Terms and Conditions

1. Who these terms are with

These terms apply to work carried out by AJB Group (Carpentry) Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 13819875, based in Spalding, Lincolnshire ("we", "us", "AJB Group"). "You" means the person or organisation who accepts our quotation.

Where we work as a subcontractor under a main contractor's own subcontract order, that order and any agreed amendments take precedence over these terms to the extent of any conflict.

Nothing in these terms removes or limits the statutory rights of a consumer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or any other legislation that cannot lawfully be excluded.

2. Quotations, estimates and validity

Site visits and written estimates are free of charge and carry no obligation.

An estimate is our considered view of the likely cost based on the information available at the time. A quotation is a fixed price for a defined scope of work. Where the document is headed "quotation" the price is fixed for that scope; where it is headed "estimate" the final cost may vary with the work actually required.

Unless the document states otherwise, a quotation is open for acceptance for 30 days from its date. After that we may need to re-price it, because timber, sheet materials, ironmongery and labour costs move.

Every quotation is given on the basis of the drawings, specification, measurements and information supplied to us. If those turn out to be incomplete or inaccurate, or if conditions are found on opening up that could not reasonably have been seen at the time of quoting, the price may need to be adjusted under clause 4.

Prices exclude VAT unless expressly stated. Where VAT applies it will be shown separately on the invoice.

3. Acceptance and the contract

A contract is formed when you accept our quotation in writing, by email, or by instructing us to start the work, whichever happens first. At that point these terms and the quotation together form the agreement between us.

What is included is what the quotation says is included. Anything not listed is excluded, including work by other trades, scaffolding, skips, plant hire, building control fees, structural engineering, temporary works design and making good decorations, unless expressly stated in the quotation.

4. Variations and extra work

Construction work changes. If you ask for something different, or if the work reveals conditions that were not reasonably foreseeable, the change is a variation.

We will tell you as soon as we can what the variation involves and what it will cost or save. We will not carry out significant additional chargeable work without your agreement, and we will confirm variations in writing, by email or message, so both sides have a record. Instructions given verbally on site should be confirmed in writing by whoever gives them.

Variations may also affect the programme. Where they do, we will tell you what the effect is likely to be.

5. Payment

Payment terms are set out in the quotation and on each invoice, and they vary with the size and length of the job.

Longer projects normally run on stage payments linked to defined points in the work, with the stages and amounts stated in the quotation before you accept it. Where materials have to be purchased or manufactured to order, a payment on account may be required before they are ordered.

Invoices are payable by the due date shown on the invoice. We may charge interest and reasonable recovery costs on late commercial payments in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and we may suspend work on reasonable notice where an undisputed invoice remains unpaid.

If you dispute part of an invoice, tell us promptly and pay the undisputed balance while the query is resolved.

6. Access, site conditions and welfare

You agree to give us safe and clear access to the working area at the agreed times, and to tell us about anything relevant that we could not reasonably be expected to know: buried or concealed services, asbestos, structural weakness, protected species, restrictive covenants, party wall matters or access restrictions.

Where practical, the area should be clear of furniture and belongings before we start. We will take reasonable care of the surrounding property and leave the working area tidy at the end of each day, but carpentry produces dust and cutting waste and some disturbance is unavoidable.

Where we work as a subcontractor, the principal contractor is responsible for site welfare, site security, scaffolding and site-wide health and safety arrangements unless our quotation says otherwise.

You are responsible for obtaining planning permission, building regulations approval, listed building consent and any other permission the work requires, and for engaging a structural engineer where the design requires one, unless we have expressly agreed in writing to do so.

7. Materials and goods

Materials will be as described in the quotation. Where a specified item becomes unavailable or is subject to an unreasonable lead time, we may supply a material of equivalent or better quality after telling you.

Timber is a natural material. Movement, shrinkage, splitting, knots and colour variation are characteristics of timber rather than defects, and the appearance of external timber and cladding will change with exposure. Where we supply timber that is not pre-treated or finished, its long-term performance depends on it being decorated or treated and maintained appropriately.

Materials supplied by us remain our property until they have been paid for in full. Risk in materials passes to you once they are delivered to site or installed, whichever is earlier, so materials on site should be covered by your insurance or the site insurance.

Where you supply materials, we are not responsible for their quality, suitability, availability or the consequences of defects in them, and any resulting delay or abortive work may be chargeable.

8. Workmanship and warranty

We will carry out the work with reasonable care and skill, using materials of satisfactory quality, and in accordance with the specification and the relevant standards for the work.

Any warranty period offered on our workmanship, together with what it covers and how to make a claim, will be stated in your written quotation or in a separate warranty document issued on completion. Manufacturer guarantees on supplied products, such as doors, windows, kitchens and ironmongery, are provided by the manufacturer on their own terms and will be passed to you where they exist.

Any warranty excludes fair wear and tear, damage caused by misuse, accident, alteration or work by others, failure to maintain or decorate timber as advised, movement of the building or structure, and defects in materials or designs supplied or specified by you.

If you think something is not right, tell us as soon as you notice it and give us a reasonable opportunity to inspect it and, where appropriate, to put it right. Claims are easier and cheaper to resolve for everybody when they are raised early.

9. Programme and delays

Start dates and durations given in a quotation or on the phone are estimates given in good faith, based on the position at the time. Construction programmes move for reasons outside any one trade's control.

We are not liable for delay caused by matters beyond our reasonable control, including severe weather, the acts or omissions of you or of other trades and contractors, late instructions or decisions, late or defective materials from suppliers, unforeseen ground or structural conditions, or the withdrawal or alteration of access, scaffolding or plant.

Where a delay is caused by such an event we will tell you and agree a revised programme. Standing time and abortive visits caused by the site not being ready may be chargeable at our current rates.

10. Liability

We accept liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, and for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Subject to that, and except where you are dealing with us as a consumer, our total liability arising out of or in connection with a contract is limited to the price payable under that contract, and we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business, loss of contracts, loss of anticipated savings or any indirect or consequential loss.

We are not responsible for defects in the work of others, for the design or specification supplied to us by you or your professional advisers, or for the condition of the existing structure other than where our own work has caused the problem.

We maintain insurance appropriate to the work we carry out, and current certificates are available on request, as set out on the accreditations page.

11. Cancellation

Consumers. If you are a consumer and the contract was made away from our business premises, for example at your home or online, you generally have the right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to cancel within 14 days of entering into the contract, without giving a reason. To cancel, tell us in writing by email or letter within that period.

If you ask us in writing to begin work within the 14-day period, you may still cancel, but you must pay for the work carried out and materials supplied up to the point of cancellation. Where goods have been made or ordered to your specification, the cancellation right may not apply to those items.

All clients. Outside any statutory cancellation right, if you cancel or postpone after the contract is formed you remain liable for the cost of work already carried out, materials ordered or supplied that cannot be returned for credit, and any unavoidable costs we have committed to for your job.

We may end the contract on reasonable written notice if payment terms are not met, if the site is unsafe, if access is not made available, or if it becomes impossible or unlawful to continue. In that event you pay for the work done to that point.

12. Photographs and publicity

We photograph our own work for our records and, where appropriate, for our website and social media. If you would prefer your project not to appear publicly, or would prefer it not to be identified by address, just tell us and it will not be. We do not publish clients' names, addresses or contact details.

13. Complaints

If something has gone wrong, contact us directly first. Email ajbgroupcontracting@gmail.com or call 07716 954091 with your name, the site and what the problem is. We will acknowledge it, look into it and tell you what we propose to do about it.

Most issues are resolved by somebody coming back out and looking at the work.

14. General

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remainder continues to apply. A failure to enforce a term is not a waiver of it. Neither party may transfer its rights or obligations under the contract without the other's written consent, except that we may subcontract parts of the work while remaining responsible for it.

A person who is not a party to the contract has no right to enforce it under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

These terms may be updated from time to time. The version that applies to your job is the version in force on the date your quotation was issued.

15. Governing law and jurisdiction

These terms and any contract formed under them are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, save that a consumer resident elsewhere in the United Kingdom may bring proceedings in the courts of their own jurisdiction.