Customer
Guide to TBF Policies & Procedures
Registration,
Pre-Approval, and Territory Policy
All
customers must register and be approved via our website, www.thebearfactory.com, prior to
placing an order. Registered information
must be accurate and correct to the best knowledge of the customer. Territory approval is based on the area
registered, and is the only territory for which registering customers will be
searched. If pre-approved, the area
searched is the only allowable location of business, with the exception of
temporary locations including but not limited to fairs, markets, shows, and
promotional store locations.
Our
territories are based on the following criteria*: area, population, customers
within the area, and business type.
Using these search criteria, TBF will make an informed decision, either
approving or denying a territory request.
We reserve the right to amend our territory policies and decisions if
additional information, either purposefully or inadvertently, is withheld by
our customers, or if any aspect of territory-issuing criteria changes.
Knowingly
selling TBF products in a restricted or non-approved area is grounds for
termination of your Bear Factory territory and removal of your information from
our system.
*If additional credible
information regarding an area is available, TBF reserves the right to include
the information in our search procedure.
Ordering Procedure and
Policy
Orders
may be submitted via fax, email, mail, or via www.thebearfactory.com. Submission of orders online is preferable and
will insure orders are shipped as quickly as possible, as online orders are
directly imported into our shipment system, minimizing processing time and chance
of mistake. TBF will not be responsible
or incur additional costs for order errors made on the part of the
customer. All orders are shipped as
fully and quickly as possible. TBF will
ship in-stock items only, and will not backorder out-of-stock items for
shipment at a later time. TBF will not
contact the customer regarding stock status unless previously requested at the
time of order submission. TBF will not
cover shipping charges for any items out-of-stock at the time order. All information submitted at the time of
order will be used to create and ship the order. TBF will attempt to accommodate- but will not
guarantee- that any customer requests to change the order can be accommodated
after submission of the order.
Shipping Procedure and
Policy
Orders
are shipped per customer request, to the address specified, utilizing the shipping
service requested by the customer from TBF approved send methods. Shipping charges are added at the time of
shipment, and will be assessed based on FedEx rates for the service
requested. TBF will not contact
customers prior to shipment unless previously requested by the customer at the
time of order submission. Customers are
responsible for payment of shipment costs based on the service selected, as
well as any additional incurred costs as a result of duties, taxes, brokerage
fees, holding fees, shipment refusal, or any/all additional fees assessed by
FedEx for the shipment. TBF reserves
the right to hold shipments until account is current or until unresolved
payments have been resolved.
Orders
requesting a service not available in the area will be shipped via an alternate
method with a similar transit time.
Shipping costs will reflect the shipment service used in this instance,
as opposed to the shipment service selected.
Orders
are shipped without a signature required unless otherwise specified at the time
of order. TBF will not be held
responsible for lost, stolen, delayed, or damaged shipments carried by FedEx. TBF has authorized FedEx to accept claims for
lost, stolen, delayed, or damaged shipments directly from the recipient. TBF files no claims on behalf of the
recipient. If further information is required
on the claims policies of FedEx, questions need to be referred to FedEx
directly.
Defective Merchandise
Defective
merchandise will be credited back to the customer in the form of a Bear Factory
credit memo for application on a later order.
TBF reserves the right to request return of any damaged merchandise for
verification of damage or poor quality at the expense of the customer. Credit will be applied to a subsequent order,
received after issuance of the credit memo.
Credit memos not used with 90 days of credit issuances will be voided
and are not recoverable.
Shipment Discrepancy
All
shipment discrepancies must be reported within 48 hours of delivery. Discrepancies
that are not reported within this window will not be rectified.
Account and Collection
Policy
TBF
reserves the right to collect past-due balances via any credit card available
in the customer history unless previously noted as one-time use in the event
funds are not collectable by credit card provided. Past-due accounts are responsible for a 1.5%
late fee, assessed monthly. Customers
are responsible for all legal and collection fees for past-due items associated
with their account.
Returned or Unavailable
Funds Policy
Any
funds not received, or returned by the banking provider for any reason, will
result in a review of the customer account.
TBF reserves the right to alter or revoke terms of payment or status of
an account based on returned or unavailable funds as a result of, but not
limited to, the following items: checks
marked Non Sufficient Funds, checks marked Account Closed, and credit card charge-backs.
Account Active Status
All
pre-approved customers will need to place their initial order within 90 days of
pre-approval in order to activate their account. Once an account has been activated, all customers
are required to order at minimum once every six months, with a minimum order of
$100.00 to maintain the active status of their account. TBF will not contact customers once their
account becomes inactive; TBF will purge all information from our system. Inactive customers wishing to order again
will need to register and be approved for their location through the same
process as new customers.
If there is
confusion regarding these policies, or if a policy or procedure in not properly
detailed, TBF will provide further explanation of policies and procedure. Please contact The Bear Factory to answer any
questions pertaining to these policies and procedures. TBF reserves the right
to amend or update these procedures at any time. Once policies and procedures are updated, previous
policies and procedures are no longer valid.
The Bear Factory, LLC
mailto: info@thebearfactory.com
Phone: 248.437.4930
Fax: 248.437.4947