Terms and conditions

These terms apply when you buy goods from this website as a consumer, which means wholly or mainly for purposes outside your trade, business, craft or profession. If you are buying for a business, contact the studio before ordering so that separate written terms can be agreed. “The studio”, “we” and “us” mean The Plot Room; “you” means the customer.

Customer contact

queries@theplotroom.com

The sale is a distance contract. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 apply to it, and nothing in these terms takes away a right that those laws give you. If any other page of this site offers you a more favourable remedy, the more favourable promise is honoured.

Please read these terms together with the delivery and returns page, the privacy policy and the FAQ before you order. The version shown here when you place an order is the version that applies to it.

Every piece is a physical drawing made by moving a real pen over paper on a pen plotter. It is drawn after you order. Three kinds of piece are sold through this site:

• University city maps. Standard pieces from the catalogue, plotted to a fixed drawing plan with no personalisation. Although each sheet is drawn to order, you choose only from set options (sheet size and frame), so these are standard goods and the 14-day cancellation right in section 09 applies to them.
• Custom city and graduation maps. Made in the map designer to your own place, crop, sheet size, frame and wording, including any name, degree, honours and years you enter. These are made to your specification and are clearly personalised, so the cancellation right does not apply to them (section 10).
• Route maps. Drawn from a GPX file you upload, with the activity, sheet size, frame, wording and drawing options you choose. These are also made to your specification and clearly personalised, so the cancellation right does not apply to them (section 10).

Each piece is offered on an A4 or A3 sheet (210 × 297 mm or 297 × 420 mm), unframed or in an oak or black ash frame that is glazed and fitted to the sheet edge. The paper is named on the listing, in the designer or in the basket.

Images and previews show composition, sheet proportions, pen weights and framing as faithfully as a screen can. Screens show colour differently from ink, and ink flow, pen starts and stops and paper fibre vary slightly from sheet to sheet. Those characteristics are part of the medium; they are not a defect, but they never excuse a piece that is faulty, damaged, materially different from its description or different from the proof you approved.

Maps and route drawings are commemorative artworks. They are not navigation, surveying, safety or route-planning products and must not be relied on for those purposes. Event, place and institution names identify the subject of the artwork and do not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

Bespoke commissions arranged by enquiry rather than through the basket are agreed separately in writing; a contract for a commission forms when its scope and price have been agreed and any requested deposit has been accepted.

Prices are in pounds sterling. The price of a piece depends on the sheet size and the frame you choose. The current prices are:

Tax information will be confirmed before online ordering opens.

Delivery is charged per parcel, not per item. One order is one parcel. The charge depends on the delivery zone and on whether anything in the parcel is framed: a glazed frame needs a rigid box, so if any piece in the order is framed the framed rate applies to the whole parcel. The current charges are:

The zone is set by the delivery country you choose at checkout, and the address you give on the payment page must be in that country. The countries in each zone are listed on the delivery page. Outside the UK, import VAT, customs duty or carrier handling fees may be charged by the destination country. They are not included in the price or the delivery charge and are the recipient's responsibility.

The subtotal, delivery charge and total are shown before you pay. We add nothing afterwards. If a price on the site is obviously wrong, we may decline the order before accepting it and refund anything you have paid.

1. Add pieces to the basket. For a custom map or a route map the basket keeps the complete specification you designed, and you can go back and edit it until you check out. Check the piece, sheet size, frame, quantity and wording before you continue.
2. At checkout you give the email address for the order, choose the delivery address and contact details on the checkout page, which is run for the studio by Shopify. Before you pay it shows the items, the total price including delivery, and links to these terms and the delivery and returns page, which state your cancellation rights. A custom map or route map in the basket is marked as made to your specification and cannot be cancelled or returned for change of mind.
3. When you continue, the site sends your basket to Shopify's secure checkout, where you enter the delivery address and a contact phone number and pay. If you leave the checkout, nothing is charged and your basket stays saved in your browser.
4. Your order is an offer to buy. The contract is formed when the payment succeeds and Shopify sends you the order confirmation email with the order number, which is our acceptance. With some payment methods the bank confirms a little later; until the payment is confirmed no contract exists.

