Receive a Written Quotation within 7 days
Receive a Written Quotation within 7 days
Please do not be put off by my terms and conditions, 99.9% of the time in the 12 years i’ve been in business i’ve experienced no issues with customers. Nevertheless the very simple and straight forward method of hiring a trademens can leave me open (and the client) to grey areas. These t’s & c’s are intended to address grey areas, prevent surprises and make for a seamless and straight forward job.
Quotations vs Estimates
Please understand the difference between Quotations and Estimates prior to accepting any price. If you are not clear on the difference between the two please visit this link for more information: https://www.yourtradebase.com/blog/estimates-vs-quotes/
In a nutshell an estimate is a guess to how long the job shall take so the final invoice amount may vary whereas and a quotation is a fixed price for the job regardless of how long it took.
I isssue quotations 90% of the time however on projects like refurbishments where surfaces have not yet been installed i.e. walls are due to be plastered/woodwork is to be fitted i would submit an estimate and work on a day rate. I do this because there is little to indicate how much quality there shall be in the finish of those trades working ahead of me until i can see it.
KEY FACTS
MY OBLIGATIONS [“CONTRACTOR”]
I shall perform all duties, services and obligations with reasonable care and skill and to a reasonable standard. I shall comply with all relevant codes of practice and statutory or regulatory requirements.
I shall take all reasonable care with the Client’s property, including taking reasonable steps to protect the Client’s furnishings and wall and floor coverings during the provision of the services.
All surface preparation, coating application, and/or installation shall meet or exceed industry standards. You are hiring an experienced, professional contractor. Elements of the job will meet or exceed normal accepted practices in the industry.
YOUR OBLIGATIONS [“CLIENT”]
You shall be responsible for the correctness & completeness of the specification itemised within the ‘Colour & Finish Specifier’ form and my Quotation for all services and materials. Where these are not correct, or missing, the Client has an obligation to notify me to amend the details and costings. The additional costs of both labour and materials shall apply if an item is missing or wrong and where there is a change the client shall bear the expense of this.
Client agrees that i shall have access not only to the property but also to heating controls, electricity, lighting, water, ventilation and toilet for the duration of the work.
Client agrees and understands that access to the jobsite must be provided continuously and unobstructed between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m daily Monday through to Friday for the entirety of the work.
If at any time access is restricted (i.e. The building is locked/incorrect keys given out/badly cut keys/area not ready) I shall be paid my standard hourly fee until the area is ready and I reserve the right to leave the site until such access can be granted and charge a travel expenses of £0.40p per mile per vehicle. Where the client does not live at the property I can have key sent to my residence or if a letting agent holds the keys I shall be made aware of this at the time of pricing up and I shall factor in key collection and drop off limitations.
WORK SCHEDULING
My diary will slip with estimated start dates changing. Often my scheduling is affected by wet weather and other trades (even during interior work) both of which influence my work progress constantly so there are many factors which can affect the start date of a specific job.
At the quotation stage an estimated start date(s) will be provided with a specific agreed date secured closer to commencement of the job.
My start time at the property can be anywhere between 8am – 9am unless otherwise discussed in advance i.e. Holiday lets with a 10am start etc.
My diary changes on a daily basis so my schedule may change between pricing up a job and having my quotation accepted. I shall hold the time as long as I can & as I operate on a first come first served basis If I have another pending estimate accepted within this time frame I shall let you know so that you can process or re-arrange if needs be.
WORKING HOURS
My typical working week is Monday to Friday excluding Saturdays, Sundays & Bank Holidays unless otherwise discussed. My phone lines are active 8am - 6pm only.
DEADLINES
All deadlines must be communicated at the time of pricing up. Even though I shall make every effort possible to incorporate issues that you might incur on the project I do have other work responsibilities and can’t always guarantee the ability to work late or at weekends unless already discussed at the point of pricing up. Naturally if it is my work that is behind schedule due to my actions/inactions it is my responsibility to make sure that my work is complete.
HOLIDAY LETTINGS/RENTALS & OTHER TIME SENSITIVE WORK
Where cleaners are booked by the home owner (or agent) to enter a holiday let property after the decorating work has been completed but before they are officially let time allowances should be given to ensure all works are complete prior to cleaners entering the property. Should works not be completed due to factors outside of my control I will not be held responsible, or financially penalised, for the cleaners being unable to perform their duties when booked
and they should have their cleaning time factored in and added to my estimated work period and not included into mine unless previously discussed.
