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The Dc Group UK- Full Terms & Conditions

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1. Parties, Definitions and Interpretation

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In these terms and conditions (which are referred to in this document as “these terms”), “Customer” means the customer for whom the Works are to be carried out by The Dc Group UK, “The Dc Group UK” means The Dc Group UK or, as the case may be, a franchisee of The Dc Group UK carrying on business pursuant to a Franchise Licence Agreement entered into with The Dc Group UK, “Contract” means the agreement between the Customer and The Dc Group UK to carry out the Works of which these terms form a part and (where these terms are a schedule to a signed agreement between the Customer and The Dc Group UK (“the Agreement”)) the Agreement, “Works” means the works described in The Dc Group UK quotation and/or as referred to in The Dc Group UK Work Detail Sheet or any other document or email issued by The Dc Group UK, as may be varied by agreement in writing between the parties.

 

For the purposes of these terms, “in writing” includes by email and any document which is set out in a hand-held device and any signature on a hand-held screen shall be treated as in writing. In these terms words importing the masculine gender also include the neuter and the feminine gender and words importing the singular number include also the plural number, where the context so requires.

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2. General

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2.1 The Customer will be treated as an Account Customer or a Non-Account Customer, according to The Dc Group UK reasonable discretion.

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2.2 All quotations given by The Dc Group UK, all orders and instructions given by the Customer, and all work authorizations, are governed by these terms. They supersede any other terms appearing elsewhere and override and exclude any other terms stipulated or incorporated or referred to by the Customer, whether in the order or instructions or in any negotiations or in any course of dealing established between The Dc Group UK and the Customer, except where these terms are a schedule to a signed Agreement between the Customer and The Dc Group UK , in which event these terms apply only to the extent not inconsistent with that Agreement.

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2.3 No modification to the Contract shall be effective unless made by an express written agreement or email exchange between the parties. The signing on behalf of The Dc Group UK of any documentation of the Customer shall not imply any modification of the Contract.

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2.4 Nothing in this Contract is intended to confer on any person any right to enforce any term which that person would not have but for The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. Accordingly, a person who is not a party to this Contract shall have no rights under that Act to enforce any of its terms, but this does not affect any right or remedy of such person which exists or is available apart from that Act.

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3. Quotations and variations to the price

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3.1 Any quotation by The Dc Group UK is subject to withdrawal by The Dc Group UK at any time before receipt of an unqualified acceptance from the Customer and shall be deemed to be withdrawn unless so accepted within 28 days from its date.

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3.2 The DC Group UK reserves the right to charge a fee for the collection of materials from its supplier except with respect to works for which there is an estimate. If the collection occurs whilst The DC Group UK is on site, the time taken will be treated as an addition to the Works and charged at the relevant rate. If the materials are ordered for subsequent collection and delivery, a charge may be made by The DC Group UK of £50. Materials will be supplied at cost net after The DC Group UK discounts plus The DC Group UK normal mark-up to cover handling, stock maintenance, etc.

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3.3 The DC Group UK standard Account Rate Card is available for inspection at The DC Group UK premises during normal business hours. The Account Rate Card specifies half hourly rates. There is a minimum charge of one hour per visit. Subject to that, charges are made by the half hour, rounded up to the next half hour.

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4. The Price

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The price payable by the Customer is calculated as specified in paragraph 3 above. Unless otherwise stated, the price and all estimates provided by The DC Group UK are shown inclusive of Value Added Tax.

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5. Payment

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5.1 Non-Account Customers: Payment for the first hour's attendance, or the agreed allotted time, is required to confirm a booking. Any further payments are to be made immediately upon satisfactory completion of the Works. 50% payment is required prior to the commencement of any work quoted and the balance is due on satisfactory completion.

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5.2 Account Customers: The DC Group UK will seek to submit invoices to the Customer within 14 days of completion of the Works and, subject to paragraph 8 below, payment must be made by the Customer within 30 days after the date of issue of the invoice.

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5.3 Snagging: Where the Works have been completed subject to snagging, 95% of all amounts outstanding must be paid on such completion and the Customer must provide access to The DC Group UK without delay to enable the snagging to be finalised. The balance of 5% will become payable upon the finalisation of the snagging or, if access has not been made available to carry out the snagging within 14 days of completion, at the expiry of such 14 day period.

