Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions (the "Terms and Conditions") are the terms and conditions upon which Sponge "Cakes" Limited ("we/us") makes this website ("The Sponge Website") available to you and on which we supply and deliver sponge cakes and other associated products ("the Services"). You can access our Services via the Sponge Website, email or by telephone.

"The Contract" means any contract between us and you for the sale and purchase of the Goods, incorporating these Terms and Conditions; 'the Goods' means any goods agreed in the Contract to be supplied to you by us (including any part or parts of them).

This legal notice applies to the entire contents of this website and to any correspondence between us and you. Please read these terms and conditions carefully before using this website. Using this website indicates that you accept these terms regardless of whether or not you choose to purchase from us.

  1. The Seller
    1. 1.1 Welcome to the Sponge Website. This site is owned and operated by Sponge "Cakes" Limited. Address: Sponge Rise, Hempstead Road, Holt, Norfolk NR25 6DL. Company Registration No: 6960306.
    2. 1.2 If you want to ask us anything about these terms and conditions or have any comments on or complaints about our website, please get in contact.
  2. Order Processing and Payment
    1. 2.1 A minimum of 2 working days is required for all orders subject to prior written agreement.
    2. 2.2 All orders will be acknowledged but are subject to availability of products and acceptance of your order. We will not consider ourselves bound by a contract with you until:
      1. 2.2.1 for orders with a value stated as part of the Services of £500.00 or less, we have issued an email acknowledging your order and payment has been taken or received by us, whichever is later;
      2. 2.2.2 for orders with a value stated as part of the Services of over £500.00, we have also given you written confirmation of acceptance of your order in addition to the conditions set out in clause 2.2.1.
    3. 2.3 Payments by credit card or debit card will normally be debited within 24 hours.
    4. 2.4 Payment may be made by credit card, debit card, bank transfer or cheque. No payment shall be deemed to have been received until we have received cleared funds.
    5. 2.5 You shall make all payments due under the Contract without any deduction whether by way of set-off, counterclaim, discount, abatement or otherwise unless you have a valid court order requiring an amount equal to such deduction to be paid by us to you.
    6. 2.6 In the event that payment is not received by us by the due date, we shall be entitled to suspend all other deliveries until payment is received and/or repudiate the Contract. In such event, we shall be entitled to sell any Goods in its possession and you shall indemnify us for any loss thereby.
    7. 2.7 If you fail to pay us any sum due pursuant to the Contract you will be liable to pay interest to us on such sum from the due date for payment at the annual rate of 2% above the base lending rate from time to time of Lloyds Bank Plc, accruing on a daily basis until payment is made, whether before or after any judgment.
    8. 2.8 All payments payable to us under the Contract shall become due immediately upon termination of the Contract despite any other provision.
    9. 2.9 You will be liable for all costs incurred by us in the recovery of debts not paid by the due date.
  3. Sponge Products
    1. 3.1 Products made in the kitchens of Sponge are made by hand and accordingly there will be minor variations in appearance. All illustrations and descriptions displayed on the Sponge website or distributed by email, brochure or in any other way are for guidance purposes only and will not form part of the Contract.
    2. 3.2 We reserve the right to make alterations to the design, appearance and technical specifications of our products from time to time and at such time or at any other times, to make alterations to our advertised information concerning such Goods, without notice. We reserve the right to substitute some or all of the contents or packaging with an item of equal or greater value without notice.
    3. 3.3 Product ingredients include eggs, flour, milk and butter and may contain traces of nuts. Please call our customer helpline at the number given above if you wish to enquire about product ingredients before ordering.
  4. Prices
    1. 4.1 Prices stated as part of the Services include VAT as applicable.
    2. 4.2 Delivery charges on the Delivery page are indicative only and we reserve the right to charge the actual cost of delivery without notice.
  5. Delivery
    1. 5.1 We deliver to any postal address in the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland, the Isle of Wight and the Scottish Isles. We also deliver to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. We do not deliver to the Republic of Ireland or to any other country outside the United Kingdom.
    2. 5.2 We will endeavour to deliver on the date that you specified in your order from Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm. This includes monthly deliveries for Sponge Subscription, which we will endeavour to deliver each month on the first weekday chosen in the order, Delivery on the date and at the time specified in your order is intended to be an estimate, is not guaranteed and is not of the essence. See further 5.4 below.
