Cooling off law question

Hi all, ive made a few posts recently as im considering starting up again part time this summer; last year I tried but it didnt really get going with any momentum. Anyhow im in the process of writing up some t&c's and have come across the cooling off period laws. Would this period apply to me (a sole trader) who was contacted by a client; for example if someone phoned me up and asked that they needed a lawn laying. A few questions to get me started.

How long is the cooling off period for, 7 or 14 days ?
If i gave a quote and they agreed and signed, would they then be able to cancel this ( is it a contract if they signed) within 7/14 days ??
If a client agrees on the quote but say they need the work starting in two days time (So i complete the work in 4 days). In such a scenario could the client then turn around and say they no longer want the lawn and be under no legal obligation to pay ?
If the previous question above is correct, can i prevent such an outcome by stipulating such in t &c's.

Im sure im missing something here, how does the sole trader cater for clients who need a quick garden fix, without the possibility of ,as is mentioned above, happening.

Thanks

To update, after reading up on documents provided by business companion, trading standards Law explained : Consumer Contracts - Off premises Sales- Right to cancel......... It looks like

Consumers have no cooling period for services offered at £42 or below.
If the job is completed fully within the 14 days period the consumer loses his right to cancel providing he requested and acknowledged that he would lose his right to cancel once the contract had been performed fully.
Where a service has been started within the cancellation period at the express request of the consumer, but has not been completed, the consumer still has the right to cancel. However, the consumer will have to pay for the service used during the time up to when he informed you of his decision to cancel.

I cannot find anything mentioned about the possibility of a wavering the cancellation period, which makes me wonder if such was made an option on the agreement and accepted it would make any difference to the law anyway; which really would be handy to know.

Replies

Thermo March 4, 2015 at 7:32pm

its now 14 days and yes if they signed it they are allowed to cancel within that time frame, even though its a contract. that's the whole point of it! They can sign a waiver to have work started before the end of the cooling of period.
- Roger > Thermo March 4, 2015 at 8:28pm
  
  OK thanks, this is all a new information to me, really is a bit of a minefield. Is it legally binding do you expect to have a tick box on the quote that can enforce this waiver or would it need to be a separate form altogether to fill in.
  - Landscape Juice > Roger March 4, 2015 at 8:38pm
    
    This page on Which? might help as it says near the bottom "If the service is provided in full within 14 days The right to cancel can be lost during the cancellation period if the service is provided in full before the 14 days elapses. "
    
    http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contract...
PRO

Gary RK March 4, 2015 at 8:30pm

Maybe of interest : http://landscapejuicenetwork.com/forum/topics/changes-in-consumer-c...
- Roger > Gary RK March 4, 2015 at 8:41pm
  
  Thanks for the link,if i can make sense of it i will post back my findings and hope someone agrees with me.
Roger March 4, 2015 at 10:25pm
To update, after reading up on documents provided by business companion, trading standards Law explained : Consumer Contracts - Off premises Sales- Right to cancel......... It looks like
- Consumers have no cooling period for services offered at £42 or below.
- If the job is completed fully within the 14 days period the consumer loses his right to cancel providing he requested and acknowledged that he would lose his right to cancel once the contract had been performed fully.
- Where a service has been started within the cancellation period at the express request of the consumer, but has not been completed, the consumer still has the right to cancel. However, the consumer will have to pay for the service used during the time up to when he informed you of his decision to cancel.
I cannot find anything mentioned about the possibility of a wavering the cancellation period, which makes me wonder if such was made an option on the agreement and accepted it would make any difference to the law anyway; which really would be handy to know.
- PRO
  
  Richard Gadsby > Roger March 5, 2015 at 12:19am
  
  I would follow the above as its linked from a .gov website.
  Think about the value of the contracts and what it's costing you in the beginning. For example if it's a £5000 patio and you need to spend £2500 then you need a watertight contract, on the other side of the scale if it's a £300 garden clearance with no outlay and they changed their mind after the 14 days would you really try and enforce the contract? I know I would not as it would be the worst job you would have to do and you would get bad publicity (probably wrongly) for enforcing the contract. Not worth it in my opinion
  - Roger > Richard Gadsby March 5, 2015 at 1:39am
    
    I would certainly consider enforcing a contract, although depending on how much it would cost to enforce it goes some way into the reasoning of enforcing it or not so i see your point. However a written contract even for the smaller jobs is not always a bad idea and the cancellation period should be addressed; I dont expect this would put customers off atall. My dilemma now is how to relate to the cancellation period in the agreement (quote) which the customer signs, without it looking like the Geneva convention.
    
    My first thoughts are just put a clause about it in the t&c's, but im not sure if this is permissible due to the gov.uk website stating that "he has to gain the consumers explicit consent (about commencing work within the 14 day period) on a durable medium". Does that mean the requirement for a separate signature for it or can it be tied in with the main one. Alternatively I was thinking of having a tick box which they can choose to tick, but then im not sure if a tick box is considered an explicit consent; the gov.uk website dont mention anything about that angle of things atall. I think i need professional help in more ways than one
Colin Hunt March 5, 2015 at 6:33am

I suppose this is the brave new world we live in, but I have never felt the need to have T's & C's for private customers. In almost 40 years of trading, we have never been let down, preferring friendly dialog. I have always had the feeling that if I impose strict 'rules' on a customer, they may not give me flexibility, which is imperative in our business that relies so much on weather.
- PRO
  
  Richard Gadsby > Colin Hunt March 5, 2015 at 4:23pm
  
  I have never had them for domestic jobs either as you say flexibility is needed so you can work around the weather, equipment failure and all sorts of other problems life throws at you.
  I still think that forcing contracts through is a bad idea as you are never going to get a happy customer if they no longer want it for whatever reason, maybe a cancellation fee for after the cooling off period would be a good way of at least compensating for time and effort already used?
  Bad word of mouth is the worst thing you need and forcing contracts would probayget you that even if the job was completed beautifully imo