Terms & Conditions of Business
These Terms and Conditions, together with any and all other documents referred to herein, set out the terms under which Experiences and eGift Vouchers are provided online or at Our places of business and sold by Us in person, via telephone or through theshoebox.org.uk and any website address variant owned by Us that redirects to it (“Our Website”). Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully and ensure that You understand them before purchasing any Experiences or eGift Vouchers from Us. These Terms and Conditions govern the basis on which You will be sold Experiences and eGift Vouchers, and how Customers must conduct themselves during an Experience. Terms and Conditions, as well as any and all Contracts are in the English language only.
1. Definitions and Interpretation
In these Terms and Conditions, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings:
“Contract” means a contract for the purchase and sale of Experiences, as explained in Clause 9.3;
“You/Your” means the person or business that has purchased an Experience or eGift Voucher from Us;
“Customer(s)” means any person who has purchased, won, been booked to attend or has attended an Experience, either as the primary booking holder or as part of a booking;
“Booking” means Your booking for an Experience at the time, date and location shown on Your Booking Confirmation;
“Booking Confirmation” means Our email acceptance and confirmation of Your Booking which also acts as Your ticket for Your Experience;
“Employee(s)” means any person authorised to act on behalf of the company whether a contractor, permanent employee of the company or not;
“Experience(s)” means guided Tour experiences or Escape Games or Events in whatever format or location that it is made available by Us to You; supervised by Our Employees and taking place at Our places of business as specified in Your Booking Confirmation; and
“We/Us/Our” means Pop Up Enterprises CIC a registered company in England and Wales (Registration Number: 09911767)
2. Information About Us
2.1 The Shoebox is owned by Pop Up Enterprises CIC a registered company in England and Wales (Registration Number: 09911767).
2.2 Our Website, theshoebox.org.uk and any website address variant owned by Us that redirects to it, are owned and operated by Pop Up Enterprises CIC a registered company in England and Wales (Registration Number: 09911767)
3. Access To and Use of Our Website
3.1 Access to Our Website is free of charge.
3.2 It is Your responsibility to make any and all arrangements necessary in order to access Our Website.
3.3 Access to Our Website is provided “as is” and on an “as available” basis. We may alter, suspend or discontinue Our Website (or any part of it) at any time and without notice. We will not be liable to You in any way if Our Website (or any part of it) is unavailable at any time and for any period.
4. Booking Responsibility for Experiences
4.1 Bookings can only be made via the online booking system on Our Website, by telephone or in person at Our business premises. You are entirely responsible for checking that the details of Your Booking are correct on Your Booking Confirmation.
4.2 Your Experience is a live event with a scheduled start time and You are responsible for ensuring that all of your party arrive by the time stated on Your Booking Confirmation. Experiences will not be delayed for late arrivals, and allowing late arrivals in after Experiences have begun is entirely at Our discretion and may not be possible at some sites.
4.3 If none of Your party has arrived 15 minutes after Your booked Experience start time, this will be treated as a no-show. In the event that Your party arrives after 15 minutes You may at Our discretion be offered the remainder of Your booked Experience as an alternative to cancellation. No refund is available for no-shows, although We may at Our sole discretion offer to reschedule Your Experience or issue a voucher that allows You to rebook at a later date, subject to a £10.00 late cancellation fee. Any such offer will automatically lapse 48 hours after being made if not taken up by You in that time.
4.4 It is Your responsibility to make Your way to Our business premises to attend Your Experience at the time and location stated on Your Booking Confirmation. We do not provide parking or other travel facilities and any travel information provided on Our Website is only done so as an aid to planning Your visit. We cannot be held responsible for any failure of transport arrangements that result in Your booking being a late start or no-show.
5. Age Restrictions for Escape Games
5.1 Escape Games are suitable for age 10 years and up, as long as children are accompanied by adults. Due to the complexity of our puzzles and the immersiveness of our settings we require a player ratio of at least 1 adult per 3 children under 14, and at least one adult must be present at the location for groups that contain players under 16 years of age.