We may decline an order before accepting it where a piece is unavailable, a price or description contains an obvious error, payment is not authorised, delivery to the address is not possible, the requested content may be unlawful or infringe another person's rights, or fraud or misuse is reasonably suspected. If money has been taken for an order we cannot accept, it is refunded to the original payment method.

You must be at least 18 years old to place an order. Keep your order reference: it is needed for any question, change, return or complaint.

Payment is taken in full at the time of the order, in pounds sterling, on the checkout page run by Shopify. It shows the payment methods enabled for the studio, which can include debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Shop Pay. The studio never receives or stores your full card number; Shopify's own terms and privacy notice apply to its checkout.

The prices shown on the site are the prices held in the shop, and the delivery charge is worked out at checkout from your address, so the amount you are asked to pay is always the amount shown before you confirm. A payment being authorised does not remove any of your statutory rights.

What is saved when you pay

For a custom map, the order keeps the place you chose, the exact map centre and bounds, the crop width, the sheet size, the frame and every line of wording. For a route map, the order keeps your GPX file, the activity, the sheet size, the frame, the title, subtitle and stats line, and the drawing options you chose (elevation profile, surroundings, and start and finish markers). That saved specification is what you have bought.

The preview in the designer is a composition preview built in your browser. The final drawing is prepared from complete source data, or from your complete GPX file, at full detail. For route maps, terrain relief is added in the final drawing where the route has meaningful climbs.

The proof

After payment the studio prepares the full-detail drawing and emails it to the address you gave at checkout as a proof. No pen touches paper until you reply approving the proof. If you do not reply, we remind you and the order waits; nothing is plotted without your approval.

Check the proof carefully: spelling, names, dates, wording, crop, sheet size, frame and the route itself. Approval authorises us to plot exactly what the proof shows.

Changes before you approve

Tell us straight away if anything is wrong or you want something different. Corrections that stay within the specification you paid for, such as a spelling fix, a wording change or a small adjustment to the crop, are made without charge and a revised proof is sent. A change that amounts to a new specification, such as a different place, a different GPX file or a different sheet size or frame, is priced from the price list; we agree any difference with you before doing the work, and it is refunded or charged accordingly.

Because the piece is made to your specification there is no automatic right to cancel it once you have paid (section 10). If you nevertheless want to cancel before approving the proof, contact us: we will refund what we reasonably can after taking account of the work already done on your drawing, and we tell you the amount before anything is final.

Changes after you approve

Approval starts plotting. A change requested after approval means a new drawing, which we quote for separately; the approved piece remains yours. A finished piece that matches the proof you approved is not faulty because of something that was visible on that proof. A piece that does not match the approved proof is covered by section 11.

If the available map data or your file cannot support the design you paid for, we contact you before plotting to agree a correction or an alternative. If nothing suitable can be agreed, the price of that piece is refunded in full.

A route map is drawn from the GPX file you upload; custom maps and graduation maps carry the wording, names, degrees and dates you type in. By supplying that material you confirm that:

• you own it or have permission to supply it and to have the studio reproduce it in a drawing;
• where a route or a name belongs to someone else, for example a gift made from a friend's recorded run, that person has agreed to it being used;
• it is not unlawful, defamatory, hateful, deceptive or an invasion of anyone's privacy; and
• it does not ask us to reproduce third-party logos, crests, trade marks or event branding. We do not reproduce those without a licence from their owner, on any kind of piece.

You keep the rights in the material you supply. You give the studio a limited, non-exclusive licence to store and use it only as needed to check the order, prepare and correct the proof, make the piece, deal with any question or claim about the order and keep the order records described in the privacy policy. Your piece is not used in the studio's portfolio, publicity or social media unless you separately agree to that.

GPX uploads must be genuine GPX files of up to 10 MB and 500,000 points, and must not contain anything designed to interfere with the site. The studio may decline material that breaks these rules; if that happens after you have paid, the price of the affected piece is refunded. You are responsible for loss caused by material you had no right to supply, to the extent the law allows.

