Terms & Conditions

In order to administer the HBSP Card Scheme, your order will be processed by The Installation Assurance Authority (“The IAA”).  The IAA is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 12483858, whose registered office is 3 Vimy Court, Vimy Road, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 1FG. The IAA are working on behalf of the scheme owner, The Home Builders Federation (‘HBF’), under the brand of the Home Builders Skills Partnership (HBSP Card Scheme) with a principal place of business at HBF House, 27 Broadwall, London, SE1 9PL and registered for VAT purposes with number GB 882629486. These terms, will apply to all your purchases of virtual or plastic scheme cards. Please read this document before placing your order.

In order to check your qualifications when applying for a card under the HBSP Card Scheme, your data will be verified against information held by the Construction Industry Training Board (“CITB“). The CITB is a charity registered in England and Wales with Charity Number 264289.

In order to produce and distribute your card, your data will be processed by Reference Point Limited.  Reference Point Limited is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 02156356.

We may change these terms from time to time. Please check them before you make another purchase.

1. Definitions and interpretations

1.1. In these conditions:

1.1.1. “you” means the person or organisation submitting an order for Goods or Services
1.1.2. “us” / “our” means the HBF trading as the HBSP Card Scheme
1.1.3. “goods” means goods to be supplied under these conditions
1.1.4. “services” means the services to be supplied under these conditions
1.1.5. “party” means either you or us; “Parties” means you and us
1.1.6. "writing" means letter, fax or email
1.1.7. “consumer” means any customer who is purchasing goods and services for personal use
1.1.8. “purchaser” means any company applying and purchasing goods or services on behalf of its employees

1.2. The contract for the supply of Goods and/or Services (“Contract”) will be formed when you submit your order.
1.3. These conditions form the entire understanding between you and us and supersede any prior promises, representations (unless fraudulent) or undertakings.
1.4. Any omission or error in any sales literature, web page or site, order form, price list, order acknowledgement, despatch note, invoice or other document issued by us may be corrected by us without liability.
1.5. The provisions of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 are expressly excluded from the Contract so that no third party may claim any rights under this contract.
1.6. Clause headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these conditions. Words in the singular include the plural and vice versa. 

2. Scope of the Card Service

2.1. By applying for a HBSP card;
2.2. You confirm that the information you are providing is true, correct and accurate in all respects
2.3. You agree to comply with all applicable rules relating to the HBSP Card Scheme as laid out in the HBSP Card Scheme Requirements and as may be amended from time to time
2.4. You understand and agree that all or part of the information you supply will or may be used by HBSP Card Scheme for the purposes of administering the HBSP Card Scheme, which may include copying it, to entering it onto a secure database accessible via a website, verification of qualifications via CITB, an on-line card checker and passing your information to various partners for the purpose of data verification and card production. To the extent that any part of the information supplied constitutes personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 2018, you expressly consent to the foregoing:

2.4.1. You will notify The IAA, the HBSP Card Scheme administrator at enquiries@homebuildskillscard.co.uk of any material alteration to any of the information supplied by you (including but not limited to your name(s) or home address) as soon as it occurs, together with documentary evidence thereof (e.g. a marriage certificate or deed poll); and
2.4.2. If your application is made on the behalf of a third party, you confirm that the latter has expressly consented in writing to your so doing
2.4.3. All application fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. If your application is incomplete or unacceptable you will be given 20 days to resolve any issues. Any applications returned after 20 days will be subject to a standard non-refundable charge of £19.20 (including VAT).

2.5. Most cards arrive at their requested destination within 5 days of application. If your card has not been delivered to your requested destination within 2 weeks of your application, please contact the HSBP Card Scheme administrator, The IAA. After 20 days we will consider that your application has been completed and it will be considered closed.  A further payment at the standard rate will be required to reprocess an application.
2.6. HBSP Card Scheme requires a home address for all card holders. HBSP Card Scheme Card Holders must advise the HBSP Card Scheme administrator, The IAA, if they move house or change occupation.
2.7. The HBSP Card Scheme Card remains the exclusive property of HBF.  Cards are issued to and must be kept in the named cardholder’s secure possession at all times.  HBSP Card Scheme reserves the right to unilaterally withdraw a card.
2.8. We shall process your data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. View our Privacy Notice.

3. HBSP Card Scheme Visitors Card

3.1. The HBSP Card Scheme visitors card is ONLY for those workers who do not perform a construction related role but visit site on a regular basis.
3.2. Those persons who work in construction related occupations should now be looking to develop plans to move across to the appropriate skilled card.  Those working in construction related occupations without qualifications will be expected to register onto the appropriate qualification.  Visit www.cscs.uk.com to find out more.
3.3. Where a HBSP Card Scheme Visitors card has been applied for in error by persons who should now obtain an appropriate CSCS skilled card, refunds will not be made.
3.4. Where a person or organisation has attempted to fraudulently apply for a HBSP Card Scheme visitor card, the fraud will be investigated and if necessary, the appropriate authorities will be informed and the card will be cancelled.
3.5. Where an issued card has been lost or stolen, you must notify us at enquiries@homebuildskillscard.co.uk to enable the cancellation of the card. 

