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These are the terms and conditions on which we supply testing kits and services to you.
Please read these terms carefully before you submit your order to us.
These terms tell you who we are, how we will provide services to you, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information.
If you think that there is a mistake in these terms, please contact us to discuss.
We are not a diagnostic service.
We cannot offer medical advice and can only recommend that you seek medical help from a health care professional if your symptoms persist.
We are The Metagenomics Testing Company (TMTC) a company registered in England and Wales.
Our company registration number is 16729944.
You can contact us at our registered office address or by email
The Metagenomic Testing Company
7 West Central
127 Olympic Avenue
Milton Park
Abingdon
OX14 4SA
Email: hello@digital-microbiology.com directly or use our contact web page
If we have to contact you, we will do so by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to us in your order.
When we use the words "writing" or "written" in these terms, this includes emails.
Orders for testing kits are placed online.
Our acceptance of your order will take place when we email you an order confirmation, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us. However, occasionally we may not be able to accept your order.
This might be because testing kits are out of stock, because of limits in our capacity to carry out analyses, or because we have identified an error in the price or description of the product.
If this happens, we will inform you and issue a refund.
Our website is intended solely for the promotion of our products in the UK. We do not have to accept orders for addresses outside the UK.
If you are outside the UK please contact us via email.
If you wish to make a change to the services you have ordered please contact us.
We will let you know if the change is possible.
If it is possible we will let you know about any changes to the price of the services, the timing of supply or anything else which would be necessary as a result of your requested change and ask you to confirm whether you wish to go ahead with the change.
If we cannot make the change or the consequences of making the change are unacceptable to you, you may want to end the contract. See section: Your rights to end the contract.
We will try to send testing kits to you the same working day if ordered before 1pm, after which they will be sent the next working day.
The cost of delivering testing kits to you will be included in the price displayed on our website. We will use Royal Mail standard first class service or equivalent.
The price displayed on our website will also include the provision of a pre-paid Royal Mail "Tracked 24 hours" service envelope or equivalent for returning samples.
When returning samples to us you must follow packaging instructions supplied.
If you do not follow such instructions, the return of your sample to the testing laboratory maybe delayed.
The time taken for the delivery to you of testing kits and the return of samples to the testing laboratory may be affected by factors beyond our control.
We are not responsible for any delay in transportation of your home testing kit or sample, which includes but is not limited to any delay whilst the testing kit or samples are being transported by Royal Mail or other carrier, even if a tracked or other guaranteed delivery service has been used. You must allow extra time for deliveries to and from the Scottish Highlands and Islands.
We reserve the right to change the carrier and type of service used in relation to both dispatch of testing kits and return of samples to a broadly equivalent alternative if we think that such a change can be made without adversely affecting the services that we provide.
If no one is available at your address to take delivery and the products cannot be posted through your letterbox, you will need to rearrange delivery or collect the products from a local depot.
If you do not take delivery of the testing kit within a reasonable period of the first attempt to deliver it to you, it may be returned to us and you will be responsible for re-arranging delivery of the testing kit at your sole expense
When you place your order, we may ask you for information relevant to the conditions for which you want to be tested.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you provide the correct information. If you do not provide the correct information, this could mean that the result of the test is not accurate.
If you do not provide us with the correct information and you subsequently change your mind about having the test, please read the section : Your rights to end the contract.
Accuracy of test results depends on proper use of testing kits.
You accept that it is your responsibility to comply with all instructions included within a testing kit.
If you fail to follow these instructions the test result might not be accurate. You must also provide a sufficient sample for testing in line with the instructions provided.
If you fail to provide a sufficient sample, we are not obliged to provide a replacement kit to you, and if you wanted to repeat the test you would have to purchase a new kit.
We are not responsible for delays outside our control.
If the provision of test results is delayed by an event outside our control then we will take reasonable steps to minimise the effect of the delay.
Provided we do this we will not be liable for any cost, expense or other loss or damage that you might suffer as a result of any delay caused by the event.
If there is a risk of substantial delay you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for any services you have paid for but not received.
Any dates given on our website, or in the order confirmation, are only an estimate of when your testing kit will arrive or when your test results could be received.
Provided that we comply with our obligations we will not be liable for any cost, expense or other loss or damage that you might suffer as a result of delay.
If you do not pay us for the services when you are supposed to we may suspend supply of the services until you have paid us the outstanding amounts.
We will contact you to tell you we are suspending supply of the services.
