Terms and conditions of business.
For the purpose of these terms and conditions the following words shall have the following meanings:
“The company” shall mean SmartGas Solutions Group Limited.
“The Customer” shall mean the person or organisation for which the company agrees to carry out works and/or supply materials.
“The engineer” shall mean the representative appointed by the company.
1. The company reserves the right to delay works prior to full payment being made in advance of the works being carried out.
2. The company reserves the right to refuse to undertake or decline work at its own discretion.
3. Where the company agrees to carry out works for the customer then such works shall be carried out by the engineer who shall be selected by the company in its absolute discretion.
4. Jobs on hourly rate.
(a) There will be a minimum charge of one hour for jobs on hourly rate. Total charge to the customer shall consist of the cost of materials supplied by the company to the customer and the amount of time spent by the engineer in carrying out the works for the customer.
(b) Any materials purchased for the customer by the company shall include a fee of £30 plus VAT for the time spent in ordering and collecting those materials. There is a charge of £35 plus VAT for any work that is cancelled within 24 hours prior to the appointment time.
(c) A charge of £35 plus VAT will be invoiced for any appointment broken by the customer or the customer’s tenants.
5. The company shall not be under any obligation to provide an estimate/quote to the customer and shall only be bound (subject as hereinafter) by estimates/quotes given in writing to the customer via email which has been approved by return email. The company shall not be bound by any estimates/quotes given orally.
6. Invoices are due for payment within 7 days after the work is completed.
7. Invoices which remain unpaid (whether wholly or in part) shall carry interest at the rate of 10% above the base rate from time to time of the company’s bankers until payment in full is received by the company. Further administrative charges for time taken to recover a debt shall also be added.
8. For business customers statutory interest will be charged on late payments, this is 8% above the base rate. Late payment is 30 days from receiving the invoice. Debt recovery will also be claimed at the following rates: Up to £999.99 – £40. £1,000 to £9,999.99 – £70. £10,000 or more – £100.
9. Where the date and/or time for works to be carried out is agreed by the company with the customer, then the company shall use its best endeavours to ensure that the engineer shall attend on the date and at the time agreed. However, the company accepts no liability in respect of the non-attendance or late attendance on site of the engineer or for the late delivery or non-delivery of materials.
10. Where a written estimate/quote has been supplied to the customer the total charge to the customer referred to in the estimate/quote may be revised in the following circumstances:
(a) If after submission of the estimate/quote the customer instructs the company (orally or in writing) to carry out additional works not referred to in the estimate
(b) If after submission of the estimate there is an increase in the cost of materials.
(c) If after submission of the estimate it is discovered that further works need to be carried out which were not anticipated when the estimate was prepared.
11. The customer shall incur personal liability to discharge the company’s account unless he discloses to the company at the time he instructs the company to carry out the work and/or supply materials that he is acting on behalf of a third party (including but not limited to a limited company or partnership) and (when the customer has received a written estimate) the name of the third party appears on the written estimate.
12. If the customer shall cancel his instructions prior to any work being carried out or materials supplied, then the customer shall be liable to pay the company for any time spent or materials purchased by the company together with the profit that would have been made by the company had the work been carried out and/or materials supplied in accordance with such instructions.
13. Should the customer cancel less than 24 hours before the appointment, there shall be a £35 plus vat cancellation fee.
14. For testing of appliances and components, the surrounding areas must be free from clutter, appliances must have clearances as identified by the manufacturer’s guidance. Any clearances not met, and therefore preventing completed works being carried out, will incur a further call out charge should we have to return to retest or inspect or repair. An engineer will carry out tests that are possible within the scope of works that are allowable with such obstructions or clutter in place.
15. The property should be in a clean and safe working environment for our staff to work within. Any known hazards such as weak structures, low lighting, pets, persons suffering with illnesses that are transferable etc. must be made known on booking. Our staff have the right to refuse entering a property if these conditions are not met and the staff member feels they may be at-risk. A minimum cancellation fee will be held should we not be able to safely enter a premises. If, after the company shall have carried out the works the customer is not satisfied with the works then the customer shall give notice in writing to the company within 12 months and shall afford the company the opportunity of inspecting such works and where appropriate shall afford the company the opportunity of carrying out any necessary remedial works. The customer accepts that if he fails to notify the company as aforesaid then the company shall not be liable in respect of any defects in the works carried out. The customer agrees to allow the company’s insurers to inspect any work carried out by the company to the customer.
