1. These terms and conditions together with any specific rules set out in Competition Notices and Competition Information (as defined below) are the Competition Rules (“Rules”) and apply to any competition on the QMetric Group Ltd or its subsidiary, Ventures, “Sites” (including www.policyexpert.co.uk) (“Competition”), unless otherwise expressly stated.
2. Rules specific to the Competition are displayed in the Competition Notice located on the Competition webpage. In the event of differences or discrepancy between these terms and conditions and the Competition Notice, the Competition Notice shall prevail.
3. By entering the Competition, entrants accept these terms and conditions and the Competition Rules together with any other rules relating to the Competition, howsoever communicated to the entrants (“Competition Information”). Such Competition Information shall prevail in the event that there is any inconsistency between these terms and conditions and the Competition Information.
4. QMetric Group Ltd, or its subsidiary Ventures, (“QMetric”) reserve the right to cancel or amend the Competition, Competition Notice, Competition Information, or these terms and conditions without prior notice. Any changes to the Competition will be notified to the entrants either within these terms and conditions, the Competition Notice or the Competition Information, as appropriate, at QMetric’s sole discretion.
5. In the event of any dispute regarding the Rules, conduct, results and all other matters relating to a Competition, the decision of QMetric shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into in that regard.
Qualifying Entrants
6. The Competition is open to all residents of the UK, which comprises England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. For the avoidance of doubt, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are not part of the UK for these purposes. QMetric reserves the right to require competition winners to produce proof of their UK resident status, showing that they have been physically present in the UK for 183 days or more in the previous or current tax year. If any winner is unable to prove their UK resident status, QMetric reserves the right to select an alternative winner.
7. Where a Competition is open to entrants from outside the UK, as will be expressly stated in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information, you are not permitted to enter the Competition if you are resident in a country or jurisdiction in which the Competition breaches or may breach any local legislation or regulations.
8. There is no minimum or maximum entrant age limit except where specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. Entrants under the age of 18 may not enter the Competition without the express consent of their parents, who by providing such consent agree to be bound by the Rules on behalf of the entrant. Where the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information states that the Competition is only open to a specific age group, you hereby warrant that you are the appropriate age to enter the Competition.
9. Where the Competition prize involves travel of any description, winners under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
10. QMetric reserves the right to verify the eligibility of an entrant at any time, and may use any channels and methods available to carry out checks of any details provided. Entrants may only enter the competition in their own name.
11. Employees and members of their immediate families (including any live-in partner or household member) of any of the following may not enter the Competition:
a. Companies within QMetric Group Ltd;
b. QMetric Group Ltd’s subsidiary, Ventures;
c. Any company involved in the organisation, management, promotion, or administration of the competition or its entry routes or donation of prizes or their agents or subsidiaries;
d. Any company involved in any capacity in the production or sponsorship of a programme to which the Competition relates.
12. Any additional eligibility requirements necessary to enter the Competition are set out in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information.
13. By entering the Competition, you hereby warrant that all information submitted by you is accurate, current and complete. Entrants also warrant that they are the copyright owners of any copyright material submitted, for example photographs and drawings, and QMetric’s use of such material will not infringe the rights of any third party.
14. QMetric reserves the right to disqualify any entrant if it has reasonable grounds to believe that the entrant has breached has breached any of the Rules.
Competition Entries
15. Unless stated otherwise in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information, you may enter the Competition as many times as you like. However in the event that a winner has been selected and QMetric discovers, or has reasonable grounds to believe, that the winner has used software or any other such automated process either to answer questions or to submit bulk entries, QMetric reserves the right to select an alternative winner in accordance with the Rules..
16. Competition entries must be made in the manner and by the closing date and time specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. Any entries received before the opening and after the closing of the Competition will be invalid and will not be entered.
17. As indicated in the Competition Notice and/or the Competition Information, some Competitions are only open to registered users of the Sites. There is no purchase requirement to enter any Competition and there is no charge for registration.
