Terms of Service

This page (together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy) tells you information about us and the legal terms and conditions (Terms) on which we supply any of our services (Services) listed on our website (our Website) to you.

These Terms will apply to any contract between us for the supply of Services to you (Contract). Our Services involve enabling the giving of a blood sample and the analysis of it (Tests), and the preparation of results report (ResultsReports) which may, in some circumstances, include comments by a registered healthcare practitioner (Healthcare Comments) on those Tests.  Please read these Terms carefully and make sure that you understand them, before ordering any Tests from us.  Please note that before placing an order you will be asked to agree to these Terms. If you refuse to accept these Terms, you will not be able to order any Services from us.

These Terms, and any Contract between us, are only in the English language.

1. Information about us

  1. We operate the website www.forthwithlife.co.uk. We are Humankind Ventures Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 9082827 and with our registered office at Basepoint Business Centre, Beaufort Park, Chepstow, NP16 5UH.  Our main trading address is Basepoint Business Centre, Beaufort Park, Chepstow, NP16 5UH.

2. Contacting us

  1. To cancel a Contract in accordance with your legal right to do so as set out in clause 5, you just need to let us know that you have decided to cancel. The easiest way to do this is to complete the cancellation form on our Website. A link to the website cancellation form will be included in our Order Confirmation. If you use this method we will email you to confirm we have received your cancellation. You can also email us at [email protected] to cancel a Contract. If you are emailing us please include your name, and order reference number to help us to identify it. If you send us your cancellation notice by email then your cancellation is effective from the date you send us the email.
  2. If you wish to contact us for any other reason, including because you have any complaints, you can contact us by emailing our customer service team at [email protected].
  3. If we have to contact you or give you notice in writing, we will do so by email or by pre-paid post to the address you provide to us in your order.
  4. USE OF OUR WEBSITE, RESOURCES IS NOT FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES. If you think you have a medical emergency you must discontinue use of our website immediately and dial 999. Our website and resources are not appropriate for emergency care. 

3. How the contract is formed between you and us

  1. Our Website will guide you through the steps you need to take to place an order with us. Our order process allows you to check and amend any errors before submitting your order to us. Please take the time to read and check your order at each page of the order process.
  2. After you place an order, you will receive an email from us that confirms your order has been accepted (Order Confirmation).  The Contract between us will only be formed when we send you the Order Confirmation.
  3. If we are unable to carry out a Test for you, we will inform you of this by email instead of sending an Order Confirmation and we will not process your order. If you have already paid, we will refund you the full amount including any delivery costs charged as soon as possible.
  4. You may only enter into a Contract with us if you are at least 18 years old.

 4. Arranging your sample

  1. We will send you the tester kit for the Test you have ordered as soon as possible after the Order Confirmation is sent. It will be clear from the Website whether the Test you have ordered can be carried out yourself, or whether the sample must be taken by a qualified phlebotomist in person. 
  2. If the sample must be taken by a qualified phlebotomist in person, we or our agents will contact you to enable you to arrange an appointment, either at your home or at a clinic. You must not attempt to collect your own sample if the Website and/or the tester kit specifies that a qualified phlebotomist is required to carry out that particular Test. If your sample needs to be taken by a phlebotomist you must keep your appointment and treat the individual taking your sample with respect. You agree to reimburse us for any costs arising from your failure to do so.
  3. Any tester kits or other equipment delivered to you are provided to you on a temporary basis to enable you to deliver us a sample. You do not own the equipment and must return it to us.  If you do not return any equipment to us we will deduct the cost of the equipment from any refund you may be due.
  4. When you receive a tester kit you must follow the instructions to provide your sample and then send it back to us the same day the blood sample has been taken.  Any delay in returning the sample to us will increase the risk of test failure. The validity of the tester kit will expire after 60 days of delivery, so you are required to collect and post your blood sample to the laboratory in the envelope provided within that time period. Please let us know you have returned the tester kit by logging onto your customer account and confirming it was sent back to us.
  5. If you do not return the tester kit to us before it expires (60 days from delivery), and you still require a Test, there will be an additional charge for a replacement tester kit.
  6. If your sample fails analysis due to collection protocols not being followed we may at our discretion send you one complimentary tester kit and ask you to repeat the process, without further charge.  We may also offer you the option having your blood sample taken in person by a phlebotomist, in which case there will be an extra fee to pay. We will notify you of this fee at the time. We will not provide further Services until you notify us of your decision and, if relevant, make further payment.
  7. Our Website sets out an estimated Turnaround Time for the tests to be done and the Results delivered.  However, this is an indication only and is not binding nor is it “of the essence of the contract”. If we have not made Results available to you within 30 days of us receiving a testable sample, and unless we agree alternative arrangements with you, you will receive a full refund and the Contract will be cancelled.