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5.4 Where the Customer is represented by a third party (such as a managing agent, contractor or other representative), in the event of non-payment by the Customer, the third party will be responsible for payment unless The DC Group UK has agreed otherwise in writing.

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5.5 The DC Group UK shall be entitled to interest on a daily basis on any amount not paid on the due date for payment from such due date until payment in full at 3% above the Bank of England base rate at the relevant time.

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5.6 The DC Group UK shall not be required to issue or deliver any certificates, guarantees or other similar documents regarding the Works until payment has been made in full.

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5.7 All parts and materials fitted on any work carried out shall remain property of The DC Group UK until paid for in full by the customer. 

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6. Commencement and Completion Dates

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Dates specified for the commencement and completion of the Works are estimates only. The DC Group UK shall use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that it will attend on the date agreed and within two hours of the time given for standard weekday attendance. However, The DC Group UK accepts no liability in respect of non-attendance or late attendance on site, or for the late or non-delivery of materials.

Time shall not be of the essence of the Contract except as provided in paragraph 16 below.

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7. Inspection of Works

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The Customer shall inspect the Works as far as it is reasonably possible to do so immediately upon their completion (though failure to countersign the relevant Works Detail Sheet shall not imply rejection of the Works) and if it considers that the Works or any part thereof are not in accordance with the Contract, it shall within a reasonable time frame from the date of inspection give detailed notice in writing thereof. In the absence of any such notice, the Works shall be conclusively presumed to be complete and free from any defect which would be apparent on reasonable examination.

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8. Indemnity

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The Customer shall indemnify The DC Group UK against all actions, suits, claims, demands, losses, charges, costs and expenses which The DC Group UK may suffer or incur in connection with a claim by any third party resulting from a breach of the Customer’s obligations, undertakings, representations and warranties in connection with this Contract.

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9. Whole agreement and Exclusion of liability

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These terms set out The DC Group UK entire liability in respect of the Works and The DC Group uk liability under them shall be in lieu and to the exclusion of all other warranties, conditions, terms and liabilities, expressed or implied, in respect of the Works and the quality thereof.

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10. Limitation of Liability, and Liability of The DC Group UK

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The DC Group UK liability shall be limited to:

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10.1 the repair or making good of any defect pursuant to its undertaking in paragraph 13 below and subject always to paragraph 8 above;

10.2 liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence in the course of carrying out The DC Group UK duties, and

10.3 the reasonable costs of repair or reinstatement of any loss or damage to the Customer’s property if such loss or damage results from The DC Group uk negligence or that of its employees, agents or sub-contractors and the Customer incurs such costs.

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11. Access

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The Customer shall provide clear access to enable The DC Group UK to undertake the Works and will make all necessary arrangements with the proper persons or authorities for any traffic controls and signals or other permits or permissions required in connection with the carrying out of the Works. The Customer will at all times provide a safe working environment for The DC Group UK and its employees, agents and sub-contractors for the purposes of carrying out the Works. Where applicable to drainage works, the Customer will provide, if possible, a plan showing drain layouts. If this is not available, The DC Group UK reserves the right to render additional charges at the relevant applicable rate in accordance with paragraph 3.2 above if blockages occur in drains not covered by the specifications or if it is necessary to trace unidentified drains to complete the Works.

 

The Customer must obtain any permission for The DC Group UK to proceed over property belonging to third parties if this is necessary for the proper execution of the Works and shall obtain any permission necessary to carry out work on property belonging to third parties. The Customer shall indemnify The DC Group UK against all claims of whatsoever nature made by third parties arising out of the presence of The DC Group UK its employees, agents or sub-contractors on the Customer’s property save where such claim results directly from negligence on The DC Group UK part. The Customer shall be liable to The DC Group UK for all loss or damage whether direct, indirect or consequential which is suffered by The DC Group UK as a result of failure or delay by the Customer in performing the obligations referred to above.

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12. Defects

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Subject to paragraph 8 above and the exclusions listed below, The DC Group UK undertakes to repair or make good any defect in completed work which appears within six months of completion of the same to the extent that such defect arises from a breach of The DC Group UK obligations under this Contract and provided that details of the defect are notified by the Customer to The DC Group UK in writing within such period and that The DC Group UK and its insurers are given the opportunity of inspecting the work and the alleged defect. This undertaking shall only apply to work carried out and completed and invoiced by The DC Group UK and which is paid for by the Customer by the due date for payment ascertained in accordance with paragraph 6 above.

