TERMS & CONDITIONS

1. General conditions

1.1 Unless specifically and expressly agreed by GlobalTQM in writing (hereinafter called “GlobalTQM”), all services provided by GlobalTQM are governed by general terms and conditions of service as following, which are relevant to any purchase terms and conditions. GlobalTQM reserves the right to change the terms and conditions at any time, and by using GlobalTQM services you agree to abide by the most recent version of these terms and conditions each time you use the GlobalTQM website.

1.2 Services that are carried out by GLOBALTQM, on behalf of an entity or individual from whom the instructions to act have originated (hereinafter called the “Principal”) will be carried out by using the processes that permit an independent and objective approach. The result of the Service will consist of a certificate or document (referred to the “Report”) communicating the collection of information GlobalTQM has been requested to supply and will be delivered a written document or an online report to the Principal.

1.3 No other party besides the Principal shall be entitled to give instructions to GlobalTQM, particularly on the scope of inspection or delivery of the Report, unless so authorized by the Principal.

2. Services

2.1 GlobalTQM, in the capacity of an independent third party, supplies information in the form of ascertainment or recommendations for the unique purpose of contributing to the prevention of risks to which the beneficiaries of its Services are exposed, and of helping them assure the quality of their products. GlobalTQM’s services (hereinafter called “Services”) consist of work carried out by GlobalTQM, including but not limited to:

• audit of factories;
• pre-production inspections and quality control of the products;
• pre-shipment inspections and quality control;
• container loading inspections;
• during production inspections;
• various services

3. GlobalTQM’s undertakings and obligations

3.1 GlobalTQM reserves the right to act at its own discretion in accepting or declining a request for Service, and cannot be compelled to accept or be held liable for declining a request for Services:

• Falling out of its scope of activity or specialization;
• Presenting geographical accessibility problems, such as Services to be rendered or products to be found in restricted or highly remote areas;
• Requiring GlobalTQM to obtain special permissions to operate such as governmental permissions.

3.2 GlobalTQM undertakes to provide the Services it has accepted and to carry out in a professional and timely manner, in accordance with proper professional practice and in compliance with:

• The Principal’s special instructions when ordering the Service and as confirmed by GlobalTQM – the terms of reference should be duly signed by the Principal and GlobalTQM – and in the absence of such instructions;
• Any relevant professional standard, trade custom, usage or practice;
• Such methods as GlobalTQM shall consider appropriate on technical, operational and/or financial grounds.

3.3 GlobalTQM shall exercise due care and skill in the selection and assignment of its personnel.

4. Obligations and undertakings

4.1 To take all reasonable steps to assure GlobalTQM has access to the site and materials on which Service will be based;

4.2 To provide GlobalTQM with all information and samples, as well as the documents necessary to complete requested Service, in a timely manner (and in any event not later than 72 hours prior to the required time), except for generally available documents such as codes and standards, either directly or through suppliers or agents of the Principal;

4.3 To insure that adequate instructions and notice are given to GlobalTQM in due time to facilitate proper performance for the Service requested;

4.4 To advise GlobalTQM of the date on which the services are to commence, or to be resumed, and also of essential dates affecting the item(s) for which Services are being rendered;

4.5 Generally to render all reasonable assistance to GlobalTQM in providing necessary instructions, information, documents, safety and security information in connection with the working conditions, required equipment and access (as the case may be).

4.6 Documents reflecting engagements between the Principal and third parties or third parties’ documents – if received by GlobalTQM – are considered to be for information only and do not extend or restrict the scope of the Services or obligations accepted by GlobalTQM.

5. Fees and chargers

5.1 Payment

Payment is expected online upon booking prior to the performance of the Service.

All inspections, audits and testing are billed together in one monthly invoice, issued at the month-end.

GlobalTQM offers two payment solutions, accepting both online and offline payments:

• Online payments: GlobalTQM accepts payments via online service provider Paypal and credit cards. Payments settled via the third party payment processing service are subject to their terms and conditions and payment processing fees.
• You may find these terms and conditions on the website at www.paypal.com (https://www.paypal.com).
• Offline payments: Invoices can be settled offline by transfer (T/T) for an extra cost of 5% for handling fee. Monthly invoices are payable immediately upon receipt, each party bearing their own bank charges. Late payment will incur an interest charge at 2% per month.

5.2 Cancellation charges: we accept cancellation up to 24 hours the day before the projected inspection date. After this time, the Services booked will be charged in full.

GlobalTQM advises its clients to then re-charge this cost to their factory if the factory is proved to be mistaken.

