Terms and Conditions of Use

MALTDAQ Terms and Conditions of Use

These terms and conditions of use (“Terms”) apply to the use of the website www.maltdaq.com (the “Site”), which is home to MALTDAQ’s Live Marketplace for Whisky.  The Site is operated by MALTDAQ LIMITED, a company registered in England and Wales with company number: 13163750 and whose registered address is The Greenhouse – Unit 11, Greencroft Industrial Park, Stanley, England, DH9 7XN.   (“MALTDAQ,” “we,” “us”, or “our”).  These Terms, together with the policies, documents and FAQs referred to in them (collectively “Documents”) set out the terms on which you may make use of the Site, services and tools (collectively “Services”) whether as a guest or as a registered user.  If you buy or sell Products through our Site, these Terms will apply to the sale and purchase.   By using the Services, buying or selling Products, or by clicking to accept these Terms, you agree to be bound by these Terms in full. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Services.

Our site is intended for the use ONLY by private individuals and not for use by businesses and is directed to people residing in the United Kingdom. We do not represent that content available on or through our site is appropriate for use or available in other locations.  You must not attempt to use our Services if you are intending to buy and/or sell any Products as a business.  MALTDAQ may, however, from time to time buy and sell Products through the site and in the event that we do so we shall make it clear to you at the point a transaction is confirmed and, in such case, the clause highlighted in Section 6 of these Terms “THE TERMS CONTAINED IN THIS PARAGRAPH APPLY TO BUYERS THAT ARE CONSUMERS PURCHASING FROM MALTDAQ” ONLY shall apply to the sale by us of any Product.

These Terms refer to our Privacy & Cookie Policy, which also applies to your use of the Site.  This 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 Services, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.  Additionally, this policy sets out information about the use of cookies on the Site.

In these Terms, “user”, you” and “your” refer to the individual accessing the Services or any of them.   A “Member” is a registered user, which has set up an Account (as defined in Section 4 below) and has full access to the Services.

We may in our discretion change these Terms, including the Documents at any time.  If you are a registered user then we will endeavour to notify you by e-mail by providing you with at least 15 days’ notice of any changes unless we are required by law or by order of a competent authority to make the change immediately.  If you do not agree to the changes or any of them then you must cancel your Account and cease using the Services or any of them.  You should regularly review these Terms to check whether any changes have been made that may affect you.  Your continued use of the Services, after any changes have been made constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

We do not guarantee that our Site, or any content on it, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend or withdraw or restrict the availability of all or any part of our Site for business and operational reasons. We will try to give you reasonable notice of any suspension or withdrawal.

You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access our Site through your internet connection are aware of these Terms and other applicable Documents, and that they comply with them.

We recommend that you print a copy of these Terms for future reference.

For questions relating to these Terms, the Site or relating to opening an Account with us please see our FAQs or contact us on support@maltdaq.com.

1. About MALTDAQ

The MALTDAQ Live Marketplace for Whisky allows Members to, when acting as a ‘Seller’, make price conditional offers to sell (“Asks”) or, when acting as a ‘Buyer’, to make price conditional offers to buy (“Bids”).  A Member may both buy and sell Whisky and these Terms shall apply to the Member as a Buyer or Seller, as applicable from time to time.

The MALTDAQ Live Marketplace for Whisky works by matching bids placed by Buyers with prices sought by Sellers for Products. The Seller may offer Products for a fixed or minimum price (“Asks”) and Buyers may place bids for Products (“Bids”).  In respect of each Ask, the Seller makes a binding offer to conclude a contract for the Product at the Ask price.  When a Buyer places a Bid for a Product, making an offer at a Bid price, it makes a binding offer to conclude a contract for the Product at the price offered.  The Buyer may activate the ‘Buy Now’ function on the Site.  By doing so, a Buyer takes up the option of being matched with the Seller at the lowest overall Ask price.  The Seller and the Buyer will conclude a contract, subject to these Terms, at the point the Buyer clicks the Buy Now button.   The Seller may use the ‘Sell Now’ option. This automatic feature will seek to match a Seller with the Buyer with the highest bid.  If the Sell Now option is activated then the Seller and Buyer will conclude a contract, subject to these Terms, when the Seller clicks the Sell Now button. All contracts for sales and purchases detailed in this section are subject to MALTDAQ approving the authenticity of the Product, subject to the MALTDAQ Verification Process. Full details of the processes, rules and how to use the MALTDAQ Live Marketplace for Whisky are set out in our FAQs.

2. IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING USER AGE REQUIREMENT.

DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE PRODUCTS, YOU MAY ONLY USE THE SERVICES IF YOU ARE AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE.  BY USING THE SERVICES YOU VERIFY THAT YOU ARE 18 YEARS OLD OR OVER.  AS PART OF THE MALTDAQ ACCOUNT OPENING PROCESS AND WHEN YOU BUY OR SELL PRODUCTS WE MAY REQUIRE THAT YOU VERIFY YOUR AGE.

3. MALTDAQ’s role on the Live Marketplace for Whisky.

Whilst MALTDAQ is the owner of the Site and offers the Services set out in these Terms it is not the buyer nor seller of any Products nor is it the owner of any Products nor does it have any legal possession over any Products.  Its role in relation the sale and purchase of Products is limited to the facilitation of transactions for Products between Buyers and Sellers as set out in these Terms, on the Site and in the FAQs.  The contract for the sale of Products is directly between the Buyer and Seller and whilst MALTDAQ offers a verification service concerning the authenticity of the Product as part of the Services, we do not guarantee the quality or safety of any Product beyond the extent of our verification service, the terms of which are set out in section 7 of these Terms and in our Verification Process.  MALTDAQ is not an auctioneer and whilst we may set out in these Terms rules concerning the conduct of Buyers and Sellers in relation to the sale and purchase of Products, Asks and Bids, MALTDAQ is not responsible for and has no control over the truth or accuracy of any Products on the Site and feedback and comments made by a user.  MALTDAQ does not guarantee that (i) any Product shall sell; (ii) the existence of any Product offered for sale; (iii) the ability of any Seller to sell the Products; (iv) the ability of any Buyer to buy the Products; (v) that a Buyer shall return a Product where required to do so; or (vi) that a Buyer or Seller shall conclude any transaction.

Whilst we may provide guidance or data in relation to price of Products or other guidance concerning the use of our Services, such guidance and data is for information only.  We do not set the prices for Products.  The price for a Product is set by both the Buyer and the Seller and therefore we have no control over the price set.  The Buyer purchases a Product entirely at the Buyer’s own risk, subject to the Buyer’s right to return a Product as set out in these Terms.

The Member agrees to the merchant fees payable to MALTDAQ and the delivery and collection, fees as applicable, which shall be added by MALTDAQ to the price for the Product payable by the Buyer.  Further information on fees is set in section 6 of these Terms and full details can be found in our FAQs.

MALTDAQ may offer discounts and promotional codes from time to time and full details will be provided in e-mails to Members and/or in our FAQs as applicable.

4. Accounts, Security and Approved Method of Payment.

In order to place Bids or Asks, or buy and sell Products on the MALTDAQ Live Marketplace for Whisky you must create an account with us, using a valid email address, creating a user name entering a password and providing us with the information that we request (“Account”).  You will be able to change your password at any time by logging in to your Account and following the steps set out in the FAQs.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and Account and any other identifiers related to your Account and you must not pass details of your user name or password to anybody else. You agree to immediately notify MALTDAQ of any unauthorised use of your password or Account or any other security breach.  Further, you agree to accept full responsibility for all activities that occur under your Account or use of your password.