5.2 Children under 8 years of age are not permitted at all in our standard Escape Games as they are designed to be played by adults and older children, so do not contain elements suitable to entertain younger children for an hour. In addition, Escape Games are not designed to be child-safe and contain items, such as cupboard doors, small objects and trip hazards that could be harmful to young children whilst accompanying adults are distracted by the Escape Game.
5.3 Where a Customer is purchasing an Escape Game on behalf of themselves and other members of a group, that person must be authorised to make the booking on behalf of all persons involved in the booking and by a parent or guardian for anyone under 16 years of age when the booking is made.
6. Business Customers
6.1 These Terms and Conditions equally apply to Customers purchasing Experiences or eGift Vouchers in the course of business.
7. Rules of Conduct for Experiences
7.1 While on Our premises You agree to conform to Our policies and procedures, adopt generally acceptable standards of behaviour, and cooperate with Employees at all times and to ensure that Your party does the same. We also do not tolerate any kind of bullying or harassment towards Employees and reserve the right to remove from Experiences and Our premises any person who is violent, abusive, threatening or disruptive or whose behaviour is causing distress to Employees or other Customers, with no refund for booked or partially attended Experiences.
7.2 For the safety of customers, Employees and the historic buildings in which we operate, persons significantly under the influence of alcohol or drugs are not permitted to attend Experiences. If the majority of Your party arrives for their Experience significantly under influence of alcohol or drugs then entry may be refused by Employees and Experience may be cancelled entirely with no refund. In the event that an intoxicated member of Your team should soil Our premises in any way, you agree to clean up to the satisfaction of Employees using materials provided by Us.
7.3 You agree not to enter Our premises under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If You or any member of Your party are observed to be under such influence, Employees shall have the power, authority and consent expressly granted by You to remove those intoxicated Customers from Our premises without any compensation, remedy or damages. We reserve all rights and authority to take the necessary legal action to ensure Our reputation remains intact and guard against any risk or harm towards Our business. All losses, damages or legal costs derived from such incident shall be solely borne by You.
7.4 You agree not to permit any dangerous, harmful or hazardous object to be carried into Our premises including, but not limited to, sharp objects, explosive items, weapons or item deemed to be dangerous or harmful to Employees or other Customers. In the event that such item or object is found, Employees shall have the power, authority and consent expressly granted by You to remove and confiscate such item for the duration of Your Booking, or to remove You or the person carrying the item from Our premises without any compensation, remedy or damages. You and Your team may not use any object in completing Your Escape Game that has not been provided by Us.
7.5 You and Your team must listen to instructions before the Escape Game in the form of a briefing given by an Employee. After learning the rules of the Escape Game and receiving the information provided at reception and at the briefing, You and Your team will participate in the Escape Game entirely at Your own risk.
7.6 You are required to wear suitable attire including but not limited to footwear and clothing to attend Your Experience. Our Tours and Escape Games take place in unusual locations that are often unheated and dusty environments with uneven floors, so You should wear suitable flat shoes, clothing that You don’t mind getting a bit dirty, and warm clothing, hats and gloves on cold days.
7.7 Escape Games are designed for teams of 2 to 10 people, depending on individual Escape Game capacity, unless indicated otherwise on Our Website. Escape Games are designed and tested to ensure that the majority of customers will take at least an hour to complete their Escape Games, whatever the size of the group. We cannot be held responsible for groups who may have prior knowledge of the contents or mechanisms of Escape Games or who are exceptional game players. No refund of any amount will be given if the Escape Game is finished early, or if Customers, including children, decide not to proceed with or complete their Escape Game.
7.8 No recordings can be taken or mobile communication devices used by Customers during their Escape Game. That includes (without limitation) the use of mobile phones, recording devices (video and/or audio) and cameras. You agree to not permit use of such devices within Your Escape Game and that any attempted use of such devices may result in Your Escape Game being ceased early with no refund.
7.9 You agree not to disclose any details of the puzzles within Your Escape Game directly or indirectly to anybody outside Your own team. Escape Games contain Our intellectual property (or licensed intellectual property) and You are not permitted to use this in any way without Our written consent. You accept that any such disclosure or use by You or Your team may constitute an infringement of Our intellectual property rights.
