Athena Stonecare Terms and Conditions
1.1 In these Terms of Business the following definitions apply:
“The Company”, “We”, “Us” “Athena Stonecare”- means Athena Stonecare Ltd of 25 High Street, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP11 2AG.
“Operative” – means the person or firm carrying out any restoration or cleaning services on behalf of the Company.
“Client” – means the person, firm or corporate body together with any subsidiary or associated company as defined by the Companies Act 1985 to whom the restoration or cleaning services are supplied by the Company.
“Client’s Address” – means the address where the Client has requested the cleaning service to be carried out.
“Service” – means the restoration or cleaning services carried out on behalf of the Company.
“Service Visit” – means the visit to the Client’s service address by the Operative in order to carry out the Service.
“Works” – means Services which the Client has instructed the Company to carry out as one single contract.
2.1 These Terms and Conditions represent a contract between Athena Stonecare Ltd and the Client.
2.2 Both parties shall ensure that their respective responsibilities under this agreement are undertaken in compliance with all statutory regulations and codes of conduct.
2.3 The Client agrees that any use of the Company’s services, including placing an order for services by telephone, WhatsApp, email, or website forms shall constitute the Client’s acceptance of these Terms and Conditions provided they have been made aware of the Terms and Conditions previously.
2.4 Unless otherwise agreed in writing by a director of the Company, these Terms and Conditions shall prevail over any other terms of business or purchase conditions put forward by the Client.
2.5 No variation or alteration of these Terms and Conditions shall be valid unless approved in writing by a director of the Company.
3.1 Period of acceptance
The quotation is open for acceptance within three months from the date thereof and is subject to Athena Stonecare, receiving reasonable notice to commence work within one month after receipt of such acceptance and having labour and materials available at the date of commencement requested by the customer.
3.2 The company reserves the right not to give a price estimate over the phone, until the area substrate type and size have been viewed.
3.3 Fluctuations
Unless otherwise stated in the quotation, the contract price is fixed for 3 months and based on the cost of materials, equipment hiring of equipment labour and other emoluments and expenses and transport ruling at the date of quotation. Increases or decreases in the cost of executing the work which is consequent upon any change in any of such costs or upon any change in or imposition of any new Government taxes, levies, statutes or contributions payable by Athena Stonecare. In the respect of employees engaged upon or in connection with the work shall be a net addition or deduction from the contract price, in addition, after 12 months the contract price will be increased annually at the RPI application anniversary date.
3.4 Variations
No variations of the quotation or contract shall be binding on Athena Stonecare unless confirmed in writing by it. All additional work will be the subject of a separate contract unless Athena Stonecare and the customer agree in writing before such additional work is started:
That such additional work shall be executed under this contract and the amount of rates for calculating the amount by which the contract price is to be increased, in respect of such additional work.
4.1 The Company shall provide all restoration and cleaning supplies and equipment required to carry out the service.
4.2 The Client is required to provide running water and electricity at the premises where the service takes place as well as a suitable drain or toilet for the waste water/slurry to be deposited.
5.1 Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the company the account is rendered for payment within 7 days on the completion of the work and issuing of the invoice.
5.2 The Company reserves the right to charge £50 administrative fee, plus any legal fees, in addition to the balance due, for any account we must refer for collection.
5.3 All bank charges incurred due to a Client’s cheque being returned unpaid will be passed to the Client at a flat rate of £30 per cheque.
5.4 Where such alternative arrangements have been made the Client must make payment within 30 days of the invoice date.
5.5 The rates of payment by the Company shall be as agreed between the Company and the Client, or their representative. The Client shall make no reduction or retention from the sum due under any invoice.
5.6 For all works a 50% deposit is required upon acceptance of the quote in order to secure a booking in the diary. The remaining 50% will be subject to the above conditions from 5.1.
6.1 The Client may cancel the booking by providing a written notice to be received by us not less than 7 working days prior to the Service start.
6.2 On the occasion that a cancellation or postponement is made less than 7 working days before the Works have been contracted to begin, the deposit paid by the Client will be kept by the company in order to cover losses incurred.
6.3 Any further loss incurred by Athena Stonecare, including losses in respect of wages and appropriate overhead, travelling expenses and plant hire attributable to delays in the work beyond the direct control of Athena Stonecare shall be chargeable and payable by the customer in addition to the contract price. It shall be a condition precedent to any liability for any delay alleged to be due to the default of Athena Stonecare within seven days of the delay commencing.
6.4 Where the Athena Stonecare crew arrive on site at a pre-arranged time and date and are denied access for whatever reason, then a charge equal to the remaining 50% of the original quote for Works shall be payable by the customer. This 50% charge must be paid by the Client before a further booking will be made.