When you create an Account with us, you must provide us with accurate information about yourself and complete all mandatory information fields accurately.  You shall not set up any Account using a false identity, false age or by using any third party’s payment details nor provide us with any false, inaccurate or misleading information.  We reserve the right to suspend or cancel any Account where it has been created using false, inaccurate or misleading information or where we suspect that false, inaccurate or misleading information has been used.  We would remind you of the age requirement set out in Section 2 of these Terms.  Further we reserve the right to notify the police or any other appropriate law enforcement authority in the event we suspect fraudulent or other unlawful activity.

When you have opened an Account you may place Bids and Asks to buy and sell Products.  Where you use the Account as a Buyer and Seller these Terms shall apply dependant on whether you are a Buyer or Seller in the transaction concerned.

You may cancel your Account at any time by following the Account closure procedures set out in our FAQs and providing the 14 days notice required, however we reserve the right to charge your authorised payment method (see below) for any purchases and fees that are outstanding when you cancel your Account.

In order to place Bids on Products on the Site you must have a valid debit, credit or other payment method approved by us on file with our third party payment processors.  In order to place Asks on Products on the Site we require bank account details on file with our third party payment processors.  Our third party payment processors accept the payment methods set out in our FAQs and detailed when you open an Account.  Our third party payment processors reserve the right to change the methods of payment they accept at any time.  If a method of payment that our payment processor has on file for you is no longer acceptable, you will be notified by us in order to provide the payment processor a new acceptable method of payment.  You can change your payment method at any time, provided any new payment method is acceptable to our third party payment processors.  We reserve the right to suspend or close any Account, at our discretion, should we be notified by our third party payment processors that your payment method is no longer valid.

By providing our third party payment processors with a valid payment method you authorise them to automatically charge your payment method when you make a purchase in accordance with these Terms and as set out in our FAQs .  Details of the fees payable are set out in section  6 – Fees, Handling and Shipping. and in our FAQs.

5. Content.

All content relating to Products on the Site (including images, Product descriptions, Product specifications) shall be placed on the Site by MALTDAQ and shall be the sole content used in relation to any Product.  We reserve right to modify the content at any time at our sole and absolute discretion.  Whilst we shall seek to provide reliable and accurate content relating to Products, we do not guarantee the accuracy of the content we place on the Site relating to any Product.    You shall not seek to hold MALTDAQ responsible for any inaccuracy relating to the content, even where you may have notified us at any time of an inaccuracy.  Whilst we shall endeavour to create content for a Product, where you notify us that content is not available on our Site. you shall not seek to hold MALTDAQ responsible where we do not have any detailed content or any content at all relating to a Product, even where you have requested us to provide it.

The site, Product details and the content contained on the site contain images, product information, data and intellectual property that is proprietary to MALTDAQ and third parties and accordingly you must not scrape any content from the Site, reproduce any content from the Site (other than in accordance with these Terms), provide any link to any third party site or otherwise use the content without our prior written consent, such consent being strictly at our discretion.

You must not use any part of the content on our Site for commercial purposes without obtaining written consent from us, such consent being strictly at our discretion.

If you print off, copy or download any part of our Site in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our site will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

6. Fees, Handling, Shipping and Returns.

Full details of the fees payable for our services (“Fees”) and shipping charges are set out in our FAQs .  No item shall be shipped by a Seller to a Buyer and accordingly no Account information belonging to any Member shall be provided to any other Member.  All contracts for Products are subject to MALTDAQ’s Verification Process.

Accordingly the Product must be sent by the Seller to MALTDAQ.  The Seller must comply with our Packaging Guidelines. In the event the Product arrives damaged the transaction will be cancelled and accordingly the Seller ships the Product at their owns risk.  If the Product has not been packaged in accordance with our Packaging Guidelines then we reserve the right to charge the Seller for delivery costs, where the delivery costs were originally paid by MALTDAQ.

