Terms & Conditions

These terms cover three things: using this website, buying our services, and buying our digital products and memberships. Please read them before you book or buy. By using the site or placing an order you accept them.

1. Who we are

This website is operated by Mares & Makers, a UK-based sole trader business providing websites, social media, marketing services and digital products to equine businesses.

• Email: lilah@maresandmakers.co.uk
• Website: maresandmakers.co.uk
• Postal address: available on request by email.
• VAT: we are not registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged on our prices.

In these terms, “we”, “us” and “our” means Mares & Makers; “you” means the person or business using the site or buying from us.

2. Using this website

We provide this website free of charge and make it available on an “as is” basis. We may change, suspend or withdraw any part of it at any time without notice, and we do not guarantee it will always be available or free of errors.

The content on this site is general information about our services. It is not professional, financial or legal advice, and you should not rely on it as the only basis for a business decision.

You agree not to: use the site unlawfully or fraudulently; submit false information through our forms; attempt to gain unauthorised access to the site, its server or any connected system; introduce viruses or other harmful material; or copy, scrape, republish or resell any part of the site without our permission.

Where the site links to other websites, those links are for information only. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content.

3. Services: how a contract is formed

The prices and package descriptions shown on this site are an invitation to enquire, not a binding offer. Nothing on the site obliges us to accept a booking.

1. You send an enquiry, request a free audit, or ask for a quote.
2. We send you a written proposal or quote setting out the scope of work, the deliverables, the timeline and the price.
3. A contract comes into existence when you accept that proposal in writing (including by email) and, where we ask for one, we receive your deposit or first payment.

The proposal, together with these terms, forms the whole agreement between us. If anything in a signed proposal conflicts with these terms, the proposal wins for that project.

Quotes are valid for 30 days unless we say otherwise. Work outside the agreed scope is chargeable, and we will always agree the extra cost with you in writing before starting it.

The complimentary audit is exactly that — free, with no obligation on either side. It is our opinion based on the information available to us at the time.

4. Delivering the work, and what we need from you

Timelines. Any dates we give are estimates based on receiving what we need from you on time. We will keep you informed if anything is likely to slip.

What we need from you. To deliver on time we need you to supply content, images, brand assets, approvals and any account access we have asked for, and to give feedback within the times set out in the proposal. If material or approvals are outstanding for more than 30 days we may pause the project and charge a reasonable fee to restart it, or invoice for work completed to date.

Your material. You confirm that any text, images, logos, video or other material you give us is either yours or properly licensed, and that we may use it to deliver the work. You agree to indemnify us against any claim arising from material you supplied. We are not responsible for checking that your content is accurate or legally compliant.

Revisions. Each package includes the number of revision rounds stated in your proposal. Further rounds are charged at our then-current hourly rate.

Third-party costs. Domains, hosting, stock imagery, fonts, plugins, advertising spend and similar third-party costs are not included in our fees unless the proposal says so. Those services are supplied under the third party’s own terms.

Sign-off. Where you approve a deliverable, that approval is your confirmation that it meets the agreed brief. Corrections needed after sign-off because of a change of mind are chargeable.

5. Digital products and downloads

We sell digital products such as templates, caption banks, planners and self-paced online courses. Orders are placed through the checkout or payment link we provide, or by arrangement by email; a contract is formed when we confirm your order and send your access details or download link.

What you get:

• Access is granted to one person or one business and is for your own use only.
• Where we describe a product as “lifetime access”, that means for as long as we continue to offer that product. We will give you reasonable notice and the chance to download your materials if we ever retire it.
• Where we describe “free updates”, that means updates we choose to make to that same product. It is not a promise of new products.
• You are responsible for having a device and internet connection capable of downloading and opening the files. We will tell you the format before you buy if you ask.

You must not share your login, resell, redistribute, sublicense or publish our materials, or pass them off as your own product. You may of course use the templates and plans to market your own business — that is what they are for.

6. Memberships and subscriptions

Memberships and monthly retainers run as rolling agreements. Unless your proposal says otherwise:

• Payment is taken monthly in advance by Direct Debit, through our payment provider GoCardless, on the same date each month as the date you signed up (if you sign up on the 29th, 30th or 31st, on the last day of each month). You will be notified of the amount and date before each first collection and before any change, and you are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
• Either of us may end the arrangement by giving 30 days’ written notice, with the notice period running to the end of your current paid month.
• Cancelling stops future payments; it does not refund the month you are in, during which we will keep delivering the agreed work.
• Access to any membership area, community or content library ends when your paid period ends.
• Where a minimum term applies, we will state it clearly in your proposal before you commit.

We may change subscription prices by giving you at least 30 days’ notice. If you do not accept the change you may cancel before it takes effect.

7. Prices, VAT and payment

Prices shown on the site are in pounds sterling. We are not registered for VAT, so no VAT is added to our prices and we cannot issue VAT invoices. Prices marked “from” are starting prices; your actual price will be confirmed in your quote.