PAYMENT OF DEPOSITS
The payment of your deposit is protected by Dulux. You have a 14 day cooling off peroid where a full refund will be made back to the bank account it was issued from. No refund shall be issued after 14 calendar days.
PHOTOGRAPHY
I may wish to take before and after photo’s of the work on your property to feature on my website and/ my social media accounts. As standard practise I do not mention your name, address, property name but just the job in hand, specification and/or points of interest along the name. I may refer to you pets name as my customers name and blur items of personal or valuable nature. If you do not wish for me to use photographs of the inside or outside of your property please do mention it and I shall follow your request.
INTERIM PAYMENTS
For jobs over 15 days interim invoicing shall be submitted. This means that I shall be requesting payment weekly. Invoices shall be submitted on the Thursday of the 1st full week for payment of labour to date which is to be paid by 6pm the next day (Friday) and not subject to my standard 14 days. Payments shall need to be made every week until the work is complete. If payment is not received by 6pm Friday work may be postponed and re-scheduled at my convenience.
Invoices that shall be paid by cheque shall need to be handed to me by 6pm Friday or evidence shown that a cheque has been posted.
PAYMENT TERMS
Payments by Cash, Cheque or BACS/Bank transfer are most welcomed. I do not take card payments on site or payments via Paypal.
All Final payments are to be made within 14 calendar days commencing from the Invoice date. Excludes mid-term interim payments.
LATE PAYMENTS
All invoices have 14 days paid except for mid-term interim payments as outlined. Late payments shall be charged a penalty of 8% interest accumulating daily to each day over the expected 14 days until payment is made. If payment is made outside of the 14 days but the penalty has not been added the difference shall not be subject to 14 days and shall continue to accumulate at the rate of 8% of the total invoice amount until it is paid in full including any and all penalty amount.
The client agrees to to pay to me (the contractor) all costs and expenses incurred in recovering payment where the Client fails to make payment in accordance with these terms and conditions.
Where work has been delayed through no fault of my own on a time sensitive project I am under no obligation to work above and beyond my standard working day to complete the work in the same time frame. However, I will always look to help in a situation where I can. Unless otherwise discussed & planned my overtime rate will be 1.5 times that of my standard hourly rate after 6pm on a weekday, 2 times that per hour on a weekday after 9pm. Weekends also shall be double time before 6pm and 3 triple time after 6pm unless already factored into the job. If this is the case it shall be clearly mentioned in the quotation.
COLOUR & FINISH SPECIFIER FORM
The colour & finish specifier form shall be issued either in person or via email at the same time as the materials have been invoiced and prior to the commencing of work.
The information in the colour & finish specifier form is final and I shall consider it permission to mix up and order paints which can not be refunded or returned. Any deviation from the decision in the colour & finish specifier may result in additional materials and/or labour costs.
Where cross brand colour matching is desired (i.e. a farrow & Ball colour to be mixed into a Dulux/Johnstone’s base) the customer should bear in mind that this is not a 100% science and often does not work. Samples must be used in this scenario before painting.
The Colour & Finish Specifier Form must be signed after the job has been awarded and prior to materials being ordered and/or mixed.
SUBSTITUTED MATERIALS
Occasionally my supplier may have an unforeseen shortage of stock which shall force me to unintentionally divert from the Colour & Finish Specifier. Where this occurs i shall substitute the brand for another brand of equal quality or greater quality i.e. Crown for Dulux or vice versa. There shall price change if it’s within a quotation however there shall if its part of an estimate.
PROPERTY RIGHTS OF MATERIALS
Any property rights of materials which are used by me in providing or delivering the services shall remain with me until the Client (you) have made payment in full in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. Once payment is made in full all property rights will transfer to you, the client.
CHANGES
Where a change of mind in terms of finish and/or colour, additional work is required and unforeseen time delays occur. I will look to complete the work in the allocated time frame. Should this impinge on other time sensitive work already scheduled into my diary, I reserve the right to re-schedule the remaining work on your premises to a more suitable date & time for my diary.