Shipment of the Product from MALTDAQ to the Buyer is subject to the MALTDAQ’s Verification Process. Fees and shipping charges from MALTDAQ to the Buyer are added to the sum payable for the Product and are charged to the Buyer by MALTDAQ when a Bid or Ask has been matched in accordance with section 1 of these Terms.  All sums payable by a Buyer, including Fees, are held in a Escrow account, which is operated by MALTDAQ’s third party payment processor and no payout for a Product due to a Seller shall be released from the Escrow account until authorised by us.

Where VAT is payable we shall add VAT at the prevailing rate to the Fees payable and charge these as applicable to the Buyer or Seller.  For further information on how VAT is charged please see our FAQs.

As MALTDAQ has no control over the time it may take for the item to be shipped to it by the Seller, MALTDAQ provides no guarantee as to the length of time it shall take for the item to reach the Buyer.  MALTDAQ shall endeavour to ship the item to the Buyer within 7 working days of receipt of the item from the Seller, provided the item passes MALTDAQ’s visual inspection and authentication process as set out in these Terms.  The Buyer accepts this is an estimated timeframe only.

If a Buyer does not receive a Product then it shall report the issue to MALTDAQ within 2 days of the  estimated delivery date provided to the Buyer by MALTDAQ or the carrier. MALTDAQ reserves the right, subject to a Buyer’s statutory rights concerning a Product purchased from a business, (see below) not to accept any returns or a claim for a refund in respect of a Product when the Buyer has failed to report the missing Product in accordance with this paragraph.  We shall have no liability, in any event, for any late delivery.

Subject to the below paragraph, you shall have no general right to cancel or return a Product following a Bid or Ask having been matched in accordance with section 1 of these Terms.  In accordance with the Terms we may, at our complete discretion, agree to you returning a Product or adjudicate a dispute between the Buyer and Seller as to the condition of the Product, authenticity of a product and require the Seller to reimburse you the Price and any other Fees as are agreed.  In the event we require the Seller to reimburse you the Price and/or any other Fees, we reserve the right to make payment to you of such sums conditional upon receipt of the sums from the Seller in cleared funds in our account.

THE TERMS CONTAINED IN THIS PARAGRAPH APPLY TO BUYERS THAT ARE CONSUMERS PURCHASING FROM MALTDAQ ONLY AND DO NOT APPLY TO THE PURCHASE OF ANY PRODUCT BY A MEMBER FROM ANY OTHER MEMBER. A Buyer may cancel an order at any time before the item is delivered and up to 14 days afterwards, starting from the day after the Product(s) are delivered to you (or by someone known to you who has signed for your goods from the carrier delivering them).  During this time you may return the Product to us and you will be entitled to a full refund from us plus our Fees and the delivery charges payable for us to ship the Product(s) to you, provided the Products are returned to us in the timeframe set out below and we deem the Product(s) as being in the same condition they were in when they were delivered to you and that a request to cancel is received by us in writing.  You will be responsible for the shipping costs of returning the Products) to us.  Given the nature of the Products you must ensure that the Product is suitably packaged and must therefore comply with our Packaging Guidelines.  To cancel an order, you inform us in writing, providing your name, address and order reference.  You may wish to use the model cancellation form available here, though this is not a mandatory requirement.  You can e-mail us your cancellation request to support@maltdaq.com or write to us at MALTDAQ, Empress Business Centre, 380 Chester Road, Manchester, M16 9EB.  If you exercise your right to cancel your order in accordance with the above paragraph then you must return the items to us within 14 days of the date on which you provide us with your written cancellation notice.

Provided the items are returned to us in accordance with the requirements set out above then you will be refunded within 14 days of receipt by us of the returned items.

7. Visual Inspection and Product Verification

MALTDAQ will visually inspect each Product for any obvious signs of damage and the Product will go through our Verification Process. The Product will be shipped by MALTDAQ to the Buyer provided it passes the Verification Process as determined by MALTDAQ.  If MALTDAQ determines the Product does not meet the Verification Process  (to be determined at MALTDAQ’s discretion) then the Product will be returned to the Seller and the Seller shall be liable to pay MALTDAQ the cost of returning the Product. The Buyer payment will be refunded to the Buyer.