7.10 You agree not to permit use of any force by Your team whilst playing Your Escape Game and to ensure no damage is caused to any part of the Escape Game, including but not limited to premises, props and furniture. We are entitled to charge You on a time and materials basis for the full repair of damage or replacement of damaged items caused by You or Your team intentionally and/or by misuse of items by the same.
7.11 Closed circuit television may be used to monitor You and Your team during the course of Your Escape Game. This includes audio monitoring and is an essential part of the Escape Game. Recordings are not made and will not be stored of Your Escape Game, except for documenting evidence of illegal behaviour, such as committing wilful damage to property or listed premises.
7.12 Photographs of You and Your team may be taken after the Escape Game, stored on Our computer systems and uploaded to Our social media accounts, showing Your team name but not Your own names. By accepting these Terms and Conditions and permitting Our Employee to take photographs, You grant unconditional permission for those photographs to be used by Us for marketing and promotional purposes. If You do not want Your team photograph to be held by us and used in this way, please advise Our Employee at the time Your photo is taken.
7.13 Consumption of food is not permitted inside any Escape Game and drinks are only allowed in at discretion of Employees, and even then only in closed screw-top containers that must remain away from the main game area at all times. We do not provide any smoking facilities and smoking is not permitted within our venue.
7.14 Escape Games are not a suitable environment for animals and no pets of any kind are permitted in Escape Games.
8. Experiences, Pricing and Availability
8.1 Customers may only purchase Experiences and eGift Vouchers if they are at least 16 years of age.
8.2 We make all reasonable efforts to ensure that all general descriptions of Experiences available from Us correspond to the actual Experiences that will be provided to You, however the exact nature of Experiences may vary at any time.
8.3 We neither represent nor warrant that Experiences will be available at all times and cannot confirm availability until confirming Your purchase. Availability indications are provided on Our Website, however such indications may not take into account bookings that have been placed by other customers during Your visit to Our Website.
8.4 We make all reasonable efforts to ensure that all prices shown on Our Website are correct at the time of going online. We reserve the right to change prices and to add, alter, or remove special offers from time to time and as necessary. Changes in price will not affect any purchase that You have already placed.
8.5 Only one discount, voucher or offer can be used per Experience purchase, with the sole exception of eGift Vouchers that have been purchased online via Our Website and can be used as payment in addition to any other type of discount, voucher or offer.
8.6 In the unlikely event that We have shown incorrect pricing information, we will contact You in writing to inform You of the mistake and to ask You how You wish to proceed. We will give You the option to purchase an Experience at the correct price or to cancel Your purchase. We will not proceed with processing Your Booking until You respond. If We do not receive a response from You within 48 hours, We will treat Your Booking as cancelled and notify You of the same in writing.
8.7 In the event that the price of an Experience You have booked changes between Your Booking being placed and taking place, You will be charged the price shown on Our Website at the time of placing Your Booking. If You subsequently add additional people to Your booking, the additional people will be charged at the price in force at the time of adding the additional people.
9. Booking and Cancellation of Experiences
9.1 Our Website will guide You through the booking process. Before submitting Your Booking to Us You will be given the opportunity to review Your Booking and amend any errors. You are responsible for ensuring that You have checked Your Booking carefully before submitting it and for checking Your Booking Confirmation.
9.2 In the event that you need to reschedule or cancel Your Booking we require 7 days notice prior to Your booked Experience start time via the contact details shown on Your Booking Confirmation. Opportunities to reschedule Experiences are subject to booking availability. We do not guarantee that a suitable alternative time will be available for You. If You decide to cancel instead then we will issue a voucher that allows You to rebook at a later date, no cash refund will be given. In the event that unforeseen circumstances occur and You contact us within 7 days of Your Booking We may at Our sole discretion offer to reschedule Your Experience or issue a voucher that allows You to rebook at a later date, subject to a £10.00 late rearrangement fee. Any such offer will automatically lapse 48 hours after being made if not taken up by You in that time. If fewer guests attend the Experience than were paid for, You do not attend Your Experience at the designated time or leave Your Experience before the end of the designated time, You are not entitled to any refund or compensation.
