Terms & Conditions of Service

Bournemouth IT Solutions Ltd, trading as Bournemouth IT Solutions or bits; hereinafter referred to as "we", "us" and "bits". bits is a limited company specialized in Apple and Mac repairs, registered in England, number 7216794 with its registered office at: 117 Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth. BH1 1EP.

The customers of bits may include individuals, unincorporated businesses, partnerships, limited companies, and other organizations or anyone requiring the services of bits; hereinafter referred to as "the customer".

"Item" within this document refers to any article, software, hardware, and associated accessories or other tangible objects belonging to the customer that is the subject of any discussion with bits. Item is also inferred to be singular or plural.

(a) Withdrawal of Services: bits reserves the right to withdraw offers and services at any time at its discretion, including any free services.

(b) Nationwide Deliveries: bits operates as a nationwide service for all customers across the UK. We use Royal Mail or courier services to handle deliveries. For items returned via Royal Mail, Special Delivery by 1pm is used with a standard £750 insurance. Additional cover up to £2,500 is available. Claims for damage or loss during transit must be made with the courier.

(c) Repair Times: Repair times are not guaranteed and are only a rough timeframe – our colleagues will do their best to provide a time estimate, however, this may not be met depending on service availability, the complexity of repair, and such.

Some repairs may require the re-installation of your item's operating system. This involves wiping your hard disk clean and re-installing the operating system back to the point when your item was first purchased. We will contact you prior to doing this, but if you require your data to be backed up prior to the wipe and restored back to your item once the operating system has been re-installed, please let us know.

bits strongly recommends that all customers backup their computerised data before any item is given to or left with bits for any repair. If required, bits can backup data on its premises before any work commences, if it is possible, but cannot guarantee this. bits will in no way be responsible for any loss of business, data, files, pictures, information, programs, or software. The customer is fully responsible for backing up such data.

Please note, failure of your hard disk, Solid State Drive 'SSD' or any other components inside your item can occur without warning during our intensive diagnostics. Virus and malware infections, corrupted operating systems can also damage your data and could lead to unpredictable problems and result in data loss.

Data Recovery: bits cannot guarantee the full recovery of customer's data when recovering data from failed, unhealthy, or damaged hard drives, or any other storage devices. However, the customer will still be liable to pay the full price, even if only part of the data is recovered (we may lower the cost at our discretion).

Liquid Damage: Please note that while we take every possible step to repair your liquid-damaged device, we cannot remove all traces of liquid. If Apple or another service provider opens the device after our repair, they may still find traces of liquid. While these traces are not consequential to the functionality of your device, they may still be visible upon detailed inspection.

It's important to understand that liquid damage can never be completely rectified. Due to the nature of liquid damage, it is possible for the damage to cause additional issues over time, even after repairs have been made. This includes the risk of further complications arising when the device is powered on or while it is in transit to us for diagnosis or repair.

We cannot be held responsible for any further issues that develop while the device is in our possession, where those issues are attributable to pre-existing liquid damage. Liquid can gradually corrode internal components, leading to intermittent or permanent failures over time.

By proceeding with the repair, you acknowledge the risks associated with liquid-damaged devices and understand that further issues may occur that are beyond our control. This is not unique to our services, and applies with any company repairing a liquid damaged item.

bits offers a one-year guarantee on Mac repairs (see below for exclusions). This guarantee covers our workmanship and any parts we supply and fit. It does not cover the device, rather only the parts that we have worked on and/or fitted - for example, if we repair your display and your logic board fails, this is not covered by our warranty as this issue could not have been caused by the services rendered and parts fitted. Our guarantee does not cover pre-existing faults with the device that have arisen.

bits offers guarantees only on hardware repairs; we do not warranty software as issues that develop with software are not within our control. Issues caused by viruses, malware infections, problems with operating systems, software/applications, faults arising from accidental/physical damage (e.g. cracked screen) or incorrect use of the product are not covered by our guarantees.

Exclusions:

• Accidental Damage: Any physical damage such as drops, cracks, or water damage after the repair is not covered.
• Unauthorised Repairs: If the device is opened or tampered with by anyone else after your repair, the warranty is void.
• Software Issues: Viruses, malware, or operating system corruption is not covered under the warranty.
• Battery Life: Warranties exclude natural battery degradation over time - our warranty covers the ability of the battery to hold a charge and deliver sufficient power to the device.
• External Devices: Issues with peripherals (chargers, cables, etc.) are not covered.

Screen Repairs on 14"/16" MacBook Pro: The 14" and 16" MacBook models (Models A2442, A2779, A2485, A2780) feature a serialised chipset soldered to the display (LCD panel), which is linked directly to the logic board, as an anti-repair mechanism. We transplant the serialised chipset to mitigate display artifacts. Given the sensitive nature of this chip, we cannot guarantee the avoidance of display issues on these models.

LCD Screens: Our guarantee does not cover any physical damage to displays. Glass cannot break without an external force applied to it. Camera covers should NOT be used in any circumstance as they can damage the screen or trackpad.

Our screen repairs comply with the ISO 13406-2 standard for acceptable defect levels.

Postage: Postage costs are fully covered under our warranty for nationwide customers. However, if the issue is found to be outside the scope of the warranty, a £30 fee will apply. If you choose not to proceed with a paid repair, a £49 fee will be charged.

Any item not collected within 90 days will be disposed of if prior arrangements have not been made. bits is not responsible for any data loss from unclaimed items.

bits accepts payment by bank transfer or card. Any item received for repair will remain the property of bits until the invoice is paid in full. In accordance with Tappenden v Artus [1964] 2 QB 185, we retain the legal right to hold the customer's property as a 'lien' until payment is received in full.

We provide nationwide service using Royal Mail and couriers across the UK. For items returned via Royal Mail, Special Delivery by 1pm is used with a standard £750 insurance. Additional cover up to £2,500 is available. Delivery/Collection date is never guaranteed.

In the unlikely event that a parcel is lost or damaged in transit, it is insured up to £750. Circumstances where Royal Mail will not cover loss or damage:

1. Unscanned Parcels (On Their Way to Us)
2. Label Tampering (Fraud)
3. Safe Place Deliveries (On Their Way to You)
4. Damage During Transit (To Us) - inadequate packaging
5. Loss Claims Process - can take minimum two weeks

Any item not collected within 90 days will be disposed of. We comply with all legal requirements regarding the handling of stolen goods under the Theft Act 1968.

bits will not share the customer's data with any third party without prior consent. All data will be processed in accordance with GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

When data is stored on our servers, it is encrypted to AES 256 standard. Once data is transferred and no longer needed, it is deleted securely to the HMG Infosec Standard 5.

For T2 Chip devices (MacBook Air 2018-2020, MacBook Pro 13" 2020, MacBook Pro 15" 2018-2019, MacBook Pro 16" 2019, Mac mini 2018), we require a password to perform diagnostics.

Subject Access Requests must be sent to [email protected]. bits has 30 calendar days to respond.

We use CCTV, audio, and video recording technology on our premises for:

• Safety of colleagues, customers, and visitors
• Prevention and detection of crime
• Investigation of accidents, incidents, and claims
• Records of transactions and contract details

Storage: CCTV footage stored for up to 60 days. Telephone recordings stored for up to 3 years.

At BITS, your satisfaction is our top priority. To submit a complaint, please contact us in writing at [email protected]. We aim to respond within 72 hours.

bits accepts no liability in respect of any problem(s) it may not be able to remedy due to any matter beyond its control. Under no circumstances shall bits be liable for any injury or damages, including direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages.