Global Plug Services
Terms of Business
LAST UPDATED: November 2023
1. OUR TERMS OF BUSINESS
1.1 Please read these Terms of Business carefully because they set out our rights and obligations in relation to the application support services supplied by Global Plug Services. By instructing us to undertake the application support services on your behalf, you are deemed to have accepted these Terms of Business.
1.1 Global Plug Service supplies application support services for applicants applying for visas, passports, and other identification documents. We are not part of any embassy, consulate, high commission, passport office or NIN authority. We are an independent third-party supplier of application facilitation services.
1.2 These Terms of Business govern the relationship between you, the client who has placed the order or the recipient of the services (if different) (“you”) and us Global Plug Services Limited. These Terms of Business apply to the supply of the service by us and forms the basis of our contract together in respect of the processing of visas, passports, and identification documents for you or on your behalf. Our contract commences when we accept your order and request payment, and it ends when we complete the application support services unless cancelled early by either one of us.
1.3 Global Plug Services Limited is a company incorporated in England and Wales under Company No. 13758259 whose registered office is at 1st Floor ,Highlands House, 165 The Broadway, London, England, SW19 1NE, UK (“we” or “us”).
1.4 These Terms of Business are subject to change without prior notice, except that the Terms of Business in force at the time you place your order will govern the order in question. You can determine when we last changed these Terms of Business by referring to the ‘LAST UPDATED’ statement above.
1.5 If you are a consumer within the meaning of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (“Consumer”) then additional rights may be available to you and will be specified in these Terms of Business. If you are not a Consumer, you confirm that you have authority to bind any business on whose behalf you seek to purchase services.
1.6 In these Terms of Business references to “Issuing Authority” means any embassy, consulate, High Commission, visa office, passport office, NIN authority and/or third-party mandated to issue visas, passports and identification documents for a relevant jurisdiction or institution.
Version July 2022
2. SERVICE RESTRICTIONS
2.1 You should read this section carefully as it contains important information about our responsibility to you should something go wrong with your application. The restrictions in this section are in addition to those set out at section 7 (Liability restrictions) which we also recommend you read.
2.2 We are committed to processing your application for visas, passports and identification documents with reasonable skill and care. However, the nature of our business means that we cannot guarantee a particular outcome for applicants since we are not the Issuing Authority for applications. Consequently, we cannot guarantee successful completion of your application or timely completion of your application by the Issuing Authority.
2.3 You should be aware that:
- The Issuing Authority has sole power to make the final determination about your application and it has the right to reject any application for whatever reason and may not provide us with a reason for such rejection although we will endeavour to request one.
- The Issuing Authority may choose to grant a different type of travel document than that applied for which may affect the purpose, validity, or number of entries to your destination. As a result, non-refundable tickets or reservations should not be purchased until all the required travel documents for your trip have been secured.
- Immigration officials in your destination make the final determination about admission to the state, even when all the stipulated travel requirements are satisfied by the traveller.
2.4 We would not normally be responsible for any decision or conduct of an Issuing Authority or immigration official with regards to your application except where the problem occurs because of our negligence. You accept that we have no control over the Issuing Authority or immigration officials’ decision-making process beyond processing your application with reasonable skill and care.
3. YOUR CANCELLATION RIGHTS
3.1 If you are a Consumer in the UK, you may have a legal right to cancel an order or contract during the cooling-off period of 10 Business Days. This means that during the relevant period if a Consumer changes his or her mind or for any reason, they decide they do not want to proceed with an order, he or she can notify the supplier of that decision to cancel the order and receive a refund.
3.2 A Consumer can use any written notification of cancellation to GPS. However, because of the urgent nature of the orders placed with us, and for delay prevention purposes, we commence processing of applications immediately upon payment and full documentation, which may be before the expiry of the statutory cooling off period. The Consumer expressly authorises and accepts this.
3.3 Therefore, the Consumer may not receive the benefit of the full cooling off period for orders placed with GPS and may be liable for part or all the charges for services rendered by GPS prior to receiving the Consumer’s cancellation notice. Moreover, visas, passports and identification documents are items prepared to the Consumer’s own specifications and as such the cooling off period and right of cancellation may not apply.
3.4 GPS reserves the right to charge cancellation fees for early withdrawal of any application where it has incurred the same from an Issuing Authority.
4. YOUR COMMITTMENTS
4.1 You confirm that:
- You will cooperate with us during the application support services including supplying the requisite information and documentation for your application in a timely manner as well as responding to our communications in a timely manner too.
- The information supplied by you in any application is comprehensive, correct and up to date.
- You are not prevented or barred from applying for the application which forms the basis of this contract, and you will notify us immediately if at any time before or after your application, you become aware of any reason why you may not be suitable for the application.
- You will treat us with respect and dignity.
4.2 You agree to reimburse us if we incur any penalties, claims or losses because of your failure to comply with any visa, passport or identification document requirements or these Terms of Business.
