Terms & Conditions of Service

By using services provided by Bournemouth IT Solutions Ltd (‘bits’) you are entering into a contract with us. The terms below set out our obligations to you and what you are agreeing to. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please refrain from accessing or using the Site or our services. We may revise the Terms and Conditions at any time by amending this page.

1 – Definitions:

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: 612 Wimborne Rd, Winton, Bournemouth. BH9 2EN.

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.

2 – Customer Service:

(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.

3 – Repair Service:

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.

4 – Guarantee:

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.

• 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. This is because we have had instances where customers and other shops have caused further damage to a device for other issues, and then returned it as a warranty claim.
• 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 to prevent it powering off before it is empty.
• External Devices: Issues with peripherals (chargers, cables, etc.) are not covered.

Screen Repairs on the 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 to deter third-party repair and recycling of parts. Where this chip fails or is replaced, the serial number no longer matches, and display artifacts will result: On the 14″ model, shadows will appear stretching down 2-3cm from the top edge. On the 16″ model, the backlight will appear ‘blocky’/patchy and will not light evenly when at roughly 50% brightness.

As part of our display repairs, we transplant the serialised chipset to mitigate this issue. This chipset will be subject to numerous thermal cycles (heated from room temperature to 340°C to desolder it, then cooled back to room temperature. It is then heated again to 340°C for it to be soldered to the new display). These constant thermal cycles can cause this sensitive chip to crack, inducing the aforementioned display artifacts.

Given the nature of the chipset’s sensitive design, we cannot guarantee the avoidance of display issues, particularly if the device has previously undergone display replacement. By booking repairs on these 14″/16″ models with serialised chipsets, customers acknowledge and accept the potential risks associated with subsequent thermal cycles. If the device is repaired and the aforementioned issues arise, the fixed price listed on our website will still be payable. We shall not be held responsible, in tort or financially, for defects arising from these inherent design limitations.

LCD Screens:

Our guarantee does not cover any physical damage to displays, including, but not limited to, hairline cracks, scratches, dents, chips, or liquid damage. Cracks may sometimes be difficult to spot and can occur on the peripheries of the display, including in the bezel area on the very edge of the display. Drops or impacts to a display can cause no visible cracks or damage (for example, cracked solder joints) which can result in lines on the display or general artifacts, flickering, no display/backlight symptoms, ghosting (duplicated/smeared text/images), and more.

As such, bits reserves the right to refuse warranty service where inspection has determined any physical damage to be the cause of a display failure. Please note cracks to any area of the screen, including any display bezels on or around the display, will void your warranty. The glass display bezel covers sensitive screen (LVDS) cables, and any crack to this glass bezel can cause display issues. As such, cracked bezels also void any warranty.

Glass, by its nature, cannot break without an external force or stress applied to it. Its molecular structure and composition prevent it from spontaneously shattering or breaking without any external influence – rapid pressure changes, impact, or rapid temperature changes. There are exceptions for tempered glass which you might find in car windows, house windows, cookware, etc. – but it is impossible for an LCD display to crack by itself; this would violate the laws of physics.

For clarity, under no circumstance will bits entertain any warranty claim where a display has any cracks, fractures, or physical damage.

Camera covers should NOT be used in any circumstance – even when they don’t crack your screen or trackpad, they can still cause damage to the sensitive screen circuitry and cause display issues. We reserve the right to void your warranty coverage if a camera cover is used.

Our screen repairs comply with the ISO 13406-2 standard. This standard regulates acceptable defect levels, ensuring your protection as a valued customer. Given modern manufacturing methods, achieving completely flawless displays is not always possible. Therefore, ISO 13406-2 defines the acceptable number of defects within a display before it qualifies for replacement under the warranty.

Defective Pixel Calculation:

Your statutory rights remain unaffected by this. For your reference, we have provided details below regarding the permitted number of defective sub-pixels according to the LCD’s native resolution. This calculation allows for up to 2 defective pixels per million.

Native resolution	No. of pixels	Bright Sub-Pixel	Dark Sub-Pixel
SXGA	1280 x 1024	≤ 2	≤ 5
HD	1366 x 768	≤ 2	≤ 5
HD+	1600 x 900	≤ 2	≤ 5
FHD	1920 x 1080	≤ 2	≤ 5
WUXGA	1920 x 1200	≤ 2	≤ 5
WFHD	2560 x 1080	≤ 2	≤ 5
QHD	2560 x 1440	≤ 2	≤ 5
WQHD	3440 x 1440	≤ 2	≤ 5
WQHD+	3840 x 1600	≤ 2	≤ 5
UHD	3840 x 2160	≤ 2	≤ 5

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. This fee is simply to cover the costs associated with collecting and returning your device.