4. Scheme Requirements

4.1. Any person who purchases goods or services must do so in conjunction with the scheme rules.
4.2. The scheme rules can be found here. 

5. Accessing the Site

5.1. Access to the Site is permitted on a temporary basis, and we reserve the right to withdraw or amend the service we provide on the Site without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason the Site is unavailable at any time or for any period.
5.2. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Site, or the entire Site, to users who have registered with us.
5.3. If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any third party. We have the right to disable any user identification code or password, at any time, if in our opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these terms of use.  If you know or suspect that anyone other than you knows your user identification code or password, you must promptly notify us at enquiries@homebuildskillscard.co.uk.
5.4. You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Site. You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access the Site through your internet connection are aware of these terms of use and other applicable terms and conditions, and that they comply with them.
5.5. When using the Site, you must also comply with the provisions of our Privacy Policy.  Our Privacy Policy, sets out the terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us. By using the Site you warrant that all data provided by you is true and accurate.  See our Privacy Notice.

6. Viruses, Hacking and Other Offences

6.1. You must not misuse the Site by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Site, the server on which the Site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to the Site. You must not attack the Site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack.
6.2. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use the site will cease immediately.
6.3. We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a distributed denial-of-service attack, viruses or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of the Site or to your downloading of any material posted on it, or on any website linked to it. 

7. Warranty

7.1. If the Goods which you purchase from us are faulty or do not do what we say in Writing that they will do, you should notify us in writing within 28 days of delivery. We will examine the Goods and, if the Goods are faulty or do not do what we say in Writing that they will do, we will, at our option, either replace the defective Goods or refund the price of the defective Goods.
7.2. The warranty above does not apply to faults which have been caused by your mis-use and/or neglect of the Goods or by accidents caused while the Goods are in your possession.
7.3. Where you return Goods under this section, we will pay for the delivery of any replacement Goods to you. We will not be liable for any delivery costs where you are not entitled to return the Goods to us under these conditions or by law.
7.4. You must return all Goods to us in their original packaging in substantially the same condition as you bought them.
7.5. We will supply the Services which you purchase from us with reasonable skill and care.
7.6. If the Services which you purchase from us do not do what we say in Writing that they will do, you should notify us in Writing within 28 days of their supply or within a reasonable time from their supply for defects which are not apparent to you following the provision of the Services. If the Services are not in compliance with clause 2.5 above, or do not do what we say in Writing that they will do, we will either remedy the defect in question, re-supply the defective Services or refund the price (or a proportionate part of the price) of the defective Services (or proportionate part of the Services). 

8. Limitation of liability

8.1. We will not be liable to you by way of representation (unless fraudulent), common law duty or under any express or implied term of the Contract for:
8.1.1. any losses which are not reasonably foreseeable by both Parties when the Contact is formed arising in connection with the supply of Goods and/or Services or their use by you
8.1.2. any losses which are not caused by any breach by us; and/or
8.1.3. business or trade losses.
8.2. Subject to condition 8.3 below, our entire liability in connection with the Contract will not exceed the purchase price of the Goods or Services to which the claim relates.
8.3. Nothing in this Contract shall limit our liability to you for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence or that of our employees, agents or subcontractors nor for any other matter which by law cannot be excluded. 

9. Price

9.1. The price for the Goods and/or Services is stated on the website order form at point of submission. All prices shown on the site are in pounds sterling and are inclusive of VAT unless otherwise provided. If the rate of VAT is amended, we shall change the rate of VAT payable by you accordingly. 

10. Payment at point of order

10.1. The price of the product (which includes VAT) will be the price indicated in pounds sterling on the website order page when you placed your order.
10.2. All payments should be made via our website by PayPal or Major Credit Cards.

11. Payment by Business Credit Account

11.1. If you wish to open a Business Credit Account, you must complete the online application. 
11.2. We reserve the right to grant, decline or terminate any credit facilities or reduce or suspend any credit limit at any time and demand immediate payment of all monies outstanding.
11.3. Sums due on a Business Credit Account are payable by you by the last working day of the month following the month in which delivery of the Goods / Services takes place.  If you exceed any due date, we may demand immediate payment of all monies outstanding from you on account.
11.4. We may request a sum to be paid in advance.  Any advance payment made by you at our request shall be held by us as a deposit and not as a part payment.  Any deposit is non-refundable in the event of you exceeding your credit terms.
11.5. If you become unable to pay your debts (or have no reasonable prospect of so doing), make an arrangement with your creditors, suffer a bankruptcy order, become insolvent or go into liquidation, receivership or administration, have an administrator appointed, are wound up, or breach your payment obligations under the Contract, then we may, as well as any other rights which we have under this Contract, immediately terminate the Contract and suspend or cancel further delivery.
11.6. If you fail to pay for any Goods in accordance with these conditions we may bring action against you for the price of the Goods at any time.
11.7. Where credit has been declined or terminated, our goods / services are available to you through the “Payment at point of order” facility.
11.8. No payment will be deemed to have been received until we have received cleared funds.
11.9. All payments payable by you under the contract will become due and payable immediately, on its termination, despite any other provision. 

