Last updated: 4th of July 2023
This document (together with the documents referred to in it) sets out the terms and conditions on which we supply our Virtual Office services (Services) to you.
By ordering any of our Services, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. If you do not accept these terms and conditions, you will not be able to order any Services from our Site.
www.Virtual-Headquarters.com is a site operated by Virtual Headquarters Limited (we/us). We are registered in England and Wales under company number 09556484 and with our registered office at 4 The Stable Block Courtyard, Abbots Leigh, Bristol, England, BS8 3RA. Our main trading address is Newminster House, 27-29 Baldwin Street, Bristol, BS1 1LT.
YOUR STATUS
1.1 By placing an order through our Site, you confirm that:
(a) You are legally capable of entering into binding contracts;
(b) You will not use any of the rights granted by these terms for any obscene, illegal, immoral or defamatory purposes and will not in any way bring us or our name into disrepute;
HOW THE CONTRACT IS FORMED BETWEEN YOU AND US
2.1 All orders are subject to acceptance by us and the terms of clause 2.2, we will confirm such acceptance to you by sending you an email that confirms that your order has been accepted (the Confirmation Email). The contract between us (Contract) will only be formed when we send you the Confirmation Email, a copy of these terms and conditions is also sent with the confirmation email.
2.2 After we receive your order, we will first send our Account Activation email this will detail the next steps required to activate your service. This will include steps (if you have not already done so) to submit copies of your original personal identification for that of the individual applying for the contract along with a utility bill showing your current address information. We will not send you a ‘Welcome Email’ detailing the particulars of your service until we have received personal identification documentation that is suitable.
SUPPLY OF SERVICES
3.1 Services will commence on the date set out in the Confirmation Email (Start Date) and will be provided for the initial term selected by you on our site, and thereafter until either party provides not less than one month’s written notice to the other party of its intention to terminate the Contract.
3.2 We shall use all reasonable endeavours to meet any performance dates specified in the Confirmation Email, but any such dates shall be estimates only and time shall not be of the essence for performance of the Services.
3.3 All fees and charges are payable in English Pounds.
GENERAL TERMS
4.1 Your Obligations/You shall:
(a) Ensure that the terms of any order and any information you provide are complete and accurate;
(b) Co-operate with us in all matters relating to the provision of the Services;
(c) Provide us with such information and materials we may reasonably require in order to supply the Services and ensure that such information is accurate in all material respects.
(d) Co-operate and comply with all requests made by us to ensure The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 are met – for more information please visit: https://vhq.nearly.live//proof-of-identity-documents/
4.2 We are under no obligation to send you a Welcome Email, and we will not send you a Welcome Email until we have received personal identification documentation and identity checks have been carried out and passed. The ID should be that of the person responsible for the company or business (director or owner) applying for the contract along with a current council tax bill, rent agreement or mortgage statement, alternatively a utility bill (gas, electricity, water, landline telephone) or current account/building society statement issued in the past three months, showing the director’s or owner’s current home address.
We will carry out identity checks on each individual, partner, director and corporation. For the individual(s) involved – these checks will leave a ‘soft credit search’ that does not leave any visible footprint for lenders but is vital in establishing proof of identity. If these identity checks are failed, and the correct documentation cannot be supplied – we will be unable to activate your account. Cancellations within 14 days of an order will be issued a refund minus the non-refundable £30 administration fee to cover our costs in carrying out these checks. It is your full responsibility to supply to us all relevant documentation in a timely manner, all payments will commence from the first payment made and continue each month/year, regardless of the necessary paperwork being received.
4.3 Under current legislation, we are also required to monitor ongoing relationships with all clients who use our services, we will have to carry out additional checks in the following situations:
Should you need to update the address that we forwarded mail to;
Should the ownership structure of your business change (for example a new shareholder);
On an Annual basis, we also carry out electronic spot-checks on customer accounts, should the report show any changes to the details we previously held on file, we will request new identification documents which will then need to be verified to keep your virtual office service active.
If the information requested within the course of our ongoing monitoring is not received within a reasonable time frame, we may suspend postal and telephone services. Services may remain suspended until all outstanding information is provided.
4.4 Due to the type of services we provide any compensation claim shall be limited in total to one month’s service fee. We cannot accept any compensation claim that is the result of consequential loss to your business and, by accepting these terms you fully agree to indemnify us from any such claim.
4.5 We are required, by current legislation, to report to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) where we know or suspect that a transaction involves Money Laundering or Terrorist Financing. By instructing us to act on your behalf in accordance with our Terms of Business you give us irrevocable authority to make a disclosure to SOCA if we consider it appropriate.
4.6 A £30 non-refundable will be charged immediately upon ordering services, the fee cannot be refunded, irrespective of whether I.D documents have been submitted as due diligence commences immediately following the account initiation.
