These
conditions set out the terms of the contract between the Removal
and/or Storage Contractor (“the Contractor”) and you (“the
Customer”) and explain your rights and obligations and
responsibilities and those of the Contractor.
1.
Interpretation
1.1 Any
reference in these conditions to “we” or “us” is a reference to the
Contractor.
1.2 Any
reference in these conditions to “you” is a reference to the
Customer.
1.3 Any
reference to “Insurance Option” is to the Insurance Option set out
in Clause 9A.
1.4 “Goods”
means the goods being removed and/or stored.
2.
Quotations
2.1 Quotations do not include any other customs duties levies or
fees payable to government or other statutory bodies and all such
duties or fees (if any) will be
payable by you in addition to the quoted price.
2.2 Although we quote a fixed price we reserve the right to amend it
or make additional charges if any of the following have not been
taken into account when preparing the quotation:-
2.2.1 If due to any circumstances outside our control the work is
not carried out or completed within three months of the quotation
date
2.2.2 Our costs increase as a result of currency fluctuations or
changes in taxation or freight charges beyond our control
2.2.3 We have
to collect or deliver Goods above the first upper floor
2.2.4 We supply
any additional services
2.2.5 There are
delays outside our reasonable control in which event we will make an
additional charge for waiting time calculated in accordance with our
standard rates applicable at the time.
2.2.6 Access to
the collection or delivery point is inadequate or the approach is
unsuitable for our vehicles.
2.2.7 Any
parking or other fees or charges that we have to incur and pay in
order to carry out the services you require. In all these
circumstances you will be responsible for the extra charges
2.3
The Insurance Option will only apply if it is stated on the
Quotation. A summary of the insurance cover maintained by us and any
main exclusions from the cover is either enclosed with these
conditions or is available on request.
2.4
Our quotation is not a guarantee that we have vehicles
available on the day you require. Accordingly your signed acceptance
of our quotation does not constitute a contract between us until you
have our written confirmation that we can move your Goods on your
required date. We will send our written confirmation within one
working day of our receipt of your acceptance of our quotation.
3.
Work excluded from our
quotations
Unless
previously agreed in writing we will not: -
3.1 Dismantle
or assemble unit-furniture (flat-pack), fittings or fitments
3.2 Disconnect
or reconnect appliances, fittings or equipment.
3.3 Remove or
lay fitted floor coverings.
3.4 Take down
or re-hang curtains, blinds or other window coverings.
3.5 Move night
storage heaters unless they are dismantled.
3.6 Move or
store any items excluded under Clause 4.
3.7 Move any
item or items which our removal crew reasonably believe they cannot
move safely or the removal of which may damage the item or items in
question or its or their surroundings
4.
Excluded Property
The following
items are specifically excluded from this contract and will not be
removed: -
4.1 Jewellery,
watches, trinkets, precious stones, money, deeds, securities,
stamps, coins, or goods or collections of a similar kind.
4.2 Potentially
dangerous, damaging or explosive items.
4.3 Goods
likely to encourage vermin or other pests or to cause infection.
4.4
Refrigerated or frozen food or drink.
4.5 Any animals
and their cages or tanks including pets, birds or fish.
4.6 Cars, boats
and caravans.
4.7
Furs, perfumery, wines, spirits, tobacco, cigars, cigarettes,
foodstuffs, perishable goods or any kind of explosives.
Such goods will
not be removed by us except without prior written agreement. If you
submit such goods without our knowledge and prior written agreement
we will not be liable for any loss or damage except when death or
injury is caused by our negligence or that of our employees or
agents and you will indemnify us against any charges, expenses,
damages or penalties claimed against us by third parties. In
addition we shall be entitled to dispose of (without notice) any
such goods which are listed under paragraphs 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, &
4.7.
4.8 Breakage of
owner packed property unless the box or container shows signs of
external damage
5.
Customer's responsibility
It is your sole
responsibility to:-
5.1 Declare to
us the proper value of the Goods.
5.2 Obtain at
your expense all documents necessary for the removal to be
completed.
5.3 Be present
yourself or appoint a representative at the departure and
destination points to ensure that nothing is removed or left in
error or is left in the wrong room.
5.4 Prepare
adequately and stabilise all appliances prior to their removal.
Other than by reason of our negligence we will not be liable for any
loss or damage, costs or additional charges that may arise from any
of these matters.
6.
Ownership of the goods
By entering
into this contract you confirm to us that:-
6.1 The Goods
are your own property; or
6.2 You have
the authority of the owner of the property to make this contract in
respect of the Goods. You will be
responsible to pay for any claim for damages and/or costs against
either of the above if this proves to be untrue.