Every piece is made to order after you pay. Custom maps and route maps are made after you approve the proof, and framed pieces are glazed and fitted before dispatch. We email you when your order is dispatched, with tracking; carrier transit is estimated in section 03. A binding delivery date applies only if we agree one with you in writing before you order.

If we cannot meet the agreed period we tell you and propose a new date. If delivery within the agreed period was essential and you told us so before ordering, or if we still fail to deliver within a further reasonable period you set, you can treat the order as cancelled and receive a full refund. This applies to personalised pieces as well as standard ones.

Unframed sheets ship flat in a board-backed envelope. Framed pieces are glazed, corner-protected and boxed. Everything is tracked from dispatch. A dispatch email with the tracking details is sent when the parcel leaves the studio. The piece becomes your responsibility once it has been delivered to the address you gave or to a person you nominated to receive it.

You are responsible for giving a complete and accurate address on the payment page. An address can be changed only before dispatch; contact us promptly if you notice a mistake. Where an incorrect address causes extra carrier costs we may ask you to cover them, but only where the law allows and after agreeing the amount with you.

International parcels may attract import VAT, duty or handling charges levied by the destination authorities or the carrier. These are not included in the delivery price and are payable by the recipient. If a parcel is returned to us because such charges were not paid, we contact you to agree redelivery or a refund.

If a parcel is materially delayed, tell us with your order reference. We investigate with the carrier and provide the remedy the contract and consumer law require.

For collection maps, which are standard goods, you have the right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 to cancel the contract without giving a reason at any time from when you place the order until 14 days after the day on which you, or a person you nominate, receive the goods. If an order is delivered in more than one parcel, the 14 days run from receipt of the last one.

To cancel, send us a clear statement that you are cancelling: reply to your order email, use the contact page or email queries@theplotroom.com. Quote the order reference. You may use the model cancellation form below, but you do not have to. Your notice is in time if you send it before the 14 days end.

If the piece has already been sent to you, return it within 14 days of telling us you are cancelling. Do not post anything until we have confirmed the returns address and packing instructions. You pay the cost of returning the goods unless they are faulty or not as described; we recommend a tracked service and keeping proof of postage, because the goods remain your responsibility until they reach us. If the piece has not yet been dispatched when you cancel, we stop it and there is nothing to return.

You may handle the piece to inspect it as you would in a shop. If its value has been reduced by handling beyond what is needed to establish its nature, characteristics and functioning, for example marks, creases or damage to the frame or glazing, we may deduct an amount reflecting that loss from the refund.

The refund covers the price of the cancelled goods and the cost of the least expensive delivery option we offered for your order (delivery is not refunded if you cancel only part of an order and the rest is still delivered, or if the charge was for a more expensive option you chose). It is paid to the original payment method within 14 days of the day we receive the goods back or, if earlier, the day you send us evidence that you have returned them. If nothing has been dispatched, it is paid within 14 days of your cancellation notice.

Custom city maps, graduation maps and route maps are made to your specification and clearly personalised: your place and crop, your GPX file, your wording and names. Under regulation 28(1)(b) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 the 14-day cancellation right in section 09 does not apply to goods of that kind, so once you have paid you cannot cancel or return one of these pieces because you have changed your mind.

You are told this at checkout before you pay, you tick a box confirming that you understand it, and the payment page repeats it. Section 06 explains how changes and cancellation requests are handled before and after you approve the proof.

None of this affects your rights if a personalised piece is faulty, damaged, not as described or different from the proof you approved. Those rights are set out in section 11 and apply to every piece.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 every piece must be of satisfactory quality, as described, fit for its ordinary purpose and, for a custom or route map, made to the specification and proof you approved. If it is not, the following remedies are available whatever kind of piece it is:

• Within 30 days of delivery you can reject a faulty piece and receive a full refund, including the delivery charge.
• After that, or if you prefer, you can ask us to repair or replace it. For a drawing this normally means we redraw it, at no cost to you and within a reasonable time.
• If a repair or replacement is not possible, fails, or cannot be done within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience, you can keep the piece and receive a price reduction, or reject it for a refund.

A fault that appears within six months of delivery is presumed to have been present at delivery unless we can show otherwise. For a custom or route map, a detail that was visible on the proof you approved is not a fault (section 06).