6.5 In any instance whereby a customer would like Athena Stonecare to undertake the work contract immediately after the initial price estimate has been given shall waive their rights to a 14-day cancellation period.
7.1 We request that complaints or feedback be provided in writing (by letter or email) within 14 days of service completion, to ensure that the details are received in a clear and complete manner.
7.2 All services shall be deemed to have been carried out to the Client’s satisfaction unless a written notice detailing the complaint is received by the Company within reasonable time of service completion. The Company will fully investigate any complaint and attempt to resolve it to the satisfaction of the Client, or alternatively to a reasonable standard.
7.3 The Client agrees to allow the Company back to re-clean any disputed areas/items or repair damaged items, before making any attempts to clean those areas/items themselves, or arranging a third party to carry out cleaning or repair services with regards to the above. Failure to do so will void our Company Guarantee and we will consider the matter fully settled. If payment has not been received in full or has been stopped by the Client we will immediately refer the account for collection.
7.4 Athena Stonecare reserves the right to apply an additional charge for further visits to the Site as per section 3.4. This is applicable when the additional visit is deemed beyond the scope of the Services initially quoted for and is at the discretion of the Company.
7.5 Unless otherwise stated in the quotation, cleaning means removal of surface dirt and grease and not removal of any coating, paint, surface treatment, exfoliation, efflorescence, or deep-seated staining from the surfaces to be cleaned. No liability will be accepted by Athena Stonecare for any damage, defects, loose grout or deep-seated staining exposed by the cleaning process. After cleaning, the surface areas will be commensurate with age and condition.
7.6 No liability will be accepted by Athena Stonecare to the customer or any other person for the loss of or damage to any item or property, to injury or death of any person or any loss of any person caused by, arising out of or resulting from the escape, penetration or generations of water, grease or dust, after Athena Stonecare has taken reasonable precautions, to restrict the same and the customer shall indemnify Athena Stonecare against claims by third parties in respect of any such loss, damage, injury or death.
7.7 Athena Stonecare cannot take responsibility for any damage, marks, scuffs or wear and tear that occurs following Works carried out that is caused by the Client. Before and after photographs of Services carried out will be taken and are available upon request whereby this is disputed.
8.1 The Client agrees that due to the nature of the Service the Company guarantees only to correct any problems reported within reasonable time of the completion of the service. Failure to do so will entitle the Client to nothing.
8.2 The Company may require entry to the location of the claim as soon as possible in order to rectify the problem.
8.3 The Client agrees to inspect the work immediately upon its completion and to draw the operatives’ attention to any outstanding issues while they are still on site. The operatives will carry out any such additional work to the Client’s complete satisfaction.
8.4 If the Client instructs a third party to inspect the result of the cleaning then the Company must be notified before completion of the service.
8.5 In case of a third party inspecting or refusing to inspect the result from the restoration or cleaning then the Company cannot be held responsible for rectifying any outstanding cleaning issues not mentioned by the third party.
8.6 Any refunds or adjustments must be requested to the Company directly and subject to approval by the Company.
8.7 While the Company operatives make every effort not to damage items, accidents do happen. Identical replacement is always attempted but not guaranteed. For this specific reason, the Company requests all irreplaceable items (whether monetarily or sentimentally valuable) be stored away and /or not cleaned by the cleaning operatives.
8.8 In case of confirmed damage caused by Company operatives, the Company will attempt to repair the item at its cost. If the item cannot be repaired the Company will rectify the problem by crediting the customer with the item’s present actual cash value toward a like replacement from a Company’s source upon payment of cleaning services rendered.
8.9 The Company shall not be responsible for damage due to faulty and/or improper installation of any item. All surfaces (i.e., marble, granite, etc.) are assumed sealed and ready to clean without causing harm.
8.11 No claims shall be entertained if the Client has an outstanding balance aged more than 30 days.
8.12 Any attempt to commit insurance fraud or any use of false information to commit any type of fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law together by the Company and the Insurance Provider(s). Monetary
9.1 The Company shall not be liable under any circumstances for any loss, expense, damage, delay, costs or compensation (whether direct, indirect or consequential) which may be suffered or incurred by the Client arising from or in any way connected with:
9.2 Its failure to carry out its services as a result of factors that are beyond its control. Factors beyond its control include but are not limited to; floods, severe weather conditions, and inability to gain access to premises, lack of appropriate resources, such as water, electricity, and lighting;
9.3 Late arrival of Company operatives at the service address. The Company endeavours to be right on time on any visit but sometimes due to transport related and other problems which are beyond the Company’s control, the Company operatives may arrive with a delay or the restoration or cleaning visit may need to be re-scheduled.
