Terms & Conditions

Our clear and transparent terms and conditions.

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These Terms of Business, together with our Rates page, form the basis of the contract entered into between you and Polkadot Property Services Limited. We recommend that you read them carefully, as they affect your legal rights and liabilities. If you have any concerns or queries about these Terms of Business, please raise them at the earliest opportunity and in any event before work commences.

1. Definitions

1.1 For the purpose of these Terms of Business the following definitions apply:

The "Company" means Polkadot Property Services Limited.

The "Customer" means you, the person or organisation with whom the Company has entered into a contract for the supply of goods and/or services.

The "Engineer" means the representative appointed by the Company to perform the agreed work, whether an employee of the Company or an approved subcontractor.

"Labour" means all time spent by the Engineer in carrying out work on behalf of the Customer, including all reasonable time spent in obtaining materials.

"Materials" means, in respect of each job, all hardware and fittings installed, supplied and/or purchased on behalf of the Customer by the Company.

The "Property" means the premises at which the Customer has instructed the Company to carry out work.

2. Fixed price work

2.1 Fixed price work will be quoted for in advance by the Company. The quote will set out the address of the Property and the work instructed by the Customer. The quoted price represents the total amount (exclusive of VAT) to be paid by the Customer for the work specified in the quote, except where:

(a) after submission of the quote the Customer instructs the Company (orally or in writing) to carry out additional work or services not specified or otherwise referred to in the quote, in which case such additional work or services will be charged at the applicable hourly rate under paragraph 3 and added to the quoted price;

(b) there is an increase in the source cost of the Materials, in which case the increase will be added to the quoted price;

(c) it is discovered that additional work or services are needed which could not reasonably have been anticipated by the Company when the quote was prepared, in which case such work or services will be charged at the applicable hourly rate under paragraph 3 and added to the quoted price;

(d) it is discovered that there was a manifest error in the Company's preparation of the quote, in which case the quoted price is invalid and the Company will prepare a new quote, or the Customer may cancel; or

(e) the Customer instructs the Company to attend a different Property from the one named in the quote.

2.2 Where any of the circumstances in paragraph 2.1 arise, the Company will tell the Customer before carrying out the additional work, and will confirm the revised price, unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so because the work is required urgently to make the Property safe.

2.3 The price for a Landlord's Gas Safety Certificate includes the inspection of a maximum of three gas appliances. Any additional appliances tested will incur a further charge.

2.4 The Company is bound only by quotes provided to the Customer in writing and signed by a duly authorised representative of the Company. The Customer may accept a quote orally or in writing, but in the absence of express communication the Customer is deemed to have accepted a quote at the time it instructs the Company to perform the work described in it.

2.5 Quotes are valid for 30 days from the date of issue. This does not affect the Company's right to withdraw a quote at any time before it is accepted.

2.6 Certain other works and services are carried out at a fixed price, as set out on our Rates page, and are subject to these Terms of Business. These prices vary outside the hours of 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday, as shown on the Rates page.

3. Hourly rate work

3.1 In the absence of an accepted quote under paragraph 2.4, the amount charged to the Customer comprises:

(a) Labour charged at the Company's applicable hourly rate set out on the Rates page;

(b) Materials charged at cost plus 43%, which covers the time and effort involved in sourcing and obtaining them; and

(c) any of the incidental costs set out in paragraph 3.3.

3.2 Time starts to run from the arrival of the Engineer at the Property, except where the Customer has asked the Company to collect keys from an address other than the Property, or where Materials are required, in which case travel time will be charged in addition.

3.3 The Company is entitled to recover the following reasonable and unavoidable costs from the Customer:

(a) all parking expenses incurred in attending the Property or the premises of the Company's suppliers;

(b) all London Congestion Charge and Ultra Low Emission Zone payments incurred in attending the Property or the premises of the Company's suppliers;

(c) where the Customer fails to provide access to the Property at the scheduled time, a charge covering the time spent travelling to and from the Property, calculated by reference to the actual time spent travelling or a minimum of one hour at the prevailing rate, whichever is higher;

(d) where the Customer cancels an appointment within 24 hours of its scheduled time, a charge equating to one hour at the prevailing rate;

(e) the costs plus a fee of 20% in relation to making good any damage which the Customer asks the Company to arrange under paragraph 6.10;

(f) where the Customer supplies Materials which are, in the Company's reasonable opinion, unsuitable, a charge covering travel to and from a supplier to obtain suitable Materials, calculated by reference to the actual time spent travelling or a minimum of one hour at the prevailing rate, whichever is higher; and

(g) any costs which the Company may recover under any other paragraph of these Terms of Business.