5. Price and payments

  1. You can only pay for Tests using a debit card, credit card via Stripe. We accept the following cards: Visa / Delta / Electron, MasterCard / Eurocard, Maestro, American Express. Debit cards (also known as bank cards) are accepted if they have a Visa or MasterCard logo.
  2. Payment for the Tests and all applicable delivery charges must be made in advance. We will not charge your debit card or credit card until the time we accept your order. However, we reserve the right not to send out any sampling equipment until we have received payment in full.
  3. The prices of our Tests will be as quoted on our Website at the time you submit your order. We take all reasonable care to ensure that the prices of Tests are correct at the time when the relevant information was entered onto the system. However, please see clause 5.5 for what happens if we discover an error in the price of Test you ordered.
  4. The price of a Test excludes phlebotomy fees (if any).  If VAT becomes applicable between the date of your order and the date of delivery we will adjust the price you pay to include VAT, unless you have already paid for the Tests in full before the changes in VAT takes effect.
  5. We offer a large number of Tests. It is always possible that, despite our efforts, some of the Tests on our Website may be incorrectly priced. If the Test’s correct price is higher than the price stated on our Website, we will contact you as soon as possible to inform you of this error and we will give you the option of continuing to purchase the Test at the correct price or cancelling your order. We will not process your order until we have your instructions. If we are unable to contact you using the contact details you provided during the order process, we will treat the order as cancelled and notify you in writing.
  6. If you have purchased a Test which includes a Healthcare Comment on out-of-range results, in accordance with clause 6.5, the cost of that Healthcare Comment will be included in the price you pay for the Test and we will pay the relevant Healthcare Practitioner for the Healthcare Comment directly on your behalf.
  7. By placing an order, you are accepting these Terms of Service in full. Please do not place an order if you do not agree with our Terms of Service. 

 6. Your right of return and refund

  1. You have a legal right to cancel a Contract until 14 days after the day you receive our Order Confirmation.   This means that during the relevant period if you change your mind, you can notify us of your decision to cancel the Contract and, in some cases, receive a refund. Advice about your legal right to cancel the Contract is available from your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau or Trading Standards office.
  2. By placing an order you request us to start performing our Service immediately and you acknowledge that you will lose your right of withdrawal from the Contract once the Test is fully performed.
  3. If you wish to cancel your Contract, please contact us as soon as possible and we will confirm whether you can do so and what refund will apply.  The below assumes that you notify us of your intention to cancel within 14 days of the Order Confirmation.
    1. If we have not yet sent you a tester kit, or (if relevant) a request for an appointment with a phlebotomist has not been made, there will be no fee to pay.
    2. If we have already sent you a tester kit, we will deduct a small fee from the refund due to you, to cover the cost of the kit as it cannot be re-used. If you have purchased a test requiring a phlebotomist appointment and if that appointment has been requested an appointment will be deducted from the refund.
    3. If your sample has already been either analysed or taken by a phlebotomist, no refund will be due to you.
    4. If your appointment with a phlebotomist has been scheduled and you cancel the appointment, no refund will be due to you.
    5. If a phlebotomist cancels your appointment and a replacement appointment cannot be agreed you will be entitled to a full refund.
    6. Where you cancel an order because of our failure to comply with these Terms (except where we have been affected by an Event Outside Our Control), you do not have to make any payment to us and we will refund any payments you have made to us in respect of this Contract.
    7. We will refund you on the credit card or debit card used by you to pay. If you used vouchers to pay for the Test we may refund you in vouchers. 
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7. Data and rights

