Sussex Diving Ltd  |  Part of the BCL Services Ltd group.

Effective date  1^st January 2025

These terms apply when you buy equipment, book diver training or hire equipment from Sussex Diving Ltd. They explain how a contract is formed, what each party must do, and the cancellation, refund and liability rules that apply. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits any legal right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Important business details

1  Definitions and application

1.1  In these terms, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Sussex Diving Ltd. “You” and “your” mean the person or organisation purchasing goods or services or hiring equipment. “Consumer” means an individual acting mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession.

1.2  These terms apply to sales made in our shop, through our website, by telephone, by email or otherwise. Additional written terms may apply to a particular trip, event, course, repair or specialist service. If there is a conflict, the specific written terms apply to that service to the extent of the conflict.

1.3  If you are booking for another participant, you confirm that you are authorised to provide their details and to accept these terms on their behalf. Each participant must also complete any required medical, liability, safe-diving or course documentation.

2  Orders and contract formation

2.1  Website displays, quotations and advertising are invitations to place an order. Your order is an offer to buy or book. A binding contract is formed when we send written acceptance, issue a booking confirmation, dispatch goods, or otherwise clearly confirm acceptance.

2.2  We may refuse or cancel an order before acceptance, including because an item or place is unavailable, a price or description contains an obvious error, payment has not been authorised, or we reasonably suspect fraud or misuse. If we cancel after taking payment, we will refund the amount paid for the cancelled item or service.

2.3  You must check your confirmation promptly and tell us about any error. Images, colours and packaging are illustrative and may vary slightly, but goods must still match their description and satisfy applicable law.

3  Prices payment and business accounts

3.1  Prices shown to consumers include VAT where applicable. Delivery, insurance, customs charges and other optional costs are additional only where clearly stated before purchase.

3.2  Unless we agree otherwise in writing, payment is due in full when the order or booking is placed. Course places and rental equipment are not reserved until the required payment or deposit has cleared.

3.3  Approved business-account customers must pay within the period shown on the invoice. For business-to-business transactions, we may claim statutory interest, fixed compensation and reasonable recovery costs on late payments where the law permits.

3.4  Goods remain our property until paid for in full. Risk of loss or damage passes to a consumer when the goods come into the physical possession of the consumer or a person identified by them, subject to applicable law.

4  Equipment sales

Product availability delivery and collection

4.1  All orders are subject to availability. If an item is unavailable, we may offer an alternative, agree a later supply date, or cancel and refund the affected item.

4.2  Any delivery or collection date is an estimate unless we agree a fixed deadline in writing. Consumer delivery rights are not affected. You must inspect parcels promptly and tell us about transit damage or missing items as soon as reasonably possible so that we can investigate with the carrier.

4.3  Ownership may remain with us until full payment, but this does not reduce a consumer’s statutory rights.

Consumer quality rights

4.4  Goods supplied to consumers must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality. If goods are faulty, consumers may have rights to reject, repair, replacement, price reduction or refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Any manufacturer warranty is additional to those rights.

4.5  We may ask for reasonable proof of purchase and information needed to examine the alleged fault. We are not responsible for fair wear and tear, accidental damage, misuse, unauthorised modification, failure to follow instructions, or use outside the manufacturer’s stated limits, except where the law provides otherwise.

Distance and off premises cancellations

4.6  Where you are a consumer and buy goods online, by telephone or otherwise at a distance, you may usually cancel without giving a reason from the date of the contract until 14 days after you or your nominated recipient receives the goods. If an order is delivered in separate lots, the period normally runs from receipt of the last lot.

4.7  To cancel, send us a clear statement by post or email before the cancellation period expires. You then have 14 days to return the goods. Unless the goods are faulty or we agree otherwise, you are responsible for the direct return cost. We recommend a tracked and appropriately insured service.