18. Entry to the Competition may only be made through the applicable method(s) indicated in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. Not all of the following methods of entry may be available for entry to the relevant Competition. The following terms and conditions will apply where the method is indicated as being available. Where entrants pay entry fee, they must have the permission of the bill payer before entering, otherwise the entry will be invalid.
a. Telephone entry
Where specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information as an available method of entry to the Competition, telephone entrants are required to call the telephone number as indicated in the Rules, and follow the instructions in the recorded message. The charge for the call will be indicated in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information and is based on the cost of a call from a BT fixed network line. The cost of entering from other networks will vary and will cost considerably more from mobiles. It is the entrant’s responsibility to check the cost of the call with their network provider before entering any Competition. Telephone entries received after the notified competition closing time will not be valid but may still be charged.
Where entry into the Competition requires entrants to make a premium rate telephone call, the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information will include details of the estimated length of the call and its anticipated cost In such circumstances, entry may also be made by post in accordance with clause 18(d) of these terms and conditions, below.
b. Text (“SMS”) entry
Where specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information as an available method of entry to the Competition, SMS entrants are required to send a text to the short code or number as indicated in the Rules. Texts received by QMetric will be charged at the standard operator rate, which will vary depending on the entrant’s mobile network provider. Text messages sent by return from QMetric to the entrant’s mobile in acknowledgement of receipt of an entry (“Text Acknowledgement”) may be subject to a charge as set out in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. Please check with the relevant mobile network provider as to what standard network charge will apply prior to entering any Competition via SMS. In the event that the entrant has insufficient funds, credits or capacity on their mobile handset (as applicable) for the Text Acknowledgement to be successful sent by QMetric and received by the entrant within 72 hours of the original entry submission, the entry will be invalid.
Entries sent by SMS received after the notified competition closing time will be invalid and will not be entered in the Competition, In such circumstances, QMetric accepts no liability for any SMS entry charges incurred, regardless of whether the entry is received before the Competition closing time and the entrant will not be entitled to a a refund of the standard network charge imposed by their mobile network in respect if the SMS entry.
c. Web entry
Where specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information as an available method of entry to the Competition, web entrants are required to follow the instructions on the Sites as indicated in the Rules. Entrants will receive an email confirming entry to the Competition upon completion of the entry process. Web entrants may be required to supply their name, email address, contact telephone number and other such details. In the event that entrants are required to pay to enter to make a web entry, they are required to use the relevant payment service indicated in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. Entrants must read and accept the terms and conditions relating to the online entry pay service as contained in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information before proceeding with such a web entry. Proof of posting will not be accepted as proof of delivery.
d. Postal Entry
Where specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information as an available method of entry to the Competition, postal entrants may enter the Competition by sending a postcard with their answer (if applicable), full name, postal and/or email address and a contact telephone number (or such contact details as are required by the Rules) to: [Name of Competition] Competition, QMetric Group, 32-38 Dukes Place, London, EC3A 7LP.
Each postal entry must bear a stamp of the correct postage value but QMetric makes no additional charge for postal entries. Any postal entry received in respect of which insufficient postage has been paid will be invalid and will not be entered into the Competition. Entries sent by post must be delivered by the specified closing date (and time if applicable) for entries. Postal entries are deemed to be received upon arrival at the address as indicated above. Personal and hand deliveries will not be accepted (unless specified otherwise in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information). QMetric does not accept responsibility for any incorrectly addressed or undelivered entries or for any damage to or disruption, delay or misdirection of postal entries. Proof of posting will not be accepted as proof of delivery. In the event that there are substantial disruptions or delays to postal services for reasons beyond the entrants’ and/or QMetric’s control, for example due to adverse weather conditions or postal strikes, QMetric reserves the right (but is under no obligation) to postpone the closing date for postal entries at is sole discretion.
e. E-mail entry
Where specified as an available method of entry to the Competition, e-mail entrants by sending an e-mail with the information indicated in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information to the e-mail address specified therein. There is no charge for e-mail entries. Entrants may receive a message confirming their entry to the Competition. Proof of entry submission, such as an email read-receipt, will not be accepted as proof of delivery. QMetric does not accept responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect or delay in operation or transmission occurring as a result of communication line failures, server malfunctions, technical issues, virus, bugs or other such cause beyond QMetric’s control.
19. Entrants should note that unless stated otherwise in the Rules, QMetric does not accept responsibility for the return of any entries, including those consisting of artistic or other material.
