Subscription conditions

Make sure you read and understand the terms and conditions of OT subscription

1. Acceptance of Terms of Service

These Terms of Use the “Agreement” or “Terms” are an agreement between you and Association of Optometrists (AOP) “AOP,” "us," "our" or "we" and set forth the terms of your subscription. These terms apply to the “Service(s)” the AOP makes available as part of the Optometry Today (OT) subscription package. By accessing or using the Services you represent and warrant that you have the right, authority and capacity to enter into this Agreement and to abide by its Terms whether or not you become a subscriber to OT or any pay as you go services. This Agreement governs the acceptable use of the Services and content accessed through the AOP website and your rights, obligations and restrictions regarding your use of the Services.

2. Subscription

The AOP offer various subscription packages which are listed on the Association’s website.

When you submit your order online, by post, at an event, or by phone providing us with details of your order, you are making an offer to take out a subscription which if accepted by us, will result in a binding contract for a minimum 12 month period, excluding any offers. The subscription is fulfilled in hard copy with online access also provided to you upon subscribing and registering on the website. Due to the exceptional nature of any of the subscription offers (and being personal are non-transferable) we regret that except for the initial 14-day cancellation policy, no allowances or extensions to the special offer will apply.

3. Subscription rates and payment terms

Subscriptions can be paid for in advance for 12 months by cheque or credit/debit card, or a continuous subscription can be taken out by annual, four equal instalments or monthly Direct Debit. The first instalment will be paid on the next available processing date and cover from the subscription start date to the next Direct Debit instalment. Payment types and subscription durations may be restricted for promotional offers. If you pay for your subscription by Direct Debit you are automatically protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee. A copy of this will be sent to you along with the details of the date of your Direct Debit. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by contacting your bank or building society.

All credit/debit cards will be debited in pounds sterling by your bank or building society on behalf of AOP. If you make payment from an account outside of the UK your bank or building society may apply a charge to convert the pounds sterling amount to your local currency and/or charge an additional fee for the transaction.

If you are not using your own credit/debit card to pay for the subscription or you are under the age of 18, you must ask the permission of the credit/debit card holder before entering the payment details. By clicking "Submit" you are confirming that you have obtained the express prior permission of the credit/debit card holder.

4. Subscription term

A subscription is purchased on a continuous rolling 12 month period. If the subscription purchased changes frequency, we will honour any 12 month subscription term paid for, not the number of issues.

5. Renewing

A renewal notice will be sent two months before your subscription is due for renewal.

If you pay by Direct Debit the renewal notice will detail your proceeding year’s subscription fee and payment dates which will be automatically debited. If you do not want to renew, to ensure we do not debit your account unnecessarily, please notify us of the cancellation via email at [email protected] giving a minimum of 14 days notice before the date upon which your subscription is due for renewal. We also advise that you cancel your Direct Debit by contacting your bank or building society.

If you pay by credit or debit card your renewal notice will be sent two months before your subscription renewal date with a final reminder sent after your final issue has been posted. Payment must be made by the deadline to avoid missing any issues.

6. Unpaid subscription fee

The AOP is a not-for-profit organisation unpaid subscription fees therefore impact directly on our work and ability to plan and provide services for our members. Consequently the AOP reserves the right to take necessary steps to recover unpaid subscription fees, including legal action where necessary.

If subscribers anticipate any problems with the payment of their subscription, they should contact the membership team at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss. In particular, subscribers should ensure they contact the membership team if they intend to cancel their Direct Debit instruction and/ or use another form of payment; otherwise the AOP will incur bank changes for seeking a Direct Debit payment without an active mandate.

7. Delivery

We will deliver the journal to the address you notify to us when you place your order. All orders will begin with the month’s issue in which you have subscribed. If this issue is unavailable your subscription will commence with the next available issue.

We will not be responsible for failure to deliver the journals if you have supplied us with incorrect address details. We will attempt to make contact with you in the event that we receive a returned journal but reserve the right to dispose of incorrectly addressed returned issues without an obligation to refund you or any other person if contact attempts fail.

We will not be liable to you for any delay in delivery or non-delivery of journals in the following circumstances:

Where the issuer of your payment card refuses to authorise payment to us
Where such delay or failure is due to circumstances beyond our control including, but not restricted to, war, electricity power failure, utilities failure, failure of telecommunications links, failure of transport infrastructure, fire, flood, government act, act of God, legislative constraints, strikes, labour disputes or malicious damage involving employees.

8. Cancellations and refunds

A subscription is for a minimum 12 months unless stated otherwise. If you are not completely satisfied, you may cancel your subscription (having chosen any method of payment) at any time during the first 14 days of your 12 month subscription (or renewal subscription) by calling 020 7549 2010 and we will give you a full refund, otherwise a minimum subscription period of 12 months applies. A refund will not be given after the cancellation period of each subscription term.

If you wish to cancel after the cancellation period you can do so by sending the request via email to [email protected]. We will stop your subscription at the earliest possible time but no refund will be given.

If you have any complaints about how we have dealt with the provision of your subscription or have any queries please contact us on 020 7549 2010.

9. Price information

The AOP Board shall determine annually the subscription fees for the following year, which may include a late payment fee, confirmed at each renewal period.

Although we try to ensure that all subscription prices are accurate, errors may occur. If we discover an error in the price of your order, we will inform you as soon as possible. You will have the option of reconfirming your order at the correct price or cancelling it. If we are unable to contact you, we will treat the order as cancelled and refund you the amount you have paid.

10. Liability

Our liability to you in the event of journals being lost in despatch shall be at our discretion.

These terms and conditions do not and shall not affect your statutory rights as a consumer.

11. Covermounts and inserts

On occasion OT may contain a gift or supplement. These may sent on a targeted basis so therefore you are not guaranteed to receive them.

12. Prize draw and competition rules

Any prize draws and/or competitions which are associated with our subscription offers are subject to separate terms and conditions.

13. Variation

These terms and conditions are subject to change.

14. Right to refuse orders

The AOP reserves the right to cancel your order at any time. If your order is rejected and your credit/debit card has already been debited or a direct debit payment has been made, we will notify you and refund you in full immediately.

We reserve the right not to fulfil and to cancel orders:

In the event of obvious inaccuracies in prices, so that we may fulfil your order at the correct price
If we are unable to obtain payment authorisation from the issuer of your payment card
If a direct debit payment fails and is not paid on the second attempt.

15. How we may use your personal information

provide the Services;
process your payment for such Services; and
inform you about similar products or services that we provide, but you may stop receiving these at any time by opting out or contacting us.

We will not give your personal data to any [other] third party.

16. Other important terms

We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms to another organisation, and we will always notify you in writing if this happens, but this will not affect your rights or our obligations under these Terms.

Each of the paragraphs of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

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.

These Terms are governed by English law. You and we both agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. 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.

17. Queries

If you have any queries or comments about your subscription please contact us on 020 7549 2010 or by email [email protected]