You can end your contract with us at any time.
Your rights when you end the contract will depend on matters such as what you have bought, whether there is anything wrong with what we supply to you, and when you decide to end the contract.
Ending the contract because something is faulty or mis-described
If we supply something that is faulty, or something has been mis-described you may have a legal right to end the contract. See section 'If there is a problem.'
Ending the contract because of something we have done or told you
If you are ending a contract for a reason set out below, the contract will end immediately, and we will refund you in full for any services which have not been provided.
Valid reasons are:
We have told you about an error in the price or description of the services you have ordered and you do not wish to proceed.
There is a risk that supply of the services may be significantly delayed because of events outside our control.
We have suspended supply of the services for technical reasons, or notify you we are going to suspend them for technical reasons, in each case for a period of more than one month.
You have a legal right to end the contract because of something we have done wrong.
In some of these circumstances you may also be entitled to compensation.
Ending the contract because you have just changed your mind
You may be able to get a refund if you are within the cooling-off period but this may be subject to deductions.
For most goods and services bought online you have a legal right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 to change your mind within 14 days and receive a refund.
The 14 day period starts the day after you (or someone you nominate) receives the testing kit.
If you cancel after we have started the services you must pay us for the services provided up until the time you tell us that you have changed your mind.
If you cancel after we have finished the services, you do not have the right to receive a refund even if the cancellation period is still running.
You are responsible for the cost of returning the goods.
Where we pay a refund, we will do so by the method you used for payment. However, we may make deductions from the price if you are exercising your right to change your mind:
We may make a deduction in respect of testing kits as set out in section: 'Your rights to end the contract.'
We may deduct from any refund an amount for the supply of services up to the time when you told us you had changed your mind. The deduction will reflect the proportion of the services that we had performed.
The maximum refund for delivery costs will be the costs of delivery by the least expensive delivery method we offer. For example, if we offer delivery of a testing kit via standard royal mail first class at one cost but you choose to have the product delivered within 24 hours at a higher cost, then we will only refund what you would have paid for the cheaper delivery option. We will make any refunds due to you as soon as possible. Where we have sent you a testing kit and you change your mind before using it, your refund will be made within 14 days from the day on which we receive the product back from you or, if earlier, the day on which you provide us with evidence that you have sent the product back to us.
For information about how to return a product to us, see section : How to end the contract with us.
In all other cases, your refund will be made within 14 days of your telling us you have changed your mind.',
If you have any questions or complaints about a testing kit or the services we provide, please contact us.
You can write to us at: hello@digital-microbiology.com
We are under a legal duty to supply products that are in conformity with this contract.
If you wish to exercise your legal rights to reject products because we have breached our legal obligations, you must post them back to us. We will pay the costs of postage.
The price of the product, including any applicable VAT, will be the price indicated on the order pages when you placed your order.
We take all reasonable care to ensure that the price of the product advised to you is correct.
It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the products we sell may be incorrectly priced on our website.
We will normally check prices before accepting your order so that, where the product’s correct price at your order date is less than our stated price at your order date, we will charge the lower amount.
If the product’s correct price at your order date is higher than the price stated to you, we will contact you for your instructions before we accept your order. If we accept and process your order where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing, we may end the contract, refund you any sums you have paid and require the return of any goods provided to you.
All services must be paid for by debit or credit card. We accept payment with Visa, Maestro, Mastercard, Visa Electron, AMEX, and Delta.
We may take payment at any time after sending you the email to confirm your order has been accepted.
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 this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill.
Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for example, if you discussed it with us during the sales process.
We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; and for defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987','Services are provided to you in your personal capacity and not in connection with business or commercial purposes. If you use the services in relation to any business or commercial purpose we will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.
You rely on the test results at your own risk. So long as we use reasonable skill and care in providing the services, we cannot be responsible for any loss, damage, cost or harm that you or anyone else may suffer as a result of an inaccurate test result.
How we may use your personal information. We will only use your personal information as set out in our privacy policy
We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation.
We will always tell you in writing if this happens and we will ensure that the transfer will not affect your rights under the contract.
We may subcontract to a third party performance of all or any part of the services that we have agreed to provide to you. This might include, but is not limited to, the laboratories that carry out analysis of the samples that you provide. You agree to us subcontracting the provision of all or part of the services in this way.
This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms. Neither of us will need to get the agreement of any other person in order to end the contract or make any changes to 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 do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in the English courts.
If you live in Scotland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.
27th November 2025