📄 Terms and Conditions

optimised blends herbal medicine testing service
Pricing and Payments

1) Prices are shown in pounds (£) sterling and inclusive of VAT. Prices are subject to change without notice or extra publications of the fact, so please check if you have any doubts. However we usually try to notify customers beforehand where possible.

The minimum total order value is £5.00 below this a surcharge of £5.00 applies for small order handling.

Payment is normally required with your order. In any other cases within 30 days of receipt/delivery of your order. We reserve the right to charge interest daily at 2.5% above the current bank of England base rate on any amounts due/unpaid after 30 days.

We accept most major credit cards and payment by PayPal is also welcome. We are also happy to receive payments by bank transfer – please contact us for details on this. Please note any extra bank charges incurred by Qi Essence Ltd in the settlement of your invoices/payments will be charged to you at cost.

Qi Essence Ltd is a VAT registered company (VAT no: GB 254544794) therefore all purchases are subject to current VAT rates unless exempt. VAT will not be charged on any recognised food products and exports to non EU countries. VAT will be charged on exports to EU countries unless a valid VAT number is provided at purchase.

Please note that all items/goods remain the property of Qi Essence Ltd until paid for in full.

Samples/Shipping etc.

2) Please note you are responsible for any shipping costs incurred in sending in samples for testing and any return shipping costs if you would like samples returned to you for any reason (Please get prior agreement with Qi Essence Ltd beforehand so costs can be agreed). Unless you have booked an on site visit where samples can be accessed without any extra costs. Travel to and from your premises is the only extra cost. Please note all samples are provided at your own expense.

Products

Shipping costs are usually calculated when you place/pay for an order, if an item is out of stock then at our discretion we may ship any back orders to you at no extra cost. Some items may be returned and refunded if in a new unopened state suitable for resale, please obtain pre authorisation from Qi Essence Ltd beforehand and note that a restocking fee of 20% is charged. The customer bears all the costs of return shipping of items. If an item arrives damaged or in an unsuitable state then please notify us in writing within 3 days of delivery and obtain a report from the carrier.

Shipping options provided at point of purchase for more information see:

For information on Royal Mail please visit:

 

www.royalmail.com

Click here for current Royal Mail prices (PDF).

Click here for current Royal Mail Services information (PDF).

We may with larger orders offer extra discounts/carriage free options at our discretion.

Please follow our guidelines in the Information Sheet and elsewhere on this site for how to prepare and pack your samples to send to us. If in doubt then please get in touch (see contact details below).

Testing Service

3) Please note the testing we do is quite sensitive and if the sample has been exposed to excessive heat/cold/humidity/contamination/irradiation etc. then this could significantly affect the sample. Once received and inspected by us to ensure the sample has arrived intact and in good condition then we store the samples in an area where temperature and humidity are monitored. We aim to test your sample as soon as possible and prepare all samples in a standard way.

We aim to complete testing of your samples within 28 working days of receiving and logging them into our system. If you need samples processing more urgently, e.g. within a week of receipt, then you can make an extra payment to guarantee this. If we are unable to complete testing within the time scale advised then the extra fee will be refunded. Please note once your samples have been tested then they will be disposed of within/after 28 working days, we do not retain your samples once testing is complete. Alternatively at your request we may store your samples for retesting at a later date subject to our monthly storage fees. During the day of the testing then once samples have been prepared then they can be tested multiple times that day if required e.g. if further tests at different dilutions are required etc. Please let us know if you may wish to purchase additional tests depending on the outcome of testing your samples.

Our aim is to help you by automatically testing known materials at a suitable dilution straightaway according to our experience therefore saving you money and saving our time. For unknown materials then we are happy to test at a dilution you request but otherwise will default to our standard initial 1:10 dilution and progress from there. We are happy to be flexible about how testing proceeds based on the results achieved and communicate these to you as required.

We provide ‘relative’ testing of your samples aimed at providing a ‘Suitable Test‘ with percentage quenching which you can then use as a relative comparison to other Suitable Tests on similar material as explained in the Information Sheet. Please note this type of testing does not allow you to make any health claims, add a ‘number’ or other ‘marker’ to the item tested to promote the tested material’s benefits or otherwise. If you need testing that can provide this then we can refer you to Knight Scientific Ltd who can perform an ABEL-RAC score on your material at a discounted price as a referral from us.

