Countryside Ski & Climb Terms & Conditions

1. About These Terms

These Terms and Conditions apply to all orders placed with Countryside Ski & Climb Limited, trading as Countryside and countryside.co.uk ("Countryside", "we", "us", "our"). They apply whether your order is placed through our website or, in exceptional circumstances, by telephone.

Please read these Terms carefully before placing an order. By placing an order with us, you agree to be bound by the Terms in force at the time of your order. We may update these Terms from time to time, so please check them each time you order. If you do not accept these Terms, you should not place an order with us.

Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer, including your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. For advice about your statutory rights, you can contact your local Citizens Advice.

2. Definitions

References to the "company", "us", "our" or "we" mean Countryside Ski & Climb Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 2979298), whose registered address is 118–120 High Street, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 3DW. References to "you" or the "customer" mean the person or organisation placing the order. "Working day" means Monday to Friday, excluding UK bank holidays.

3. Placing an Order and When a Contract Is Formed

Orders can be placed online at countryside.co.uk or, in exceptional circumstances, by telephone. When you place an order, we will send you an email acknowledging that we have received it. This acknowledgement is not acceptance of your order.

A legally binding contract between you and us is formed only when we dispatch the goods to you and send you a dispatch confirmation email. Until that point, we may decline or cancel an order — for example, where an item is unavailable, where we identify a pricing or description error (see section 4), or where payment cannot be authorised. If we decline or cancel an order before dispatch, you will not be charged for the items concerned.

We only take orders for items we have available for shipment at the time of the order. If an item is unavailable, we will treat your request as an enquiry and respond as soon as possible with accurate availability information, so that you can make an informed decision about whether to order.

4. Pricing

All prices are shown in Pounds Sterling (£) and include VAT at the prevailing rate, where applicable. The total price you pay, including any delivery charge, is displayed before you confirm your order.

Although we operate careful validation processes, occasionally a price or product description may be displayed incorrectly. If we discover an error affecting an item you have ordered before dispatch, we will contact you with the correct price or description before accepting that part of the order. You may then choose to proceed at the corrected price or cancel that part of the order at no cost to you. We are not obliged to supply goods at an incorrectly stated price where the error was obvious and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing.

5. Payment

We accept major credit and debit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, Visa Debit and Maestro, Apple Pay, and PayPal. Payment is taken in Pounds Sterling.

When you place an order, we request authorisation for the transaction value from your card issuer, but we do not charge your card until the day your goods are dispatched. In the unlikely event that an item is unavailable when we come to pick your order, we will inform you and ensure that no charge is made for any item not dispatched.

If your card issuer refuses to authorise payment, we will not be liable for any delay or non-delivery of your order. Orders will only be accepted with a valid payment in the name of the registered cardholder, using the cardholder's correct registered address.

6. Online Security

We take online security seriously. Card payments on our website are processed by our third-party payment provider, CitrusPay powered by Adyen, which is certified to PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) Level 1. Your payment details are captured and processed in an encrypted environment and full card details are never stored on our own systems. You can confirm that your session is encrypted by the "https://" prefix and the padlock symbol in your browser's address bar.

No method of transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be absolutely secure, but we and our payment provider apply industry-standard measures, including encryption, fraud screening and 3-D Secure authentication, to protect your transaction.

7. Delivery

We deliver to addresses in the United Kingdom — England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including the Scottish Highlands and Islands — and the Isle of Man. We do not deliver to the Channel Islands or to any other destination outside the United Kingdom, and we apologise for any inconvenience this causes.

Because we only sell from stock that is ready to ship, all orders are treated as priority and dispatched by the fastest available service at no premium over our standard delivery charge. Orders placed by noon on a working day (Monday–Friday) should normally be delivered by the end of the following working day within mainland UK. Deliveries to the Scottish Highlands and Islands, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man usually take an extra day; please allow 2–4 working days from the day of order.

All items are dispatched using a tracked and insured delivery service — Royal Mail Tracked 24 or, for certain larger items, Parcel Force Express 24. Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays are not carrier working days. We will email you when your goods are dispatched, with a link to track your consignment; if you provide a mobile number you should also receive an SMS notification.

Delivery estimates are given in good faith, but occasionally factors beyond our control (such as carrier disruption or severe weather) can cause delay, and next-working-day delivery cannot be guaranteed. If your goods have not arrived within a reasonable time, please contact us and we will investigate with the carrier. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, unless a different time is agreed, goods must be delivered without undue delay and in any event within 30 days.