  1. We only use your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Please take the time to read our Privacy Policy, as it includes important information about how we use your personal data.
  2. We ask you to give us your personal data through the Website, for the purposes of enabling us to:
    1. deliver tester kits to you;
    2. arrange appointments with a phlebotomist;
    3. process the results of your Test;
    4. enable us to provide you with a Results Report; and
    5. where required, provide you with a Healthcare Comment prepared by a Healthcare Practitioner engaged by us or permit a Healthcare Practitioner to contact you (as further detailed in clause 6.4).
  3. We subcontract the analysis of your samples to third party laboratories. We will share your personal data, including your name and your contact details with third party laboratories.
  4. We subcontract the despatch of tester kits and phlebotomy appointments to third party companies. We will share your personal data, including your name and your contact details with these third party companies in order to fulfil the service.
  5. Where your sample returns an abnormal result, we may share your personal data, including your name and contact details with GPs or other suitably qualified healthcare professional engaged by us. They will:
    1. provide a Healthcare Comment to us about your results which we will then provide to you; or
    2. contact you directly, either by email or telephone, to recommend that you seek immediate medical attention, where your results suggest a medical emergency.  
  6. If you have purchased a test which requires us to provide a Healthcare Comment (separate and apart from the circumstances outlined in clause 6.4), we will share your personal data, including your name and contact details with Healthcare Practitioners engaged by us.
  7. We do not guarantee that the Healthcare Practitioner who provides the Healthcare Comment in respect of one sample will be the same as the Healthcare Practioner who provides the Healthcare Comment in respect of a subsequent sample.

8. Results Report

  1. We will deliver our Results Report to you by sending you an email inviting you to log in to a private area of our Website. Making the Results Report available online and sending you this email constitutes full delivery of our Services.
  2. Our Results Report may be accompanied by a Healthcare Comment (as outlined in clause 6). 
  3. Our Results Report, and any Healthcare Comment (if provided), does not constitute medical advice and is not a substitute for you contacting a healthcare professional. You should never disregard, avoid or delay in obtaining medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare provider because of something you have read in our Results Report. If you have or suspect you have a medical problem or condition, you must contact a qualified healthcare professional immediately.

The Results Report that we provide you with, and the format in which it is displayed to you, remains our own intellectual property, as do the formula and other background knowhow which enable us to prepare the Results Report.  However we grant you a worldwide, royalty free, perpetual licence to use the Results Report for your own personal requirements. You must not use the Results Report for any commercial purposes nor republish it without our written agreement.

9. Information about the Healthcare Practitioners

  1. All Healthcare Practitioners who provide Healthcare Comments are registered with the General Medical Council, HCPC register or Nursing & Midwifery Council, hold a licence to practise and are required to operate within their area of expertise for your safety.
  2. The Healthcare Practioners provide relevant information about their education, training, experience and specialisation to us. We disclaim (to the extent permitted by law) any and all liability for, including, without limitation, the accuracy or reliability of any information provided by the Healthcare Practitioners.  However, if it comes to our attention that any Healthcare Practioner’s information is inaccurate or unreliable, we will take appropriate steps to update their information or (where necessary) to disengage with that Healthcare Practitioner.
  3. Whilst we facilitate the process of getting the Healthcare Comment from the Healthcare Practitioners, we are not responsible to you for the Healthcare Comment they provide. We do not supervise (and are not qualified to supervise) the Healthcare Practioners, and, to the extent permitted by law, we do not accept any liability for the Healthcare Comment provided by the Healthcare Practioners. 

10. Our liability

  1. We only supply our Results Reports for personal and private use. We have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.
  2. We do not in any way exclude or limit our liability for:
    1. death or personal injury caused by negligence;
    2. fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
    3. defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.
  3. Subject to clause 9.2, our total liability to you arising in connection with a Contract will be limited to the price you have paid us, so that in a worst-case scenario you are entitled to your money back, but no more. In particular we are not liable for any loss, delay, inconvenience or damage you suffer as a result of:
    1. damage to the sample in transit from you to us, or your sample being untestable for some other reason (see clause 3.6 for how we deal with this);
    2. any ill-effects you may suffer from a finger prick tester kit or attempting to use a tester kit that requires a sample to be collected by a qualified phlebotomist. PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A SAMPLE YOURSELF WHERE THE TESTER KIT STATES THAT THE SAMPLE MUST BE COLLECTED BY A QUALIFIED PHLEBOTOMIST;
    3. any ill-effects you may suffer from loss of a small amount of blood, or any failure of the prick made by the tester kit to heal properly.  Please do not use the tester kits if you have any reason to believe you may be susceptible to such problems;
    4. any use you choose to make of the findings of the Results Report (including any Healthcare Comment which may accompany the Results Report). The Results Report will set out the measurements that have been conducted on your behalf, based upon your blood results alone, they do not seek to interpret what those measurements mean, so any reliance you make on those measurements is at your own risk.  A Results Report, and any Healthcare Comment (if provided), is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice and is not a substitute for seeking the advice of a physician;
    5. any failure to comply with the estimated “turnaround time” displayed on the Website.  This is an estimate only and you should not rely on it;
    6. cancellation of an appointment made with the phlebotomist.
  4. If we fail to comply with these Terms, we are responsible (subject to clause 7.3) for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these Terms or our negligence, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if it is an obvious consequence of our breach or if it was contemplated by you and us at the time we entered into this Contract. 