5. YOUR APPLICATION SUPPORT
5.1 We supply the following application support for your visas, passports, and identification documents. The application support ordered by you will form the basis of this contract:
Application support service | Breakdown | |
Visa | 1. | Client consultation |
| 2. | Preparation of your visa application with your cooperation |
| 3. | Submission of your visa application (plus supporting documentation) to Issuing Authority |
| 4. | Booking your visa appointment at Issuing Authority; |
| 5. | Troubleshooting your application post submission: responding to queries, chasing, and requesting updates from Issuing Authority; and |
| 6. | Return of your visa and/or travel documents. |
Passport | 1. | Client consultation |
|
responding to queries, chasing, and requesting updates from Issuing Authority. | |
NIN | Enrolment centre services
|
5.2 We use reasonable skill and care to ensure we supply you with accurate information about your application. However, the information we supply to you is based on the information supplied to us by the Issuing Authority. As such we cannot guarantee that the information supplied by us is free from errors and/or omissions. We will notify you should we become aware of any inaccuracies in information supplied by us.
5.3 You agree to cooperate with us during the application support including supplying the requisite information and documentation in a timely manner and responding to our communications in a timely manner too.
5.4 We will only process the visa, passport or identification documents indicated in your order and we accept no responsibility for any other visas, passports or identification documents required by you for your travel arrangements.
5.5 We accept no liability for travellers electing to obtain on-arrival visas, passports, or identification documents.
5.6 We will not normally be responsible for any loss or damage to your documents, including applications and travel documents in our possession except where the loss or damage is because of our negligence.
5.7 You are responsible for making yourself aware of any official warnings about the safety of the destination in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly.
5.8 We reserve the right to refuse in our total discretion any application at any time and no reason need be given.
6. OUR APPLICATION TIMESCALES
6.1 Indicative timescales for the application support are listed below:
| Issuing Authority timescales |
Visa | Typically 5 Business Days |
Passport/ travel document | Typically 2- 20 Business Days |
NIN | Typically 2-20 Business Days |
6.2 We will use reasonable skill and care to process your application for the date required in a timely manner. However, you should be aware that:
- all requirements to obtain a visa, passport and identification document is calculated based on the general criteria above and this criteria may vary according to information supplied by you to the Issuing Authority; and
- the Issuing Authority may change general requirements without notice or require additional information from you,
which will all have an impact on the timescales supplied by us. We will inform you as soon as practicable of any such changes to your forecasted timescales.
- GPS and the Issuing Authority reserve the right to prioritize processing according to the travel dates indicated by applicants.
- “Business Day” means a day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in England or the location of the Issuing Authority, when banks in are open for business.
7. APPLICATION DOCUMENTS
7.1 When we return your visas, passports, and identification documents, it is your responsibility to verify:
- that all the visas, passports and identification documents required for your trip have been obtained;
- that the visas, passports, and identification documents are valid for your entry and exit dates;
- that your personal details are reflected accurately; and
- that your passport is valid for at least six months beyond the completion of your trip,
You must notify us immediately by calling customer service at info@globalplugservices.com plus sending us a follow-up email identifying any discrepancy in your visa, passport, or identification documentations.
- You may collect your visa, passports or identification documents from our office advertised on our website or alternatively you may elect to have it returned by Royal Mail or courier service unless instructed otherwise by us. A delivery charge will be added to your order if you choose to use a delivery service. All third-party delivery services are subject to the supplier’s terms and conditions, and we do not accept responsibility for any loss, damage or delays caused by a third-party delivery service except where the problem occurs because of our negligence.
- Should a passport, document or other item be lost, misplaced, damaged, delayed or destroyed, we will only be liable to the extent the problem occurred because of our negligence and our liability shall be limited to the basic replacement cost of that item.
8. APPLICATION CHARGES & PAYMENT
8.1 Our application charge is as advised by our personnel before you place your order. The application charge is subject to VAT, all of which must be paid by you at the point of order. Our charges may vary according to the number of Business Days available for processing when you submit your order, Issuing Authority closures to be excluded from this calculation.
8.2 The application charge is payable for each application to be processed by us. Typically, the application charge includes both GPS charges and the Issuing Authority’s charges unless we state otherwise.
8.3 We require payment of the application charge in full before commencement of any application support. You may pay the application charge via cash or BACs transfer.
8.4 Issuing Authority charges are subject to change without notice. The application charge may therefore change after submission of your order in which case we shall notify you of the change. We cannot accept responsibility for any third-party charge increments, except where the same occurs because of our negligence. You are under no obligation to pay third-party charge increments. However, we may be unable to progress your application in the absence of full payment of all sums due.
8.5 We commence the application support upon receipt of full payment and documentation. Once this process commences, it may not be possible to claim a full refund from us, regardless of the outcome of the application because fees paid to an Issuing Authority on your behalf are nonrefundable.
8.6 If we are unable to collect any payment you owe us, we may charge you interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 3% a year above the Bank of England base rate from time to time. This interest accrues daily from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You pay us the interest together with any overdue amount.
8.7 We reserve the right to retain any visa, passport, or identification document until payment of all sums due under these Terms of Business are fully paid by you.
