A ferry company embroiled in controversy over no deal Brexit planning in the UK has been accused of using terms and conditions replicated from a takeaway delivery website.
A startup company called Seaborne Freight was recently awarded a £13.8m contract to run additional ferry services if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal.
It was one of three companies to be contracted as part of planning to ease pressure on Dover port in the event of a no deal exit.
However, it emerged over the weekend that Seaborne Freight - which was awarded the contract to run additional freight services between Ramsgate and Ostend - had no ships.
Fresh controversy has emerged after people began scrutinising the company's website.
The site's terms and conditions page appeared to refer to a takeaway site rather than a shipping one.
Seaborne Freight. No ships, no trading history and website T&Cs copied and pasted from a takeaway delivery site... (h/t @ormondroyd) pic.twitter.com/yuVnNFXjqo
— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) January 3, 2019
In one section - which has been archived online after being updated - the terms state: "It is the responsibility of the customer to thoroughly check the supplied goods before agreeing to pay for any meal/order.
"It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure delivery address details are correct and detailed enough for the delivery driver to locate the address in adequate time."
It also contains a section about false orders and "hoax delivery requests".
Elsewhere, an apparent login section of the website is merely an image rather than an actual form:
A spokesperson for the UK's transport department said due diligence was carried out to check Seaborne's "financial, technical and legal underpinning" before any contract was signed.
On the subject of the apparent takeaway terms and conditions, the spokesperson added: "This section of the terms and conditions on the company's website was put up in error. This is being immediately rectified."
Seaborne Freight has previously insisted it will be ready to launch a freight service ahead of the planned Brexit date in March.