16. The guarantee shall be for labour only in respect of faulty workmanship and for 12 months from the date of completion with the manufacturer’s warranty in force. The guarantee will become null and void if the work/materials completed/supplied by the company is:
(a) Subject to misuse or negligence.
(b) Repaired, modified or tampered with by anyone other than a company engineer. Where the company carries out works for the customer using materials supplied by the customer no warranty is given as to the merchantability, fitness for purpose or otherwise of such materials and the company accepts no liability in respect thereof.
(c) Warranties and guarantees are not insurance backed. Warranties for individual appliances and parts will be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Any labour required to remove and replace the faulty component’s by the company will be chargeable at the company’s hourly rate unless as a result of faulty workmanship by the company.
17. The company will not guarantee any work in respect of noises in heating pipes, water pipes, radiators or boilers. The company will not guarantee any work in respect of blockages in heating pipes, water pipes or waste and drainage systems etc. The company will not guarantee any work undertaken on instruction from the customer and against the written or verbal advice of the engineer. Work will only carry a guarantee where all work has been completed and payment in full has been made. The company shall not be held responsible for any damage or defect resulting from work not fully guaranteed or where further work has been advised of but not yet carried out. The customer shall be solely liable for any situation in respect of Building regulations or gas warning notices.
18. Where the company agrees to carry out work on installations of inferior quality or over ten years old at that date no warranty is given in respect of such work and the company accepts no liability in respect of the effectiveness of such work or otherwise.
19. The company shall be entitled to fully recover costs or damages from any engineer/contractor whose negligence or faulty workmanship results in the company being made liable for those damages or rectification of the work.
20. These terms and conditions may not be released, discharges supplemented, interpreted, varied or modified in any manner except by an instrument in writing signed by a duly authorised representative of the company and by the customer. Further these terms and conditions shall prevail over any terms and conditions used by the customer or contained or set out or referred to in any documentation sent by the customer to the company: by entering into a contract with the company the customer agrees irrevocably to waive the
application of any such terms and conditions.
21. Title to any goods supplied by the company to the customer shall not pass to the customer but shall be retained by the company until payment in full for such goods has been made by the customer to the company: Until such time as title in the goods has passed to the customer:
(a) The company shall have absolute authority to retake, sell or otherwise deal with or dispose of all or any part of such goods in which title remains vested in the company.
(b) For the purpose specified in (a) above the company or any of its agents or authorised representatives shall be entitled at any time and without notice to enter upon any premises in which goods or any part thereof is installed, stored or kept or is reasonably believed so to be.
(c) The company shall be entitled to seek a court injunction to prevent the customer from selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of such goods. Notwithstanding the foregoing, risk in such goods shall pass on delivery of the same to the customer and until such time as title in such goods has passed to the customer, the customer shall insure such goods to their replacement value and the customer shall forthwith, upon request provide the company with a certificate or other evidence of such insurance.
22. The company shall not be liable for any delay or for the consequences of any delay in performing any of its obligations if such delay is due to any cause whatsoever beyond its reasonable control and the company shall be entitled to a reasonable extension of the time for performing such obligations.
23. The company shall only be liable for rectifying works completed by the company and shall not be held responsible for ensuing damage or claims resulting from this or any other work overlooked or subsequently requested and not undertaken at that time.
These terms and conditions and all contracts awarded between the company and the customer shall be governed and construed in accordance with Scottish law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Scottish law.
SPARE PARTS & REPAIRS
If we do not carry the spare parts your repair requires, we will endeavour to find parts from our suppliers. We offer no guarantees in relation to the time it takes for our suppliers to obtain parts that are not stocked by us and will not be held liable for any delays in obtaining spare parts. We will keep you informed of any delays and problems with the availability of parts. We may not always be able to replace parts like-for-like and therefore may use an approved alternative or standard range of replacement products. For example, parts may not always be the same design or colour as the original. Should we find any boiler parts to be obsolete we will not be able to carry out the associated works and we will instead provide a quotation for a replacement boiler. Any plumbing & heating work will always be carried out by one of our fully qualified engineers.