    3. 5.3 Only one delivery date will apply per order. If multiple delivery dates are chosen in one order, we reserve the right to charge an additional amount for delivery on different dates. We will contact you before charging any additional amount.
    4. 5.4 Our delivery service is not available on Sundays, UK public holidays or for two days after a public holiday. We may be able to deliver on Saturdays upon special request, for which there will be a charge in addition to our standard delivery charges. Where orders have been placed for delivery on any of these dates we will endeavour to deliver within 3 working days after the date requested. For the avoidance of doubt this clause also applies to deliveries for the Sponge Subscription where a requested day for delivery falls upon an excluded date in any particular month.
    5. 5.5 If products are damaged in transit, the maximum amount payable in respect of these products will be limited to the price of the products damaged. See further clause 5.6 below.
    6. 5.6 Subject to the other provisions of these Terms and Conditions we will not be liable for any loss (including loss of profit), costs, damages, charges or expenses caused directly or indirectly by any delay in the delivery of the Goods (even if caused by our negligence), nor will any delay entitle you to terminate or rescind the Contract unless such delay exceeds 30 days.
    7. 5.7 Delivery notes must be checked and signed by you or on your behalf at the time of delivery.
    8. 5.8 It shall be your duty to examine the Goods upon delivery to ensure that the delivery is complete and that the Goods have not been damaged in transit.
    9. 5.9 If for any reason you will not accept delivery of any of the Goods when they are ready for delivery, or we are unable to deliver the Goods on time because you have not provided appropriate documents, instructions, licences or authorisations:
      1. 5.9.1 risk in the Goods will pass to you (including for loss or damage caused by any negligence by us);
      2. 5.9.2 the Goods will be deemed to have been delivered; and
      3. 5.9.3 we may store the Goods until delivery whereupon you will be liable for all related costs and expenses (including without limitation storage and insurance).
    10. 5.10 If you properly reject any of the Goods which are not in accordance with the Contract you shall nonetheless pay the full price for such Goods unless: (i) you give written notice of rejection to us within three working days of delivery; and (ii) you return such Goods to us at your own cost with our prior consent within five working days of delivery.
    11. 5.11 We shall not be liable whatsoever if you fail to give such notice of damage or non-delivery and any such damage to the goods shall be deemed to have occurred after transit or delivery, unless the contrary is proven by you.
    12. 5.12 You are required to enter full and accurate details, including the name, address and postcode, of the recipient. We will not be responsible for any orders which are not delivered due to incorrect or incomplete information being supplied by you.
    13. 5.13 Deliveries to hospitals, military bases and business addresses will be delivered to a main reception or mailing room prior to internal distribution. Deliveries cannot be made to PO Box addresses. All deliveries made to hospitals must include the ward name or number in the relevant address field.
  6. Force Majeure
    1. 6.1 Neither we, nor any courier or postal service that we use shall be liable for any failure to perform, where such failure or delay results from any circumstances outside our reasonable control including but not limited to any fire, flood, explosion, accident, adverse weather conditions, traffic congestion, mechanical breakdown, obstruction of any private or public highway, riot, government act, act of war, terrorism, act of God, or from any industrial dispute or strike whatsoever.
  7. Cancellation
    1. 7.1 Only order amendments or cancellations which are given at least 2 working days before the intended delivery date may be accepted. Orders placed or cancelled on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays will be treated as having been received on the following working day. To cancel orders, please get in contact.
    2. 7.2 You are entitled to cancel any payment at any time where fraudulent use has been made of your credit or debit card by another person not acting on behalf of you or as your agent and to be re-credited by us to the extent that such sums are not reimbursed by the card issuer in such circumstances.
  8. Personal Messages
    1. 8.1 You must agree that any messages posted by you on your card or sent by us on your behalf to a third party will not contain anything which could be construed as harassing, threatening, vulgar, abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist or which may cause embarrassment or distress to any person or are otherwise unlawful or objectionable.
    2. 8.2 You are entirely responsible for any text or other material which you post or send on this message system and we accept no liability for any such content. We do not pre-screen messages, but may monitor content from time to time. We have the right to refuse to send or display messages and terminate access to the relevant Services at any time and without liability to you in the event of any such objectionable message.
  9. Assignment
    1. 9.1 You will not be entitled to assign the Contract or any part of it without our prior written consent.
    2. 9.2 We may assign or subcontract the Contract or any part of it to any person, firm or company.