9. LIABILITY RESTRICTIONS
9.1 You should read this section carefully as it contains important information about our responsibility to you should something go wrong with your application. The restrictions in this section are in addition to those set out at section 2 (Service Restrictions) which we also recommend you read.
9.2 GPS shall not be liable for the actions or defaults of any Issuing Authority such as delaying or not issuing any application for whatever reason except to the extent the same was caused by our negligence. Any loss, damages, expense, or cost incurred by the client due to these delays or non-issuances shall not be the responsibility of GPS nor shall any charges be levied upon GPS.
9.3 GPS shall not be liable for any defective applications such as:
- incomplete application forms; or
- incorrectly or falsely completed application forms; or
- inaccurate or incomplete supporting documentation, where the client has failed to supply valid information despite requests by GPS unless the same was caused by our negligence. Any loss, damages, expense, or cost incurred by the client due to a defective application will not be the responsibility of GPS nor shall any charges be levied upon GPS.
- For non-consumers: despite any other provision of this contract, we will not be responsible under this contract (in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise) for any travel or holiday cost or loss and any indirect or consequential loss, howsoever incurred.
- Despite the other provisions of this contract, our maximum liability for loss and damages suffered by you whether under contract, tort, or otherwise, shall be limited to an upper limit of : (a) for non-Consumers: the value of the fees paid for the application(s) to us (if any);
(b) for Consumers: the value of the fees paid for the application(s) to us plus £250 (two hundred and fifty pounds),
provided it was directly and wholly attributable to our negligence.
9.6 Despite any other provision of this contract, we shall never accept responsibility for:
- any loss or damage suffered by you which was not reasonably foreseeable at the time of you order; or
- any loss or damage suffered by you which is business loss,
accordingly any claim brought against us which was not foreseeable or is business loss will be rejected on this basis.
- Any claim for loss or damages you have against us must be made to us within six years from the date of our negligence. Claims brought after this period may be rejected on the basis that it is time barred.
- Nothing in these Terms of Business shall exclude or limit our responsibility for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) any other matter for which it would be illegal for us to exclude or attempt to exclude our liability. You may bring claims against us for any claims that fall within the categories (a)-(c).
10. FORCE MAJEURE
10.1 We will not be responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under this contract that is caused by a force majeure.
10.2 For the purposes of this contract, a “force majeure” means any act or event beyond our reasonable control which we did not cause, including (without limitation) a natural disaster, adverse weather, political or civil unrest, industrial action, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not), pandemic, epidemic, or law.
10.3 If a force majeure event takes place that affects the performance of our obligations under this contract:
- We will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to notify you; and
- Our obligations under this contract will be suspended and the time for performance of our obligations will be extended for the duration of the force majeure event.
10.4 If a force majeure event subsists for a continuous period of 1 month you will be entitled to cancel our contract and claim a refund for any aspect of the application support not rendered. You will not however be entitled to recover any aspect of the Issuing Authority’s fee if your application has already been submitted to the Issuing Authority.
11. OUR WEBSITE
11.1 General browsing of our website (as opposed to ordering of services) is subject to our Website Terms of Use and not these Terms of Business.
11.2 We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices displayed on our website are accurate, however occasionally changes and errors occur, and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances.
11.3 We encourage you to check the fee and other details relating to the service that you wish to book before submitting your order.
12. COMPLAINTS
12.1 We want to give you the best possible service. However, if at any point you become unhappy or concerned about the service we have provided you should inform us immediately so we can do our best to resolve the problem. In the first instance contact us to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues. Making a complaint will not compromise your application. You should notify us of any complaint you may have in writing as soon as possible, but in any event within 28 days of being notified of the outcome of your application or other cause of concern.
12.2 Complaints should be marked for the attention of: Client Service Manager and sent to info@globalplugservice.co.uk.
12.3 We will endeavour to respond to your complaint within 20 Business Days of receipt. Should we not be able to respond to you within these time timescales, we will advise you accordingly.
13. DATA PROTECTION
13.1 You authorise us to collect, process and store your sensitive information pursuant to the application support services.
13.2 We process your personal data in accordance with the practices set out in our Privacy Policy, a copy of which can be found at our website.
14. GENERAL PROVISIONS
14.1 Third party rights: nobody else has rights under this contract except you (and the applicant (if different from you)). This contract is between you and us and nobody else can enforce it (other than the applicant if different from you) and neither of us will need to ask anybody else to signoff on ending or changing it.
14.2 Severance: If a court invalidates some of this contract, the rest of it will still apply. If a court or other authority decides that some of these terms are unlawful, the rest will continue to apply.
14.3 No waiver: Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. We might not immediately chase you for not doing something or for doing something you’re not allowed to, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it later.
14.4 Changes to this contract: No change to this contract will be valid unless it is expressly agreed by you and our senior management at GPS.
14.5 Rights & remedies: our rights and remedies provided under this contract are in addition to, and not exclusive of, any rights or remedies provided by law generally.
14.6 Applicable law & court: this contract and any dispute or claim arising out of it will be governed by the law of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales will have sole power to settle any dispute or claim arising out of it.