three handles the highest-level support and third-party coordination.

35. Charges: IT support fees increase each April in line with RPI, plus VAT. Third-party vendor prices may also rise, with 30 days' notice where possible. The fee is all-inclusive, except that support is provided on weekdays from 8:30am to 5:00pm, excluding English bank holidays, new or additional equipment is excluded, and project work such as migrations and major upgrades is excluded. Additional charges: in-hours support £90 plus VAT per hour, out-of-hours support £110 plus VAT per hour, out-of-hours on-site visits £110 plus VAT per hour with a two-hour minimum, and travel billed at the hourly rate. To confirm: client to confirm these rates are current

36. Both parties comply with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. We process personal data only to provide the services, following your documented instructions. Confidential information is used only for contractual obligations. To confirm: solicitor to add the UK GDPR Article 28 data processing schedule (subject matter, duration, data types, sub-processors, security, audit and deletion)