TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

 DEFINITIONS:

  • “the Company” refers to truffle field Ltd (company number 10398048).

  • “the Client” refers to the person or organisation that commissions work from the Company.

  • “Participant” refers to any person participating in any market research event recruited by or on behalf of the Company.

  • “International 3rd party research partners” refers to recruitment and/or full-service qualitative agencies based outside of the UK.

By commissioning the company, the client agrees and is subject to the following terms and conditions:

QUOTATIONS:

  • UK only quotations are valid for 1 month from date of submission. The company reserves the right to revise quotations after this date.

  • International quotations are valid for 3 weeks from date of submission. The company reserves the right to revise quotations after this date.

  • In providing international quotes, the company will not be liable for any change in exchange rate.

  • Quotes are provided on the information given by the client at the time of the request, if the recruitment criteria or scope of the intended project changes the company reserves the right to revise the quotation given to accommodate the new details provided.

  • Initial quotes given are intended to provide an outline of the costs that would be charged by the Company for the project described by the Client. Whilst it is unusual for the Company not to be able to provide the recruitment services outlined it will depend entirely on the final specification and timing.  

  • The company will endeavour to assess the feasibility of the project prior to quotation, however, in some cases, this may not be possible until fieldwork has commenced in which case the client will be immediately informed.

  • Quotations are given in GBP, but the company may also show costs in local market currencies for reference.

 

INTERNATIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT: 

  • All international 3rd party research partners and venues are to bill the client directly and payment to be made as per their terms and conditions by the client.

  • The client will be the commissioning client for all international 3rd party research partners, the company are not affiliated with any of the named research providers in their given proposals and will not be liable if any disputes arise during fieldwork or with regards to deliverables. The company provides an independent project management service and accepts no liability or responsibility for the quality of the services provided by the 3rd party research parties such as, but not limited to, recruitment, moderation, simultaneous translation, viewing facilities. 

  • The company will use international 3rd party research parties they deem suitable for the clients project needs, if the client would like to use a specific 3rd party research partner they should inform the company at the point of the quotation request.

  • The company will not be held liable if international 3rd party research partner costs inflate due to change in sample, methodology or due to any additional costs that may be incurred in market for which costs had not originally been asked for (i.e. taxis, stimulus production, stimulus translation).

  • It is the client’s responsibility to ensure the sample and screening criteria is correct for their recruitment / project needs.

 

UK RECRUITMENT:

  • It is the client’s responsibility to ensure the sample and screening criteria is correct for their recruitment / project needs.

  • In the unlikely circumstance of inaccurate or poor recruitment and/or turnout, the maximum liability of the Company to the Client will be the costs incurred directly in providing the service commissioned for i.e. recruitment and set up costs. This excludes all venue charges, Incentive monies, travel costs and any other costs not directly incurred by the Company in carrying out the commissioned service.

  • The Company’s primary aim when dealing with any problems is to work with the Client to ensure a positive outcome. In all cases the Company will seek to resolve complaints to the satisfaction of all parties. Complaints must be made within 7 days of the occurrence, in the case that a complaint is made after this time the Company will be under no obligation to consider giving a cost discount, waiver of fees or other benefit to the Client. Compensation of any form is at the sole discretion of the Company.

  • The Company accepts no liability or responsibility for the quality of note takers, viewing facilities or any other services booked by the company on behalf of the client but supplied by a third party.

 Participant recruitment and incentive charges:

When it comes to paying incentive and recruitment charges for participates that show late or are no shows the company operate the following policy:

Incentives;

  • If the participant shows and is up to 15 minutes late for the start of the research session – A full incentive payment is required by the client.

  • If the participant shows and is more then 30 minutes late – Incentive payment is not required to be made by the client.

Recruitment charges;

  • If participants arrive on the night (even if running late) – a full recruitment fee will be charged.