7.
Postponements/Cancellations
7.1
If you postpone or cancel this contract we may charge
according to how much notice you provide prior to the agreed removal
date:-
Between
4-7 days: 50% of the total removal charges
3 days:
75% of the total removal charges
1-2 days: 90% of the total
removal charges
Less than 24 hours:
100% of the total removal charges
7.2 Condition
7.1 will not apply if you elect to take any removal
postponement/cancellation protection waiver for which we have
quoted.
8.
Payment of Removal Charges
Unless you have
our written agreement to the contrary you must pay our charges so we
have cleared funds in advance of the removal. Unless we agree
otherwise, you may not withhold any part of the agreed price.
Interest at 2% per month calculated on a daily basis, is charged on
all overdue accounts.
We reserve the
right to terminate this contract if payment is not received before
the removal date, and not to carry out any services quoted for.
Failure to comply with our payment terms will also mean that we will
not insure our liability for the goods.
9.
Our liability for loss or
damage
9.1 In the event that we lose or damage your goods, if we are liable, we will pay you up to a maximum of £50.00 sterling for each item which is lost or damaged, to cover the cost of repairing or replacing that item. In this respect an item is defined as any one article, suite, pair, set, complete case, package, carton or other container.
9.2 We may choose to repair or replace the damaged or lost item. However if we choose to repair the item we will not be liable for any depreciation in value.
9.3 Other than because of our negligence, we will not be liable for any loss, damage or failure to deliver the goods if it is caused by any of the following circumstances:
9.3.1 Fire howsoever caused.
9.3.2 War, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), civil war, terrorism, rebellion and/or military coup, Act of God, industrial action or other such events outside our reasonable control.
9.3.3 Normal wear and tear, natural or gradual deterioration, leakage or evaporation or from perishable or unstable goods. This includes goods left within furniture or appliances.
9.3.4 Cleaning, repairing or restoring unless we did the work.
9.3.5 Moth or vermin or similar infestation.
9.3.6 Electrical or mechanical derangement to any appliance, instrument or equipment unless there is evidence of external impact.
9.4 Additionally we will not be liable for any loss of or damage to:
9.4.1 Any goods in wardrobes, drawers or appliances, or in a package, bundle, case or other container not both packed and unpacked by us.
9.4.2 Jewellery, watches, trinkets, precious stones or metals, money, deeds, securities, stamps, coins, or goods or collections of a similar kind, unless you have previously given us full information including value, and we have confirmed in writing that we will accept responsibility in accordance with 9.1 above
9.4.3 Goods which have a relevant proven defect or are inherently defective.
9.4.4 Animals and their cages or tanks including pets, birds or fish.
9.4.5 Plants.
9.4.6 Refrigerated or frozen food or drink.
9.5 Other than because of our negligence, we will not be liable for damages or costs resulting indirectly from, or as a consequence of loss, damage, or failure to deliver the goods.
Insurance Option
9A This Condition applies only if you have accepted the Insurance Option. In that event, the following provisions of this Condition 9A shall apply.
9A.1 We shall take out and maintain a contract of insurance in accordance with the summary of terms provided to you providing cover to us for the Goods and for the purposes of such insurance cover, the replacement value of the Goods shall be the value of the Goods stated in the Quotation.
9A.2 If loss or damage occurs to the Goods as a result of any matter which may result in a claim under such insurance cover, we shall notify the insurer promptly of the claim and in any event within 2 business days of receipt from you of a written direction to notify a claim in the form attached to the summary of terms. For the purposes of processing any such claim you shall provide us, the insurer or any agent of the insurer appointed to investigate such claim, with such information of existence as may reasonably be required in relation to the claim. We will also provide to you, or the insurer, or any agent of the insurer appointed to investigate the claim, with such information and assistance in relation to the claim as may reasonably be required. In addition, we will send to you a copy of all correspondence with the insurer or any agent of the insurer relating to the claim (including the notification). While we will, in accordance with the previous provisions of this paragraph, notify claims to the insurer, we are not under any circumstances obliged to start or threaten to start any legal proceedings in relation to any such claim (unless specifically agreed with you in writing).
9A.3 In the event that we make a claim under such insurance cover in respect of damage or loss caused to the Goods, we shall pay or arrange for payment to You that part of any proceeds of such claim made by us which relates to such damage or loss to the Goods after deduction of any outstanding sums due to us from you. For the avoidance of doubt, You acknowledge that our liability in respect of any claim under such insurance cover is restricted to the payment to You of those sums which we recover which relate to the Goods.
9A.4 We do not give any advice concerning the insurance cover referred to in Condition 9A.1 and it is for you to make your own judgement whether such insurance is appropriate to cover the Goods and risks to them.
9A.5 Nothing in this Condition 9A shall make us Your agent.
10.
Delays in transit
10.1 Unless we
give a specifically agreed written timescale then arrival and
departure times are an estimate only.
10.2 If we do
not keep to an agreed written time scale schedule and any delay is
within our reasonable control we will pay your reasonable expenses
which arise as a result of our not keeping to the agreed written
time schedule. If through no fault of ours we are unable to deliver
your goods, we will take them into store. This contract will then be
fulfilled and any additional service(s), including storage and
delivery, will be at your expense.
11.
Damage to premises
We
shall only be liable for damage to premises caused by our
negligence. Any damages to premises must be noted on the delivery
receipt and confirmed in writing to us within seven days unless you
request a reasonable extension which we agree in writing.
12.
Time limits for claims
We will not be
liable for any loss or damage to any goods unless any claim for loss
or damage is notified to us in writing WITHIN SE
13.
Our rights to withhold or
dispose of goods
We have a legal
right to withhold or (subject to complying with the notice procedure
in condition 16.6) ultimately dispose of some or all of the goods
until you have paid all our charges and other payments due under
this contract. These include any charges that we have paid out on
your behalf. While we hold the goods and wait for payment you will
be liable to pay all storage charges and other costs incurred as a
result of our withholding your goods and these terms and conditions
will continue to apply.
14.
Disputes
14.1 If there
is a dispute arising from this agreement which cannot be resolved
either you or we may refer it to the Conciliation Service provided
by The National Guild of Removers and Storers ("the Guild"). A
referral of any matter to the Guild by us does not affect your right
to pursue the matter through the Court.
14.2 As a
member of the National Guild of Removers and Storers we participate
in the Removals Industry Ombudsman Scheme ("the Scheme"). In the
event that you are not satisfied with the result of the Conciliation
Service referred to above you are entitled to refer the matter to
the Ombudsman subject always to the rules of the Scheme from time to
time.
15.
Sub-contracting the work
15.1 We reserve
the right to sub-contract some or all of the work for which we have
provided a quotation without reference to you.
15.2 If
we sub-contract these conditions will still apply in full.
16.
Storage services
The following
terms in addition to all other terms set out in this document will
apply to all contracts for the storage of goods:-
16.1 If you
require storage facilities you are obliged to provide a forwarding
address and notify us in writing if it changes. All correspondence
and notices will be deemed to have been received by you seven days
after posting it to the last forwarding address recorded by us.
16.2 The manner
in which goods are transported and whether we use conventional or
containerised storage shall be within our sole discretion unless
otherwise confirmed in writing.
16.3 Where we
provide an inventory of goods stored on your behalf it will be
accepted as accurate unless you provide us with written notice of
any errors or omissions within 14 days of our posting the inventory
to you.
16.4 All
charges for storage services are payable in advance. All our charges
including removal charges must be paid in full in cleared funds
before any goods are released from storage and we shall be entitled
to exercise a lien over those goods until we receive payment of all
charges due from you to us.
16.5 We review
our storage charges periodically. You will be given 28 days' notice
in writing of any increases following which our revised rates as
notified will apply. We will always act reasonably in reviewing our
storage charges.
16.6 On giving
you 28 days' notice we are entitled to require you to remove your
goods from our custody and pay all money due to us. Any such notice
will tell you that we will dispose of your goods three months
thereafter if you fail to pay all outstanding sums due to us and, in
that event, we will do so without further notice. The cost of the
sale or disposal will be charged to you. The net proceeds will be
credited to your account and any eventual surplus will be paid to
you without interest.
16.7 If your
payments are up to date we will not end this contract except by
giving you three calendar months' notice in writing. If you wish to
terminate your storage contract you should give at least 14 days'
notice. Whilst we will use reasonable endeavours to arrange the
release of your goods on the dates you require, specific dates
cannot be guaranteed.
16.8 If you
choose someone else to collect your goods from our storage
facilities we are entitled to make a charge for handing them over.
Our responsibility for such goods will cease upon their being handed
over to your chosen representative.
17.
Whole agreement
These Terms and
Conditions together with our quotation are intended to form the
whole agreement between us and to prevail over any verbal
discussions. Should we mutually agree to any variation of these
terms such variation should be confirmed in writing. Any variation
however agreed shall never invalidate the remainder of these Terms
and Conditions.
18.
Jurisdiction
This contract
is subject to the laws of England and Wales if our principal place
of business is situated in England or Wales, or to the laws of
Scotland if our principal place of business is situated in Scotland.
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