  10. Title and Risk
    1. 10.1 The Goods are at your risk from the time of delivery.
    2. 10.2 Ownership of the Goods shall not pass to you until we have received in full (in cash or cleared funds) all sums due to us in respect of the Goods and all other sums which are or which become due to us from you on any account.
    3. 10.3 Until ownership of the Goods has passed to you, you must:
      1. 10.3.1 hold the Goods on a fiduciary basis as our bailee;
      2. 10.3.2 store the Goods (at no cost to us) in such a way that they remain readily identifiable as our property;
      3. 10.3.3 not destroy, deface or obscure any identifying mark or packaging on or relating to the Goods.
    4. 10.4 You may not resell the Goods before ownership has passed to you without our prior written consent.
    5. 10.5 Your right to possession of the Goods shall terminate immediately if:
      1. 10.5.1 you have a bankruptcy order made against you or you make an arrangement or composition with your creditors, or you otherwise take the benefit of any Act for the time being in force for the relief of insolvent debtors, or (being a body corporate) you convene a meeting of creditors (whether formal or informal), or enter into liquidation (whether voluntary or compulsory) except a solvent voluntary liquidation for the purpose only of reconstruction or amalgamation, or you have a receiver and/or manager, administrator or administrative receiver appointed of your undertaking or any part thereof, or a resolution is passed or a petition presented to any court for your winding up or for the granting of an administration order against you, or any proceedings are commenced relating to your insolvency or possible insolvency; or
      2. 10.5.2 you suffer or allow any execution, whether legal or equitable, to be levied on your property or obtained against you, or fail to observe/perform any of your obligations under the Contract or any other contract between us and you, or you are unable to pay your debts within the meaning of section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or you cease to trade.
    6. 10.6 We shall be entitled to recover payment for the Goods notwithstanding that ownership of any of the Goods has not passed from us.
    7. 10.7 You grant us, our agents and employees an irrevocable licence at any time to enter any premises where the Goods are or may be stored in order to inspect them, or, where your right to possession has terminated, to recover them.
  11. Customer Services
    1. 11.1 Because of their perishable nature, sponges are non-returnable. This does not affect your statutory rights. If you are not completely satisfied with your sponges please get in contact.
    2. 11.2 In order for us to resolve any complaints quickly and to our mutual satisfaction, we advise you to make any complaint within 1 day of the date of delivery or intended delivery of your purchase.
  12. Disclaimer
    1. 12.1 Whilst we agree to use our reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Sponge website and/or the Services are fully operational and error-free we cannot guarantee this and, therefore, accept no responsibility for any defects and/or interruption of the Sponge website or Services and shall be released from our obligations under these Terms and Conditions in the event of any cause beyond our reasonable control which renders the provision of the Sponge website and/or the Services impossible or impractical.
    2. 12.2 While we endeavour to ensure that the information on this Website is correct, we do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the material on this Website. We may make changes to the material on this Website or to any services or prices described in it, at any time without notice. The material on this Website may be out of date, and we do not make any commitment to update this material.
    3. 12.3 The content, information and material on this Website is provided "as is" without any conditions, warranties or other terms of any kind.
  13. Liabilities and Warranties
    1. 13.1 We accept liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence and for all liability arising from any fraudulent representation we may make.
    2. 13.2 Subject to clause 13.1, our liability in contract, tort (including negligence and breach of statutory duty) or otherwise arising by reason of or in connection with your order placed with us or in connection with the Services in any way shall be limited to the price you have paid for the relevant Goods.
    3. 13.3 Subject to clauses 13.1 and 13.2 above we exclude all liability for any claims, losses, demands and damages, including without limitation, any costs, loss of profits, loss of contracts, business or business opportunity, depletion of goodwill, loss of data and any other consequential, incidental, special or punitive damages, costs, expenses or other compensation whatsoever and howsoever caused, even if we have been advised of the possibility of the same, arising directly or indirectly out of or in any way connected with the Contract and/or your use or inability to access the Sponge website and/or with the provision of the Services, whether arising in contract, tort (including negligence), under statute or otherwise PROVIDED THAT nothing contained in this condition affects or will affect your or the recipient's statutory rights in relation to the quality, fitness or description of the Goods supplied.
    4. 13.4 Subject to clauses 13.1 to 13.3 above we shall not be liable for any breach of warranty as to quality, fitness, description or otherwise unless:
      1. 13.4.1 you notify us in writing within 6 (six) weeks of any date of delivery of the Goods or of any breach (whichever is the earlier of the two)
      2. 13.4.2 you do not make any further use of such Goods after giving such notice.
    5. 13.5 Subject to condition 13.4 if any of the Goods do not conform with any warranty by us we shall at our option replace that part of the Goods free of charge or issue to you a credit note equivalent to the price of that part of the Goods failing to comply with the warranty. Any such Goods will belong to us.
    6. 13.6 If we comply with condition 13.4 we shall have no further liability for a breach of any of the warranties in respect of such Goods.
  14. Intellectual Property and Content
    1. 14.1 The copyright and other intellectual property rights in all content and material on this Website (including without limitation the name "Sponge", photographs, logos, trade marks and graphical images) are owned by Sponge "Cakes" Limited, unless otherwise stated or indicated. All rights which are not expressly granted in these Terms and Conditions are reserved.
    2. 14.2 You may print and download extracts from this Website solely for your own personal use on the following basis:-
      1. 14.2.1 no documents or related graphics on this Website are modified in any way
      2. 14.2.2 no graphics on this Website are used separately from the accompanying text
      3. 14.2.3 our copyright and trade mark notices and this permission notice appear in all copies.
    3. 14.3 Except as stated in Clause 14.2 above, no part of this Website may be reproduced or stored in any other website or included in any public or private electronic retrieval system or service without our prior written permission.
    4. 14.4 Use of any extracts from this Website except in accordance with the above permissions is prohibited. Without prejudice to the general statements made above, you are not in any event permitted to:-
      1. 14.4.1 publish, distribute or otherwise reproduce in any format any of the content or copies of the content of this Website
      2. 14.4.2 use any content from this Website in connection with any business or commercial enterprise including, without limitation, any media business or enterprise
      3. 14.4.3 modify, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or create derivative works based on any software or any documentation accompanying such software or other content available on or through this Website.
    5. 14.5 If you breach any of these Terms and Conditions, your permission to use this Website automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any downloaded or printed extracts from this Website.
  15. Visitor Material and Conduct
    1. 15.1 Other than personally identifiable information which is covered under the Privacy Policy (see below) any material you transmit or post to this Website or supply to us in relation to the Website will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. We will have no obligations in relation to such material. We will be free to copy, disclose, distribute, incorporate and otherwise use such material and all data, images, sounds, text and other things embodied in any such material for any and all commercial or non-commercial purposes, and you confirm that you have all necessary rights and licences to enable us to do so.
    2. 15.2 You are prohibited from posting or transmitting to or from this Website any material or doing anything in connection with your use of this Website:
      1. 15.2.1 which constitutes or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise be contrary to the law of or infringe the rights of any third party, in the UK or any other country in the world;
      2. 15.2.2 that is in any way threatening, defamatory, offensive or obscene, indecent, seditious, pornographic, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, discriminatory, menacing, scandalous, inflammatory, blasphemous, in breach of confidence, copyright, privacy or any other rights or which may cause annoyance or inconvenience;
      3. 15.2.3 for which you have not obtained all necessary licences and/or approvals;
      4. 15.2.4 which is technically harmful (including without limitation, computer viruses, logic bombs, Trojan horses, worms, harmful components, corrupted data or other malicious software or harmful data);
      5. 15.2.5 which involves misusing the Website (including without limitation by hacking) or which attempts to affect the performance or functionality of any computer facilities of or accessed through the Website;
      6. 15.2.6 which involves sending any unsolicited advertising or other promotional material, commonly referred to as "Spam".
    3. 15.3 We will co-operate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or locate anyone posting any material in breach of these Terms and Conditions.
    4. 15.4 You shall fully indemnify Sponge "Cakes" Limited and its suppliers, officers, directors, employees, shareholders and agents for any loss or damage suffered as a result of breach of your obligations in this Clause 15.
  16. Links to this Website
    1. 16.1 If you would like to create a link to this Website, please contact us first to request permission. Any links to this Website may only be on the basis that you link to, but do not replicate, the home page of this Website, and subject to the following conditions:-
      1. 16.1.1 you do not remove, distort or otherwise alter the size or appearance of our trading names and logos;
      2. 16.1.2 you do not create a frame or any other browser or border environment around this Website;
      3. 16.1.3 you do not in any way imply that we are endorsing any products or services other than our own;
      4. 16.1.4 you do not misrepresent your relationship with us, nor present any other false information about us
      5. 16.1.5 you do not otherwise use any trade marks and trading names displayed on this Website without our express prior written permission;
      6. 16.1.6 you do not link from a website that is not owned by you;
      7. 16.1.7 your website does not contain content that is distasteful, offensive or controversial, infringes any intellectual property or other rights of any other person or otherwise does not comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
    2. 16.2 We expressly reserve the right to revoke any right which we grant to link to the Website at any time for breach of any of these Terms and Conditions, and to take any action that we deem appropriate.
    3. 16.3 You shall fully indemnify Sponge "Cakes" Limited, its suppliers, our officers, directors, employees, shareholders and agents for any loss or damage suffered as a result of breach of your obligations in this condition 16.
  17. Payment Disputes
    1. In the event a payment dispute is raised between us and your payment card provider, we reserve the right to terminate your account, and restrict your ability to place future orders.
  18. General
    1. 18.1 We have taken every care in the preparation of the content of this website, in particular prices and product description. However, owing to variations in computer monitors, and the reproduction process, packaging may vary from that shown, as may the colours of our products.
    2. 18.2 Any typographical, clerical or other error or omission in the Website or in any sales literature, quotation, price list, acceptance of offer, invoice or other document or information issued by us shall be subject to correction without any liability on our part.
    3. 18.3 We will make every effort to deliver your order as requested. However we will not be held liable if we fail due to circumstances beyond our control. Any order that you place will only be processed if full payment details are given and accepted. If for any reason we are unable to supply Goods as advertised we will notify you, except that we reserve the right to substitute goods or packaging of equal or greater value in the event of such supply difficulties.
    4. 18.4 We shall not be liable to any person for any loss or damage which may arise from the use of any of the information contained on this website.
    5. 18.5 We reserve the right to supplement and amend the Terms and Conditions on which you are permitted access to the Sponge website and/or the Services from time to time. We will post any changes on the Sponge website and it is your responsibility as a customer to review the Terms and Conditions on each occasion you access the the Sponge website or the Services. Changes will be effective immediately after the posting of such change.
    6. 18.6 We reserve the right to suspend, restrict or terminate access to the Sponge website and/or the Services for any reason at any time.
    7. 18.7 These Terms and Conditions shall be deemed to include all other notices, policies, disclaimers and other terms contained in the Sponge website, provided that in the event of a conflict between any such other notices, policies, disclaimers and other terms, these Terms and Conditions shall prevail. If any of these Terms and Conditions is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
    8. 18.8 We shall ensure that we comply with the requirement of all current data protection legislation including, without limitation, the Data Protection Act 1998 (as replaced, modified or re-enacted from time to time). We shall only use personal data received from you for the purpose of fulfilling our obligations under these Terms and Conditions and as stated in our Privacy Policy.
    9. 18.9 A person who is not a party to the agreement between you and us has no rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any of the Terms and Conditions but this does not affect any right or remedy which exists apart from that Act.
    10. 18.10 Save in respect of fraudulent misrepresentation, this agreement (including any documents and instruments referred to herein) supersedes all prior representations, arrangements, understandings, and agreements between you and us (whether written or oral) and sets forth the entire agreement and understanding between you and us relating to the subject matter hereof.
    11. 18.11 Your purchase will be deemed to have occurred in the UK. These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and the parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Promotion and Offers Terms and Conditions

From time to time Sponge will release discount codes (“Codes”) via email or other marketing channels. These Codes will allow a discount to be applied to your order at sponge.co.uk. To apply the Code at sponge.co.uk please enter it where specified during the check-out process. The discount will then be applied to your order.

Please note that save as expressly stated, Codes are only valid on full-priced items and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer including Sponge Fridays. Codes are valid for a limited period of time as specified in the relevant email or marketing communication, they cannot be used outside of that time period. All orders are subject to acceptance and any improper use of Codes may result in the cancellation of your order. All orders are subject to availability. Sponge reserves the right to withdraw, amend or extend offers at any time, without prior notice.

Specific offer terms and conditions are provided with each Code - for specific information relevant to that Code, please refer to the email or marketing communication on which it is featured.

These terms and conditions do not, in any way, affect your statutory rights as a consumer.