Unless your proposal says otherwise: project work is invoiced with a 50% deposit before we start and the balance on completion; invoices are payable within 14 days by bank transfer to the account shown on the invoice, quoting the invoice number; and we may withhold final files or launch until payment has cleared.

If an invoice is overdue we may suspend work and, where you are buying as a business, charge interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

We take reasonable care to price the site accurately. If a price is obviously wrong we will tell you before proceeding and you may cancel that order for a full refund.

8. Cancellation, refunds and your consumer rights

Your 14-day right to change your mind

Because you buy from us at a distance, as a consumer you normally have 14 days from the day the contract is made (for services and digital content) or from delivery (for goods) to cancel without giving a reason. Two important exceptions apply:

• Digital products. When you buy a download or online course we ask you to expressly request immediate access and to acknowledge that you lose the 14-day right once download or streaming has begun. Once you have accessed the content, we cannot offer a refund for a change of mind.
• Services started early. If you ask us to start work within the 14-day period and then cancel, you must pay for the work already done, in proportion to what was agreed.

To cancel, email lilah@maresandmakers.co.uk with your name, order details and a clear statement that you are cancelling. Any refund due is made within 14 days of us being told, using the same payment method you used.

If something is wrong with what you bought

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 our services must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, and our digital content must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If it is not, you are entitled to a repeat performance or repair and, where that is not possible, an appropriate price reduction or refund. Tell us as soon as you can and we will put it right.

Cancelling a project by either side

If you cancel a booked project before it is finished, deposits are non-refundable and you remain liable for work completed and any third-party costs we have already committed to on your behalf. We may end a project on written notice if you fail to pay, fail to supply what we need for more than 30 days, or are abusive to us; in that case we will invoice for work done to date.

9. Intellectual property

Our IP. The Mares & Makers name, logo, brand, site content, methods and product materials — including The 6am System™ — belong to us and are protected by copyright and other rights. Nothing in these terms transfers them to you.

Your project deliverables. Once you have paid in full, we assign or license to you the rights in the final deliverables created specifically for you, so you can use them for your business. Until payment is received in full, all rights stay with us.

What stays ours. Our underlying tools, templates, frameworks, code libraries, working files and know-how remain ours, along with any third-party assets that are licensed rather than owned (fonts, stock images, plugins). Where those are used in your project, you receive the benefit of the relevant licence, not ownership.

Digital products. Buying a digital product gives you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use it in your own business. It does not transfer ownership and does not allow resale or redistribution.

Portfolio. We would like to show work we have done for you in our portfolio, case studies and social media, and to describe you as a client. We will ask for your permission first, and you can withdraw it at any time by emailing us.

10. No guarantee of results

Marketing outcomes depend on many things outside our control — your market, pricing, capacity, competitors, seasonality and the platforms’ own algorithms. We will apply our skill and experience, but we do not guarantee any particular level of enquiries, followers, bookings, revenue or search ranking, and any figures, examples or case studies shown on this site illustrate what has been achieved rather than what you should expect.

11. Our liability to you

We never limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Nor do we limit a consumer’s statutory rights.

Subject to that, and to the fullest extent the law allows:

• Our total liability arising out of any contract with you is limited to the total fees you have paid us under that contract in the 12 months before the claim arose.
• Where you are a business customer, we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business, loss of contracts, loss of anticipated savings, loss of goodwill, or any indirect or consequential loss.
• We are not liable for loss or damage caused by third-party platforms and suppliers — for example hosting downtime, a social media account being suspended, or an advertising platform changing its rules — or for loss of data where you have not kept your own backups.
• Where you use this website as a business, we exclude all implied warranties to the fullest extent permitted by law.

12. Complaints

If you are unhappy with anything, please email lilah@maresandmakers.co.uk. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and aim to resolve it within 30 days. We would always rather sort a problem out directly than have it escalate.

13. General terms

Changes to these terms. We may update these terms from time to time. The version that applies to your order is the one published when you placed it, and the current version is always on this page.

Events outside our control. Neither of us is liable for failing to perform because of something beyond our reasonable control, including illness, power or internet failure, platform outages, extreme weather or government restrictions. We will let you know and agree revised dates.

Transfer. We may transfer our rights and obligations under a contract to another business, and will tell you if we do. You may only transfer yours with our written consent.

Confidentiality. Each of us will keep the other’s confidential business information private and use it only for the purposes of the work.

Severance. If any part of these terms is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.

Waiver. If we do not insist that you do something you are required to do, or delay in taking action against you, that does not mean we have given up that right.

Third parties. Only you and we have rights under a contract between us. No one else may enforce it under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

Entire agreement. Your proposal together with these terms is the whole agreement between us and replaces anything discussed beforehand.

Personal data. We handle personal data in line with our Privacy Policy. Where we handle personal data on your behalf as part of the work — for example running your mailing list or ad accounts — we do so as your processor and will agree written terms with you covering that.

14. Governing law

These terms and any dispute arising from them are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your own country’s courts.