For instance, if your Mac had a screen replacement and you send it to us to claim under warranty, but the screen is cracked upon inspection, this would not be covered under warranty. In such cases, if you choose not to proceed with a paid repair, a £49 fee will be charged to cover postage expenses.

5 – Abandoned / Unclaimed Items:

Any item not collected within 90 days will be disposed of if prior arrangements have not been made. Once the customer’s item has been repaired, declared irreparable, or awaiting a response from the customer, it must be collected within 90 days from the time the customer is informed. If the customer fails to collect the said item, bits will dispose of, recycle, or sell the item to recover costs. bits is not responsible for any data loss from unclaimed items.

6 – Payment:

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, at which point ownership is transferred back to the customer.

7 – Nationwide Deliveries:

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. Claims for damage or loss during transit must be made with the courier.

Delivery/Collection date is never guaranteed – please note that we cannot reimburse customers for delivery that does not arrive on the estimated delivery date, even where tracking indicates otherwise.

8 – Courier Insurance:

In the unlikely event that a parcel is lost or damaged in transit, it is insured up to £750. There are options available during the booking process to increase this insurance, covering the faulty value of the device if being sent to us, or the working value if repaired and being returned to you.

However, there are circumstances where Royal Mail will not cover loss or damage, which are outlined below:

1. Unscanned Parcels (On Their Way to Us): Shipping insurance only applies once the parcel has been scanned by the postman or post office worker as this confirms it is in their possession. Otherwise, it cannot be evidenced that Royal Mail has taken responsibility for the parcel.

2. Label Tampering (Fraud): If the address label is tampered with, then this renders insurance void – as this is a common insurance scam (i.e. changing it from our address to somewhere else, and claiming it was mis-delivered. In the event of this taking place, we reserve the right to share your details with law enforcement as fraud by false representation is a criminal offence contrary to the Fraud Act 2006.

3. Safe Place Deliveries (On Their Way to You): If you request the parcel to be left in a safe place (e.g., a porch), the courier has fulfilled their delivery responsibility, and it is no longer covered for theft after delivery.

4. Damage During Transit (To Us): For damage claims, your parcel must be correctly packaged. If you have been negligent in adequately packing your device and damage occurs, Royal Mail will not cover the claim as inadequate packaging is considered the sender’s responsibility. This also applies if you have used a camera cover and it cracks the screen and/or trackpad, or if you include the charger or other accessories, and these damage the Mac.

5. Loss Claims Process: In the event of a loss, the investigation process can take a minimum of two weeks, and occasionally longer. This is because the tracking is initially checked to see which staff members handled your package. After this, individual staff members are interviewed to determine where the fault lies. If the device lost was faulty, the insurance payout will reflect its faulty value, not the repaired value. Proof of purchase is required for an insurance claim, Royal Mail may reject your claim without this. The amount you are paid is determined by Royal Mail and not ourselves. You will never receive the price you originally paid – but the amount it is currently worth. For example, if you paid £2,000 for your Mac in 2016, it is no longer worth £2,000 and you will not be reimbursed this amount.

9 – Abandoned & Stolen Devices:

Any item not collected within 90 days will be disposed of if prior arrangements have not been made. Once the customer’s item has been repaired, declared irreparable or awaiting a response from the customer, it must be returned within 90 days from the time the customer is informed. If the customer fails to collect the said item, bits will dispose of, recycle or sell the item to recover costs. bits is not responsible for any data loss from unclaimed items. It is important that you check your details on your receipt at the time of booking to ensure that we have your correct contact details. We will not be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the details provided.

If you are unable to pay for your repair until a later date, or are unable to receive it – arrangements may be made at our discretion, but it is your responsibility to contact us first to make us aware of this circumstance. bits cannot be held responsibility for your failure to make contact.

We are committed to complying with all legal requirements regarding the handling of stolen goods, as outlined in the Theft Act 1968. If we discover that any device in our care has been reported as stolen, we are legally required to contact the authorities immediately. Returning or aiding in the retention of stolen property is a criminal offence. To ensure compliance, we reserve the right to share relevant information with law enforcement, including, but not limited to, your IP address, name, address, email, phone number, and details of any device(s) involved.

10 – Data Protection:

bits will not share the customer’s data with any third party for any reason without the prior consent of the customer. All data will be collected, processed and held in accordance with our rights and obligations arising under the provisions and principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018.

As part of data recovery, particularly in the case of faulty drives, this may involve processing and analysing the data on any digital storage medium, both to detect and analyse any important files that you deem to be most important in data recovery, and also to ensure that data we do recover is not corrupt. There are instances where amounts of data will be recovered, even with file names and directory links, and data will still be corrupt.