9.3 No part of Our Website constitutes a contractual offer capable of acceptance. Your Booking constitutes a contractual offer that We may accept at Our sole discretion. Our acknowledgement of receipt of Your Booking does not mean that We have accepted it. Our acceptance is indicated by Us sending You a Booking Confirmation by email. Only once We have sent You a Booking Confirmation email will there be a legally binding contract between Us and You (“the Contract”).
9.4 Booking Confirmations shall contain Our contact details and the following information:
9.4.1 Confirmation of the Expereince booked including details of the time and location of the Experience and the total number of people for whom the booking is valid;
9.4.2 Itemised pricing for the Experience booked including, where appropriate, taxes and other additional charges;
9.5 Your Booking Confirmation is also Your ticket to Your Experience and valid for up to the number of people shown on the Booking Confirmation. Your Booking Confirmation email is also proof of payment and will gain you entrance to Your Experience. Without Your Booking Confirmation email You may be denied entry if you have no other proof of identity. Your Booking Confirmation email is the only document that is acceptable as proof of your booking and payment, and no other form of documentation, including screenshots from the booking process or pending bank transactions, will be accepted as proof of booking or payment.
9.6 If You change Your Booking, We will confirm all agreed changes in writing via an updated Booking Confirmation email.
9.7 We may cancel Your Booking at any time before their scheduled commencement time in the following circumstances:
9.8.1 The required personnel and/or required materials necessary for the provision of the Experience are not available; or
9.8.2 An event outside of Our control occurs that prevents Experience locations from being used (please refer to Clause 14 for events outside of Our control).
9.8.3 Full payment for Your Booking has not been received by 7 days prior to the date and time of Your Booking.
9.9 If We cancel Your Booking under sub-Clause 9.8 and We have taken payment, you will in the first instance be offered an alternative Experience at an equivalent time and nearby location (if such an Experience is available) that is of equal or greater value. If this is not possible then a sum not exceeding your original payment will be refunded to you in the form of a gift voucher valid for at least one year to allow you to rebook at your own convenience. The voucher will be sent by email to the email address held on the booking as soon as possible and in any event within 10 calendar days. If We cancel Your Booking the cancellation will be confirmed in writing by email.
9.10 So you can book with peace of mind during the current COVID-19 challenges, our terms and conditions regarding reschedules and cancellations (clause 9.2 and 9.7) are temporarily amended where COVID illness or isolation is the cause and in those circumstances, the terms laid out in section 15 of our COVID Customer Policy will supersede clause 9.2 and clause 9.7 of these terms and conditions until further notice.
10. Payment
10.1 Payment for individual Experiences will be due in full at the time of purchase. Price and payment details will be confirmed during the purchase process prior to payment and on Your Booking Confirmation or receipt. Your chosen payment method will be charged as indicated during the booking and payment process. For bookings of multiple Experiences we may offer alternative payment options such as a deposit scheme at Our sole discretion and on terms that We shall decide.
10.2 We accept the following methods of payment on Our Website, through Our booking service supplier Checkfront and secure payment processor Stripe, who process Your payment card data without it having to be held by Us:
10.2.1 Visa Debit and Credit Card;
10.2.2 MasterCard Debit and Credit Card;
10.2.3 American Express.
10.3 Payment can only be made in person at our business premises, online, or by telephone.
10.4 If payment taken for Your purchase is subsequently revoked or refunded in any way or by any means then Your purchase will be automatically cancelled and You will be required to repurchase and present valid payment if You wish to attend Your Experience.
10.5 We may offer You at Our sole discretion and on terms that We shall decide, the ability for You to make a reserved booking for an Experience without requiring payment at the time of reservation. Your Booking remains unconfirmed until full payment has been received and Your Booking will be cancelled by Us if full payment has not been received within the time indicated when the reservation is made.