9.4 Any existing damage to Clients property in the form of old stains/burns/spillages etc. which cannot be cleaned/removed completely by the operative using the industry standard restoration/cleaning methods;
9.5 Non satisfactory result from the service due to the Client or third party walking on the floors during or shortly after the cleaning process;
9.6 The Company shall not be liable for abnormal behaviour of surfaces after deep cleaning or restoration. Some natural stones may be at risk when restoring and wet cleaning. Clients will be made aware of this verbally, and subsequently shall take sole responsibility.
9.7 The Company shall not be liable for previous damage, cracking or poor fitting of floors or wall surfaces.
9.8 The Company shall not be responsible for a poor result in cleaning where this is a result of considerable wear and tear and/or staining to the surface prior to the service being carried out.
9.9 The Company shall not be liable for any odours arising during and/or after cleaning when this is due to factors such as lack of ventilation, and/or appropriate heating.
9.10 The Company shall not be responsible for any damage caused as a result of the Client placing furniture on a floor which has not completely dried.
10.1 The Athena Stonecare ‘Maintenance Programme’ is a contract between the Company and the Client for repeated treatments. The hard copy itself contains the information for how long the contract is binding, along with regularity and cost of the agreed treatments. Maintenance Programme treatments are included in the same terms and conditions as one off treatments. If external factors (eg. damage to tiles, staining etc) become apparent during the course of the contract, extra costs may be involved. These extra costs will be discussed and given to the client on paper at the soonest possible occasion.
10.2 Clients under the Maintenance Programme are contracted to pay the Company for the entirety of the contract, even if they decide not to carry on with the service after a period of time.
11.1 Estimates of how long it will take the operatives to complete the Works are based on the average time it takes to clean an area of similar size and location to the Client’s. It is difficult to estimate precisely how long such tasks may take and the Client understands that a degree of flexibility may be required.
11.2 The Client understands that the price estimated is not for a “package deal” and does not include anything additional to the specified restoration or cleaning.
11.3 The quotation excludes the clearing of debris created by tradesman or building work unless otherwise stated.
11.4 Our cleaners are happy to move furniture. Due to Health and Safety regulations the operative will attempt to move only furniture that requires no more than one person. The company must be made aware of any furniture that needs to be moved prior to commencement of Works so that any time taken moving furniture can be added into the price of the work as required.
11.5 All fragile and highly breakable items must be secured or removed.
11.6 The Client shall ensure that all valuables are stored away when work is carried out and that the property is supervised by the Client or their representative at all times during the course of the work. The Company shall not be responsible for the Client’s failure to comply with this obligation.
11.7 The provisions of this contract are not intended to confer any benefit upon Third parties and the provisions of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, are hereby expressly excluded from this agreement.
11.8 The Company reserves the right to make any changes to any part of these Terms and Conditions without giving any prior notice. The Company may add to or alter these Terms and Conditions from time to time and any alterations or additions will apply to new business but not to existing contracts.
12.1 The Company has built its business and reputation by providing its clients with the best possible restoration and cleaning service available. Still, the Company realises, that because its operatives are human beings, they sometimes make mistakes. For this reason, the Company offers you a guarantee. If the Client is not satisfied with the result of certain areas after the treatment, the Company’s operatives will come back to the Client’s property and re-treat those areas.
12.2 Our guarantee is subject to a complaints notice within a reasonable time from the completion of the work done.
12.3 The Company does not offer a guarantee for the length of time that a Client can expect the sealants and waxes applied to last. This is due to the lack of control of the how the stone will be treated by the Client after the Works are completed.
13.1 For insurance purposes, the Operative will take photographs whilst on site to record the works that have been carried out.
13.2 These photographs will be kept on file on a company laptop, which is adequately protected and is backed up to One Drive where data is protected by Microsoft – see (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/privacy/gdpr/gdpr-faqs; https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/compliance/iso-iec-27018; https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/privacy/data-management).
13.4 These photographs will be kept indefinitely, unless the Client makes a request for any photographs relating to works carried out at their property to be deleted
13.5 From time to time the Company will use photographs (and videos) taken on site for use in social media, on the website and in printed marketing. By agreeing to the Terms and Conditions, the Client consents to use of photographs of the Works to be used in this way. The Company will ensure that no personal identifying items are visible in photographs that are taken and that photographs will always be anonymised when used.
13.6 If the Client does not consent to photographs and videos taken on site to be used in either online or print marketing, then this must be confirmed in writing in advance of the Works being carried out.
14.1 The Company shall insure all work it undertakes. The Company’s public liability insurance covers damages caused by a cleaning operative working on behalf of the Company and includes Treatment Risk and Fidelity Risk covers as standard. All claims are subject to an excess of £500.
15.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England, and Wales.