In the performance of such work, if we recover images/data that may pertain to serious indictable offences such as Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, Sexual Offences Act 2003, or the Terrorism Act 2000 – we have a moral obligation to report person(s) in the interest of public safety and protection.

bits has the right to pass on any data provided by the customer to relevant authorities and law enforcement agencies where the law requires such or there is a moral obligation to do so (serious indictable crime), or for example in the event of a warrant, including but not limited to any UK/European Police Force such as Dorset Police/Metropolitan Police, South West Forensics, Interpol, NCA, Home Office and so on.

The UK GDPR nor Data Protection Act does not prevent us from sharing personal data with law enforcement authorities (known under data protection law as “competent authorities”) who are discharging their statutory law enforcement functions. The UK GDPR and the DPA 2018 allow for this type of data sharing where it is necessary and proportionate and where there is a lawful basis under Article 6.

In the event that the customer is in breach of these Terms and Conditions, bits may also pass on any such information to credit reference agencies and debt recovery agencies to recover any accrued debts.

Some repairs may require the recovery of customer’s data onto our system, if the customer does not provide a storage medium for us to transfer the data onto. This recovered/backed-up/transferred data may be held on our server for as long as practicable, until the customer provides a storage medium for us to transfer data on to. When data is stored on our server(s)/computer(s) it is encrypted to an AES 256 standard. Once data is transferred and there is no longer a necessity for its storage, it is deleted securely to the HMG Infosec Standard 5.

For Macs that possess a ‘T2 Chip’, we are unable to run any diagnostic software or run your Mac from our macOS system for testing without your password due to the security features of your device. In order to run diagnostics to ensure your issue has been resolved, bits ideally requires a password to perform diagnostics. Your login details and user profile will only be accessed and used for the explicit purpose of diagnostics, to identify any faults and ensure they have been resolved as part of the repair process.

The following devices include a T2 Chip:

MacBook Air (2018-2020 – excluding M1), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020), MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018-2019), MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), and Mac mini (2018).

A Subject Access Request, Data Erase Request, and all other Data Protection/GDPR enquiries must be sent in writing via email to [email protected]. By law bits has 30 calendar days to respond.

11 – Video and Audio Recordings – CCTV/Telephone:

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

• Ensure the safety of our colleagues, customers, and visitors, and for the prevention and detection of crime.
• Investigate accidents, incidents, and claims.
• For records of transactions and contract details.

Where necessary, we share footage and images from CCTV with the police, local authorities, and government agencies for the prevention and detection of crime.  These recordings are stored locally in our store, within the United Kingdom.

The Telecommunications Regulations 2000 states that businesses can record calls without consent for the following purposes:

• To record evidence of business exchanges.
• To review whether quality standards are being met.
• To ensure a business complies with regulations.
• To prevent and detect criminal activity.
• To investigate the suspicious use of a network.

As such, phone recordings may be made and kept for training and monitoring purposes, the security of our staff and business, and to keep a record of business transactions and agreements. These recordings are stored locally, within the United Kingdom. Recordings are not shared with third parties. Where necessary, we share telephone recordings with the police, local authorities, and government agencies for the prevention and detection of crime, and where we are legally obligated, such as in court.

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

A Subject Access Request, Data Erase Request, and all other Data Protection/GDPR enquiries must be sent in writing via email to [email protected]. By law, bits has 30 calendar days to respond.

12 – Complaints Policy

At BITS, your satisfaction is our top priority. We are committed to providing exceptional service and ensuring that every interaction with us meets your expectations. If for any reason you’re not completely satisfied with your experience, we encourage you to let us know. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us continually improve.

As part of our process, we will review all information available to us, including our internal system notes, any communications (telephone, email, WhatsApp), any collection/delivery tracking, CCTV. Whilst we may not be able to disclose all information due to GDPR and Data Protection, we will endeveour to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction where possible.

To submit a complaint, please contact us in writing at [email protected]. Our dedicated team will thoroughly review your concerns and work diligently to resolve any issues. We aim to respond within 72 hours, in order to provide us time to investigate your complaint thoroughly.

13 – Disclaimer:

bits accepts no liability in respect of any problem(s) it may not be able to remedy due to any matter beyond its control. This includes, but is not limited to the age, specification, or condition of the customer’s item (e.g. liquid damage, accidental impact damage, GPU issues (failed reflow), etc.).

Under no circumstances shall bits be liable, either in contract, tort, or otherwise, to the customer, its employees, agents, or any third party, for any injury or damages, including without limitation, any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages, expenses, costs, profits, lost savings or earnings, interruption to business activity, lost or corrupted data, or other liability arising out of, or related to the services provided by bits, or out of the installation, de-installation, deployment, configuration, use of, or inability to use the customer’s computer equipment, hardware, software, or peripherals, or through an Act of God.