Risk in the goods passes to you on delivery. Ownership of the goods passes to you once we have received payment in full.

8. Age-Restricted Items

Some products we sell — including knives, multi-tools, axes, ice axes and certain other bladed products — may not by law be sold to persons under 18. By ordering any such item you confirm that you are aged 18 or over.

In accordance with the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, we carry out age-verification checks on orders for bladed products, and such items will be delivered only into the hands of a person aged 18 or over. The carrier may require photographic proof of age at the point of delivery, and bladed products will not be left safe, left with a neighbour or delivered to a locker. If age verification cannot be completed, the item will be returned to us and your payment for it refunded.

9. Your Right to Cancel

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, you have the right to cancel your order for any reason within 14 days after the day on which you (or someone you nominate) receive the goods. Where your order is delivered in instalments, the 14 days run from receipt of the last item.

To exercise your right to cancel, you must tell us of your decision by a clear statement before the cancellation period expires — by email to our customer services address ([email protected]), by telephone on 01438 353086, or by post to Customer Services, Countryside Ski & Climb Ltd, 118–120 High Street, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 3DW. Please include your name, address, order details and, where available, your telephone number and email address. You may use the model cancellation form available on our website, but you do not have to.

If you cancel, you must return the goods to us at your own cost within 14 days of telling us. While the goods are in your possession you must take reasonable care of them. You may handle the goods only to the extent necessary to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning — as you would in a shop. We may reduce your refund to reflect any diminished value of the goods caused by handling beyond this, such as damage, soiling, removal of labels or missing packaging.

We will reimburse you for the goods, together with the standard outbound delivery charge you paid (we are not required to refund any premium for an enhanced delivery service you chose). We will make the reimbursement without undue delay and no later than 14 days after the day we receive the goods back, or, if earlier, 14 days after the day you provide evidence of having returned them. Reimbursement will be made using the same payment method you used for the original transaction, at no cost to you.

The right to cancel does not apply to goods that have been personalised or made to your specification; to goods which are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly; or to sealed goods that are not suitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed after delivery. This does not affect your statutory rights in respect of goods that are faulty or not as described (see section 11).

10. Returns and Exchanges (Our 28-Day Goodwill Policy)

In addition to your legal cancellation rights, we offer a goodwill policy: you may return a product for a full refund or an exchange within 28 days of delivery, provided it is returned in a new and unused condition, with its original packaging and labels, together with a copy of your receipt and the completed Return/Exchange form included with your order (which contains our return address and instructions).

We do not cover the cost of return postage under this goodwill policy. We recommend using a Royal Mail Tracked service so that you have proof of delivery back to us; a "Signed For" service is not necessary, but tracking is strongly recommended, as the goods remain your responsibility until they reach us.

Refunds will be made to the original payment method used. For hygiene reasons, underwear cannot be refunded or exchanged under this goodwill policy once worn, unless faulty.

This goodwill policy is offered in addition to, and does not limit or replace, your statutory rights or your 14-day cancellation rights described in section 9.

11. Faulty Goods — Your Statutory Rights

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the goods we supply must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If they are not, you are entitled to the following remedies, at no cost to you:

• Within 30 days of delivery: you may reject the goods and receive a full refund.
• After 30 days but typically within 6 months: you may ask us to repair or replace the goods. If a fault appears within the first 6 months, it is presumed to have been present at delivery unless we can show otherwise.
• If repair or replacement is not possible, or does not resolve the fault: you are entitled to a price reduction or to reject the goods for a refund (which may be reduced to reflect use after the first 6 months).

Where goods are faulty, we will also cover the reasonable cost of returning them to us. Nothing in these Terms, and nothing in any manufacturer guarantee, limits or excludes these statutory rights. If you believe an item is faulty, please contact our customer services team before returning it so that we can advise on the quickest way to resolve the issue.

12. Manufacturer Guarantees

Unless stated otherwise, items sold by Countryside come with a twelve (12) month manufacturer guarantee from the date of original purchase. Where an item carries a "lifetime" guarantee, this applies to the reasonable lifetime of the item, not that of the owner or user. Guarantees cover defective materials, workmanship and/or parts; they do not cover normal wear and tear, inappropriate use, accidental damage, neglect or misuse.