4.8  We will refund eligible payments, including the basic outbound delivery charge, within the time required by law. We may withhold the refund until we receive the goods or evidence that they have been sent back. We may reduce the refund for loss in value caused by handling beyond what is reasonably necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

4.9  The change-of-mind cancellation right does not apply where a statutory exception applies, including goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised, and sealed goods unsuitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed. This does not affect rights relating to faulty or misdescribed goods.

4.10  For in-store purchases, we are not required to accept a change-of-mind return unless our published returns policy says otherwise. Statutory rights for faulty or misdescribed goods continue to apply.

5  Training and experience programmes

Eligibility medical fitness and conduct

5.1  You must satisfy the age, swimming, prior-certification, medical and other prerequisites stated for the course. A parent or legal guardian must provide any consent required for a minor.

5.2  All participants must complete the required medical screening honestly and before taking part. If the screening indicates that medical approval is required, the participant must provide an acceptable physician’s clearance before entering the water. We cannot diagnose medical fitness or waive an agency medical requirement.

5.3  You must follow instructor and site directions, use equipment as instructed, and behave in a way that does not endanger yourself or anyone else. You must not participate while impaired by alcohol, recreational drugs, medication or illness affecting safe diving.

5.4  Diving involves inherent risks. Training reduces but does not eliminate them. Required risk-awareness, safe-diving and liability documents form part of the enrolment process, but nothing in those documents or these terms excludes liability that cannot legally be excluded.

Course content and certification

5.5  We will provide training with reasonable care and skill and in accordance with the applicable training agency standards. Certification is performance based and is not guaranteed by attendance or payment. A participant must meet all knowledge, confined-water, open-water and other performance requirements.

5.6  If a participant needs extra tuition, pool time, open-water sessions, equipment hire, entry fees, travel or accommodation beyond the advertised package, we will explain any additional charge before it is incurred.

5.7  Digital learning materials and certification fees may be supplied by a third party such as PADI. Once a code has been issued, redeemed or accessed, that element may be non-refundable to the extent permitted by law. Third-party platform terms may also apply.

Changes cancellation and non attendance

5.8  Course dates depend on instructor availability, venue access, weather, water conditions, minimum numbers and safety considerations. We may reasonably change an instructor, venue, timetable or sequence. If we cancel a session, we will offer a replacement or an appropriate refund for the part we cannot provide.

5.9  We may postpone, stop or refuse participation where we reasonably consider conditions unsafe, prerequisites incomplete, documentation missing, or a participant’s health, conduct or performance unsuitable. Safety decisions made by the instructor or dive-site operator are final for that session.

5.10 Unless different written booking terms were provided, if you cancel or request a transfer:

a. 28 days or more before the first scheduled practical session, we will refund or transfer the course fees, less a £15 per person administration charge and any non-recoverable third-party costs;

b. between 14 and 27 days before the first scheduled practical session, we may retain 50% of the course fee, together with the £15 per person administration charge and any non-recoverable third-party costs; or

c. fewer than 14 days before the first scheduled practical session, after training has begun, or if you fail to attend, the course fee will be non-refundable, although we may offer a transfer at our discretion.

Non-recoverable third-party costs may include PADI digital learning materials, certification fees, venue charges, dive-site fees and other costs already incurred or committed specifically for your booking. We will explain any deductions and take reasonable steps to minimise our loss.

The administration charge will not apply where Sussex Diving Ltd cancels the booking, where the goods or services are faulty or not supplied as agreed, or where you are legally entitled to a full refund. Nothing in this clause affects your statutory rights.

5.11  A missed session, late arrival, incomplete eLearning, absent medical clearance or failure to bring required documentation may require rearrangement and an additional charge. We will act reasonably and tell you the charge before booking the replacement.

5.12  Where a statutory 14-day cancellation right applies to a distance service contract, it is additional to this section. If you ask us to begin during that period, you may have to pay a proportionate amount for services performed before cancellation. The right may be lost once the service has been fully performed with the acknowledgements required by law. Certain leisure services for a specified date or period may be exempt.