 

If The DC Group UK returns to the site at the Customer’s request to review a claim under this undertaking and it transpires that the defect had not arisen as a result of a breach of this Contract on the part of The DC Group UK, The DC Group UK reserves the right to charge the Customer for the visit at its standard rate as per paragraph 3 above. The DC Group UK reserves the right not to carry out any work under this paragraph 13 where the Customer cannot evidence that the work was originally carried out and completed by The DC Group UK or where payment has not been made in full for such work. Exclusions are:

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- Parts and materials will be provided only with the benefit of the manufacturer’s / supplier’s guarantee, and are not guaranteed by The DC Group UK.

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- Systems or structures not installed by The DC Group UK.

- Any recall arising from circumstances or factors known to the Customer but not notified or disclosed to The DC Group UK prior to the work having been undertaken.

- Defects resulting from misuse, wilful act, or faulty workmanship by the Customer or anyone working for or under the direction of the Customer (other than The DC Group UK).

- Structural defects encompassing but not limited to subsidence and its resultant effect.

- Damage to drainage systems caused by root penetration or any other outside force.

- Any roofing work where The DC Group uk advises that the overall condition of the roof is poor and is in need of more extensive work and the work to be undertaken involves less than 20% of the area of the roof.

- Any work to repair an existing lock, or to fit any lock not supplied by The DC Group UK

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13. Force Majeure

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The DC Group UK will use all reasonable endeavours to carry out the Works on the agreed dates but shall not be under any liability to the Customer if it should be either impossible or impracticable to carry out the Works on

the agreed dates or at all, by reason of strike, lock out, industrial dispute, act of god or any other event or occurrence beyond The DC Group UK control.

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14. Customer’s Liability

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The Customer shall be liable for:

- Any loss, damage or injury, whether direct or indirect or consequential, resulting from failure or delay in the performance of the Customer’s obligations under these terms.

- Providing all necessary power and a clean water supply for The DC Group UK use in the execution of the contracted works.

- The safety of both plant and machinery belonging to or hired in by The DC Group UK or its employees, agents or sub-contractors and shall indemnify The DC Group UK against its loss, theft or damage.

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15. Cancellation

 

15.1 If the Customer cancels the Contract Outside the 14 day window The DC Group UK consent we could:

• charge a cancellation fee

• hold some or all of your deposit to compensate for our financial loss (eg where we have set aside time to provide the service and can’t book another job for the same period)

• demand money if our loss due to your cancellation isn’t covered by any deposit already given.

• Please refer to https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk

• The Customer can cancel the contract within 14 days with a written notice, no charge will be made and a full refund will be given.

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15.2 If the Customer wishes to cancel an appointment for a visit by The DC Group UK, the Customer will incur a cancellation fee of £10 (plus VAT) if the cancellation is made less than 24 hours (but more than 2 hours) before the time scheduled for the appointment. If the cancellation is made 2 hours or less before the scheduled appointment time the fee will increase to £50 (plus VAT).

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15.3 If the Customer cancels work to be undertaken pursuant to an estimate accepted by the Customer, subject to paragraph 3.2 above the Customer will be liable for a cancellation charge of 5% of the estimate price if the cancellation is made less than 14 days prior to the specified commencement date for the Works, 10% of the estimate price if the cancellation is made less than 7 days prior to the said specified commencement date and 20% of the estimate price if the cancellation is made less than 2 days prior to the said specified commencement date.

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16. Removal of Waste Materials

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Unless agreed in writing between the parties, the Customer will be responsible for the removal from site of all waste materials resulting from the Works.

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17. Frozen Pipes

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The DC Group UK will not be liable for any fracture found in frozen pipes attended by The DC Group UK . The DC Group UK will not guarantee to clear blockages occurring in a frozen pipe or drain.

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18. Waiver, Variation etc.

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No waiver by The DC Group UK of any breach by the Customer shall operate as a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach by the Customer. No variation shall be effective against The DC Group UK unless sanctioned in writing by The DC Group UK. No forbearance or delay on The DC Group UK part shall prejudice The DC Group UK rights and remedies under this Contract.