Neil Armstrong Painting
Standard Terms and Conditions of Business
1) These Terms apply to all services that you instruct us to provide and cannot be varied or amended except in writing and signed by both parties.
2) Client (referred to throughout as 'you') means the person, company, firm or other legal entity named in our estimate/quotation.
3) We reserve the right to refuse to act for a client until (if at all) we have undertaken due diligence to fulfil our internal credit and risk obligations.
4) Neil Armstrong Painting (referred to as 'us' or 'we') means any of its staff, Directors or premises owned or controlled by Neil Armstrong Painting.
5) Your quotation forms an Agreement which becomes binding on the date of acceptance or on the date the work is commenced (with the client's approval), whichever is earlier.
6) Where these Terms of Business relate to more than one person, the liability is joint and several. Invoices are payable by you, regardless of any arrangement you may have with any third party.
7) Where you are a Limited Liability Company, we may require Director(s)/Controlling Shareholder(s) to guarantee your liabilities to us or provide a suitable security for payment. We reserve the right to suspend all work until satisfactory guarantees are provided.
8) We shall confirm that email correspondence from you is authority that you agree to such communications.
9) If you do wish to communicate with us by e-mail, by accepting these Terms you confirm that you understand the risks of doing so and you authorise us to act upon electronic instructions which have been transmitted (or appear to have been transmitted) by you.
10) We reserve the right to charge mileage at 45pence per mile on matters not within the contracted agreement.
Fees
11) Invoices are due for payment on/or before 7 days from the date of the invoice. Payment may be made either by cheque or by bank transfer (BACS).
12) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we reserve the right to charge interest on overdue invoices at a rate of 8.0% over the Bank of England base rate from the date the invoice became overdue until payment is made and the account settled.
13) Part payments, interim payments and deposits will be agreed prior to commencement of works or during contract duration. Deposits are non-refundable but we reserve the right to use our discretion in regard to this matter.
14) If we are required to issue proceedings to recover any fees or disbursements and we are successful in such proceedings, you agree that you will pay our legal/advisory costs of such proceedings even if the amount claimed is suitable for the small claims track.
15) In the event of a dispute we are willing to consider Mediation or Arbitration. The cost of the proceedings, disbursements, facilities and fees to be split between the parties. However, subject to the applicable Arbitration legislation, the Arbitrator may determine who shall be responsible for the costs of the Arbitration and shall set out that determination in any Award.
Estimates
16) Any estimates of fees and disbursements are provided based on information you disclose to us. Such estimates are not therefore binding upon us if the information provided is in any way incomplete, misleading or wrong.
17) In the event of unforeseen difficulties arising, or any circumstantial changes, the quotation price or estimated cost may be revised to reflect the situation before or after the commencement of work.
18) Continuation of the contract will be taken as agreement and will form a legally binding contract on the parties.
Contracted Work
19) All works are quoted and priced on the basis of free access and unrestricted working during our normal working hours unless otherwise agreed, which are Monday to Friday 8.00am- 4.30pm.
20) Both parties agree as much as is practicable that working methods will provide the minimum disruption as possible but will ensure that work can be carried out efficiently and in a workmanlike manner by the contractor.
21) Whilst we endeavour to protect existing surfaces (floors, carpets, curtains, doors, furniture etc.) and take care in our working practice the responsibility is on the client to move/clear all personal items from the room prior to work commencing or there may be an additional charge. We only allow for moving large furniture to the centre of the room, to provide us with a minimum of 1mtr working space around the edge of the room. All large items that need to be moved should be emptied by the client prior to work commencing. If large items are not designed to move (such as flat packed wardrobes etc) we shall not be responsible for damage if client requests, we move them.
22) Contract duration can be confirmed with our office upon request.
23) If progress of the contracted works is materially affected by an act or omission of the client or
any person for whom the client is responsible/answerable to/for then any loss or expense will
be assessed and added to the contracted sum.
24) The client shall unless otherwise agreed provide on-site without charge an adequate supply of
water and electricity during the progress of that contract.
Additional Work
25) Our quotes are produced with as much detail as possible to avoid any misunderstandings. If we have omitted something that you would like included, please let us know and we will revise the quotation accordingly.
26) If we are required to undertake additional work outside the agreed scope of the services agreed in your quote additional charges will be agreed by the parties either verbally or by written agreement and charged at the agreed rate.
Termination & Abortive Fees
27) The Agreement can be terminated by either party by giving two weeks written notice.
28) In the event of the Agreement being terminated prior to completion of a project, the remuneration inclusive of all disbursements and liabilities incurred for the purposes of the Agreement, up to and including the date of termination shall be invoiced to the client and payment shall be due within 14 days from the date of the final invoice and we reserve the right
to retain materials, paperwork/documents whilst there are still funds outstanding.