Our testing services are provided exclusively for herbalists, herbal medicine makers, students of herbal medicine and other herbal medicine users/makers running small businesses as a licensed provider. Therefore you should be able to prove you are either/or a member of a Professional Body of herbalists, have suitable qualifications/insurance to practice herbal medicine, be a student on a recognised course at a college or university providing herbal medicine qualifications, etc.

4) If you are in a hurry we also offer a premium level service which enables your samples to be tested within a week (7 working days) of receipt, with storage of your samples for up to 3 months, each test includes two tests of your choice including no sample controls. This test is only available when stated on the website shop and any samples for testing must arrive by the date stated to be included. 

Complaints and Queries

5) If you have a dispute about the testing, results, advice, samples etc. then please set everything down in writing so we can examine and resolve your case quickly and accurately. In such cases we are happy to retest, reference the help of Knight Scientific Ltd, provide any other data we can to explain or provide assurance about the results you have received.

Output

6) Results of testing are provided by email in PDF format which includes the actual graph of the tests and no sample control, conclusion of the test and indication of relative % of activity (quenching). Therefore to use our services you must have a functioning email account. We permanently retain results of all tests done and are happy to resend by email if required.

Legal

7) All dealings with the company are subject to the law in England and Wales and these Terms and conditions of Sale apply at all times, overriding any terms and conditions supplied by the customer.

The following also apply:

Disclaimer

Use, suitability, correct storage and application of our products is solely the responsibility of the practitioner/customer, regardless of any advice given by the company or its agents. Any liability is limited to the cost of replacement of the products/goods and no claims for consequential losses can be made. Qi Essence Ltd undertakes to supply testing services as described that are fit for their purposes as accepted within the limitations of the testing method and the trade and practice of herbal medicine. Qi Essence Ltd takes no responsibility for misuse, abuse or incorrect application of the results of testing or its products and can not be held liable for incorrect usage or application. Also compliance with laws pertaining to testing/products is the responsibility of the practitioner/customer purchasing the service/products according to the laws in his/her own country. Any information supplied on this website is intended for interest only and does not purport to offer guidance/advice on treatment for any particular conditions or make any health claims. If you need advice about any condition then please visit a qualified practitioner near you.

Copyright Notice

The contents of this website are © Qi Essence Ltd/Lorraine Hodgkinson. Any copying or incorporation into any other work of any part of the material on this website in any form is prohibited provided that you may print or download extracts of material on this website for your own personal use or copy the material or otherwise utilise the material for the purposes of sending to individual third parties for their own personal information provided that we are acknowledged as the source of the material and you inform the third party that these conditions apply to them and they must comply with them.

Privacy Policy (Please also read our Data Privacy Notice)

Qi Essence Ltd comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, the requirements of the Information Commissioner and with ISO 9001:2008 Clause 4.2.4 Control of Records. Our data processing is notified to the Information Commissioner. If you wish to see our Data and Records Security Policy on your visit then please ask.

Qi Essence Ltd is committed to protecting the privacy of customers and the confidentiality of the personal information with which our customers provide us.

We will never sell personal information or share personal information with third parties unrelated to it.

We will use the information we collect to serve our customers in the following ways:

If you become a customer of our services your name, e-mail address, address and other information are kept by us solely for the purposes of fulfilling your order and maintaining adequate accounts and quality control records.

We may also use your details to contact you from time to time by e-mail or post to let you know about any updates to the website or special offers, you must opt into these services as per our Data Privacy Notice:

We do not use cookies (defined below) for collecting user information from the website and we will not collect any information about you except that which is required for administration of the web server.

Cookies

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In accordance with EU regulations we inform you of any cookies this website uses and allow you to block non essential cookies.

The Company Qi Essence Ltd

Registered Office 43A, Melbreak Avenue, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9AE, UK.

Company Number  08897035

Phone +44 (0)1900 826392 Mobile 07761489838 (O2)

Email info@qiessence.co.uk

VAT Number GB 254544794

QI ESSENCE LTD | HOME OF OPTIMISED BLENDS | HERBAL MATERIALS TESTING SERVICE | 43A, Melbreak Avenue, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9AE.  UK. | Tel: +44 (0) 1900 826392 | Text: 07761 489838 | Email: info@qiessence.co.uk | VAT Number: GB 254544794