4. Payment

4.1 The Company will invoice the Customer following completion of the work, or before completion by written or oral agreement between the parties, or in any of the circumstances set out in paragraph 5.

4.2 Each invoice is due for payment 48 hours after it is issued. Where the Customer has provided payment card details under paragraph 4.3, the Company will collect payment from that card on the due date.

4.3 Saved payment card. Before the Company attends the Property, the Customer will be asked to provide payment card details through a secure page hosted by the Company's payment provider, Stripe. Card details are held by Stripe and are not stored, seen or accessible by the Company. By providing card details, the Customer authorises the Company to charge that card for the amount of any invoice issued in respect of the work, on the due date set out in paragraph 4.2.

4.4 Notice before payment is taken. The Company will email the Customer the invoice, stating the amount to be collected and the date on which it will be collected, at least 48 hours before collecting payment.

4.5 Queries raised before the due date. If the Customer considers that any part of an invoice is incorrect, the Customer should notify the Company in writing at info@polkadotplumbers.com before the due date. Where the Customer does so, the Company will not collect payment from the saved card until the query has been investigated and the amount agreed with the Customer. This does not affect the Company's rights under paragraph 4.7 in respect of amounts subsequently agreed to be due.

4.6 Unsuccessful payments and removal of card details. If a payment from the saved card is unsuccessful, the Company will notify the Customer by email with a link enabling payment by an alternative method, and may also contact the Customer by telephone. The invoice remains due. The Customer may ask the Company at any time to remove their saved card details by contacting info@polkadotplumbers.com. Where card details are removed before an invoice is paid, the invoice remains due and payable by an alternative method.

4.7 Late payment. Any part of an invoice not paid by its due date will attract interest at 3% above the Bank of England base rate prevailing at the due date, calculated from the due date until payment is received in full, inclusive of both days. The Customer is liable for all reasonable costs incurred by the Company in recovering payment of the invoice in full.

4.8 Refunds. Where the Company collects a payment in error, it will refund that payment in full to the same card.

4.9 Where the Company has agreed to issue an invoice before completion of the work and that invoice is not paid by its due date, the Company reserves the right to suspend all further work until it has been paid in full.

4.10 The Customer has sole liability to discharge the Company's account, unless the Customer disclosed in its initial instruction, and in any event before work commenced, that it was acting on behalf of a third party, the third party confirmed this in writing, and the Company accepted it in writing.

4.11 The Customer is solely liable for the condition of the Property as presented to the Company on arrival, including any health and safety obstructions, obstacles or hazards, and any existing hazardous situation in respect of gas or electrical safety.

4.12 The Company may, without prejudice to any other rights it may have, set off any liability of the Customer to the Company against any liability of the Company to the Customer.

5. Cancellation

5.1 Where the Customer is a consumer. Where the contract is made by telephone, email or online, and the Customer is acting for purposes outside their trade, business, craft or profession, the Customer has the right to cancel within 14 days of the contract being made, without giving a reason.

5.2 To cancel, the Customer should tell the Company by email at info@polkadotplumbers.com or by telephone on 020 8671 4624. The Company will confirm receipt in writing and refund any sums paid within 14 days, subject to paragraph 5.3.

5.3 Where the Customer has asked the Company to begin work during the 14-day cancellation period, and then cancels, the Customer must pay for the work carried out and Materials supplied up to the point of cancellation, in proportion to the full contract. Where the work has been fully performed during the cancellation period at the Customer's express request, the right to cancel is lost.

5.4 Where the Customer is not a consumer. If a business Customer cancels its instruction at any time before the work is completed, including between instruction or acceptance of a quotation and the scheduled commencement date, the Customer is liable for all costs incurred by the Company on the Customer's behalf, together with the profit the Company would have made had the work been carried out in full and, where applicable, all Materials supplied in accordance with the Customer's original instructions.

5.5 Paragraph 3.3(d) continues to apply to appointments cancelled within 24 hours of their scheduled time.

6. Guarantee and Company liability

6.1 Subject to the remainder of this paragraph 6, if within 12 months of the date of an invoice the Customer gives written notice to the Company that it is not wholly satisfied with the work to which the invoice relates, or otherwise complains, the Company undertakes to carry out any remedial works which in its professional judgment are necessary to bring the work up to a satisfactory standard (the "Guarantee").

6.2 To rely on the Guarantee, the Customer must give the Company, and its insurers if necessary, the opportunity to attend the Property on a date and at a time requested by the Company in order to inspect the work. If on inspection the Company in its reasonable professional judgment considers the work is not of a satisfactory standard, the Company will carry out remedial works at its cost.

