Last updated: 1 September 2026
These terms apply to orders placed through SnowChainsandSocks.co.uk. Please read them before placing an order. They explain who we are, how orders are accepted, delivery, cancellation and returns, product fitting and use, and the additional provisions that apply when you buy for business purposes.
1. About us
This website is operated by Automotive Wheels Ltd, trading as SnowChainsandSocks.co.uk. We are a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 04633696. Our registered office is A3 Saxon Place, Medway Valley Park, Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom, ME2 2NW.
You can contact us by email at sales@snowchainsandsocks.co.uk or by telephone on +44 (0) 1634 914400.
VAT registration number: [INSERT VAT REGISTRATION NUMBER BEFORE PUBLICATION].
2. Who these terms apply to
A consumer is an individual buying wholly or mainly for purposes outside their trade, business, craft or profession. A business customer is anyone buying wholly or mainly for business purposes, including a company, partnership, sole trader, public body or other organisation.
These terms apply to both consumers and business customers who place an ordinary order through the website checkout. Consumer statutory rights apply only to consumers. However, unless separate trade terms or a separately negotiated quotation were expressly agreed before the order, we voluntarily extend the same 14-day change-of-mind process in sections 9 to 12 to business customers placing ordinary website orders.
If separate written trade, credit-account, wholesale, export or quotation terms have been agreed with a business customer, those terms take priority to the extent that they conflict with these website terms.
3. Placing an order and forming the contract
Please check your basket, tyre size, vehicle information, delivery details and contact information carefully before submitting an order. The checkout allows you to review and correct information before payment.
Your order is an offer to buy the goods shown in your basket. An automatic order acknowledgement confirms that we have received the order; it does not mean that we have accepted it.
A contract is formed when we send a dispatch confirmation for the goods. If an order is dispatched in more than one parcel, each dispatch confirmation forms a contract for the goods listed in that confirmation.
Before acceptance, we may decline or cancel an order where goods are unavailable, payment is not authorised, the order appears fraudulent, delivery is not available to the address supplied, a legal restriction applies, or there is an obvious pricing or description error. Any payment taken for goods we cannot supply will be refunded without undue delay.
The contract will be in English. Your order confirmation and these terms can be saved or printed for future reference.
4. Product information, tyre-size searches and compatibility
We take reasonable care to describe and photograph products accurately. Images are illustrative and minor differences in colour, packaging, labelling or non-material design detail may occur. The description and specification on the relevant product page form part of the contract.
Any approval, certification or compliance statement applies only to the specific product and version identified on the product page or supplied documentation.
You are responsible for entering the correct tyre size and any requested vehicle details. Snow chains and snow socks are selected primarily by tyre size, but a matching tyre size does not by itself guarantee adequate clearance around the tyre, wheel arch, suspension, brakes or other vehicle components.
Before ordering and fitting, check the vehicle handbook and any instructions from the vehicle or tyre manufacturer. Some vehicles or wheel-and-tyre combinations restrict or prohibit the use of conventional chains, require a low-clearance product, or permit fitting only to a specified axle.
Our search and size-selection tools provide guidance based on the information submitted. Contact us before ordering if the vehicle handbook is unclear or you are uncertain about clearance or suitability.
5. Prices and payment
Retail prices are shown inclusive of VAT unless the website clearly states otherwise. Trade or wholesale prices may be shown exclusive of VAT where this is clearly identified. Delivery charges, if any, are shown before the order is submitted.
Payment must be made using a payment method offered at checkout. Payment may be authorised or collected before dispatch.
We try to ensure prices are correct. If an obvious pricing error is identified before acceptance, we may cancel the affected item and refund it, or contact you to ask whether you wish to proceed at the correct price. We will not dispatch at a corrected price without your agreement.
6. Delivery
We deliver only to destinations offered at checkout. Available services, charges, geographic exclusions and estimated delivery dates are shown on the website or during checkout.
Delivery estimates may depend on stock availability, the time and working day on which the order is placed, the selected service, the delivery postcode and courier performance. A statement such as next working day is an estimate unless we expressly describe the service as guaranteed.
A working day means Monday to Friday, excluding public and bank holidays in England. Deliveries to the Scottish Highlands, islands and other remote areas may take longer or use a different service.
We will deliver within the period agreed with you. If no period has been agreed, consumer orders will be delivered without undue delay and normally within 30 days after the contract is formed. Your legal rights where delivery is late are not affected.
You must provide a complete and accurate delivery address. If delivery fails because the address is incorrect, incomplete or inaccessible, we may charge the reasonable cost of redelivery.