In the case of an order paid online and cancelled, GlobalTQM will credit the buyer’s credit card account with Paypal Refund solution.

For Laboratory Testing (LT) orders, cancellation is not possible once the testing has been launched by the Laboratory.

5.3 In the event that GlobalTQM is being prevented from performing or completing in full requested Services, for any reason beyond its control, such as, but not limited to, wrong information given by Principal or factory (e.g. goods not ready for Inspection despite information given by factory,…), the Principal agrees to:

5.3.1 Reimburse any expenditure, and out of pocket expenses made or incurred in relation to this Service;

5.3.2 Pay proportion of fees due for Services actually rendered and to release GLOBALTQM from all responsibility for partial or non-performance of the Services.

5.4 In the event when the inspection must be cancelled on the projected inspection day, because of wrong information given by the Principal or factory (e.g. goods not ready for inspection despite information given by factory,…), the man-day will be considered spent, and GlobalTQM will charge full fee to the Principal as a ‘missed Inspection’ fee. GlobalTQM advises its clients to then re-charge this cost to their factory if the factory is proved to be mistaken.

5.5 Principal provided inspection sample(s): If an inspection sample is provided by the Principal and is shipped to a GlobalTQM office, and then must be re-forwarded by GlobalTQM to the Principal’s factory, and the shipping charge exceeds $8 USD, then the shipping fee will be automatically added to the final invoice amount.

5.6 For Laboratory Testing (LT) orders:

5.6.1 Should the quotation given online upon order booking vary once the product samples are received and checked by GlobalTQM, it is agreed that: – if the test price increase is less than US$ 100, GlobalTQM will inform the Principal and start the test for quicker processing – if the test price increase is more than US$100, GlobalTQM will seek Principal’s confirmation before starting the test.

6. Indemnification and liability

6.1 Limitation of liability

6.1.1 GlobalTQM is neither an insurer nor a guarantor and disclaims such capacity. Principals seeking a guarantee against loss or damage should obtain appropriate insurance. GlobalTQM can only provide advice in this area.

6.1.2 Subject to the Principal’s instructions as accepted by GlobalTQM (as specified in the terms of reference), GlobalTQM will issue the report relating to the facts as recorded by it within the limits of the instructions received and on the basis of the documents and information provided by the Principal (refer to clause 4 above), but GlobalTQM is under no obligation to report upon any facts or circumstances which are outside the specific scope of its assignment.

6.1.3 GlobalTQM advice is given only in relation to documents and information provided by the Principal, and GlobalTQM cannot be held liable if it has received incomplete or erroneous information.

6.1.4 In the event of false information being given to GlobalTQM by a third party, GlobalTQM accepts no liability.

6.1.5 GlobalTQM undertakes to use its best efforts and to exercise due care and skill in the performance of its Services, and accepts liability limited as per clause 6.2.1 only in case of negligence proven by the Principal.

6.1.6 GlobalTQM does not repack goods following an inspection; this should be performed by the supplier. Should the client request GlobalTQM to repackage the goods, GlobalTQM is not liable for any possible damages or losses incurred related to the repacking process.

6.1.7 Subject to a building structural audit order being placed by the Principal, GlobalTQM will conduct a visual audit of the property’s appearance and will prepare a descriptive report. GlobalTQM shall take no responsibility in the case of damage or loss of assets, injury or death arising from problems with the property construction, the materials or with the equipment and how it is operated.

6.2 Indemnification

6.2.1 In the event of GlobalTQM being held liable in respect to any claim of loss, damage or expense of whatsoever nature and however arising, its liability to the Principal shall in no circumstances exceed two times the total aggregate sum of fees paid for the specific single service for which a claim is made if no approved reference sample was provided by the Principal, and five times if an approved reference sample was provided and available for the inspector at the factory on the day of inspection, or an approved GlobalTQM office two days prior to the scheduled inspection date subject to the inspection having been performed to an AQL minimum general inspection level 2I per product reference.

6.2.2 In addition, in case of the Service of pre-shipment inspections:

• Where less than 100% of the production is complete, our responsibility will only extend to those items completed at the time of inspection;

6.2.3 The Principal shall guarantee and indemnify GlobalTQM and its servants, agents or subcontractors against all claims made by third parties for loss, damage or expense of nature arising, relating to the performance or non-performance of any service, to the extent that the total sum of such claims exceed the limitation of liability mentioned in Article 6.2.1.

