Terms & Conditions

Welcome to TheFoodMarket.com, an online marketplace (the “website”, “platform”) operated by The Food Marketplace Limited, registered under number 8498432 (the “company”, “us”, “we”) with its registered office at 10 Queen Street Place, London, United Kingdom, EC4R 1AG, UK.

By using or accessing the website, you agree to the terms and conditions hereafter, which govern the relationship between The Food Marketplace Limited and each buyer and merchant, as well as the relationship between buyers and merchants. These terms and conditions may change from time to time so please check and read them regularly.

Merchants must adhere to our terms and conditions and in addition have their own terms and conditions. Before making any purchase, please read the ‘Terms & Conditions’ on the merchant’s profile page, which can be accessed by clicking on their name on the product page.

The company provides a platform for the primary purpose of enabling buyers to interact and transact with merchants through the website, operating under TheFoodMarket.com and marketing partner brands, and its services.

1. Terms and conditions for using the platform

1.1 Registration

By registering for an account, listing, selling or buying on the website you confirm that you have understood and accepted these terms and conditions.

You warrant that the information you have supplied as part of the registration process is accurate and that you will notify us of any changes. You are responsible for safeguarding the security of your account, including keeping your password confidential.

Unless agreed by us in writing, all users of the website are limited to one account. A user account’s access will be limited to the domain they signed up on, such as TheFoodMarket.com.

We reserve the right to reject any registration and refuse use of the platform for any reason, at our sole discretion.

1.2 Our role

We provide a platform for the primary purpose of enabling buyers and merchants to interact and transact through the website and its services.

When a buyer purchases from a merchant, a legally binding contract is formed between these parties. For the avoidance of doubt, by accepting TheFoodMarket.com terms and conditions, the buyer will also be accepting the merchant's terms and conditions.

TheFoodMarket.com is not party to the transaction and shall not bear any express or implied liabilities related to the items sold online. We do not possess, check or act as caretakers of any items that are sold by merchants at any time.

Our services are only available to UK customers; therefore a UK address will be required in the registration process.

1.3 Conduct and behaviour

You may only use the website and its services for its primary purpose.

In your interactions, you must at all times remain courteous and polite and not use any nicknames, comments, product descriptions or messages that are obscene, discriminatory, offensive or discourteous.

You are responsible for all data transferred from your systems to our website and services and shall bear all liabilities in any way connected to such data and content.

You must not:

• Use TheFoodMarket.com or any of its services for any unlawful activity;
• Do anything that causes damage or disruption to the website or its services;
• Send malicious information to any party using our services (including viruses, Trojans, adwares, worms, spam);
• Use the website or services for commercial solicitation, or use any data obtained from or via our website without our prior consent;
• Transfer your account to another party without our prior consent;
• Provide us with false, inaccurate or misleading information;
• Attempt to manipulate transactions or tamper with the website in any way.

1.4 Use of data

In the course of our operation we collect data from buyers and merchants. You accept that your personal data may be shared between buyers and merchants for the sole purpose of facilitating the sale, purchase and fulfilment of orders on the website as per our Privacy Policy.

Merchants agree to fully comply with the General Data Protection Regulation and use buyers’ information solely for the purpose of completing transactions and not store buyers’ data subsequently or pass it on to third parties.

Please review our Privacy Policy in full for details on how your personal data is used.

1.5 Disclaimer of warranties

We do not represent or warrant that the website will be error-free, uninterrupted, free from third party attacks or otherwise available at all times to meet your requirements.

THIS SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. THEFOODMARKET.COM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER STATUTORY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, THAT THE INFORMATION, CONTENT, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE AS REPRESENTED BY SELLERS, FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF LISTING, COMPLIANT WITH APPLICABLE REGULATIONS, FREE FROM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INFRINGEMENT, OR THAT SELLERS AND BUYERS WILL PERFORM AS THEY HAVE AGREED.

Merchants who provide product data and make products available for sale through TheFoodMarket.com website shall be bound by our terms and conditions in addition to their own. Any representations and/or warranties regarding their products shall be solely binding upon them.

Where a dispute arises between, or out of buyers and merchants activity on the website, each party expressly agrees to waive any subsidiary or recourse claims against TheFoodMarket.com and further agrees to hold TheFoodMarket.com harmless from any claims that may be in any way connected with such dispute.

1.6 Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAWS, THEFOODMARKET.COM EXCLUDES LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF THE WEBSITE INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DIRECT, INDIRECT OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS LOSS OF DATA AND ANY CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS, CLAIMS OR REMEDIES IN TORT, WHETHER OR NOT ARISING FROM ITS NEGLIGENCE.

