Terms and Conditions
Updated 20.08.2024 by Stuart Maclean
Please read these terms and conditions carefully.
Questions should be sent to: affiliates@blackcircles.com
By joining this Affiliate Marketing Programme, you accept:
1. Consent and Transparency:
Your acceptance of these terms is not consent to begin marketing activity. You must seek written consent from Blackcircles.com before engaging in any marketing activities. This consent must include:
- Granular details of your marketing strategy: This includes your intended marketing channels, duration of the campaign, individuals involved, point of contact, all environments where marketing will appear, ad copy, images, video, target audiences and their demographics, GDPR compliance (where relevant), and any other information that provides complete clarity on how marketing will take place.
- No exceptions: All marketing activities must be fully disclosed and approved in writing.
2. Breach of Terms:
Any breach of these terms will result in:
- Decline of pending commissions: All commissions earned from activities that violate these terms will be declined.
- Reversal of approved commissions: Commissions already paid out for activities that violate these terms will be reversed and returned to Blackcircles.com.
- No exceptions: There are no circumstances where a breach will not result in the decline, reversal, or return of commissions.
- Remediation at your own expense: You are responsible for rectifying any breach at your own time and expense.
3. Waiver of Legal Challenge:
You waive the right to challenge any breach legally and agree not to seek support or remedy from the Affiliate Network.
4. Written Consent for All Marketing Activities:
You acknowledge and understand that no marketing, promotion, advertising, or publishing of any kind through any medium, content, or source shall be done without written consent from a representative of Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority. Your acceptance of the programme is not consent.
5. Brand Standards:
You are solely responsible for ensuring that all marketing, promotion, and advertising meet Blackcircles.com's standards. You must:
- Seek out and understand Blackcircles.com's standards: Familiarize yourself with the brand's guidelines for marketing materials.
- Obtain written approval for all marketing materials: All marketing materials must be reviewed and approved by a representative of Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority.
- No reliance on your own standards: Your own marketing standards should never be used in place of written standards provided by Blackcircles.com.
6. Insertion Orders and Agreements:
Insertion orders, written agreements, and contractual agreements are between you and Blackcircles.com. If a third party, such as an agency or consultant, facilitates an agreement, they shall not be liable for any of the clauses in the agreement. This takes precedence over any terms or agreement where you state the third party has liability.
7. Transaction Disputes:
- Written evidence required: Transaction disputes must be supported by written evidence demonstrating the legitimacy of the claim. Disputes without written support will be declined.
- Time limit: Transaction disputes must be raised within 5 working days after a sale has been declined. Disputes raised after this period will not be considered.
- No right to challenge: You agree not to challenge the decline of sales and accept that the judgment made by Blackcircles.com is accurate and in good faith.
8. Brand Representation:
You agree to represent Blackcircles.com with due care, diligence, and to an excellent professional standard. You will not portray the brand in a manner that may cause consumers to view the brand negatively. Any misuse of our brand or brand guidelines will result in the immediate termination of your participation in our program and the decline of existing or outstanding commission claims.
9. Third-Party Marketing:
If you work with third parties who promote Blackcircles.com on your behalf, you accept full liability for their actions. You must:
- Ensure third-party adherence: Guarantee that third parties adhere to these terms and conditions in full.
- Full transparency: Provide Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority with full awareness of who the third parties are, their advertising, marketing, and advertisements before they are published.
- Sole responsibility for third-party breaches: Any breach of these terms due to the actions of third parties is your responsibility. You are solely responsible for any loss, cost, or damages they seek for any reason and cannot pass these on to Blackcircles.com.
10. Prohibited Marketing Techniques:
Under no circumstances should you utilize bots, artificial intelligence, cookie stuffing, click bots, spoofing, fake impressions, malicious software, fraudulent techniques and software, false sales techniques, or any technique that Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority may interpret as dishonest or non-legitimate. Any such actions will result in:
- Decline of all commissions: All pending and approved commissions will be declined.
- Return of paid commissions: Commissions paid out directly by Blackcircles.com or via the Affiliate Network will be returned in full.
- Unlimited period: This applies for an unlimited period at your own time and cost.
- Waiver of rights: You waive any right to contest a request and waive your right to legal remedy.
- Full compliance: You must comply with the instructions of Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority in full.
- Seek consent: If in doubt, you should seek consent from Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority before taking any action.
11. Asset and Ad Copy Approval:
All assets and ad copy must be approved by Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority before they are published.
12. Prohibited Software and Techniques:
The use of toolbars, scraping software, or any software or technique to harvest any sort of code or incentive is forbidden.
13. Cashback Marketing:
Any use of cashback to market Blackcircles.com should not include the usage of coupons, vouchers, incentive codes, or any kind unless express written consent is given in advance of the publication of marketing. Businesses and individuals utilizing cashback are responsible for the prevention of fraud and the cost to remedy any loss or damages caused to Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority.
14. Voucher and Promotion Restrictions:
The promotion and marketing of any kind of voucher, coupon, incentive, or promotion is not permitted without consent.
15. Review and Content Restrictions:
Review and other written content may not unfavourably portray Blackcircles.com without prior consent.
16. Email Marketing Restrictions:
Email activity of any kind, including the use of a database, shall not include data gathered with the use of incentives or persons who have not double opted in to receive messages. All data must be GDPR compliant. You accept any non-compliance shall be your sole responsibility, and you will pay for any damages, losses, fines, and any other penalties.
17. Pay-Per-Click and Bidding Restrictions:
Pay-per-click or any bidding activity where Blackcircles.com's terms or associated tyre market terms, including abbreviations, misspellings, slang, or names, are forbidden unless written consent is provided before the activity begins.
18. Display Advertising Restrictions:
Display advertising of any kind, including re-targeting, must first include the assets used, ad copy used, audience targeting details in full, environments the ads are served in full, total transparency must be provided, as well as written consent before any marketing begins.
19. Aggregation and Comparison Restrictions:
Aggregation and comparison must use accurate products, ad copy, pricing, imagery, and other details. If you use this method to market Blackcircles.com, you should always inform the brand when making changes to the position or location of products and seek consent for any changes to ad copy, imagery, or marketing.
20. Shopping Comparison Ads Restrictions:
CSS, Google Shopping, Bing Shopping, and any other use of bidding to appear on a search engine area designated for shopping comparison ads must be with prior consent. Bids may not include the brand's terms, misspellings, or abbreviations unless written permission is given.
21. Uncovered Marketing Activities:
Any type of marketing not covered in these terms should be approved in writing. For the avoidance of doubt, consent of any kind can only be given in writing, and consent should never be implied for any reason, under any circumstances.
22. Consent for Specific Marketing Activities:
Consent for one piece of marketing does not mean consent is given for another. Consent should be sought for each instance of marketing with no exceptions.
23. Non-Enforcement of Terms:
Non-enforcement of any of the terms does not mean consent is given. Enforcement shall not have a time limit and can be taken at any time if consent is not present for an action or instance of marketing.
24. Misspellings and Ambiguity:
For the avoidance of doubt, any misspelling, grammatical errors, or ambiguity in these terms cannot be used as a justification for any action taken that Blackcircles.com or a delegated authority interprets as a breach. You should always seek to clarify uncertainty.
25. Discount Provider Restrictions:
If you are currently a discount provider with Blackcircles.com, you will not be able to earn commission as an affiliate unless the discount/voucher code has been created for Awin distribution or is approved for use through Awin prior to use.
By accepting these terms and conditions, you agree to comply with all the above requirements and understand that any violation will result in the consequences outlined.