6.3 In the event of any claim, notice must be given to GlobalTQM headquarters within seven days following discovery of the facts, or three months from the completion of the GlobalTQM Service.

7. Termination of Service

GlobalTQM shall be entitled to automatically either terminate and/or suspend provision of Services in the event that:

7.1 The Principal commits any material breach of its obligations under these terms and conditions and/or the terms of reference and (if such breach shall be capable of remedy) fails to make good such breach within ten (10) days of receipt of notice served by the GlobalTQM requiring it so to do. Material breaches include, without limitation any willful and deliberate breach by the Principal of its obligations under clause 4 here above;

7.2 The Principal is insolvent or unable to pay its debts, in suspension of payments, or convenes a meeting of or compounds with its creditors or has a receiving order made against it or (other than for the purposes of bona fide amalgamation or reconstruction) has an order made or a resolution passed for its winding up or for the appointment of an administrator to manage its affairs, business and property or has a receiver or administrative receiver appointed over any of its assets or undertaking or if GlobalTQM takes or suffers any similar or analogous action in consequence of debt.

8. Privacy Policy

8.1 Protection of Information

8.1.1 All personal data held by GlobalTQM will be kept confidential except in such cases where disclosure is necessary to satisfy the purpose for which the data was collected. In these cases, information may be supplied to the following parties:

• Any subsidiary, holding company, associated company, affiliate of, or companies controlled by or under common control with GlobalTQM.
• Any individual who is under a duty of confidentiality to GlobalTQM; agreeing to keep such information confidential.
• Any financial institution, charge or credit card issuing company, credit information or reference bureau, or collection agency necessary for establishing and supporting the payment of any services being requested.

8.1.2 Personal data may also be disclosed to any person or persons that have a right to access such information, provided they are able to prove their authority to access such information. For example, if GlobalTQM were served with a court order demanding certain information regarding the principle, then GlobalTQM would disclose the information to the appointed officer of the court.

8.1.3 GLOBALTQM reserves the right to send, either by email, mail or phone, promotional offers on behalf of third party partners that may complete the Services provided by GLOBALTQM; this may include, though is not limited to, sample delivery, web analytics, data analysis, etc. You may opt out at any time by contacting customerservice@GlobalTQM.com (mailto:customerservice@GlobalTQM.com)

8.1.4 Unless explicitly required otherwise, GlobalTQM may use the customer’s company name and logo as exhibits of the work performed.)

8.2 Access to and Correction of Personal Data

8.2.1 To edit your personal and corporate information at any time, write to customerservice@GlobalTQM.com (mailto:customerservice@GlobalTQM.com), and:

• Specify the data which is incorrect, the reason why it is incorrect, and the appropriate corrections.
• Provide proof of identity verifying that the individual making the request is authorized to request such corrections.

8.2.2 GlobalTQM will, upon satisfying itself of the authenticity and validity of the correction request, make every effort to comply with and respond to the request within the shortest period of time. You have the right to request that GlobalTQM delete your account, voluntarily terminating your access to GlobalTQM Services.

8.3 Data Retention

8.3.1 Webmaster will destroy any information it may hold in accordance with our internal retention policy. This policy requires that information will only be retained for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the original or directly-related purpose for which it was collected, unless such information is retained to satisfy any applicable statutory or contractual obligations.

8.4 Electronic Notification

8.4.1 To the extent that we may need to contact you, you agree that we may do so via any electronic means, included but not limited to communication posted on the site, electronic mail, or instant messaging.

8.4.2 If you don’t want to be on our mailing list or limit communications, you can opt out anytime by updating your preferences or email customerservice@GlobalTQM.com (mailto:customerservice@GlobalTQM.com)

8.4.3 Should you have any further queries, don’t hesitate to contact us. Our team will gladly answer any of your questions.

9. Miscellaneous

9.1 The report will reflect findings of the Service at the time and place of Service. This Report does not discharge sellers and suppliers from their legal and/or commercial obligations towards the Principal.

9.2 GlobalTQM is a wholly owned company of Global Regency Limited a Hong Kong registered company, all terms, conditions and liabilities referred to in these terms and conditions extend to Global Regency Limited.

10. Applicable and Governing law, Jurisdiction and settlement of disputes

10.1 Unless otherwise provided, the terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Hong Kong Law.

10.2 All disputes or differences of any kind whatsoever between the parties in connection with or arising out of the Services shall be submitted to the nonexclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Hong Kong.

11. Language

The terms and conditions are in English. In case of discrepancy, the English version shall be controlling for all purposes.