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PRO

Terms and conditions - when to send?

Forgive the possible naivety of this question but I'm still new to the self-employment game!I have drawn up a standard set of T & Cs (page of a4) for my maintenance business however slightly unsure of when to send them?- do they go with the quote? And if so on every quote?- are they sent on acceptance of said quote? (To cut down on lots of wasted paper)- or is it worth putting them somewhere on the website and directing people there to cut down on admin?- other?Any thoughts would be appreciated!Simon

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  • PRO

    Hi Simon

    You must either publish your terms in advance (on your website) of to accompany your quotes or estimate. Send a copy every time you send new pricing paperwork.

  • I normally do regular visits from march to the end of October so I have sent terms and conditions through the post which include that they stick to their regular visits during these months or give me a weeks notice if cancelling. As I start regular in march ive sent them all a letter as a lot of my customers are elderly and don't use email or internet and stated that if they agree to them just sign and give me them back during their first visit.

  • Hi Simon

    I think you have to make a judgement when it comes to T&C's depending on the client and the nature of the job/project.

    If it's someone new and a one-off project (at this stage) - send T&C's by email along with the quotation. If it's regular garden maintenance - verbally express the important bits when you meet in the garden and (if gut instinct says so) follow them up with an amended version of your T&C's along with confirmation of your monthly contract fee.

    Of course, one-off projects can lead to further work so supplying your T&C's outright can cut down on anyone saying you had a ''nasty surprise'' later on. I have the T-shirt........

    It does depend on your scope of work: if maintenance only or a mix of both hard and soft landscaping attributes, it is down to 'Horses for Courses' as to whether T&C's are issued. For landscape only there is a necessary deposit and depending on the cost to the business there is a pre-payment expected for larger projects where soft landscaping is involved.

    Cheers, Eugene

  • every quote every time in advance and get them signed before you do work....every time. and don't forget the part about cooling off period and right to cancel to comply with latest regulations

  • I think you can use your judgement...take care not to scare the nervous horses. I believe a payment is as good as a signature, as it confirms the contract, so long as you can prove the Ts and Cs were given to the customer. Insisting on a signature from some customers might scare them off.

    Thermo said:

    every quote every time in advance and get them signed before you do work....every time. and don't forget the part about cooling off period and right to cancel to comply with latest regulations

  • PRO Supplier

    We have our terms and conditions printed on the back of the initial document the customer signs - that way people have them in front of them and can look over them as they wish, as well as having to sign against the T's & C's. It also saves paper with it printed on the back!

    If they are only online, the customer could argue that they do not have internet access or something similar.

    - The Acacia Team

    01273 494939 | www.acaciarental.com | hire@acaciarental.com

  • PRO
    Gentlemen thank you very much for all your replies. It seems you all operate on similar lines with some small variations in between, and has certainly pointed me in the right direction on what I need to do to make it work for me.

    Many thanks
  • PRO

    I believe that is called Offer and acceptance

    Adrian Noble said:

    You must place your terms and conditions in a place which is available for any potential customer to be able to access them BEFORE entering into an agreement / contract with you. So placing them on your website is a legitimate place, as long as they are easy to find. However, you must stipulate on any quote / estimate / contract exactly where these T&C's can be found, and this should be in an obvious place and not hidden away. For example, a small statement directly above the customer signature line would be an ideal place.

    A contract does not have to have a signature. For example, you may enter into a contract with an internet company such as Amazon, but you don't sign anything, but Amazon must have their T&C's available for you to see.

    So, you could operate your business the same way without getting signatures, as long as you ensure that you notify the potential customer where your T&C's are. More and more companies are working on this basis these days, where no signature is required to form a contract.

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