Introduction

These are the terms and conditions for Smiths Plumbing and Heating Limited, they tell you what you can expect from us, your rights and responsibilities
and the rules for using our services.

When these terms apply

Please ensure you (The Customer) read these terms before using the services of The Company. By using the services of The Company, The Customer is agreeing to these terms. The latest version always applies and The Company usually only makes updates when a new service is offered, a change is made as to how a service is provided or a new legal requirement has to be complied with.

These terms and conditions may not be released, discharged, supplemented, interpreted, varied or modified in any manner except by an instrument in writing signed by a duly authorized representative from The Company and The Customer. The terms and conditions of The Company will prevail over any terms and conditions used by The Customer or contained, set out or referred to in any document sent to us by The Customer.

Definitions

The Company: References to ‘The Company’ shall include The Company (Smiths Plumbing and Heating Limited) the company’s agents and employees.

Variations: Variations shall include additions, omissions or substitutions to the originally agreed work, fittings and fixings etc

Services: Anything offered by The Company across all the trades we cover (plumbing, heating, boiler servicing, drains, bathrooms, electrical work, emergencies and commercial)

The Customer: anyone who engages the services of The Company.

The Premises: the location where the services will need to be undertaken.

Goods: any materials or equipment needed by The Company to be able to undertake the Services.

Liability

The Company can only be held liable for the extent of work carried out by The Company. No liability shall be accepted in respect of any defects in existing installations or in respect of parts not manufactured by The Company.
The Company shall not be held responsible for any loss or damage to property, materials or injuries to individuals caused by the personal actions of the customer or any other household members or guests, before, during or after such works have been carried out.

All advice provided by The Company is offered as an opinion only and the customer accepts such opinions at their sole discretion and risk.

The customer employs the services of The Company at their sole risk at all times.
The Company does not accept liability for the removal of any carpets, linoleum or any other types of floor coverings including tongue and groove, parquet, hard wood or tiles in order to carry out any services.
The Company does not accept liability for the removal of bath panels or other access panels to gain entry to bathroom fittings.

Health and Safety

The Company will take appropriate and practical measures to ensure the environment in which work is being carried out is safe to avoid the risk of injury to The Company or other parties.
The Company reserves the right to refuse to undertake work in an environment which is deemed to be unsafe or where work is considered to be illegal or not in line with building regulations.

If any form of asbestos or other hazardous material covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) is discovered on site, The Company shall notify the customer and may cease work until it has been removed and disposed of in compliance with the relevant legislation. The cost of the removal and disposal shall be met by the customer.

Payment Terms

The Company’s standard payment terms are 7 days from receipt of invoice.
A 50% deposit may be required to be paid 7 days before The Company can commence work, please see your quotation for details.
The Customer accepts sole liability to make payment in full, unless The Customer discloses when initially instructing The Company to carry out the work and or supply materials that The Customer is acting on behalf of a third party.
Any work carried out by The Company that will be paid for by The Customer’s insurance company will need to be paid in full in line with the payment terms of The Company whether the insurance company has made payment to The Customer or not.
Where the value of an accepted quotation is in excess of £20,000 excluding VAT The Company may require The Customer to pay for the charges in instalments. A payment of 50% including VAT will be required on acceptance of the quotation followed by payments which will be invoiced not less than on a weekly basis as the provision of work progresses with the balance to be paid in full on completion of the work. Invoices for interim payments will be
due for payment immediately upon receipt.
If you are a business and hold a pre- approved account with us and the charges will be less than £1,000 including vat, payment of the charges must be made in full within no more than 30 days of receipt of invoice. Where the charges will be in excess of £1,000 including vat payment of 50% of the charges must be made on making the contract and payment of the balance of the charges must be made in full on completion of the services.

Quotations

Acceptance of quotations can be made by email to office@smithslimited.co.uk or by telephoning the office number 01279 861370

All of the quotations provided by The Company are free and without obligation.
Where a quotation includes bespoke items, these items will be non-refundable once the quotation has been accepted and should The Customer cancel the order the cost of any bespoke items shall be payable in full.
Where a previously accepted quotation is cancelled with less than 7 days’ notice The Company reserves the right to invoice The Customer for any administration time and/ or a restocking charge.

Following the commencement of any work contained within a quotation The Company may discover either additional labour or additional materials are required in order to complete the relevant work. The Customer may also instruct The Company to carry out additional work or to supply additional materials. These costs (variations) will be in addition to any cost contained within a quotation whether written or verbal.

The services of an electrician may be needed to complete certain areas of work and The Company cannot always have prior knowledge of this. The cost of the electrician will be classed as a variation to any cost contained within a quotation whether written or verbal.

The Company will carry out the whole of the work specified in the quotation during normal working hours which are between 8am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday. If The Company is delayed or prevented from installing by the agreed date due to delay or default on the part of The Customer the company may add reasonable charges in respect of any additional costs incurred.
The Customer may be without heating and/or hot water for the duration of any work contained within a quotation. The Company will inform the customer of this situation as the work progresses.