12. Delivery

12.1. We will deliver the Goods to the address designated by you in the accepted order during normal business hours.
12.2. We will deliver the Services to the virtual address designated by you in the accepted order.  Digital services will require the download of the Vircarda app which can be found on www.vircarda.co.uk
12.3. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, any delivery date or time specified by us is a best estimate only and we will not be liable to you for any loss or damage sustained by you if we fail to meet that time scale.
12.4. If you have any queries relating to the delivery of your Goods or Services, or in the event of non-delivery, please contact us at enquiries@homebuildskillscard.co.uk 

13. Risk and title

13.1. The risk for damage to the Goods will pass to you upon delivery.
13.2. Title to the Goods will not pass to you until we have received payment in full for the Goods.
13.3. We shall replace, free of charge, any Goods damaged or lost in transit, provided that you give us written notification of such damage or loss within 7 days of the date of order. 

14. Summary of your key legal rights where you are purchasing as a Consumer

14.1. This is a summary of your key legal rights where you are purchasing as a Consumer. These are subject to certain exceptions. For detailed information, please visit Citizens Advice or call them on 03454 040506.
14.2. If your product is goods, for example a physical version of a card, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says goods must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality. During the expected life of your product your legal rights entitle you to the following:
  • up to 30 days: if your item is faulty, then you can get a refund
  • up to six months: if your faulty item can't be repaired or replaced, then you're entitled to a full refund, in most cases.

14.3. If your product is digital content, for example a virtual card, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says digital content must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality:
  • if your digital content is faulty, you're entitled to a repair or a replacement
  • if the fault can't be fixed within a reasonable time, or without causing you significant inconvenience, you can get some or all of your money back
  • if you can show the fault has damaged your device and we haven't used reasonable care and skill, you may be entitled to a repair or compensation.

14.4. Under the United Kingdom’s the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, you have the right to cancel the Contract for the purchase of any of the Goods and/or the supply of the Services within 14 working days. These cancellation rights do not apply to goods made to a customer's specification.  For the purposes of this contract, at the point an application is accepted the order, made to the customer’s specification, deemed to be processed.  Therefore this right to cancel is not applicable to this contract. 

15. Delay or failure to perform

15.1. We shall not be liable to you if we are prevented or delayed in the performing of any obligations to you if this is due to any cause beyond our reasonable control including: an act of God, explosion, flood, fire or accident; war or civil disturbance; strike, industrial action or stoppages of work; any form of government intervention; a third party act or omission; failure by you to give us a correct delivery address or any failure by you to notify us of a change of address. 

16. Assignment

16.1.1. We may freely assign, sub-contract or otherwise transfer in whole or in part the Contract. You may not assign, sub-contract or otherwise transfer in whole or in part the Contract without our written agreement. 

17. General

17.1. When using our website, please refer to our website user conditions[SC1] [AR2] [SC3] . We may provide links to other, third party websites on our website. These links are for your information only and do not constitute any endorsement of any third party products, services or information and you acknowledge and accept that any reliance upon such information shall be at your own risk.
17.2. All intellectual property in the Goods and Services (including, without limitation, any information, documentation and/or materials produced in connection with the Goods or Services) are and shall remain fully vested in us. Nothing in these conditions shall grant to you any rights to, or in, patents, copyrights, database rights, trade secrets, trade names, trade marks (whether registered or unregistered), or any other rights or licences in respect of the Goods or Services.
17.3. These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in the English courts. If you live in Scotland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.
17.4. No waiver by us of any breach of the Contract by you is considered as a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same or any other provision.
17.5. We make no representation, warranty or guarantee in respect of the Goods or Services and shall have no liability to you (whether in contract, tort, negligence or otherwise and howsoever arising) for any loss, damage, costs or expenses incurred by you, or any third party, acting in reliance upon or by virtue of any information which has been accessed by you by virtue of the Goods or the Services provided under this Contract.
17.6. The views and/or opinions expressed by any of our employees during the provision of the Goods or Services (or otherwise) may not represent our views and/or opinions and we shall have no liability to you or any third party (whether in contract, tort, negligence or otherwise and howsoever arising) for any loss, damage, suffering, costs and/or expenses incurred resulting from the expression of such views and/or opinions by our employees.
17.7. If you have any questions or complaints about the Goods or Services, please call customer services on 0333 323 9025 or email us at enquiries@homebuildskillscard.co.uk, or by post at HBSP Card Scheme,  3 Vimy Court, Vimy Road, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 1FG.
17.8. We will acknowledge your complaint within seven working days and you can expect a full response within 21 days.
17.9. If you are dissatisfied with the response to your complaint you can ask for it to be referred to The IAA CEO by post at HBSP Card Scheme, 3 Vimy Court, Vimy Road, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 1FG.