Business Terms

Business Terms

CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT

1. DEFINITIONS:

The Client: Being the person or persons who has requested a quotation for works/ authorised the works to proceed and will normally be the owner of the trees specified or will be the owners representative in whatever capacity with regard to said trees.

The Estimator:

Being the person who has carried out the site inspection and forwarded the quotation for works.

The Quotation:

Being the written/verbal specification and costing for works as inspected and /or discussed on site and sent to the client. Quotations are valid for one month from their date after which period the Contractor reserves the right to amend costs/submit a new quotation unless the works have been priced and agreed with a set date beyond one month.

The Works:

Being the tree work operations as detailed in the quotation.

The Contract:

Being the works in the quotation requested/accepted/agreed by the client in writing or verbally.

The Contractor:

Being T.H TREE SERVICES.

2. GENERAL:

Tree Preservation Orders/ Conservation Areas: If the trees detailed in the quotation are covered by individual or group Tree Preservation Orders or are located within a Conservation Area the Contractor can/will obtain any necessary Local Authority consents for work on behalf of the client on written acceptance of the contract.

Insurance:

The Contractor is covered by £5,000,000 Public Liability Insurance, £10 million pounds employers liability. Copies are available on our website here: Insurance copies

Additional Works:

If, during the execution of the contract additional works are requested by the client which are outside of the original quotation, then their cost can be agreed on site (and signed in confirmation by the client on the quotation sheet) or an additional quotation can be prepared which may necessitate a further site inspection(s) by the original estimator.

Emergency call out:

Set rates apply and are chargeable from time of instruction.

Right to Cancel:

Notice of the Right to Cancel – the client has 14 days to cancel the contract (in writing) from acceptance date.   This does not apply to urgent/emergency work or other such work undertaken at short notice (within 14 days).

After 14 days a minimum of 48 hours notice of cancellation of scheduled works is required, otherwise a minimum call out charge of 60% of the job value  will be levied to the client.

Any failure to confirm a cancellation in writing will result in a minimum call out charge being levied.

Neighbouring Trees:

If works are to be carried out on a clients neighbours trees which necessitate access to their property then consent from the owner will be required. Any works carried out on a clients neighbours trees which do not necessitate access to their property do not need written consent but it is deemed prudent to inform them of proposed works. All the above are the sole responsibility of the client.

Parking:

Where Residents Parking or Pay and Display bays apply with regard to the contractors vehicle parking requirements then the local council parking suspension costs will be chargeable to the client.

Failure to carry out works due to client negligence:
We reserve the right to charge a £120 minimum call out charge or the full amount of the quoted price. If T.H Tree Services are unable to carry out the work quoted for and accepted by the client, due to the clients negligence. (This would only be sought if T.H Tree Services had spent money on hire costs and labour which cannot be recovered)

Providing prices via photos, email or text:
T.H Tree Services provide estimates for works quoted via photo/s over email or text and reserve the right to charge additional fees should the photo/s not clearly have identify anything that will increase time or costs which could not be foreseen. Any increase over the estimated costs must be explained to the client before work proceeds.

Day/Hourly Rate:

Where applicable day/hourly rates will be quoted on a man-hour basis and will cover travelling time in addition to time on site.

Weekend/Public Holiday Rate: Works undertaken on Saturdays are subject to a 25% surcharge, works undertaken on Sundays/Bank Holidays are subject to a 50% surcharge.

Payment:

Payment is due upon the satisfactory completion of the contract for domestic customers and within 7 days from the dated invoice for commercial and government organisations unless otherwise agreed. Cheques should be made payable to ‘T.H TREE SERVICES’ and passed to the foreman on site. Invoices that are paid late will receive a late payment interest fee in accordance with English law Late Payment Site Info

We reserve the right to charge 10% of the invoice total for every 7 days past the 30 days from the dated invoice  !. If you lose an invoice we reserve the right to charge £10 to issue a new one which will be back dated to the original.

Complaints:

Any complaints/queries relating to the satisfactory completion of works must be raised with our head office within a reasonable time after works are completed, otherwise the contractor reserves the right to charge additional fees for further works/attendance/amendments.

Settlement of disputes:

The contractor will do everything possible to resolve any misunderstandings arising from contract works to the satisfaction of both parties.

VAT: if vat is applicable it will be charged at the current rate.

3. THE WORK SITE:

Site Conditions: The contract price is based on site conditions as inspected by the estimator. The contractor reserves the right to levy additional costs subject to the degree of additional obstruction or to delay, postpone or rearrange works as necessary. The works area must be accessible prior to commencement of works. The contractor does not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss incurred through the need to clear access for works. Unless due to T.H Tree Services negligence.

Underground services:

Unless a plan showing the exact location of underground pipes, wires or cables has been forwarded to us by the Owner of the land (or his agent) prior to the formation of the contract, the Contractor shall accept no liability for any damage caused as a result of work performed under the Contract to such pipes, wires or cables, or for any damage to property resulting there from and the owner of the land or his agent shall be solely liable for any such damage.

