Terms and Conditions

The following terms and conditions apply to the sale of goods by the NCBE.

PLACING AN ORDER

You may place an order by email, telephone, fax or post. Our office is open from 09:00 until 14:30 (UK time) from Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays and the rare occasional days when the university is closed.

ONLINE ORDERING

If you wish to pay by credit or debit card, and are ordering from an educational institution in the United Kingdom, you must place your order via Reading University’s online store as for security reasons we are unable to take bank card details over the phone:

Please note that this service is currently available to educational institutions in the UK only.

DESPATCH

Orders are usually despatched within 48 hours of receipt from Monday to Friday. At busy times of the year there may be a short delay in processing your order. If the item you have ordered is out of stock and there is likely to be a delay of a week or more in sending it, we will let you know.

VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT)

The prices given on the NCBE price list and this website do not include VAT. All goods, except those marked with an asterisk (which are zero rated), incur VAT at the UK standard rate. VAT will be added to the total price of the order unless you provide us with a valid VAT registration number. Orders sent to countries outside the European Union do not incur VAT, but please note that you will be responsible for paying any applicable taxes or duties.

POSTAGE

United Kingdom
Packing and postage by First Class mail are free-of-charge within the UK only. For orders from outside the UK, an additional charge is made for postage and handling (see below).

Overseas
An additional charge will be made to cover postal costs. Please email or phone to ask for an estimate of the shipping charge when you place your order.

HANDLING CHARGE FOR NON-UK ORDERS

Due to the additional costs involved, we will add a £10 handling charge to all non-UK orders.

CANCELLING AN ORDER OR RETURNING GOODS

Occasionally you may wish to cancel an order and return goods to us. Under the United Kingdom’s Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional charges) Regulations 2013, you have the right to cancel the contract for the purchase of most goods from us. We regret, however, that we cannot accept the return of perishable items such as microbial cultures, plasmids or PCR primers or bespoke items that we have prepared specially for you.

You have the right to cancel a contract for the purchase of goods within 14 calendar days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires physical possession of the goods. To excercise your right to cancel, you must inform us in a clear statement such as a letter, fax or eMail message. A cancellation form can be downloaded from this page (see links on the right), which you may use if you wish, but this is not obligatory.

EFFECTS OF CANCELLATION

If you cancel the contract to purchase goods, you must return the goods to us within 14 calendar days of your request to cancel. Within 14 calendar days of receipt of the returned goods, we will reimburse all payments received from you, including the costs of standard delivery (but excluding the additional cost if you chose a delivery method other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us). The goods must be returned to us in reasonable condition, such that they may be re-sold. We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in the value of any goods returned, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you (for example, if you have opened or damaged packaging other than the outer packaging in which the goods were sent, or if you have used any of the goods).

Please note that you will be responsible for the cost of returning the goods to us unless we delivered the item to you in error or the item is faulty. Note that if an item is being returned to us because it is faulty, you have additional rights under other legislation, notably the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

PAYMENT

Educational institutions Official orders with an order number from a school, college or education authority are preferred. All orders will be invoiced. Payments should made to the ‘University of Reading’ in GBP (Pounds Sterling) by cheque or direct bank transfer. Details of our bank account will be included on the invoice we send you.

CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD PAYMENTS

For orders from non-UK institutions ONLY, we can usually accept credit or debit card payments for orders over £10 (cards with 16 digits only). Please ensure that you include the following details with any credit or debit card orders:

  • The cardholder’s name and address
  • The card number (16 digits)
  • The start date of the card (if present)
  • The expiry date of the card
  • The three-digit security code from the back of the card

Please also provide a telephone number and eMail address so that we may contact you if necessary.

OUR CONTACT DETAILS

NCBE
University of Reading
2 Earley Gate (TOB2)
Whiteknights Road
READING
RG6 6AU
The United Kingdom

T : + 44 (0) 11 89 87 37 43
F : + 44 (0) 11 89 75 01 40
E : NCBE@reading.ac.uk
W: www.ncbe.reading.ac.uk