Competition Terms
Introduction
1. These general rules apply to all competitions that we promote at www.rivercottage.net or anywhere else. By entering a competition, you accept these rules.
2. Some competitions will have their own, additional rules, which will be displayed or indicated wherever we promote the competition (referred to in these rules as Additional Rules) and which, where they exist, form part of these rules. Where there is any conflict or inconsistency between the general rules set out here and any Additional Rules, the Additional Rules will apply instead.
3. By entering a competition promoted by us, you are agreeing to be bound by the rules that apply to that competition.
4. In these rules, references to “we”, “us”, “our” and similar phrases refer to River Cottage Limited as the promoter of the competition (unless any Additional Rules say otherwise).
5. In these rules, references to “you”, “your” and similar terms refer to anyone entering one of our competitions.
6. The document, website, advertisement or similar thing where promote or advertise a competition is referred to in these rules as the Competition Notice.
7. Any words following “including”, “includes”, “for example”, “in particular” or any similar expression are illustrative only and do not change the sense of the wider wording they are used in.
Eligibility
8. The opening and closing date for each competition will be set out in the Competition Notice.
9. There is no purchase requirement to enter a competition and there is no charge to register for use of our website.
10. You do not have to sign up to receive our newsletter or other marketing materials from us in order to enter a competition.
11. Unless any Additional Rules say otherwise, you must be aged 18 or over to enter our competitions. By entering a competition you promise that you are aged 18 or over.
12. To help ensure independence and fairness, employees (or members of their families or households) of the following organisations are not allowed to enter our competitions:
a. River Cottage Limited or any other River Cottage group company;
b. any company or organisation (or related group company) involved in the competition or production of a television programme to which a competition relates;
c. any advertising agency or digital media or web services company (or related group company) connected with the competition.
2. Additional eligibility requirements may apply to a specific competition, for example a valid passport, and visa might be required if the competition prize includes travel outside the United Kingdom. These additional requirements will normally be set out in the Competition Notice (but it is your responsibility (not ours) to ensure that you can actually use or benefit from any prizes on offer).
3. By entering the competition, you promise that all information submitted by you is true, current and complete. We reserve the right to check that you are allowed to enter a competition.
Competition Entries
4. Competition entries must be made in the manner and by the closing date and time specified in the Competition Notice – we can disqualify you if not.
5. Unless the Competition Notice or Additional Rules say something different, you may enter a competition as many times as you like, but where a winner has been selected and we discover (or reasonably believe) the winner has used any software or automated process either to answer questions or to make bulk entries, we are allowed to disqualify all their entries.
6. Your entry and any information submitted by you must be personal to and relate specifically to you. Entries on behalf of another person will not be accepted and joint submissions are not allowed.
7. You promise to us that your entry (and any other information or content you provide) will not infringe the intellectual property, privacy or any other rights of anyone else, and will not contain anything which is obscene, indecent, harassing or threatening. We are allowed to review information and content provided by you and to edit, refuse to distribute or remove that information.
8. Proof of posting or emailing cannot be accepted as proof of delivery. We do not accept responsibility for anything which prevents your competition entry from reaching us.
9. We can disqualify you and any or all of your competition entries if we reasonably believe that you have breached any of the rules.
Selection of Winners
10. Unless the relevant Competition Notice says something different:
a. where a competition involves answering questions or where entry is by emailing or otherwise providing a name or other contact details to us, winners will be selected at random from all correct entries within 28 days of the competition closing date; or
b. where creative or artistic merit or other subjective criteria apply to entries, winners will be selected from all submitted entries by us or by judges authorised by us within 28 days of the competition closing date.
11. Tie-breakers will be judged by us and, if required by law, by an independent adjudicator. In all matters, the decision of the judge(s) and us will be final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into regarding that decision.
12. Prize winners will be notified in the manner and within the time specified on the Competition Notice (and may be contacted by us or someone acting on our behalf). The address you provide with your competition entry will be used to send any prizes so please make sure this is correct.
13. Return of any prize notification as undeliverable or failure to reply as specified in the notification (and within the time stated) may result in disqualification and selection of an alternative winner.
14. If more than one prize is awarded, only one prize per entrant will be awarded.
15. Unless specified otherwise in the Competition Notice, prize winners will be notified by email (or via social media, where applicable) and (where relevant) asked to confirm a postal address within two weeks of receiving our notification. Failure to claim a prize within this time or in the manner specified may result in disqualification and selection of an alternative winner.
Prizes
16. We are allowed to not award a prize (and to select an alternative winner) if we are aware (or reasonably believe) that a winner is not allowed to enter or if a winning entry is disqualified.
17. Prizes are non-transferable and there is no cash alternative. We are allowed to substitute prizes with reasonably similar prizes at any time and are subject to availability.
18. As our competitions are only open to people aged 18 and over, we reserve the right to request written proof of age of any winner.
19. Where a prize winner is unable to claim their prize due to a specific dietary or other requirement, we may (but do not have to) offer an alternative prize. Any alternative prize will be chosen by us. All prizes must be claimed within 6 months unless otherwise stated.
20. All taxes, insurances, transfers, spending money and other expenses (including meals or personal expenses upgrades etc.) relating to prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winner, unless we specifically say something different.
Our Use of Your Entries
21. Any personal data in (or related to) your competition entry will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.
22. We are allowed to (but do not have to) use and publish your entries (but not your contact details) in any way we choose, and this may be alongside advertising or promotional materials.
23. You give us the rights to use, edit, sell or license any part of your competition entry and the intellectual property rights in it (for example, copyright in text or images). This right to use (known as a “licence”) is free of charge and worldwide, goes on forever and cannot be taken back by you. You are still allowed to grant to other people the same or similar rights to use your entry and to continue to use your entry yourself. You waive all your moral rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (and any broadly equivalent rights) in respect of your entry – amongst other things, this means that we do not have to credit you as the author or creator.
24. We are also allowed to use and to publicise your name, basic location (but not address), and photographs (or other images) and audio recordings of you.
25. Please note that, unless stated otherwise, we do not accept responsibility for the return of any competition entries, including those consisting of artistic or other material.
Our Liability
26. These rules do not exclude any liability which, by law, cannot be excluded or limited. We will not have any liability to you at all for any damage, loss, injury or disappointment arising from you entering a competition. Otherwise, the total liability which we may owe to you in respect of a competition, for any reason and on any basis, is limited to your reasonable, actual and direct costs of submitting an entry.
Changes
27. We may change these rules from time to time by updating the rules on our website. Where we have already published a Competition Notice at the time of making a change to these rules, the rules that applied at the time of the Competition Notice will still apply.
Law
28. English law applies to these rules (and any Additional Rules), their subject matter and formation, and the English Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes arising about those things.