Overhead services:

Any charge for the removal of power lines or telephone cable shall be the responsibility of the owner, unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Contractor.  

Road Closures:

Should works require a road closure it is the clients responsibility to arrange this and lias with T.H Tree Services to set a date to carry out works. We accept no liability the client may suffer if T.H Tree Services are unable to attend the work site due to inclemental weather, ill health, Mechanical break downs, etc. We hold £10 million PL insurance for road side works.

Weather conditions:

The contractor reserves the right to delay, postpone or cancel works affected by inclement/dangerous weather conditions and to resume works as soon as conditions allow.

Wildlife and Countryside Act:

1981/2000 – Crow Act (2000) Bats: The contractor shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the safe retention of any wildlife habitats and reserves the right to delay, postpone or cancel works accordingly and to resume works as soon as practical.

Site Clearance:

The contractor shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the work site is left clear and safe at days end and on completion of all works.

A site clearance is the removal of trees bushes and hedges down to ground level (1-5 inches above ground). It does not incude the removal of ground ivy, weeds, saplings below 1cm.

5. USE OF OUR WEBSITE’S:

T.H Tree Services hold intellectual property rights covered under English law on all text, photo’s, code, logo’s, content, site layout that you see on our website’s you must not copy, steal or reproduce anything unless explicit written permission from the owner of T.H Tree Services is given. The website is only for use by customers of T.H Tree Services or potential customers.

T.H Tree Services use cookies to track visitor statistics via safe tracking software.

6. EXPLANATION OF TERMS:

If the client is unsure of any particular terms we use then they must inform the contractor for an explanation, we hold no liability through any misunderstanding of the tree works we perform unless we have stated exactly what they are.

Tree Removal:

Tree removal or felling is the removal of the trunk section, limbs and branches of a tree down to approx 2 inches above the ground level surrounding the tree being removed.

Stump Removal:

Stump grinding is the removal of approximately 4-8 inches of the trees remaining stump, (4 inches guaranteed). It does not include lateral roots. The grindings are backfilled into the hole, they can be removed for an additional charge. If a stump is higher than 5 inches from the ground level surrounding the stump an additional charge for cutting away the remaining stump may be applied at T.H Tree Services discretion.

We grind the stump below the immediate surface surrounding the stump, some stump may remain beyond 4-8 inches. Should you excavate around the stump after we have ground it down, you may expose more stump beyond the reach of our machine, at the time of grinding. There would be additional charges to re-visit and grind away newly exposed stump material.

When clearing sites, we only include stumps and roots above 2 inches, anything below this diameter is not included in the costings. 

Tree Reductions:

When the client agrees a percentage of a trees crown to be reduced it is agreed by the client with T.H Tree Services that it will be an approximate value and not exact.

Hedge trimming, Cutting, Topping:
When a height is agreed, the client accepts it is an estimated hight. Normally within 1-2ft. When trimming the sides of hedges, we will trim as much as we can without damaging the hedge. Unless the customer demands more, which we will not be liable should the hedge suffer as a result of the clients instruction.

We do our best to ensure hedges are straight and level, tho the client accepts that from end to end levels and heights can vary by 1-2ft. We use human judgement and hand craft hedges, The client accepts we cannot guarantee every hedge will be level and straight.

Ivy removal:

Ivy is removed from houses, gutters, fences etc but the tendrills are left. If you wish for the tendrills to be removed this can be done using our in house methods, tho this is a separate service and must be asked for in addition to standard ivy removal. We can also clean some surfaces, again this is another service which must be asked for as its not part of a standard service.

Bamboo: Removal  of bamboo excludes filament roots or roots under 1cm as this would require a mini digger and reinstatement of the ground.  We endeavour to remove as much as is visable and physically possible to remove within the limitation of surrounding masonary, utilities etc.  Only what has been quoted for or what is within the photos  provided will be covered. Excess bamboo or that which may extend beyond what has been quoted for or specifically pointed out within the quote will not be part of the quoted price. Additional charges may apply at our descretion.

Day Rates:

When TH Tree Services offer the client a half day rate or a full day rate, this is strictly to carry out the work detailed in the quotation. It does not allow the customer to add unspecified or additional works to the job. These will incur additional costs. Our day rates are estimated times to complete works which might be difficult to provide a fixed price quotation for. Should TH Tree Services complete all tasks within the quotation,  ahead of time, the customer agrees that the day rate has been fulfilled even if it has not taken the maximum time allocated.

7. On site Photography:

T.H Tree Services take photos of our work whilst on-site, we also take photos of any part of the clients site we feel might cause us any problems. For instance, should we notice damaged paving, fences, walls, cars etc, we may photograph them as evidence that the damage was not caused by us. We also use photographs of our work on our website and social media, unless you explicitly state that you do not wish for us to use our photographs of your trees, hedges or stumps, it will be assumed that you accept it is OK to do so. We will of course always remove any photograph you feel is inappropriate, asap.