6  Equipment rental

6.1  Rental is subject to availability, suitable sizing, evidence of identity, payment, any security deposit or card pre-authorisation, and evidence of appropriate qualification where requested. The person named on the rental agreement is responsible for the equipment.

6.2  You must inspect the equipment when it is collected or delivered and promptly record any visible defect or missing item. By accepting it, you confirm that it appears complete and serviceable, subject to defects that could not reasonably be identified on inspection.

6.3  You must use the equipment only for its intended purpose, within manufacturer and training limits, and with the knowledge and qualification reasonably required. You must not lend, sub-hire, alter, repair, dismantle or take the equipment outside the agreed area without our written permission.

6.4  You are responsible for the equipment from handover until it is returned to and accepted by us. You must keep it secure, rinse and care for it as instructed, and notify us immediately of loss, theft, malfunction, contamination or damage. Stop using any item that may be unsafe.

6.5  Equipment must be returned by the agreed date and time, complete and in reasonably clean condition. We may charge the published daily rate for late return and reasonable costs for exceptional cleaning, missing components, repair beyond fair wear and tear, or replacement where repair is uneconomic.

6.6  Any deposit may be applied to sums properly due, but your responsibility is not automatically limited to the deposit. We will provide a reasonable explanation of deductions. We will return the balance after inspection within a reasonable time.

6.7  You are not responsible for fair wear and tear or a defect caused by our failure to maintain the equipment. If rented equipment develops a fault during proper use, stop using it and contact us. Where reasonably possible, we will replace the item or refund the affected rental period.

6.8  If equipment is lost or stolen, you must notify us immediately and report theft to the police. You must provide the crime reference number and reasonable assistance with any insurance claim.

6.9  Rental charges continue until the agreed return or, for lost or destroyed equipment, until you notify us and pay any properly assessed replacement amount, subject to applicable law and our duty to mitigate loss.

6.10 If you cancel an equipment rental before collection and no statutory right to a full refund applies, we may deduct a £15 per person administration charge and any reasonable non-recoverable costs incurred specifically for the booking. We will explain any deductions and take reasonable steps to minimise our loss. The administration charge will not apply where Sussex Diving Ltd cancels the rental or where you are legally entitled to a full refund.

7  Our responsibility

7.1  Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of statutory consumer rights, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

7.2  If you are a consumer, we are responsible for foreseeable loss or damage caused by our breach of contract or failure to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for loss that was not foreseeable, or for business losses suffered by a consumer.

7.3  If you are acting in the course of business, then, subject to clause 7.1, we are not liable for loss of profit, revenue, business, anticipated savings, goodwill or any indirect or consequential loss. Our total liability arising from a particular contract will not exceed the total amount paid or payable under that contract, except where such a limit would be unlawful or unreasonable.

7.4  We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control. We will take reasonable steps to minimise the effect and will contact you where the contract is materially affected. Consumer cancellation and refund rights that apply by law remain unaffected.

8  Complaints and disputes

8.1  Please raise concerns as soon as possible with the instructor or staff member where appropriate. Formal complaints should be sent to the contact details above with the booking or order reference and relevant evidence. We will acknowledge and investigate the complaint within a reasonable time.

8.2  These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere in the United Kingdom, you retain any mandatory protections and may bring proceedings in the courts available to you under applicable law. Business customers submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

9  General terms

9.1  If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in effect. Delay in enforcing a right does not waive it.

9.2  No person other than you and us has a right to enforce this contract under the Contracts Rights of Third Parties Act 1999, except where these terms expressly say otherwise.

9.3  We may update these terms from time to time. The version supplied or made available when your order or booking is accepted applies to that contract unless a change is required by law or agreed with you.

9.4  We process personal information in accordance with our privacy notice. Health and medical information will be handled only for legitimate safety, training and legal purposes and with appropriate safeguards.