To make a guarantee claim, please return the item to the address in section 20 with a copy of your original purchase receipt and a description of the fault. For health and safety reasons, items must be returned clean and free from dirt; stoves and any other fuel-burning devices must be completely free of fuel and fuel residue.

Manufacturer guarantees are provided in addition to your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (see section 11) and do not affect them in any way.

13. Ski Hardware Purchases — Important Safety Information

Since 1978, Countryside has prided itself on matching customers with the right equipment. Ski boots and bindings in particular require fitting and adjustment by properly trained technicians, and every ski-and-binding combination must be carefully set for the individual skier and their boots. We strongly recommend that you visit our store in Stevenage, where our trained technicians will ensure your equipment is correctly matched, fitted and set before you leave.

If you purchase skis with bindings online, we cannot set them up without you and your boots being present. You are therefore responsible for ensuring that your bindings are correctly configured and safety-tested by a suitably qualified technician before use. You are welcome to bring skis purchased online from us, together with your boots, to our store, where we will set them up free of charge; alternatively, a qualified ski workshop near you should be able to provide this service, though they may charge. Nothing in this section limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or your statutory rights in respect of faulty goods.

14. Gift Vouchers

Countryside Gift Vouchers are available in £10, £20 and £50 denominations from this website. Vouchers cannot be exchanged for cash. These gift vouchers can be used via our website or in store.

After purchasing you’ll receive an email containing your gift voucher code, the voucher value, and the expiry date. You can print it out or forward the email to the recipient.

We ask for a shipping address to validate your card payment at checkout. No physical item will be sent — the voucher is emailed to you.

If you need to verify your gift voucher balance, please contact our customer service team at [email protected] with your gift voucher number and we’ll be happy to help.

All gift vouchers are valid for 24 months (730 days) from the date of issue.

15. Website Use, Content and Links

The content of this website — including text, images, logos and product descriptions — is owned by or licensed to Countryside Ski & Climb Limited and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. No part of this website may be reproduced or used for commercial purposes without our prior written consent. Requests should be made in writing to the address in section 20.

If you wish to link to our website, please email us with your website address and details of the pages on which you intend to publish our URL; we will endeavour to respond within seven days. We are not responsible for the content of external websites that link to us or to which we link.

16. Our Liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited — including your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Subject to the above, we are responsible for foreseeable loss or damage that is caused by our breach of these Terms or our failure to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for loss or damage that is not foreseeable, and we supply goods for domestic and private use only: we will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption or loss of business opportunity.

17. Events Beyond Our Control

We will not be liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations where that failure or delay results from events beyond our reasonable control — including, for example, industrial action, carrier failure, severe weather, epidemic, fire, flood, or failure of public or private telecommunications networks. If such an event affects your order, we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible and take reasonable steps to minimise the delay. If a substantial delay occurs, you may cancel the affected order and receive a refund for goods paid for but not received.

18. Data Protection and Privacy

We process your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. To fulfil your order, we need information such as your name, address, contact details and payment details. We share your payment details with your card issuer and our payment provider, CitrusPay powered by Adyen, as part of the normal transaction authorisation process, and your name, address and contact details with our authorised delivery carriers so that your goods can be delivered. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Your information is held securely and retained only for as long as necessary. We may be legally obliged to disclose personal data if required by the police or another regulatory or government authority investigating suspected illegal activity. Full details of how we handle your data, and of your rights (including access, rectification and erasure), are set out in our Privacy Policy on this website.

Countryside Ski & Climb Ltd is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration number Z1711535.

19. Complaints, Governing Law and Disputes

If something goes wrong, please contact our customer services team first using the details in section 20 — we aim to respond to emails within one working day and to resolve complaints promptly and fairly.

These Terms, and any contract for the sale of goods made under them, are governed by the law of England and Wales, and any dispute may be brought before the courts of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may instead bring proceedings in the courts of, and rely on the mandatory consumer protections of, your home nation.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

20. Contact and Company Details

Countryside Ski & Climb Limited, trading as Countryside and countryside.co.uk

118–120 High Street, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, SG1 3DW

Registered in England and Wales, company number 2979298. VAT registration number GB 906 4373 27. ICO registration number Z1711535.

Email: [email protected]. Telephone: 0800 298 9975 (UK) or +44 1438 353086 (outside the UK).

We endeavour to respond to customer emails within one working day. Working days are Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.