Customers wishing to register a virtual office for a business situated outside of the UK will incur a non-refundable account set-up fee of £100.00 excl. This charge is applied as additional steps are required when completing Customer Due Diligence and Anti-Money Laundering checks as set out in the relevant guidelines.
Should a customer wish to register multiple companies for a virtual office, an additional, non-refundable set-up fee of £30.00 excl. per UK registered business and £100.00 excl. per business located outside of the UK will be charged, per company, where the beneficial ownership differs. This fee is applied to cover the additional due diligence required for separate beneficial owners and cannot be refunded, irrespective of whether I.D documents have been submitted as due diligence commences immediately following the account initiation.
THE SERVICES
5.1 The Services will be those services set out on our Website at the time you order the Services from us.
5.2 Virtual Office – Customers may use the chosen business centre as their business trading address (the Centre) and NOT their Company Registered Address unless stated within their Confirmation Email. If a registered address service is offered or added to your account, upon the termination of our contract you agree to inform Companies House of the change of address giving sufficient notice for this to be processed within 20 days, as set out in term 7.2. Under no circumstances can the Centre be used for the registration of vehicles. Any post received believed to be from the DVLA will be returned to sender.
5.3 – Mail – Incoming mail will be handled as per your selection during sign-up. The post forwarding service is based on a fair usage policy. Under this policy, if at any time, we deem you exceed the level of use reasonably expected from someone using this service, then we reserve the right to recharge you any costs incurred. We also reserve the right to open any items before collection or forwarding that may be suspected of containing dangerous or illegal objects/substances or to provide information to the police or other investigative bodies where it is our belief that our services are being or have been used for criminal or fraudulent purposes.
5.4 – Mail forwarding – All mail delivered to you at the Virtual Office address will be forwarded by first class Royal Mail to the address (United Kingdom only) specified by you during the sign-up process as soon as reasonably possible after receipt at the Virtual Office address. In the event that mail delivered to you at the Virtual Office address is not addressed in such a way that we are able to verify from the outside packaging that it is addressed to you, we reserve the right to open such mail to determine for whom it is intended. Virtual Headquarters does not guarantee or assume responsibility for any mail forwarded on behalf of the client.
5.5 Parcels – We discourage the delivery of parcels at our locations. Maximum parcel size accepted is 50 x 50 x 50cm = 5Kg. We will not accept any items exceeding this or if they contain any dangerous, live or perishable goods. Due to the nature of parcel delivery companies, in that there are no set or expected delivery times, Virtual Headquarters explicitly disclaims any responsibility for parcels delivered to our premises for parcels. Outgoing parcels are charged at Royal Mail’s current franking rates plus a 20% admin charge. You agree for these fees to be included in your invoice for that calendar month, to be collected in line with your billing cycle.
5.6 Telephone Answering – Our Telephone Answering Service enables calls to a telephone number designated by Virtual Headquarters to be answered in the company name specified by the Client. Calls will be handled according to instructions specified by the Client. Telephone Answering customers will receive a welcome pack detailing the service levels and ongoing fees.
5.7 Telephone Number Service – You will be assigned either a local geographic or national telephone number according to your request after signing up for our services. You need to specify whether your number is to be diverted to either a mobile or a landline number. Although infrequent, diversion charges are subject to change, we will give 30 days’ notice of any such changes.
5.8 GMB profiles – You can use our virtual offices in line with Google’s guidelines, if for any reason your profile is flagged and additional verification is requested this is your responsibility not that of Virtual Headquarters. No refunds will be provided if you are unable to use the address for this purpose.
PRICE AND PAYMENT
6.1 Prices are as quoted on our Website, except in cases of obvious error, and exclude VAT.
6.2 Virtual Headquarters customers that opt to pay our fees monthly will be invoiced and funds collected on the first day of each month. Your initial invoice will be for the first full month, followed by a pro-rata invoice to bring you in line with the first of each month thereafter. Annual payments will be collected on the anniversary of the original order date. All fees and charges are collected from the debit/credit card used to purchase services in the first instance, upon agreeing to our terms you agree for your card to be stored for recurring payments.
6.3 If your debit/credit card cannot be charged for any reason, we will retry your payment method after notifying you by email of the payment failure. If after three attempts to collect outstanding fees no payment is received, we reserve the right to either suspend or terminate your subscription. Should your account fall into arrears, your details will be sent to our debt collection partner who will enforce the collection of the debt.
6.4 You can change your subscription, update billing details, and view previous invoices at any time by logging in to your portal – details of which are released upon joining.
6.5 Payment for any additional services, such as additional telephone calls over your package allowance, parcel forwarding and telephone numbers diversion charges are invoiced a month in arrears.