SUB-CONTRACTING
For any reason that I should require additional support/skills for the job whether it in the form of a carpenter/plumber/scaffolder/2nd decorator I shall remain the go-to contact for the work. All payments will me made through me so 1) I can ensure that the correct work is estimated for 2) the correct amount is invoiced for unless otherwise mentioned 3) I shall be responsible for the standard of their work with it being my responsibility to arrange for them to rectify any unsatisfactory work at their cost.
WALLPAPERING
Please do not buy too few wallpaper rolls, even in a sale. I am more than happy to calculate for you how many rolls should be bought & I shall factor in patterns and wastage. You should check that all batch numbers are the same and even if you buy 50% more wallpaper than required it is best to take back what isn't required than end up requiring more of a discontinued batch number with a room half hung. Although rare, print misses/errors do occur and that’s another reason why it is better to over buy than under buy. Saving a few pounds initially may cost you dearly later.
When hanging a finish paper I will not hang paper without 1st lining the walls.
The client shall ensure that all batch number are the same across all rolls.
Where I have given guidance to how many rolls to buy it shall be for the type of pattern discussed at the time of measuring up. Longer drops may require more rolls and some pattern repeats require an extra drop per corner (4 drops) so I shall add 2 rolls extra to my calculations.
WASTE DISPOSAL
I shall have access to your general waste bin to dispose of waste from the job. Where a large amount of waste is to be disposed of I shall factor in a skip and arrange for delivery, permit & collection. This shall be mentioned in my quotation.
Where I am Wallpaper stripping I shall bag up the waste paper to leave with you. As I shall have to add on a trade waste cost to my quotation most customers are willing to save the cost and either take it to their local recycling centre and/or siphon it into their black bin over time. If you would like me to take it to your recycling centre for you by default the trade waste surcharge shall be additional to the quotation.
EXTERIOR WORK
All exterior quotations are made from ground level only and as such it is difficult to project the decay (if any) of the materials at higher levels. There should always be a degree of contingency made by the homeowner if the condition of said substrates are worst than projected. The client will be informed if this occurs and a discussion had over the best course of action.
Holiday lets and other time sensitive properties must factor in wet weather contingency of 50% additional work days on top of the estimated duration of work i.e. For a 10 day/2 week project = 3 weeks/15day should be allowed. For a 2 day project = 3 days should be allowed.
I do not work above and beyond my work days (outlined above) to make sure the project is completed if wet weather occurs and no contingency has be allowed for.
If these terms are ignored and no contingency has been factored in the work I shall invoice on the estimated completion date for the work done to date and it shall be the responsibility of the homeowner to free up another opportunity where I can come back to complete the work/finish off. On completion the remaining work shall be invoiced for. If you do not wish to factor in contingency please do not accept this quotation.
No longer than 1 month must pass before allowing me to return to the job.
OTHER TRADES
My estimated work days are calculated on me having full access to the job and does not include working around other trades and doesn't not factor in their actions i.e. Loss of electricity/lights/heating etc Although I am very happy working along side any trades (and often do) I would appreciate full communication prior to the job so I may plan my work according. Where other Trades or person/s that may interfere with my work progress which result in me not be able to work you will still be invoiced for the time of down time at my standard rate and 40p per mile travel as required.
UNFORESEEN WORK
Every effort has been made to provide you with a quotation that is as accurate and comprehensive as possible however there are occasionally unforeseen problems with wallpaper removal revealing hidden issues i.e blown plaster & damp. Where complications arise, we will discuss all options and additional costs with you before proceeding. Sometimes another unknown is exterior woodwork which looks good to the eye on the surface but it rotten beyond decorating.
If necessary I can recommend other trades such as plasterers, carpenters, electricians to you on a no obligation basis.
SIGNING OFF PERIOD
A period of 7 days is given to raise any issues with the completed work from the date of invoice. During this period it is expected that the client shall raise any issues so that I can return to rectify the work within the invoice payment allowance of 14 days. Where no issue have been raised it is considered that the work has been carried out is satisfactory or above.
ASSUMPTIONS OF NON-COMMUNICATION
Although I always appreciate good communication If I do not hear back from a submitted quotation within 14 days I have to assume (as with the nature of the industry) that on that occasion my quotation has not been accepted. Subsequently, time that I have provisionally outlined and reserved time in my diary can be re-distributed after the 14th day unless there’s a clear understanding that more time is required.
Alexander Goldsmith
32 Grand Avenue, Pakefield, Lowestoft, Suffolk
01502 806 807 / 07747186972