This Agreement shall not exclude liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence, or any liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.

1.7 Force Majeure

Neither we nor the merchants will be obliged to fulfil the responsibilities detailed in the terms and conditions in circumstances beyond reasonable control. These include but are not limited to earthquakes, floods, fire, plague or other natural disasters, terrorism, riots, civil disturbances, war, strikes, nuclear or chemical contamination, failure of public infrastructure, national emergency, inclement weather or acts of God. Duties and obligation will be postponed for the period of the Force Majeure.

2. Merchant terms and conditions

2.1 Conditions of sale

In order to ensure that the platform promises to customers are maintained, conditions applicable for merchants to be able to sell on the platform may vary from time to time. These are specified as part of the merchant registration process. By registering and listing products for sale on the platform you agree that you and your products comply with the criteria to sell on the platform.

2.2 Listing

By uploading product and listing quantities for sale on the platform you agree that you are legally entitled to sell the products listed and that the descriptions are accurate, not ambiguous or misleading, and that the items are in fact available for delivery to all buyers.

It is your responsibility to ensure the sale and distribution of items is not in breach of any applicable laws and that no regulatory restrictions or specific duties apply to such items. TheFoodMarket.com shall not be responsible for verifying your right to list and sell products, or whether the sale of such products is prohibited or deemed illegal. TheFoodMarket.com reserves the right to remove from listings, without prior notice to the merchant, any product whose sale becomes illegal or controversial in the UK.

You must ensure your products listed:

• do not infringe any third party intellectual property and you have all necessary licences or approvals in order to sell your products to the buyers on the website;
• are labelled and packaged in compliance with the Food Standards Agency regulations where applicable, and that the nutritional labelling includes mandatory ingredient statements as well as the relevant warnings where products contain major food allergens.

By listing a product for sale at a price you agree that you will supply the product at that price to buyers on the website. The price listed must be in £ sterling currency only and include all applicable taxes. Postage costs can be charged in addition per shipment and should include costs to ship to anywhere in the UK.

We reserve the right to terminate any listings that are in breach of our terms and conditions and remove any products at our reasonable discretion.

We reserve the right to promote your products to consumers and businesses outside our platform. For the avoidance of doubt, the same terms shall apply to all sales made by us on or our our platform. The same payment terms shall also apply for you, unless otherwise agreed.

2.3 Warranties

You must provide customers with clear and accurate information regarding all products listed, as well as all consumer statutory rights and warranties, whether expressed or implied, which shall solely be borne by you.

YOU ACCEPT TO BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PRODUCTS’ QUALITY, FEATURES, SAFETY, ADEQUATE PACKAGING, NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION CONTAINED ON LABELS OR ADVERTISED ONLINE, NAMES, MARKS, STANDARD LABELS AND ANY PRODUCT RELATED INFORMATION THAT MAY BE REQUIRED OR EXPECTED BY CUSTOMERS. ANY DISCLAIMERS, NOTICES, WARNINGS OR PRODUCT RESTRICTIONS MUST BE CLEARLY STATED.

You undertake to address any issues raised by customers, including, but not limited to, complaints and refunds in a timely and effective manner.

2.4 Intellectual property

By listing on the website, you grant us, our affiliates and marketing partners a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right to exercise all copyright, database rights and rights of publicity over the material displayed in your product information and listings that you provide to us in any existing media now or in the future.

2.5 Our fees

A commission fee is charged per order for the use of the platform. This is communicated during the merchant registration process.

By listing products on the website you agree to pay all such applicable fees.

2.6 Payments

Your sales proceeds will be paid after the end of each month for orders dispatched during the previous month, net of the above referred fees and percentages due, as well as of any refunds owed to customers pursuant to statutory regulations.

For the avoidance of doubt, any such refunds will be processed by us and deducted from your sales proceeds.

2.7 Sales and refunds

Orders you receive on the website must only be paid by the buyer through the website’s payment facilities operated by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd, PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. and Viva Payment Services S.A..

You are responsible for all risk and liability related to supplying the order to the buyer and must endeavour to dispatch the item in a timely manner with a speed of dispatch at least as favourable as your declared dispatch speed during your account registration process.

Customers will be entitled to return any products that fail to meet specifications or are unfit for consumption. The buyer has 14 days in which to notify the merchant of their request to cancel the order, starting the day after the goods have been received. Some items are not eligible for returns and refunds and these are stated in clause 3.3.