Our responsibilities

The Company will do everything to keep to the time of the appointment, unfortunately The Company cannot always judge correctly the length of time
that each job will take, or any unforeseen circumstances, including the non-delivery of materials, however, The Company will always try to keep The Customer informed of the situation.

All charges will be clearly laid out within the quotation. In situations when a quotation has not and/ or cannot be provided then the standard hourly
charges of The Company apply and are as follows:
 The first hour is £100 + VAT. every hour and/or part hour after the first hour is £80.00 + VAT. Emergency call out, evening, weekend and
bank holiday rates may vary.
 The hourly charge includes any time spent in sourcing or obtaining non-stocked goods, the time taken to source non-stocked goods will be kept
as short as is reasonably practicable.
 Diagnostic appointments may be chargeable.
 The cost of a gas boiler service is £105.00 plus vat, an oil boiler service £145.00 plus vat, an lpg boiler service £115.00 plus vat. Please note this is a service and not a repair, any additional time spent on a repair or materials used will be charged accordingly.

For your peace of mind, The Company provides a 12 month guarantee this applies to workmanship only and not to parts (which typically come with a 12- month manufacturer’s warranty except for boilers and unvented cylinders the warranty length for which will be made clear at the quotation stage)
However the above warranty is subject to the following conditions:
 The fault is due to the existing radiators and/ or pipework, valve, pumps or boiler
 The work carried out has not been properly kept, used serviced and maintained in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.
 The fault is due to accidental or wilful damage, fair wear & tear or if the work carried out by The Company has been repaired, modified, altered
adjusted or tampered with by any party other than The Company.
 Full payment for the work has not been received
 All boilers need to be serviced annually to remain under warranty, The Company will remind The Customer but the responsibility of having it done lies with The Customer.

The Company will take away whenever possible all materials removed during the course of the work, charges may be applicable which will be detailed in the quotation.

The Company shall ensure that all members of the team are competent, properly trained and courteous.
Should The Customer feel there is an issue with the work carried out, The Company will be very happy to return and rectify it without additional cost. However, should The Company return and find the problem to be unrelated to the work carried out by The Company then the standard charges of The Company will apply.

The Company will take responsibility for registering the manufacturer’s guarantee and informing building control for the new installation of boilers and unvented cylinders once full payment for the installation has been received within the timeframe stated in the quotation. Registering the guarantee of all other installations carried out by The Company is the responsibility of The Customer.

The Company does not accept responsibility for any existing installations that are present, this relates in particular but not only to pipework, radiators, radiator valves, heating valves, pumps, boilers and cylinders that might be affected by a conversion from a tank fed system to a sealed system or from powerflushing pipework and radiators or from connecting new equipment to the existing system. The change to a higher pressure rated system and powerflushing can cause leaks in components that The Company are not liable for and any cost of repairs will be charged in accordance with the standard charges of The Company.
The Company will try hard to get it right but we are human and sometimes mistakes do occur, if The Customer thinks something has gone wrong please contact The Company office number 01279 861370.

Let The Company have as much information as possible about the work you want carried out.
Some faults can be found easily, others may be difficult to locate or only occur intermittently, in some cases The Company may have to carry out a considerable amount of preliminary work before a fault is found.

If The Customer has any concerns during the course of the work please either bring it to the attention of The Company team member who is on site or by telephoning the office number 01279 861370 so that it can be sorted out in a timely manner.

Your Responsibilities

The Customer is to make available where necessary parking permits.

The Customer needs to inform The Company of any parking restrictions with particular regard to height.

With most types of services undertaken by The Company it is usually the case that some damage may be caused to decorative finishes such as paintwork,
wallpaper and tiles. The Company will take all reasonable steps to avoid this but cannot be held responsible for any damage.

The Customer needs to remove any fragile/ personal items from the area in which the services are due to be carried out and cover and protect all furniture, furnishings, fixtures and fittings which are not removed.
The Customer needs to provide The Company with adequate safe working space and facilities including clear access to the site to enable The Company to carry out the services.

If The Company removes parts or materials that may be subject to claims by The Company against manufacturers or suppliers we may not be able to leave
them with The Customer.

Where The Company agrees to carry out services to part of a system we assume that the rest of the system is in good condition. The Company cannot be held responsible for any damage caused or extra work required if this is not so.
If The Company is to provide Goods to The Customer as part of The Services, The Customer will become responsible for these at the time the Goods are delivered to The Premises, whether they are installed or not.

Sometimes The Customer does not accept the advice that The Company gives and asks The Company to carry out work which in the view of The Company is not the best way of proceeding. If The Customer asks The Company to proceed in such a way and The Company agrees to do so, the liability of The Company (if any) arising from such work shall take into account the reservations expressed by The Company, the advice given by The Company, the cost paid by The Customer for the services carried out and the cost that would have been paid for the services The Company advised The Customer to have.
The Customer is respectively asked to refrain from smoking in the vicinity of the services being carried out by The Company.

The Company may be using sharp tools or machinery to carry out the services, therefore pets and children need to be kept out of the area in which the services are being carried out.
Any toxic substances such as rodent poison/ traps need to be removed from the area in which the services are being carried out before the arrival of The Company.