  • If the client experiences no shows, on the night which is less then 25% of the sample – a full recruitment fee will be charged

  • If the client experiences no shows, on this night which is more than 25% of the sample – no recruitment fee will be charged for those over the 25% quota unless there are exceptional circumstances outside of the company’s control that prevent participants attending – e.g. natural disasters, terrorist threats etc 

 

POSTPONEMENT/CANCELLATIONS CHARGES: 

In the event of a project being postponed or cancelled, after commissioning, cancellation fees will be charged as follows:

Cancellation of project:

  • If the project has been cancelled before any set up or recruitment occurs, no fee will be charged to the client by the company.

  • If the project is cancelled after completion of set up and recruitment has been launched, the screener writing fee, set up/management fee and recruitment fee of any recruited participants will be charged in full by the company to the client. 

  • If the project is cancelled within 24 hours of the research date, a full incentive payment is required to be made to any confirmed participants by the client.

  • Any 3rd party research costs will be charged to the client as per their terms and conditions.

Postponement of project:

  • In the event of the research being postponed and rescheduled within 30 days of the original research dates;

    • A recontact/rearrangement fee of £30 per participant recruited to date will be applied if the company can rearrange their participation for the new date. If the new research date results in any participants recruited no longer being able to take part, the full recruitment fee (as outlined in the initial provided quote) will be charged by the company to the client.

    • If the research is postponed within 24 hours of the research date, a full incentive payment is required to be made by the client to any confirmed participants.

  • Should new research dates not be agreed by the client to the company within 30 days of the date of cancellation, it will be treated as a cancellation

  • Any 3rd party research costs will be charged to the client as per their terms and conditions.

All changes to dates and recruitment specifications must be made in writing to the company by the client.

 

REASONABLE CONTROL 

The company shall not be held liable for delays or delivery failure that arise from an act or event beyond the company’s reasonable control, including but without limitation, strikes, postal/communication delays, industrial action, fire/accident, governmental act, natural catastrophe, terrorism or the threat of terrorism.

 

INVOICES AND CHARGES: 

  • Invoices are payable in GBP unless agreed otherwise in writing.

  • Invoices are exclusive of VAT (20%) which are chargeable only to domestic clients.

  • Invoices are payable within 30 days of the Invoice Date – unless otherwise agreed in writing.

  • If the client needs the company to arrange incentive payments by BACs to participants for taking part in market research, the company will submit an incentive invoice at point of commission which will require payment prior to the fieldwork dates. The company will charge a 15% handling fee for managing payments on behalf of the client.

  • The Client shall be fully liable for all UK venue charges.

    •  Viewing facilities will invoice the client directly. 

    • Hotels may require upfront payment from the client or require payment on departure. In the event of non-payment on the evening, all charges shall be added to the Client’s invoice and shall be subject to an additional 25% handling fee.

  • The Company reserves the right to claim statutory interest at 8% above the then current Bank of England base rate for late payment in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. 

  • Where the Company at its discretion deems it necessary to instruct a solicitor to recover any late payment, all reasonably incurred legal and related charges will be payable by the Client, including but not limited to the costs of any court proceedings.

 

DATA PROTECTION AND USE OF PARTICIPANTS DATA: 

  • In commissioning the Company to work on their behalf the Client acknowledges that they are familiar with the MRS Code and agrees to adhere to it fully.

  • The Company is registered for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 and adheres fully to its provisions. The Client acknowledges that it is aware of its duties under the Act and agrees to adhere to them accordingly.

  • The client agrees to respect the right to anonymity of all research participants provided by the company and acknowledge that all personal data will be treated in accordance with the GDPR regulations

  • The client acknowledges that Participant Contact Information is provided by the company solely for the purpose of contacting participants on the day of research in the event of non-attendance and misuse of participant contact information may constitute a criminal offence.

  • The client will only re-contact participants if permission is gained at point of recruitment by the company for the purposes of the commissioned project, if the client would like to reuse any participants for other projects any further contact will need to go through the company.

 

PRODUCT PLACEMENTS:

  • Where consumable products are placed with or are to be tested by participants, the Client is entirely responsible for ensuring that such products are fit for human consumption and meet the necessary food hygiene requirements. The Client accepts full liability for any claim made as a result of product testing.

  • The Company cannot be held responsible for any loss, damage or theft of product pre or post placement during transit or at any stage during the trial of the item unless as a direct result of the proven negligence of the Company