Risk in the goods passes when they are delivered to you, a person you nominate, or a safe place or neighbour you specifically authorise. Ownership passes when we have received full payment and the goods have been delivered.
7. Inspection and trial fitting
Inspect the goods promptly after delivery. If an item is visibly damaged, incomplete or not what you ordered, contact us as soon as reasonably possible and keep the packaging.
Snow chains and snow socks should be trial fitted before a journey or before severe weather is expected. Carry out the trial fit in clean, dry and safe conditions, follow the supplied instructions and do not drive the vehicle during a change-of-mind inspection.
Keep all packaging, instructions, gloves, spare links, tensioners, bags, cases and other supplied parts until you are satisfied that the product is correct and suitable.
8. Fitting, safety and use
You are responsible for ensuring that the product is fitted to the correct tyre or tyres and axle, and that fitting is carried out in accordance with the product instructions, the vehicle handbook and applicable road laws.
Before driving, check that the product is correctly centred, securely fastened and tensioned, and that no loose component can contact the wheel, bodywork, suspension, brakes or steering. Carry out any initial re-tensioning or checks required by the supplied instructions.
Do not exceed the speed stated in the product instructions. Avoid wheelspin, harsh acceleration, hard braking and unnecessary use on roads that are free from snow or ice. Stop safely and inspect the product immediately if you hear unusual noise, feel vibration, notice looseness or suspect damage.
Laws and mandatory winter-equipment requirements vary between countries and regions. You are responsible for checking the rules that apply to the vehicle, product and route at the time of travel.
Nothing in this section excludes responsibility for goods that are defective, unsafe or not as described, or any liability that cannot legally be excluded.
9. Cancelling because you have changed your mind
Consumers normally have a legal right to cancel an online purchase without giving a reason. You must tell us clearly that you wish to cancel within 14 days after the day on which you, or a person nominated by you other than the carrier, receives the goods. Where goods from one order are delivered separately, the period runs from receipt of the last item.
As a voluntary contractual benefit, we apply the same 14-day notification period to business customers placing ordinary website orders, unless separate terms were agreed before purchase.
To cancel, email sales@snowchainsandsocks.co.uk, write to us at the address in section 1, or use the model cancellation form at the end of these terms. You may use any clear statement that identifies you and the order. You do not need to use the model form.
Please contact us for return instructions and the correct return address. Asking for return instructions does not make your cancellation right dependent on our prior approval.
After telling us that you wish to cancel, return the goods without undue delay and no later than 14 days after the date of cancellation.
A cancellation right may not apply to goods made to your specification, personalised goods, or another category that the law expressly excludes. Where an exclusion applies, we will make this clear before purchase.
10. Condition of change-of-mind returns
You may handle the goods only as much as reasonably necessary to establish their nature, characteristics and suitability, in broadly the same way as you could examine them in a shop.
For snow chains and snow socks, this includes a careful trial fit in clean, dry conditions without driving. Road use, use in snow or ice, contamination, avoidable marking, damaged links or fabric, missing parts, or damaged packaging may reduce the value of the goods.
Return the complete product with its original case or bag, instructions, gloves, spare links, tensioning parts and other accessories. We may make a reasonable deduction from the refund for loss in value caused by handling beyond what was necessary to inspect the product. In serious cases, that deduction may be substantial.
Taking goods on a journey or outside the UK does not by itself remove a consumer cancellation right. However, fitting or using them during the journey may amount to use beyond a reasonable inspection and may reduce any change-of-mind refund. Statutory rights relating to faulty or misdescribed goods are not affected.
11. Return costs
For a change-of-mind return, you are responsible for the direct cost of returning the goods unless we have agreed otherwise.
If the goods are faulty, misdescribed, damaged before delivery or not the goods ordered, we will pay or reimburse reasonable return costs and may arrange collection or provide a return label.
Use suitable protective packaging and obtain proof of posting or tracked carriage. You remain responsible for the goods until they are received by us, except where we arrange the carrier.
12. Refunds following cancellation
We will refund the price paid for returned goods. If the whole order is cancelled, we will also refund the cost of the least expensive standard outbound delivery service offered for that order. Any additional amount paid for an enhanced or timed delivery service is not refundable unless that service was not provided as agreed.
We may withhold the refund until we receive the goods or you provide evidence that they have been sent back, whichever occurs first.
Refunds will be made without undue delay and no later than 14 days after the relevant return or evidence is received. We will normally use the original payment method and will not charge a refund fee.
The same refund method and timetable apply to the voluntary change-of-mind policy offered to business customers, subject to any separate terms agreed before purchase.