11. Events outside our control

  1. We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance of, any of our obligations under a Contract that is caused by an Event Outside Our Control. An Event Outside Our Control is defined below in clause 10.2.
  2. An Event Outside Our Control means any act or event beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation strikes, lock-outs or other industrial action by third parties, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack, war (whether declared or not) or threat or preparation for war, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic or other natural disaster, or failure of public or private telecommunications networks or impossibility of the use of railways, shipping, aircraft, motor transport or other means of public or private transport.
  3. If an Event Outside Our Control takes place that affects the performance of our obligations under a Contract:
    1. we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to notify you; and
    2. our obligations under a Contract will be suspended and the time for performance of our obligations will be extended for the duration of the Event Outside Our Control. Where the Event Outside Our Control affects our delivery of tester kits to you or the arrangement of a phlebotomist appointment, we will arrange a new delivery date or appointment with you after the Event Outside Our Control is over.
  4. You may cancel a Contract affected by an Event Outside Our Control which has continued for more than 30 days. To cancel please contact us.  If you opt to cancel, you will have to return (at our cost) any testing equipment you have already received and we will refund the price you have paid, including any delivery charges. 

12. Social media etiquette guidelines

The social media etiquette guidelines are put in place to ensure our staff are treated with respect and that a solid process can be followed if we need to block someone from our social channels. 

We want our social media channels to be a place where you can learn about proactively managing your health and for it to be a safe place for you to interact with us and others following our channels.  We welcome your feedback, both positive and negative so we know what we are doing right and can continue to improve our service. To this end, we have created a set of guidelines that aim to ensure everyone who follows us on social media has a positive experience:

  • Please ensure you comply with the social media platform’s Terms Of Use, as well as these guidelines.
  • Be considerate, respectful and polite to other users of our social media channels and to our social media team.
  • Please ensure your contributions are civil, polite, tasteful and suitable for all ages.
  • We will remove users who are repeatedly disruptive, rude, offensive or abusive, threatening, bullying towards others or our social media team.
  • We will remove content that is graphic, sensitive, offensive, endorses illegal activity or misleading.
  • We will not tolaterate racist, misogonistic, blasphemous or homophobic or otherwise unlawful behaviour or content that is defamatory, offensive, pornographic, violent, abusive, insulting, threatening, harrassing, discriminatory, indecent, misleading information, or otherwise unlawful.
  • We will remove any content that is deemed as spam or repetition (persistent negative and/or abusive content in which the aim is to provoke a response)
  • Any Forth posts that are shared must credit Forth with it’s relative social media handle clearly displayed.

We have a two strike rule for breaches of these above guidelines. Anyone who has received two warnings on breaking these guidelines will be blocked from our social media channel and reported to the associated social media platform.

Other important terms

  1. When we refer, in these Terms, to “in writing”, this will include e-mail.
  2. We may transfer our rights and obligations under a Contract to another organisation, but this will not affect your rights or our obligations under these Terms.
  3. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these Terms to another person if we agree in writing.
  4. Each of the paragraphs of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
  5. If we fail to insist that you perform any of your obligations under these Terms, or if we do not enforce our rights against you, or if we delay in doing so, that will not mean that we have waived our rights against you and will not mean that you do not have to comply with those obligations. If we do waive a default by you, we will only do so in writing, and that will not mean that we will automatically waive any later default by you.
  6. These Terms are governed by English law. This means a Contract for the purchase of Tests through our Website and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it will be governed by English law. You and we both agree to that the courts of England and Wales will have non-exclusive jurisdiction. However, if you are a resident of Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland, and if you are a resident of Scotland, you may also bring proceedings in Scotland.