10.6 Discounts, offers, promotional codes and vouchers must be applied at the time of booking and once a purchase has been confirmed no retrospective reduction in price or refund can be given. You must fully meet the criteria for any discount claimed, otherwise We are entitled to request full payment is made before Your Experience takes place. We reserve the right to change or withdraw the availability of any offer, discount or promotion at any time.
11. Provision of the Experiences
11.1 As required by law, We will provide Your Experience with reasonable skill and care, and in accordance with any information provided by Us about the Experiences and about Us. We will provide Your Experience on the date agreed when You make Your Booking, which We shall confirm in the Booking Confirmation email. Any other type of Experience will be provided in the manner and timescale indicated in the pre-purchase information provided for that Experience.
11.2 We will make every reasonable effort to deliver Your Experience in a timely manner. We cannot, however, be held responsible for any delays if an event outside of Our control occurs. Please refer to Clause 14 for events outside of Our control.
11.3 In certain circumstances, for example where We encounter a technical problem, We may need to delay, suspend or otherwise interrupt Your Escape Game to resolve the issue and will attempt to contact You if you are affected.
11.4 If Your Escape Game is delayed, suspended or interrupted by Us under sub-Clause 11.3 and You are unable to complete Your Escape Game You will be offered the opportunity to restart Your Escape Game at a later time.
12. Problems with Your Booking and Your Legal Rights
12.1 As a consumer, You have certain legal rights with respect to the purchase of services. For full details of Your legal rights and guidance on exercising them, it is recommended that You contact Your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Trading Standards Office.
12.2 Nothing in these Booking Terms and Conditions is intended to affect Your statutory rights.
13. Our Liability
13.1 To the fullest extent permissible by applicable law, We disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including but not limited to, implied warranties, merchantability or fitness for the operation of the Experiences. We do not warrant the reliability, accuracy, or completeness of the content and materials included, used or deployed in the Experiences. If any aspect of Your Experience is not as described, you have expressly waived the right to claim any damages and/or losses including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive and consequential damages deriving from such use or reliance of the description of the Experiences.
13.2 You have expressly waived the right to claim any damages and/or losses including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive and consequential damages deriving from the cancellation of a purchase or premature cessation of a Booking under any circumstances.
13.3 All items including, but not limited to, Your personal belongings, objects, luggage, baggage, watches, wallets, items and/or property, shall be kept by You at Your sole risk. In any event, We and Our Employees shall not be held liable or responsible for any loss of Your personal belongings within or outside Our Experience locations. The risk of loss for Your personal belongings shall be borne by you upon entrance to Our locations or engagement with Us.
13.4 To the fullest extent permissible by applicable law; We and Our Employees shall not be responsible for any risk, hazard, danger, security, threat, safety and/or protection for Your Experience. You shall be solely responsible, answerable and accountable for Your personal safety, security, body condition, disease transmission, pregnancy or health condition, while you participate, join, enter, use, and/or access Your Experience. We hereby expressly warn, caution, advise, inform and/or notify that Your Expereince may be dangerous, hazardous, risky, and unsafe, insecure to you and you shall be duly informed, notified and understand the underlying danger, risk or hazard of Your Experience and You shall ensure and guard against Your body condition and personal safety for the duration of Your Experience.
13.5 In the event of a claim, the absolute limit of liability relating to any one purchase shall be the full amount paid by the Customer for that purchase.
13.6 We provide Experiences for private use or purposes. We make no warranty or representation that the Experiences are fit for commercial, business or industrial purposes of any kind. We will not be liable to You for any loss of profit, loss of business, interruption to business or for any loss of business opportunity.
13.7 Nothing in these Terms and Conditions seeks to exclude or limit Our liability for death or personal injury caused by Our negligence, including that of Our Employees; or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
14. Events Outside of Our Control (Force Majeure)
14.1 We will not be liable for any failure or delay in performing Our obligations where that failure or delay results from any cause that is beyond Our reasonable control. Such causes include, but are not limited to: acts and omissions of landlords, power failure, internet service provider failure, industrial action by third parties, civil unrest, fire, explosion, flood, storms, earthquakes, subsidence, acts of terrorism, acts of war, governmental action, epidemic, pandemic or other natural disasters, or any other event that is beyond Our reasonable control.