Prizes
20. The prize is as specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. Where the prize involves the winner travelling (and their companion(s) if applicable) may be required to hold a valid passport and/or other necessary travel documentation and visas. Where the prize necessitates travel on a specific date, the winner (and their companion(s) where applicable) must be able to travel on the date specified by QMetric and no alternative dates will be available. Where there are multiple people travelling, the winner and their companion(s) must travel at the same time on the same itinerary. Where the prize involves travel or another experience on a date and/or destination to be chosen by the winner, the date and/or destination chosen is subject to availability and the prize must be taken within 12 months of the winner being notified of their win, unless otherwise specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. The winner must provide QMetric with their preferred date and/or destination within 28 days of being notified of their win. QMetric will use reasonable endeavours to arrange the prize for the winner’s preferred date and/or destination, but these are subject to availability and QMetric reserves the right to require the winner to take the prize on alternative dates and/or to an alternative destination of QMetric’s choice. Where the prize involves travel to a destination outside of the UK, QMetric will use reasonable endeavours to arrange direct flights from an airport conveniently located for the winner but may require the winner to fly from a London airport. The winner is solely responsible for travel to and from the UK airport specified by QMetric and all insurance, applicable taxes and for any costs, expenses and charges not specified as being included with the prize in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. All prizes are subject to the terms and conditions or the manufacturer or supplier of the same.
21. Prize winners will be chosen at random from all correct entries (for competitions involving answering questions) or from all submitted entries (where creative or artistic merit or other subjective criteria apply) within 28 days of the Competition closing date, unless specified otherwise in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. Prize draw prizes will be awarded in accordance with the law of chance and, if required by law or regulation, under the observation of an independent observer. Tie-breaker entries and entries requiring a subjective assessment in the selection of winning entries will be judged from all valid entries by QMetric or, if required by law or regulation, by an independent judge or a panel including one member who is independent of the competition’s promoters or intermediaries. In all matters, the decision of QMetric, the judge(s) or the panel, as appropriate, shall be final and no correspondence or discussion shall be entered into in that regard.
22. Should more prizes be claimed than are available for any reason, a simple prize draw will take place for the available prize(s). If more than one prize is awarded only one prize per entrant will be awarded.
23. Prize winners will be notified in the mode of communication and within the time frame specified in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information. The winner will have a specified fixed time period within which to claim the prize. If QMetric is unable to notify the winner, or if the winner fails to respond within the fixed time period as specified and/or provide an address for delivery of the prize, this may result in forfeiture of the prize and QMetric reserves the right to select an alternate winner in accordance with the Rules. Competition winner(s)’ names may be published on the website or you can write to: Competition Prize Winners, QMetric Group, 32-38 Dukes Place, London, EC3A 7LP naming the specific Competition including a self-addressed stamped envelope for a list of winners
24. QMetric may in its sole discretion refuse to provide a prize, or seek its recovery, in the event of non-entitlement under the Rules or an entrant’s breach of the Rules, the Sites’ terms of use, fraud, dishonesty, or other inappropriate or improper conduct including but not limited to the use of technology which enables an entrant to evade charges when entering the Competition or the improper use of technology when entering the Competition, for example submitting a computer generated drawing where a human drawing is required. Where the Competition requires the entrant to be a registered user of the Site, QMetric reserves the right to refuse to provide a prize in the event that the winner’s Site account has been cancelled for any reason and/or the winner has been banned from registering a new Site account for any reason.
25. Where a prize may not be appropriate for a younger contestant, the minimum age for entry will be stated in the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information and must be observed. QMetric reserves the right to request any winner to produce proof of their age where appropriate.
26. QMetric reserves the right in its sole discretion to withhold delivery of the prize until sure proof of eligibility and identity as may be required by the Completion Notice and/or the Competition Information is confirmed or, in the event that such proof is not produced by the entrant on request, to disqualify the entrant from the Competition.
27. An entrant who enters, or attempts to enter, the Competition in a manner that is, in QMetric’s determination, contrary to the Rules or by its very nature is unjust to other entrants (including, without limitation, tampering with the operation of the competition, hacking, cheating, deception, or any other unfair playing practices such as intending to annoy, abusing, threatening or harassing any other entrants or QMetric and/or any of its agents and representatives) may be rejected from the Competition at QMetric’s sole discretion.
28. QMetric reserves the right to modify, cancel, terminate or suspend the Competition in whole or in part, at its sole discretion, if it believes that the Competition is not capable of being conducted as specified in the Rules or in the event of a virus, bug or unauthorised human intervention or any other cause that is beyond the reasonable control of QMetric and that may have the effect of corrupting or affecting the administration, security, impartiality, or normal course of the Competition.