6.6 Automatic Annual and Six Month Renewals: When signing up for our annual or six-month payment option, you agree that your services will be automatically renewed at the expiration of your initial term. If you do not wish to renew, you must provide us with written notice at least one month prior to this renewal. Failure to give notice in the required timeframe will result in you being liable for the renewal fees which will be collected from your debit/credit card.
CANCELLATION
7.1 You can give notice to cancel your subscription at any time by emailing [email protected]. For monthly customers, cancellation terms are based upon a 30-day notice period. For both annual and bi-annual customers, a 30-day notice must be given prior to your renewal date or your account will automatically renew for the same period. Where applicable, an advance service invoice will be raised to cover your notice period on the day your cancellation request is processed.
7.2 Change of Address following cancellation
It is your responsibility to notify all relevant parties of the change in address past your account cancellation date, including all online and offline media.
We allow 3 days (including weekends/bank holidays) past your account cancellation date for our address(s) to be removed from all online and offline media including your website, Companies House (for registered address clients), and Google My Business. Address checks will be conducted after this grace period and if evidence is found that our address is still in use, an immediate £100 + VAT fine will be charged. Fees will be taken from the credit/debit card we hold on file.
Any postal mail or telephone calls received after termination of the Contract will not be forwarded and postal mail will be returned to the sender.
Please see the links below for guidance on changing your address:
HMRC (Registered Addresses) https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/companies-house-forms-file-a-change-of-address
Google My Business Google My Business Detail Updates
Should you not update your address, you will be liable for the charges as referenced above – this debt will be referred to Cobra Financial Solutions Limited for collection. We will not enter into any further correspondence with you at that point.
7.3 Upon cancellation request, one final service invoice will be raised to cover your notice period, we may raise one further invoice for services billed in arrears – post forwarding charges within your final month for example (after your account has been cancelled)
7.4 We reserve the right to terminate the service without notice or refund if any of our terms have been breached or if it’s our belief that the service is being used with fraudulent or criminal intent. Additionally, we may at any time terminate a Contract with immediate effect by giving written notice to you if:
(a) You fail to pay any amount due under a Contract on the due date for payment; or
(b) You commit a breach of any material term of a Contract and (if such breach is remediable) fail to remedy that breach within a period of 3 days after being notified to do so; or
(c) You become insolvent or go into liquidation; or
(d) You suspend payment of your debts or are unable to pay your debts as they fall due; or
(e) You enter into any compromise or arrangement with your creditors to reschedule any of your debts; or
(f) Any action is taken for or in connection with your winding up; or
(g) An administrator is appointed over you; or
(h) You are the subject of a bankruptcy petition or order; or
(i) We are no longer confident in the address you have provided for mail forwarding purposes i.e. forwarded mail is returned to sender
(j) You or someone you have authorised act in a manner that is deemed threatening or abusive towards employees; or
(k) You act in a manner which is or may be detrimental to our business reputation
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
8.1 All intellectual property rights, which include but are not limited to all patents, copyright and related rights, trademarks, domain names, rights in goodwill or to sue for passing off, rights in designs, database rights, rights in confidential information (including know-how and trade secrets) and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered, registrable or not and including all similar or equivalent rights in any part of the world, subsisting in the Site shall be owned by us.
CONFIDENTIALITY
9.1 A party (Receiving Party) shall keep in strict confidence all technical or commercial know-how, specifications, processes or initiatives which are of a confidential nature and have been disclosed to the Receiving Party by the other party (Disclosing Party), its employees, agents or subcontractors, and any other confidential information concerning the Disclosing Party’s business or its products or its services which the Receiving Party may obtain (Confidential Information). The Receiving Party shall restrict disclosure of the Confidential Information to such of its employees, agents or subcontractors as need to know it for the purpose of discharging the Receiving Party’s obligations under the Contract, and shall ensure that such employees, agents or subcontractors are subject to obligations of confidentiality corresponding to those which bind the Receiving Party. The Receiving Party shall only use the Confidential Information for the purposes for which it was disclosed to it and shall under no circumstances use or disclose the Confidential Information after expiry of the Contract. This clause 9 shall survive termination of the Contract.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Applicable laws require that some of the information or communications we send to you should be in writing. When using our Site, you accept that communication with us will be mainly electronic. We will contact you by e-mail or provide you with information by posting notices on our website. For contractual purposes, you agree to this electronic means of communication and you acknowledge that all contracts, notices, information and other communications that we provide to you electronically comply with any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
NOTICES
All notices given by you to us must be by recorded delivery post to Virtual Headquarters Limited, Newminster House, 27-29 Baldwin Street, Bristol, BS1 1LT. We may give notice to you at either the e-mail or postal address you provide to us when placing an order.
COMPLAINTS
We strive to provide first-class customer service, however, in the unlikely event that you wish to raise a formal complaint, please do so in writing, to [email protected] and allow 14 days to investigate your complaint and respond accordingly.