8. Counterfeits, Fraud and Market Manipulation

MALTDAQ takes counterfeiting and fraud very seriously. Whilst we would hope that any counterfeit products would be picked up through our visual inspection and authentication process we understand that no process is fool proof.  If a Buyer receives what it considers to be a counterfeit product then it must notify MALTDAQ in writing immediately.  We will then instruct you as to returning the product to us so we can investigate and notify any relevant authorities or whether you should notify relevant authorities direct.

If a Seller provides a counterfeit item or attempts to defraud any Buyer or MALTDAQ or we suspect any level of fraud or the provision of a counterfeit product, MALTDAQ reserves the right to suspend or close a Sellers Accounts at MALTDAQ’s sole discretion, cancel any or all of Seller’s outstanding orders (including any orders the Seller has pending where the Seller is also acting as a Buyer), withhold any payments due to the Seller; ship the item back to the Seller at the Seller’s cost; charge the Seller for any costs incurred by the Buyer in returning the Product to MALTDAQ; and  provide any counterfeit items and details of any suspected fraud to the police and/or other relevant authorities. If the Buyer has paid for the Product(s) concerned, which are proven to be counterfeit then the Buyer will be provided with a full refund within 14 days of the conclusion of any investigation.

MALTDAQ reserves the right to monitor MALTDAQ’s Live Marketplace for Whisky and reserves the right to investigate and/or close down an Account of a  Member that it suspects of fraudulent activity or market manipulation of any kind and to report any such activity to the police or other appropriate law enforcement authority.

9. Seller Obligations.

The Seller agrees to be bound by all of the terms and conditions contained in these Terms that apply to Sellers.

When you place an Ask on a Product on the Site you do so on the basis that you are making a binding offer to a successful Buyer and to sell that Product to them.  You will be contractually bound to sell the Product to that Buyer and to ship the Product to MALTDAQ as set out in these Terms.

You understand that your contract for the sale of any Product is with the Buyer and not with MALTDAQ and that MALTDAQ simply acts as an intermediary in the sale of the Product in accordance with these Terms.  Accordingly, subject to these Terms, MALTDAQ makes no assurances and has no liability to any Seller relating to the transaction with a Buyer.

A Seller may cancel an Ask at any time prior to that Ask being matched with a Buyer Bid.

You are required to ensure that you ship the exact Product against which you placed an Ask and for which there was a successful Bid on the Site.  Should MALTDAQ deem in its absolute discretion that the Product shipped does not match the description of the Product detailed on the Site, is not authentic or is not of a suitable condition (taking into consideration the Verification Process  then MALTDAQ shall be entitled to charge the Seller the fees set out in these Terms and take such action (which may include the suspension or cancellation or your Account) as set out in these Terms.

You must ship Products to us within 2 working days of our e-mail to you confirming the transaction.

If you are a business then you agree to the terms and conditions in these Terms relating to the Buyer’s rights to return the products and in any event, whether you are business or not, you agree that MALTDAQ’s discretion is final should it determine that  Buyer may return a Product or be entitled to a full or partial refund and you shall pay to MALTDAQ all Fees and delivery charges that MALTDAQ determines as payable by you in accordance with these Terms.

MALTDAQ will issue a payout to the Seller  for the Product within a reasonable amount of time following the successful verification of the Product.

10. Buyer Obligations.

The Buyer agrees to be bound by all of the terms and conditions contained in these Terms that apply to Buyers.

A Buyer may place a Bid on an item for sale through the Site. When you have been successful with a Bid in accordance with these Terms, you will be contractually bound to pay the price agreed for that Product.

A Buyer may cancel a Bid at any time prior to that Bid being matched with an Ask.