Any refunds will amount to the price of the item plus shipping costs and will be offset from your payment as per clause 2.6.

Your returns and refund policy must adhere to TheFoodMarket.com's.

2.8 VAT

It is your responsibility to ensure your products listed include all applicable taxes to deliver good to buyers, including customs and excise duty, VAT and any other applicable taxes. You are responsible for accounting for all taxes due relating to the sale of your products on our website.

2.9 Customer communication

You may not directly communicate with or target marketing (including any statements of your own company website domain) at any customers of TheFoodMarket.com, via any means, except for responding to direct messages regarding product queries or orders via our platform. This includes but is not limited to: promotional leaflets in packaging, promotional emails, including email signatures or footers with marketing messages, and order acknowledgement or dispatch emails.

2.10 Termination

We will monitor merchants' performance very closely and may reasonably request further information about you or your business activities from time to time. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account if you fail to provide us with such information, or if your business conduct or use of the service is detrimental to the quality of the platform in a manner that results in or may result in complaints, disputes, claims, reversals, chargebacks, fees, fines, penalties and other liability or otherwise harmful to our business operation or abusive to buyers.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account if you are in breach of the terms and conditions without notice.

3. Buyer terms and conditions

3.1 Purchase

To make a purchase from the website you must register for an account as a buyer. Your use of the website implies your acceptance of our terms and conditions and Privacy Policy.

Purchases you make from a merchant on the website must only be paid through the website’s payment facility. We accept payments using Visa, Mastercard or American Express cards. We will process the payment for your purchase from the merchant and pass the proceeds on to the merchant. We reserve the right to refuse to process any transaction for any reason at our sole discretion.

When you place an order, you authorise our technical partner Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. to take payment for the purchase price and are deemed to transact subject to the merchant’s terms and conditions. An order is deemed to be accepted by the merchant when you receive an email confirmation that order has been dispatched.

3.2 Limitation of liability

THEFOODMARKET.COM DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SELLERS, SUCH AS NUTRITION, INGREDIENT, ALLERGEN AND OTHER PRODUCT INFORMATION IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE. THEFOODMARKET.COM SHALL NOT BEAR ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE OR LOSS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO ANY USE, CONTINUED USE OF ANY PRODUCTS OFFERED FOR SALE OR RELIANCE ON ANY ADVERTISEMENT DISPLAYED ON THE WEBSITE.

In no event shall TheFoodMarket.com be held liable for online advertisements, editorial features or recommendations about diets and/or particular products or services that may be suggested for particular purposes or expectations. No such representations or recommendations that may be displayed on TheFoodMarket.com should serve as a substitute for professional advice.

You should not rely solely on the information presented on the website. We recommend that you contact the merchant directly in case you have a specific dietary concern or question regarding a product.

3.3 Refunds

You have 14 days in which to notify the merchant of your request to cancel the order, starting the day after the goods have been received. For the avoidance of doubt, it is not possible to return baby food and milk, or frozen, perishable or custom-made food or drinks unless they are supplied in breach of applicable regulations. Please check the merchant’s terms and conditions before making a purchase to avoid disappointment.

If the goods are eligible for a return and refund, they must be returned to the merchant within 14 days of your notification of cancellation. We recommend that proof of postage be obtained. The items must be returned in their original undamaged packaging and labels, together with any accessories, booklets or free gifts.

If the goods have been handled unnecessarily, other than to establish their nature, character and function, you will be liable for any diminished value, which will be deducted by the merchant from the reimbursement.

We have the right to decline or cancel any orders placed where prices or information appear to be incorrect, due to typographical error or otherwise, whether or not the order has been confirmed. In case such cancellation occurs after your credit card was charged, we will issue an immediate and full refund for the transaction amount to the payment method used.

3.4 Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account if you are in breach of the terms and conditions without notice.

4. No partnership or agency

Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to create a partnership, joint venture or agency relationship between the parties.

5. Disputes

Whilst we are not party to the transaction, we may try to help users resolve disputes.

Where a buyer and merchant are unable to resolve a dispute resulting from a transaction that occurred on the platform, they may resort to us by contacting us at hello@thefoodmarket.com or via the contact form here.

For the avoidance of doubt, we have no obligation to resolve disputes and will consider to do so in our sole discretion and based solely on our policies.

You release TheFoodMarket.com (and TheFoodMarket.com's directors, officers, employees and representatives) from any and all claims, demands, damages, including consequential loss of every kind and nature arising out of or in any way connected with disputes between buyers and merchants or external parties.

6. Jurisdiction

This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any matters arising in connection to this agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.