If a piece arrives damaged, photograph the packaging and the artwork and tell us within seven days if you can. The seven days help with the carrier claim; they are not a deadline that limits your rights. Do not throw away the packaging or the piece while a damage report is being looked at unless you have to.

Where a piece is faulty, damaged in transit, not as described or sent in error, we pay the reasonable cost of returning it and give you instructions. Do not post it before we confirm how. We may ask for the order reference and photographs so we can locate the order and assess the problem.

Every refund is made to the payment method you used, through Shopify, without undue delay and within 14 days of the day we agree that a refund is due or, for a cancellation under section 09, within the period stated there. We send an email when a refund has been issued; it normally appears on your statement within 5 to 10 working days depending on your bank. If the original payment method has since closed, contact us and we will arrange another way to pay you.

Where only part of an order is cancelled, returned or faulty, the refund covers that part and any delivery charge that is due back under sections 09 or 11.

The website, its text, photographs, drawing files, layouts, typography and the original artwork designs are protected by copyright and other intellectual-property rights belonging to The Plot Room or its licensors. Buying a piece transfers ownership of the physical sheet and frame; it does not transfer copyright, the drawing files or any right to reproduce, sell, license or commercially exploit the design unless a separate written licence says so.

You may photograph a piece you own and share the photograph for personal, non-commercial purposes with an accurate credit. You may not make copies of the drawing or remove rights notices.

You keep the rights in the GPX files, wording and other material you supply, and license them to the studio only as described in section 07.

Map geometry is derived from OpenStreetMap data, © OpenStreetMap contributors, used under the Open Database Licence and credited on every piece. OpenStreetMap data and third-party map services remain subject to their own rights and terms; see the OpenStreetMap copyright and licence page.

You may use the site for lawful personal browsing, designing, enquiries and purchases. Do not attempt to bypass security or the rate limits, interfere with the shop, the map services or the upload service, submit malicious code or files that are not genuine GPX tracks, misuse forms, scrape artwork at scale, impersonate another person, or use the site or its output to infringe another person's rights.

The studio may suspend access where necessary to protect customers, the service or third-party systems. Links to external sites are provided for convenience and attribution; their content, security and terms are controlled by their operators.

Reasonable efforts are made to keep the site available and accurate, but uninterrupted availability is not promised. Faults, maintenance or a third-party outage may temporarily affect the map, search, upload, payment or email services. If a problem stops you completing something important, contact the studio.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our responsibility where it would be unlawful to do so, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for breach of your consumer rights.

If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking the contract or failing to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for loss that was not foreseeable, for business losses, or for loss caused by inaccurate information or material you supplied, except to the extent that we caused it or should reasonably have prevented it.

Events outside our reasonable control, such as carrier disruption, severe weather, supply failure, a network or payment-service outage or official restrictions, may delay production or delivery. We take reasonable steps to limit the effect, keep you informed where we can, and provide any cancellation or refund right that applies if the order cannot be completed within the agreed time.

Complaints

If something has gone wrong, reply to any order email, use the contact page or email queries@theplotroom.com, quoting the order or enquiry reference and telling us what outcome you would like. We look into it and try to resolve it with you directly. The studio is not a member of an alternative dispute resolution scheme and is not obliged to use one; your statutory rights and access to the courts are unaffected.

Governing law and courts

These terms and any contract made under them are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction over any dispute. If you live in another part of the United Kingdom you also benefit from the mandatory consumer protections of, and may bring proceedings in, the part where you live. Nothing in these terms deprives you of protections that the law of the country where you live gives you and that cannot be excluded by agreement.

Changes and remaining terms

The version of these terms in force when you place an order applies to that order; later changes do not alter a contract that has already been made. If a court finds a provision unenforceable, the rest continue to apply so far as legally possible. A delay in enforcing a provision does not waive it. Only you and the studio have rights under the contract, except where the law says otherwise.

Delivery charges, transit times and the returns process are set out in more detail on the delivery and returns page; information handling is explained in the privacy policy; the site's accessibility statement explains how to get help using it.