13. Faulty, damaged, misdescribed or incorrect goods
Goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for any purpose made known to us where the law requires, and match their description. Consumer remedies may include the short-term right to reject within 30 days and, depending on the circumstances, repair, replacement, a price reduction or a final right to reject. These rights are not replaced by a manufacturer warranty or by this policy.
If you believe an item is faulty, unsafe, damaged on arrival, misdescribed or incorrect, stop using it and contact us at sales@snowchainsandsocks.co.uk with your order number, a description of the issue and, where useful, photographs. We may need to inspect the item or ask for further information.
Damage caused by incorrect fitting, incorrect tension, use on an unsuitable vehicle or tyre, excessive speed, wheelspin, collision, extended use on clear roads, ordinary wear or failure to follow the instructions is not normally a product fault. The inclusion of spare repair links does not reduce your legal rights.
If a product does not fit, contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 30 days. If you entered the correct information and our website supplied or specifically recommended the wrong size, we will arrange an exchange, refund or other appropriate remedy without charging reasonable return costs. If the wrong tyre size or vehicle information was entered, or the issue is vehicle clearance rather than product sizing, the change-of-mind provisions may apply instead.
Business customers retain any rights available under the applicable contract and law. We will use the same customer-service process for business and consumer reports, although the legal remedies may differ.
14. Promotions, stock and product changes
Promotions, discount codes and special offers are subject to their stated terms, availability and expiry dates. Unless stated otherwise, only one promotion may be used per order.
All goods are subject to availability. We may make changes required to comply with law or safety requirements, or minor changes that do not materially reduce product quality or function.
15. Our responsibility to consumers
We are responsible for losses that are a foreseeable result of our breach of contract or failure to use reasonable care and skill. Loss is foreseeable if it was an obvious consequence or if both parties knew it might happen when the contract was made.
We are not responsible for loss caused by incorrect tyre or vehicle information supplied by you, failure to check the vehicle handbook or clearance, incorrect fitting, misuse, normal wear, road conditions, or failure to follow the supplied instructions, except to the extent that the loss was caused by a defect in the goods or by our own breach or negligence.
We supply consumer goods for private use. If a consumer uses them for business purposes, we are not responsible for business losses such as loss of profit, revenue, contracts or opportunity.
We do not exclude or limit liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of statutory consumer rights, defective products where liability cannot be excluded, or any other liability that the law does not allow us to exclude.
16. Additional responsibility provisions for business customers
Nothing in these terms limits liability to a business customer for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of title, or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.
Subject to the previous paragraph, neither party is liable to the other for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, anticipated savings, business opportunity or goodwill arising from an ordinary website order.
Any separate written trade or wholesale agreement may contain different liability provisions and will take priority where it applies.
17. Events outside our reasonable control
We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control, including severe weather, transport disruption, courier network failure, industrial action, fire, flood, epidemic, failure of utilities or communications, government action or supplier disruption. We will take reasonable steps to reduce the effect and will contact you where the delay is material.
This section does not remove a consumer right to cancel where delivery is substantially delayed or where the law otherwise gives that right.
18. Privacy and cookies
We process personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Our Cookie Policy explains the cookies and similar technologies used by the website and how choices can be managed through the on-site Cookie Settings panel.
19. Complaints and contact
For an order, product or service complaint, contact us at sales@snowchainsandsocks.co.uk, telephone +44 (0) 1634 914400, or write to the address in section 1. Please include your order number and enough information for us to investigate.
Nothing in this complaints process affects your legal rights. Data protection complaints are handled under the separate process described in our Privacy Policy.
20. Governing law and courts
These terms and any dispute are governed by the law of England and Wales.
A consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland may also rely on any mandatory protections of their home jurisdiction and may bring proceedings in the courts available to them under applicable law.
Business customers agree that the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, unless separate written terms state otherwise.
21. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time. The terms in force when the contract is formed will apply to that order. The current version and update date will be published on the website.
Example cancellation form
Complete and return this form only if you wish to cancel the contract. You may instead send any other clear cancellation statement.
To: Automotive Wheels Ltd trading as SnowChainsandSocks.co.uk, A3 Saxon Place, Medway Valley Park, Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom, ME2 2NW; email: sales@snowchainsandsocks.co.uk
I/We give notice that I/We cancel my/our contract of sale for the following goods:
Goods: ________________________________________________
Order number: __________________________________________
Ordered on / received on: _______________________________
Name of customer(s): ____________________________________
Address of customer(s): _________________________________
Signature of customer(s) (only if submitted on paper): ____________________
Date: ____________________