29. Prizes are non-transferable and there is no cash alternative. In certain circumstances, an alternative prize may be offered. Such circumstances include (but are not limited to) the prize being inappropriate to the age of the winner and the prize being no longer available. QMetric reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time.
Use of Entries, Intellectual Property and Data Protection
30. By entering the Competition the entrants grant to QMetric a non-exclusive world wide right to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, make derivative works or podcasts from, edit, alter, store, re-format, sell and sub-licence the entry at their sole discretion.
31. The first name and surname of the winner may be published on the Site. QMetric (or any third party nominated by QMetric) may exercise its sole discretion to use the winner’s (and, if applicable, their companion’s) name, address, image, audio and video recordings, and comments relating to the prize and Competition experience for future promotional, marketing and publicity purposes in any media worldwide without notice and without any fee being paid.
32. QMetric does not guarantee that it shall use or otherwise make available any entry. Group may also, in appropriate circumstances, and at its sole discretion, reject, edit, remove or disable access to entries that appear to be legally or otherwise problematic. Such entries include (but are not limited to) those that infringe the copyright or other intellectual property or privacy rights of others and those that are defamatory, libellous obscene, indecent, harassing or threatening.
33. Information, data and the caller line identity (“Personal Data”) which is provided by entrants may be held and used by QMetric and their suppliers and contractors in order to administer the Competition. Entrants Personal Data may also be passed to their mobile phone network or to relevant regulatory bodies including PhonepayPlus, the police or other authorities in the course of the investigation of any complaints or suspected unlawful activity or where requested by the phone provider in connections with the billing arrangements for the Competition. Aggregate, non-personal data may also be used for the purpose of undertaking market research or in facilitating reviews, developments and improvements to relevant services.
34. Any personal data will only otherwise be used in accordance with QMetric’s privacy policy which can be viewed at: http://www.policyexpert.co.uk/about-us/privacy-policy/
Liability
35. Nothing in these terms and conditions shall exclude or limit QMetric’s liability for death and personal injury caused by their staff or suppliers’ negligence or fraud. QMetric cannot accept any responsibility for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment suffered by any entrant entering the Competition or as a result of accepting any prize. QMetric is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment or software, failure of any email or entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, telephone lines or at any web site, or any combination of these, including any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer or mobile telephone related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in the Competition.
36. QMetric cannot guarantee that the services relating to the Competition will be free from errors or omissions nor that they will be available uninterrupted and in a fully operating condition. The services may be suspended temporarily and without notice in the case of system failure, maintenance or repair and for reasons reasonably beyond the control of QMetric. QMetric will not be liable in the event that all or any part of the service relating to the competition is discontinued, modified or changed in any way.
Standard Terms
37. In the event that any entrant does not, or is unable to, comply with and meet these terms and conditions and the Competition Notice and/or Competition Information, QMetric shall be entitled at its sole discretion to disqualify such entrant without incurring any liability. In such circumstances, any prize(s) won by the entrant may be forfeited and QMetric reserves the right to reclaim any prize(s) already distributed to the entrant. Any entrant hereby agrees to comply with any directions given to them by QMetric in relation to any relevant laws, rules and regulations, and where applicable, the PhonepayPlus Code of Practice.
38. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision in these terms and conditions shall not affect the enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these terms and conditions shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.
39. Please note that calls may be recorded to ensure that the Competition entries are captured as well as for staff training and quality control purposes.
40. The promoter of the Competition is by QMetric Group Ltd or its subsidiary Ventures of 32-38 Dukes Place, London, EC3A 7LP. QMetric can be contacted in relation to any Competition by writing to the Head of Marketing, QMetric Group, 32-38 Dukes Place, London, EC3A 7LP or by emailing ask@policyexpert.co.uk.
41. These terms and conditions were last updated on 21 March 2011.
Jurisdiction
42. The Competition and Rules are governed by the law of England and Wales and, as such, any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. The Sites are only intended to be accessed from the United Kingdom. QMetric Group makes no representation that materials on the Site relating to this Competition are appropriate or available for use at other locations and access to them from territories where their contents are illegal is strictly prohibited. If you access the Site outside of the United Kingdom, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws.