Rural Merchants Terms and Conditions

Introduction

Rural Merchants is a New Zealand-owned and operated multisided ecommerce shopping platform (Platform) designed to connect consumer who wish to conduct business with New Zealand businesses (Merchants).

By using the Platform (and any of our associated websites, Apps or social media pages), you accept these terms and conditions (Agreement) and our Privacy Policy. We may change these terms at any time, and changes will be posted on the Platform. We will notify you where there are any material changes to these Customer Terms. By continuing to use the Platform, you agree to be bound by any changes.

To the extent that Merchants’ own terms and conditions are inconsistent with the terms and conditions in this Agreement, the terms and conditions in this Agreement will take precedence and apply.

The Platform

1.1 Registration

You must be a registered member to place orders on the Platform. To register as a member, you must provide us with personal information including your name, address, valid mobile phone number and email address. You are responsible for ensuring this information is up to date at all times.  This is one account only per user.

We may disable your registration at any time if we believe that you are not using Rural Merchants in an appropriate or reasonable way.

1.2 Use of the Platform

You are solely responsible for the activity that occurs on your account, and you must keep your account password secure. We are not responsible for any unauthorised activity on your account if you fail to keep your account login information secure. If you suspect or become aware of any unauthorised use of your account, you must notify us immediately and take immediate steps to re-secure your account.

Other than connecting to Rural Merchants through the Platform, you must not gain or attempt to gain access to Rural Merchant’s servers. You agree not to disrupt, modify or interfere with the Platform and its associated software, hardware and data in any way.

We do not warrant that the Platform will be available at all times and without disruption. We may make changes to the content on the Platform at any time without notice.

The Platform has some links to third party websites. These sites have not been prepared by us and are not under our control. Any third party links are only provided as a convenience and we are not responsible for the content or availability of any of these links.

1.3 Placing orders on the Platform

Information about products on the Platform is based on material provided by Merchants. We cannot be held responsible for incorrect information supplied by Merchants and you agree to make your own enquiries to verify information and assess the suitability of products before placing an order. We also note that due to photographic and screen limitations, some actual products may differ to a small extent in visual appearance from the way they appear on the Platform. Any information contained on our Platform (and any of our associated websites, Apps or social media pages) constitutes an invitation to treat only and is not an offer by us to supply any products.

To order a product, add it to the shopping cart and proceed through the checkout process. You will be required to enter payment information, which, if successfully completed, will lead to a confirmation page (which you can use as a receipt of your order). Once you complete an order (including payment), it will be sent to the Merchant who will confirm whether your order has been accepted or rejected. If the Merchant rejects your order, you will be refunded in full.

Some products on the Platform carry an age restriction. If a product you have selected is age restricted, you will be required to confirm that you are an appropriate age to purchase the product. Confirming this means you represent to us and the Merchant that you are of an eligible age and that you are not purchasing the product on behalf of a person who is not the appropriate age. The Merchant may require you to confirm your age upon delivery of your products.

Please Note:

Unless otherwise stated, reward programs or special discounts applicable to individual retailers do not apply to orders placed on Rural Merchants.

1.4 Cancelling Orders

We reserve the right to cancel orders that we believe to be placed for commercial purposes or are fraudulent (including where we believe there may have been credit card or a payment related fraud). We may also cancel orders where there has been an error in the listing of the product (e.g. an incorrect price). If we cancel your order, you will be refunded in full.

Rural Merchant allows you to create a request to cancel your order (or part of your order) before the order is displayed as 'shipped' for any reason. If we are able to successfully cancel the order with the Merchant, you will receive a full refund of any payments you have made for that order. Please note that creating a cancellation request doesn't guarantee that your order will not be shipped.

1.5 Promotions and Offers

Promotional Coupon Terms and conditions:

Promotional coupons are applicable to all eligible products across ruralmerchants.co.nz

Ruralmerchants.co.nz reserves the right to amend or cancel promotional coupons and to update the terms and conditions without notice.

Promotional coupon discounts are applied when the code is claimed or the relevant code is entered at checkout on ruralmerchants.co.nz

Alcoholic beverages and any form of Gift Cards or Prepaid Membership Cards are not eligible for promotional coupon discounts

Coupon discounts exclude cost of shipping (if relevant)

Only one coupon may be used per transaction on ruralmerchants.co.nz

Coupons may be used a maximum of one time per customer unless otherwise stated

Ruralmerchants.co.nz general website terms & conditions also apply

Where you have applied a conditional promotion to an order (e.g. free shipping or a % discount for spending above a certain amount), and the order (or part of the order) has been cancelled or refunded, the terms in this clause will apply.

Please Note:

Unless otherwise stated, reward programs or special discounts applicable to individual retailers do not apply to orders placed on ruralmerhants.co.nz

Coupons cannot be added to an order retrospectively.

If you are returning an item(s) and a coupon or portion of a coupon was used when placing the order, we will only reimburse the coupon or portion of coupon used where item(s) returned are:

  • Faulty.
  • Incorrect item received.
  • Damaged upon arrival.
  • Differs from advertised image - applies only if Rural Merchants can determine item differs from advertised image.

1.6 Pricing

All prices listed on Rural Merchants are in New Zealand dollars and are inclusive of GST. Please note that prices may be altered on the Platform at any time for any reason. Delivery charges may be listed separately.

Your Order

2.1 Transacting with the Merchant

As noted above, when you order products on the Platform, you are transacting directly with Merchants. To the extent permitted by law, Rural Merchants makes no warranty or representation regarding the standard or description of any products to be supplied by the Merchants. Merchants are the 'supplier' of the products under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and are responsible for all statutory guarantees and warranties (if any).

2.2 Delivery of your order

Delivery times are set by Merchants and therefore vary depending on which Merchant you are buying from. After placing your order, you will be able to track its progress by logging into the Platform which will either display the progress of your order, or provide a link to the relevant carrier’s site (on which you can check your order’s progress).

2.3 Returns and Refunds

All products sold on Rural Merchants are likely to come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993. If you believe that you have a claim under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, you may have the right to a replacement or a refund. Please see our Buyer Guarantee which outlines the process to follow if you believe you have the right to a replacement or refund, or if you think your goods have been damaged or lost during delivery.

As set out in the Buyer Guarantee, you must lodge any complaint you may have through our Platform. Once your complaint has been lodged, we will liaise with the relevant Merchant to resolve your complaint. Rural Merchants attempts to resolve complaints as quickly as possible and relies on you to promptly provide all the information needed to resolve your complaint.

If free shipping has applied to you order, and you return the item due to change of mind, the original shipping amount, at the merchants discretion, may be deducted from the return refund.

2.4 Consumer Rights / Liability

Our Buyer Guarantee sets out our standard process for handling certain claims under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, however, nothing under clause 3 (or our Buyer Guarantee) is intended to have the effect of restricting or modifying your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, the Fair Trading Act 1986, or any other obligations that cannot be restricted or modified by law.

General Terms

3.1 Privacy

We are committed to protecting your privacy. By accessing and using the Platform, you consent to the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. When making any purchase through the Platform you acknowledge and agree that we may disclose your personal information to the relevant Merchant. Any personal information disclosed to, and used by, a Merchant is governed by that Merchant’s own privacy practices and policies. We accept no responsibility or liability for the privacy practices or policies of any Merchant.

3.2 Intellectual Property

You acknowledge that we are the sole owner or licensee of all intellectual property rights in the Platform and all products listed on it. We hold copyright in all content and elements of our website. You must not copy, alter or reproduce any product, our content or logo, or the Platform (or any part of it), nor permit any person to do so without our prior written consent.

If you correspond or otherwise communicate with us, you automatically grant to us an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, world-wide licence to use, copy, display, and distribute the content of your correspondence or communication and to prepare derivative works of the content or incorporate the content into other works in order to publish and promote such content. This may include, but is not limited to, publishing testimonials on our Platform and developing your ideas and suggestions for improved products we provide.

3.3 Disclaimer

Nothing in this clause is intended to have the effect of restricting or modifying your rights or our obligations that cannot be restricted or modified by law (e.g. the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993). Subject to the previous sentence, Rural Merchants does not accept any liability, direct or indirect, for any loss or damage which may directly or indirectly result from any Merchant’s advice, opinion, information, representation or omission whether negligent or otherwise, on the Platform or your use of the Platform. You are solely responsible for the actions you take in reliance on the Merchant’s content on, or accessed through, the Platform.

You will at all times indemnify, and keep indemnified, us and our directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any loss (including reasonable legal costs and expenses) or liability incurred or suffered by us arising from any claim, demand, suit, action or proceeding by any person against us where such loss or liability arose out of, in connection with or in respect of your breach of this Agreement.

3.4 General

If any part of this Agreement is found to be void, unlawful or unenforceable then that part will be deemed to be severable from the balance of this Agreement and the severed part will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

If we do not exercise or enforce any right or provision under this Agreement, it will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Any waiver of any provision under this Agreement will only be effective if it is in writing and signed by us.

The Platform and any use of it is governed by, and is to be interpreted in accordance with, the laws of New Zealand and you and we submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand.

3.5 Fair Use Policy

All products offered for sale on Rural Merchants, including those on sale, promotion or with any discounts on retail prices, are offered under our Fair Use Policy to registered users of Rural Merchants, for the purchase of goods for personal use only. We reserve the right to refuse or cancel any orders that we believe, soley by our own judgement, to be placed for commercial purposes e.g. purchases perceived to be intended for wholesale, or resale.  Items on sale or promotion may be limited to one per customer. Discount limits per customer and maximum savings per customer will be monitored for any suspected abuse of policy. Rural Merchants reserves the right to cancel any orders deemed to be in conflict with these policies. If we cancel your order, you will be refunded in full and the funds returned to the purchasing account. Persistent abuse may result in suspension or termination of user account.

Buy Rural Merchants Membership Terms & Conditions

Rural Merchants is a free-to-join membership programme. However, some members may also have the option of purchasing additional benefits via a Rural Merchants subscription where available.  Members of Rural Merchants are eligible for member benefits and offers when shopping at Merchants.

By registering as a member of Rural Merchants, you acknowledge that you have read and accept these membership terms and conditions (Terms). These Terms must be read in conjunction with The Rural Merchants’s Privacy Policy available at ruralmerchants.co.nz/privacy-policy, which describes how personal information collected in connection with Rural Merchants will be handled, and any other terms and conditions that may apply to certain offers or benefits.

Joining Rural Merchants

To be eligible for Rural Merchants membership, you must be a natural person (and not a company or other corporate entity).

You may not have more than one Rural Merchants membership and you may not transfer your membership or any offers made available through your membership to anyone else.

Rural Merchants membership may be used for personal use only. You are responsible for ensuring your login details are kept secure and will be responsible for any action or use of your Rural Merchants membership while logged in to your account.  You agree that you will not use your Rural Merchants membership for commercial or business purposes.

You must ensure that all information you provide to us on joining Rural Merchants is correct and you must keep your information up-to-date in your customer account accessible through a Participating Retailer’s app or and website (where available).  You can also contact us at info@ruralmerchants.co.nz and request that we update your information for you if it is out of date.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, we reserve the right, acting reasonably, to accept or refuse any membership application.

Offers

Rural Merchants offers may be available for purchases made via a Participating Retailer’s app, website or instore. All offers, benefits and services are subject to availability at the discretion of the Participating Retailer. Some offers may be exclusive to one, or more, Participating Retailers. To access retailer-specific benefits and offers you may need to register separate Rural Merchants accounts with each Participating Retailer. Participating Retailers may not enable Rural Merchants functionality through all of their shopping channels. For example, Rural Merchants offers may only be redeemable for instore purchases at certain retailers and not for purchases made online through the retailer’s website.

Some offers may be made available to some members and not others, for instance offers may be tailored to reflect a member’s shopping history, preferences and location, their Rural Merchants engagement and activity, and other factors.

These Terms apply to all offers in addition to any specific terms and conditions accompanying a particular offer. In the event of any inconsistency, the specific terms of the offer shall prevail over these Terms.

Offers cannot be redeemed for products purchased by layby (where layby is available), and cannot be used to purchase gift cards, services, clearance, alcohol or Apple products. Further exclusions may apply and will be shown clearly on the offer.

Third-party offers

From time to time we may send you offers relating to services or products on behalf of our third-party suppliers. Such offers are not offers from us, they are offers from the relevant third-party supplier and the third-party supplier's terms and conditions and privacy policy will apply to such offers. We are not responsible for fulfilment or management of such offers and you agree that when you accept any third-party offer or engage with any third-party supplier it is at your sole risk.

Modification

From time to time we may need to change or modify these Terms to give effect to changes in our business operations, to introduce new features or vary existing features of Rural Merchants, and to reflect strategic changes in how Rural Merchants is operated.  Where we change or modify these Terms for the reasons set out above, we will endeavour to provide you with reasonable notice through posting a revised version of these Terms on a Participating Retailer’s app, website and/or we will notify you via email. We may not be able to provide you with prior notice of a change where such change is required to protect our legal rights, required to comply with law or for security purposes.  Your continued use of your Rural Merchants membership after the effective date of a change will constitute your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the changes, you may cancel your Rural Merchants membership via your customer account (accessible through a Participating Retailer’s app or website, where available) or by contacting us at info@ruralmerchant.co.nz.

Termination

If you choose to end your membership for any reason you will lose any offers that you may have earned, be eligible for, or loaded to your account.

We may end your Rural Merchants membership at any time without notice where we reasonably believe there has been fraudulent use of your membership, you have acted inappropriately or in a hostile manner when shopping or engaging with us or any Participating Retailer, or you have breached any of these Terms or any law or other terms and conditions that apply to your use of a Participating Retailer’s app, website or their instore policies. If we end your membership for any of the above reasons, all offers will be forfeited from the date of termination and you will have no further entitlements in respect of Rural Merchants.

We reserve the right to terminate the Rural Merchants programme at any time by providing you with reasonable notice. From time to time a Participating Retailer may also choose to leave the Rural Merchants programme.  When this occurs, the Participating Retailer will provide you with reasonable notice of their exit from the programme. If we choose to terminate the Rural Merchants programme or a Participating Retailer chooses to leave the Rural Merchants programme, any offers that you have earned before the date of termination will continue to be valid for at least a period of three months after the date they were earned, or any longer period that we, or the Participating Retailer, may notify you of, at the time of termination.

Personal Information

We collect a range of personal information about you in connection with your Rural Merchants membership, including your contact details, payment details, location, shopping history and preferences, membership utilisation and offer redemption. This information is collected primarily to enable us to provide you with the benefits of Rural Merchants, administer the Rural Merchants programme, and to provide you a more customised and tailored shopping experience across all of our Participating Retailers. We also use this information in an aggregated form to undertake a range of data analytics and produce insights into customer behaviour to help shape our marketing and business strategies.  If you do not provide certain personal information on request, you may be ineligible for membership. We will handle your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, at ruralmerchants.co.nz/privacy, which is incorporated into and forms part of these Terms. You may request that we update or correct your personal information at any time, as further detailed in our Privacy Policy.

Marketing

The email address that you provide to us upon registration will be used by us and Participating Retailers to email you with the latest deals, Rural Merchants member offers and any Rural Merchants news or updates. We may also send you marketing and service-related messages through SMS and/or via app notifications.  You may opt out of receiving promotional emails from us at any time either by clicking the unsubscribe facility in any electronic message that we send you or by contacting us at info@ruralmerchant.co.nz.

Acceptable Use Policy

Members of Rural Merchants are expected to use their membership (and redeem offers and rewards) in a reasonable manner and in line with regular shopping behaviour. Member benefits may be restricted to a certain number of retailers, orders or purchases per month, a certain number of merchants per order, or minimum value thresholds.

Where we suspect that you are abusing your membership benefits by, for example, sharing your account or offers with other users, using unreasonable means of redeeming excessive offers, or otherwise engaging in conduct which we deem is inappropriate, excessive, or an abuse of your Rural Merchants membership, we may cancel your membership.

Disclaimers and Liability

Nothing in this clause is intended to have the effect of restricting or modifying your rights or our obligations that cannot be restricted or modified by law (e.g. those under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993).

Although we take reasonable steps to help ensure the continued access to and operation of Rural Merchants programme, we cannot guarantee that it will operate un-interrupted, error free or securely and we provide no guarantee as to its availability via any Participating Retailer’s stores, app or website. We reserve the right at any time to correct any errors published in relation to offers or the Rural Merchants programme generally.

Except for any liability we may have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, we do not accept any liability, direct or indirect, for any loss or damage suffered by you or any third party arising in any way out of your membership or use of the Rural Merchants programme, including in relation to the loss, misdirection or delay in receiving any correspondence, application or offer redemption.

You will at all times indemnify, and keep indemnified, us and our directors, officers, employees and agents from and against any loss (including reasonable legal costs and expenses) or liability incurred or suffered by us arising from any claim, demand, suit, action or proceeding by any person against us where such loss or liability arose as a result of your breach of these Terms.

Neither party shall have any liability to the other for delays or failure in performance caused by any event beyond its reasonable control.

General

These terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand.

If any provision in these Terms is deemed invalid, void or unenforceable for any reason, that provision shall be severed from the Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provision.

The trademarks and logos used and displayed in connection with Rural Merchants are owned by the owners of Rural Merchants. You are not permitted to use any trademarks or logos used or displayed in connection with Rural Merchants without our written permission. 

Gift Card Terms and Conditions

Once the e-Gift Card is used, any unused value associated with the e-Gift Card will be reissued with a new code and will remain valid until the expiry date stated on the e-Gift Card.

If your order exceeds the amount of your Gift Card, you must pay for the balance with a credit card or other agreed form of payment.

Rural Merchants Gift Cards are not redeemable for cash.

Rural Merchants Gift Cards are not refundable.

Valid for 12 months from the purchase of the gift card.

Recipients may only use Rural Merchants e-Gift Card for purchases online at ruralmerchants.co.nz.

The e-Gift Card will not be replaced if lost, stolen, or destroyed.

Each e-Gift Card is identified by individual code that must not be changed or copied by purchaser.

The purchaser is not allowed to transfer, re-assign, or re-sell e-Gift Cards.

Changes to this Agreement

Rural Merchants reserves the right to alter, modify or update these terms of use. We may change our terms and conditions at any time, so please do not assume that the same terms will apply to future orders.