6.3 The Guarantee relates only to labour in respect of faulty workmanship and does not extend to faults, defects or wear and tear of Materials installed by the Company. In respect of any faulty or defective Materials installed by the Company, the Company will endeavour to transfer to the Customer the benefit of any warranty or guarantee given to the Company.

6.4 The Guarantee will not apply if at any time:

(a) any of the work completed or Materials installed by the Company have been subject to invasive inspection, deconstruction, alteration, repair, modification, interference, misuse, negligence or similar actions by anyone other than the Company or its Engineers;

(b) the Customer has failed to service any of the Materials installed by the Company in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations;

(c) the Customer has failed to carry out any supplementary work recommended by the Company or the Engineer as necessary at the time the work was completed; or

(d) any invoice to which the work relates has not been settled in full in accordance with paragraph 4. This does not affect the Customer's rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

6.5 The Guarantee does not apply to work performed by the Company:

(a) in respect of blockages of waste or drainage systems or similar;

(b) at the instruction of the Customer against the oral or written advice of the Company or its Engineers; or

(c) on installations that are of inferior quality or that are over ten years old.

6.6 The Company can only act on the information disclosed to it by the Customer and on the problems presented at the time of the Engineer's visit. It is the Customer's responsibility to alert the Company, before it attends the Property, to any pre-existing conditions or relevant work carried out by third parties which may affect the Company's subsequent work or the decisions the Engineer makes at the Property. If relevant information is withheld or not disclosed, the Company accepts no liability for consequential loss the Customer may suffer.

6.7 The Company accepts no liability and will not be held responsible for any loss, damage or defect, whether direct or consequential, resulting from:

(a) work not fully covered by the Guarantee;

(b) the unsuitability of any Materials supplied by the Customer;

(c) the late or non-attendance of an Engineer, or the late or non-delivery of Materials, beyond the Company's control;

(d) the Customer refusing to allow the Company access to attempt to resolve a complaint, whether or not the Guarantee applies, or the Customer delaying in notifying the Company of its complaint, where in either case the loss, defect or damage is made worse by that action or inaction;

(e) the Customer engaging someone other than the Company to attempt to resolve a complaint about works carried out by the Company, where that attempt contributes to the problem; or

(f) any other matter, act, event or omission beyond the Company's reasonable control.

6.8 Engineers carrying out gas work operate under their own Gas Safe registration and are responsible for that work and any resulting liability. The Company may carry out work through its own employees or through Company-approved subcontractors. Subcontractors operate under their own insurance.

6.9 Nothing in these Terms of Business excludes or limits the liability of the Company for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, for fraud, or for any other matter in respect of which it would be unlawful to exclude or limit liability.

6.10 The Company has no liability for making good any damage caused to the Property as a result of carrying out the work required, except where caused by the Company's negligence. The Company has no liability for failures or defects arising from pre-existing plumbing or other workmanship at the Property. The Customer may ask the Company to arrange for making good any damage, and if the Company agrees, the costs will be charged in accordance with paragraph 3.3(e).

7. Title to Materials

7.1 Ownership of the Materials does not pass to the Customer until the Company has received payment in full of all monies due.

7.2 Risk in the Materials passes to the Customer on their delivery to the Property. Until ownership has passed, the Customer must keep the Materials insured for their full price against all risks and, on request, provide a copy of the policy to the Company.

7.3 If the Customer notifies the Company that it no longer wants the Materials after installation, the Company will charge the Customer the cost of removing them at the hourly rates prevailing on the Rates page at the time of notification. Any invoice relating to work already carried out remains payable in full in accordance with paragraph 4.

8. General

8.1 These Terms of Business form the basis on which the supply of goods and services is offered by the Company to the Customer and become binding on the Customer's acceptance of that offer.

8.2 These Terms of Business may only be varied by written agreement signed by the Company and the Customer. A failure or delay by either party to exercise any contractual or legal right or remedy does not constitute a waiver of it.

8.3 These Terms of Business prevail over any inconsistent terms of business provided or referred to by the Customer, or implied by practice or trade custom.

8.4 If any provision of these Terms of Business is found by a court to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision is deemed not to form part of the contract, and the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions is unaffected.

8.5 The Company may, with the Customer's consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), assign or transfer any of its rights, and subcontract or delegate any of its obligations, to a third party.

8.6 Headings and titles in these Terms of Business do not affect their interpretation.

8.7 These Terms of Business, and all other contractual rights and obligations arising between the Customer and the Company, are governed by the laws of England and Wales and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

8.10 Complaints. We are committed to providing a high standard of service. If something goes wrong, we would like the opportunity to put it right. Please contact us in writing, by email or letter, setting out the details of your complaint. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and aim to resolve it within eight weeks.

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