14.2 If any event described under this Clause 14 occurs that is likely to adversely affect Our performance of any of Our obligations under these Terms and Conditions:
14.2.1 We will inform You as soon as is reasonably possible;
14.2.2 Our obligations under these Terms and Conditions (and therefore the Contract) will be suspended and any time limits that We are bound by will be extended accordingly;
14.2.3 We will inform You when the event outside of Our control is over and provide details of any new dates, times or availability of Experiences as necessary;
14.2.4 If the event outside of Our control continues beyond the period of Your Booking We may cancel the Contract and inform You of the cancellation. Our normal refund policy will apply in these circumstances, which is limited to offering refunds in the form of gift vouchers;
14.2.5 If an event outside of Our control occurs and continues beyond the period of Your Booking and You wish to cancel the Contract as a result, You may do so. Our normal refund policy will apply in these circumstances, which is limited to offering refunds in the form of gift vouchers with a validity of one year.
15. Communication and Contact Details
15.1 To contact Us for any general purpose, email us at team@theshoebox.org.uk or by using Our contact page available on Our Website.
15.2 For cancellation or to reschedule Your Booking, please contact Us by telephone or email using the contact details provided on Your Booking Confirmation or use the website links provided.
16. Complaints and Feedback
16.1 We always welcome feedback from Our customers and, whilst We always use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that Your experience as a customer of Ours is a positive one, We nevertheless want to hear from You if You have any cause for complaint.
16.2 All complaints are handled by Our managers and reviewed by our Directors. If You wish to complain about any aspect of Your dealings with Us, please contact us by telephone or email using the contact details provided on Your Booking Confirmation.
17. How We Use Your Personal Data (Data Protection)
17.1 We will collect, process and use Your personal data in accordance with Our Privacy Policy and Data Protection Policy, which is available on Our Website.
18. Other Important Terms
18.1 We may transfer (assign) Our obligations and rights under these Terms and Conditions (and under the Contract, as applicable) to a third party (this may happen, for example, if We sell Our business). If this occurs, You will be informed by Us in writing. Your rights under these Terms and Conditions will not be affected and Our obligations under these Terms and Conditions will be transferred to the third party who will remain bound by them.
18.2 You may only transfer (assign) Your Booking and rights under these Terms and Conditions (and under the Contract, as applicable) with Our express permission by contacting Us using the contact details provided on Your Booking Confirmation at least 7 days prior to Your Booking.
18.3 The Contract is between You and Us. It is not intended to benefit any other person or third party in any way and no such person or party will be entitled to enforce any provision of these Terms and Conditions.
18.4 Your Bookings may not be transferred or resold for commercial purposes or at a premium. If a booking is transferred or resold in breach of this condition, the bearer of the booking or the person claiming the right to attend the event will be refused admission to the Experience.
18.5 If any of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions are found to be unlawful, invalid or otherwise unenforceable by any court or other authority, that / those provision(s) shall be deemed severed from the remainder of these Terms and Conditions. The remainder of these Terms and Conditions shall be valid and enforceable.
18.6 No failure or delay by Us in exercising any of Our rights under these Terms and Conditions means that We have waived that right, and no waiver by Us of a breach of any provision of these Terms and Conditions means that We will waive any subsequent breach of the same or any other provision.
18.7 We may revise these Terms and Conditions from time to time in response to changes in relevant laws and other regulatory requirements. Any Booking made by You will remain under the Terms and Conditions in force at the time the purchase was made.
19. Law and Jurisdiction
19.1 These Terms and Conditions, and the relationship between You and Us (whether contractual or otherwise) shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, English law.
19.2 If You are a consumer, any disputes concerning these Terms and Conditions, the relationship between You and Us, or any matters arising therefrom or associated therewith (whether contractual or otherwise) shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, as determined by Your residency.
19.3 If You are a business, any disputes concerning these Terms and Conditions, the relationship between You and Us, or any matters arising therefrom or associated therewith (whether contractual or otherwise) shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.