29) The 25% deposit is non-refundable, but we reserve the right to use our discretion in relation to
this.
30) We may decide to stop our service to you as a result of circumstances out of our control such
as unpaid fees, conflict of interest, impossibility of performance, acts of nature, providing incorrect information which we have relied on, material breach of your obligations to us. We will give you reasonable notice that we intend to cease working for you. Should this occur then you are liable for our charges and expenses up to the point of us notifying you of our intentions.
VAT
31) The fees disbursements and expenses referred to in these Terms and in signed correspondence are all subject to the addition of VAT where applicable (and any other taxes whether UK or overseas which may arise). All fees will state VAT amounts, which is currently 20%.
Guarantees
32) The company shall guarantee workmanship for a period of six months. The client shall give written notice (and photographs where applicable) of the defect and the company shall make good at their own cost any such defect which may appear within the six-month period (after the practicable completion of the works) if approved to arise from faulty materials not of good merchantable quality or bad workmanship on the part of the company or subcontractor. On the expiry of 14 days after the 6-month period has lapsed works will be deemed to have been executed in accordance with the contract save in respect defects failing to be made good under this condition of which previous written notice shall be given by the client to the company. Please note that general wear and tear will not be covered or force majeure.
Our Property
33) In relation to any written estimate, quotation or advice prepared by us you agree that neither the whole nor any part of our advice or confidential information may be included in any published document, circular or statement or published in any way without our written approval prior to publication. Copyright in any documents or other material provided to you by us shall remain our property at all times.
Data Protection
34) We will not disclose to any third party any personal data without your express authority to do so unless requested in accordance by agencies or for regulatory purposes.
Rights of Third Parties
35) The contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 will not apply to these Terms of Business unless stated otherwise.
Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
36) The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 will apply. This means you have the right to cancel your instructions to us within 14 days of contracting. You can cancel your instructions by notifying us in writing. If the client requests work to start prior to this period and then proceeds to cancel, you may be charged for the work carried out up to the point of your cancellation instructions which may include but is not exhaustive to materials ordered in preparation for the contracted works. Please note that urgent repairs or maintenance are exempt from these regulations.
Professional Insurances
37) We hold £5,000,000 Public Liability Insurance and £10,000,000 Employers Liability Insurance; a copy is available on request.
Complaints Procedure
38) If for any reason you are dissatisfied with the service provided, you should first of all refer it to Mr N Armstrong at Larks Hill House, 2 Watersplash Lane, Warfield, Berkshire, RG42 4JP who will investigate and take appropriate action.
39) A full copy of our Complaints Procedure is available on request.
Limitation of Liability
40) You agree not to bring any claim for any losses against any member, officer, director, employee or consultant of Neil Armstrong Painting. You hereby agree that a staff member of Neil Armstrong Painting does not have a personal duty of care to you and any claim for losses must be brought against the company 'Neil Armstrong Painting’. It is agreed that any individual of Neil Armstrong Painting may enforce this clause under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 but that these terms may be varied at any time without the need for them to consent.
41) We will not be liable in respect of any services outside the scope of our quote where it has been agreed to be performed by us. We will not be liable for any third party or in respect of any consequential losses or loss of profits.
42) Where any loss is suffered by you for which we and any other person are jointly and severally liable to you the loss recoverable by you from us shall be limited so as to be in proportion to our relative contribution to the overall fault.
43) The exclusions and limitations in this paragraph will not exclude or limit any liability for fraud or dishonesty or for liabilities which cannot lawfully be limited or excluded.
44) Where the quote is addressed to more than one client, the above limit of liability applies to the aggregate of all claims by all such clients and not separately to each client.
Indemnities
45) You agree to indemnify us against all costs, claims, charges and expenses which we shall incur by reason of (but not limited to):
a) Use of any of our documentation for purposes other than those agreed by us.
b) Misrepresentation by you or with your authority to third parties of advice given
by us.
c) Misrepresentation to third parties of the extent of our involvement in any
particular project.
46) You undertake to indemnify us against all costs, claims, charges and expenses of whatever nature which may arise as a result of any such information proving to be inaccurate (whether wholly or in part) or incomplete.
Closing your File:
47) After completion of your matter and payment of our invoice, your file will be closed and stored in archive.
48) Unless you instructed otherwise, we shall archive your file for 6yrs, after which you agree that we may destroy papers or documents.
Law and Jurisdiction
49) These terms of business are subject to the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute or legal issue shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts. Should a court rule that any clause within these Terms are invalid/unenforceable this will not affect the validity of the rest of the Terms, which will remain in force.