You understand that your contract for the sale of any Product is with the Seller and not with MALTDAQ and that MALTDAQ simply acts as an intermediary in the sale of the Product in accordance with these Terms.  Accordingly, subject to these Terms, MALTDAQ makes no assurances and has no liability to any Buyer relating to the transaction with a Seller.

You have the right to return a Product in accordance with these Terms but you must adhere to any requirements set out in these Terms concerning the return of any Product.  You accept that except where you have right to cancel an order for or return a Product in accordance with these Terms, your right to cancel an order for or return a Product is at the absolute discretion of MALTDAQ, that any dispute relating to a Product is between the Buyer and Seller and that any intervention in any such dispute is entirely at the discretion of MALTDAQ.

11. Disputes – Buyer and Seller.

Buyers and Sellers each acknowledge that the contract for the sale of a Product and accordingly any dispute relating to the sale and purchase of a Product is between the Buyer and the Seller.  Whilst MALTDAQ may intervene in, adjudicate or otherwise assist with any Buyer or Seller dispute as set out in these Terms and as otherwise at its complete discretion any claims relating to the sale and purchase of Products shall be between the Buyer and Seller.

12. Disputes – Member and MALTDAQ.

Whilst we hope that you will have no cause to complain about the Services, should you have any claim relating to the Services then we would like the opportunity to resolve it.  Please address any complaints to the address stated at the beginning of these Terms.

14. Viruses and Other Bugs

We do not guarantee that our Site will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.

You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform to access our Site. You should use your own virus protection software.

You must not misuse our Site by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our Site, the server on which our Site is stored or any server, computer or database connected to our Site. You must not attack our Site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. 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 our Site will cease immediately.

15. Intellectual Property.

MALTDAQ s the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights on our Site, and MALTDAQ or certain third parties are the owners of the intellectual property right in the material published on the Site.  We are the owner of the trade mark MALTDAQ. The Site is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws and we reserve the right to enforce them to fullest extent.

You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our Site for your personal use only.

16. Liability.

Nothing in these terms of use excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law.

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all conditions, warranties, representations or other terms which may apply to our Site or any content on it, whether express or implied.

We will not be liable to any user for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with:

  • use of, or inability to use, our Site or Services; or
  • use of or reliance on any content displayed on our Site.

Please note that we only provide our Site for domestic and private use. You agree not to use our Site for any commercial or business purposes, and in any event we have no liability to you for:

  • loss of profits, sales, business, or revenue;
  • business interruption;
  • loss of anticipated savings;
  • loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation; or
  • any indirect or consequential loss or damage.

We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of our site or to your downloading of any content on it, or on any website linked to it.

We assume no responsibility for the content of websites linked on our Site. Such links should not be interpreted as endorsement by us of those linked websites. We will not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

MALTDAQ shall not be liable to the Buyer for any acts or ommissions on the part of the Seller and shall not be liable to the Buyer for any acts or omissions on the part of any Seller.

To the extent that MALTDAQ has any liability to any Buyer or Seller or any other user of the Site or Services, to the extent permissible in law MALTDAQ’s liability shall be limited to the sum of £100.00 (one hundred pounds sterling).

17. Your Personal information

Use of your personal information submitted to or via the Site is governed by our Privacy Policy. We will only use your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Please take the time to read this carefully, as it indicates important information about how we collect and use personal information.

Our Members’ anonymity is important to us and shall endeavour to ensure that the identity of a Buyer is not revealed to a Seller and the identity of a Seller is not revealed to the Buyer unless, we are we are required to make any such disclosure by law.

18. Transfer of our Rights and Obliagtions

We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation. We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights.

19. Applicable Law

If you are a consumer, please note that these Terms of use, its subject matter and its formation, are governed by English law.

If you are a business, these Terms, its subject matter and its formation (and any non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by English law. We both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

These Terms were last Updated: 3rd August 2021