Payment Terms:
PAYMENT IS DUE ON COMPLETION OF WORK for domestic customers, and within 5 calendar days for other clients.
Payment can be made via cash, credit or debit card.
CHEQUES are no longer accepted [with the exception of business cheques, by prior arrangement]
The working week:
Standard working hours are Monday-Friday 8.00am-4.30pm, excluding bank / public holidays. All other times may be considered out of hours.
Estimates
We give free estimates for non fault finding work- phone for details
There is NO CHARGE for a VERBAL ESTIMATE.
If a detailed quote or visual report is required in writing (usually for insurance purposes etc) there is a charge levied for administration purposes, if there is any work resulting from the quote a discount will be applied.
Arranged Works:
When work is arranged on a specific date and time a deposit is usually taken. A part refund, minus costs and time may be issued, more detail below.
Cancellations:
Out of hours / emergency response works are NOT CANCELLABLE once arranged; if works are subsequently cancelled charges will usually still apply. Please note such calls are recorded for fact and credit card fraud prevention purposes.
Works that have no deposit taken can be cancelled by either party (this does not apply to emergency response / out of hour’s calls).
We usually prioritise clients who pay a deposit, or those we have regular business with.
If materials are ordered and a job is subsequently cancelled the client will be liable for any costs or time used to return the order, this may include wholesaler charges.
If an item is ordered and a date is not arranged to have items fitted within 30 days then there will be a storage charge of 5% per week. After 20 weeks the item will become property of our company
There is a 14 day right to cancel for customers having works carried out in their residence - this does not apply to business transactions, such as commercial works, or work arranged in a property that is being let, or will be let. Some landlords may be subject to the 14 day cooling off laws and some may not- it is up to the client to find out such things
If we have been on site to give advice and a job is subsequently cancelled within this 14 day period then we may make a charge (based on time used surveying / giving professional advice / travelling to and from site).
Once work is arranged, and a deposit taken, a contract is formed and we guarantee a slot in the works schedule.
If work is cancelled -after any cooling off period -we may still charge for the lost value of the works (less the cost of any unused materials).
When work is arranged we will generally order materials for the work. Some materials may be non returnable (special order, or cut cable for example) and these will be charged and the client can collect the items once any charges are paid.
All estimates / invoices given are for prices after prompt payment and OAP discount (if applicable) have been applied.
Hourly Rate
The standard hourly rate is chargeable at £80.00 per hour- BEFORE PROMPT PAYMENT DISCOUNT.
This is the rate applied to the invoice that you pay. A discount will be applied of 50% on the labour rate (discount applies to works inside normal business hours, and if payment received on completion). This is due to a few non-paying / late paying customers.
A small job will still be around the same low price as it was 9 years ago; the only difference is the invoice will show a ‘prompt payment discount’.
There is usually an apprentice / trainee on site and the rate includes their labour.
As our company are committed to training future electricians there is not an option of having ‘no apprentice and a reduction in the hourly rate’.
The working week runs from Monday – Friday. Invoices are usually raised at the end of the job- payment is required on completion of electrical works.
For ongoing contract works an invoice will be raised at the end of each week (usually Friday) .
Payment is required on any outstanding invoices prior to any continuation of further works for the same client.
Telephone Calls
ALL telephone calls are recorded (this means ALL outgoing and ALL incoming
Calls are recorded for staff training and fact verification purposes. Call recordings are not passed on to any other parties (unless required to do so by law / courts etc)
How and when we charge:
Where we carry out work at a clients request we levy the standard labour charges.
A couple of stories (and learning experiences)
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Nice electrician from abc Electrical (no bias here!) called out to a faulty shower. Client asks us to check shower. Shower cover off, switch cover removed. Fault diagnosed as faulty shower switch. Customer informed and told cost of job, stating we had a new switch in the van and could fit it there and then. Customer replies “My cousin is working away on the rigs as an electrician- I’ll get him to fix it when he gets back. I only wanted you out to find out what was wrong.”
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Called from a client with socket circuit problem. My sockets do not work in my kitchen and part of my living room, can you come out? Arranged work for next morning and client finished off with “I’m only looking for a quote”. The question to him was “To be clear- you wish us to come round, spend time finding the faults, tell you what and where the problem is and give you the opportunity not to pay? “Yes” was the answer. Needless to say the works were un-arranged
To sum up, if we do work (including investigating work) there will usually be a labour charge.
If the client is informed there will NOT be a charge there will be no charge.
There is not a hidden agenda.
Most people don’t go to work and offer their boss a couple of hours work for free; we all have bills to pay.
Almost all customers are super, but you get the rogue and slightly misinformed element, which amounts to <1% of all customers (usually one every 2-3 years)
Retention of Title (a legal thing)
When goods or services are supplied by our company ownership of the goods remains with our company until all monies are paid in full.
Payments will be allocated to labour costs in the first instance and then once all the labour costs are paid funds are allocated to materials. When more than one invoice due by a particular client or agent then the sum of any labour costs are paid first with the sum of materials after.
We do not usually employ other trades (such as carpet fitters, plasterers, joiners), but can include such works- if this is the case it will be specifically detailed on any job detail sheet
When floors coverings and carpets are lifted this is carried out on a ‘no liability’ basis. To be specific our company are not liable for any damage incurred
our company specifically exclude liability for damage to carpets, liability for decoration and re-plastering from our works. We can arrange specific trades (at an additional cost) and will detail in writing accordingly
Certain dwellings (flats, maisonettes etc) may require building warrant(s) for certain works. It is the responsibility of the client / home owner / person ordering the work to obtain any such permission.
Some flats have pre-stressed concrete beams and these cannot be adversely damaged during electrical works. Any works on such dwellings will have surface wiring only included within the price. This is particularly applicable to certain rewiring in flatted dwellings with concrete ceilings.
It is required that the job areas will be made accessible by the client / tenant / clients agent.
Works are usually priced on this basis.
We carry dust sheets (and actually use them!). The nature of the work carried out means there will be varying amounts of dust made. Dust is airborne and will travel, whilst we DO clear up please be advised that it is the clients responsibility to ensure that they (or anyone in their property, such as a tenant / house sitter etc) have all breakable items securely packed away from any work areas and away from dust / debris.
As such we cannot be held liable for any additional cleaning or decoration required.
Please note we do not expect elderly/ infirm / impaired clients to move heavy objects and we will be happy to carry out such tasks (on a no-liability basis) if required.
Certification
We provide certification for our jobs- we only supply a full signed certificate once payment is received.
If a client insists on a certificate prior to payment this will be provided - unsigned and with minimal information.