TERMS &
CONDITIONS.

01

ABOUT THESE TERMS

1.1 Who we are

We are ATC BUILDING SERVICES LTD (referred to as “ATC”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 15511081. Our registered office is 20 Bluebell Street, Plymouth, England, PL6 8DY. Our VAT registration number is 446 7268 63.

You can contact us at info@atcbuilding.co.uk or 07771 729 892. Unless we tell you otherwise in writing, these are also our complaints contact details.

1.2 Who these terms apply to

These terms apply when we provide building, renovation, repair, maintenance or associated services and materials. A consumer is an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession. A business customer is anyone else. Clauses identified as consumer-only do not apply to business customers.

1.3 Order of priority

If project documents conflict, the document agreed later normally takes priority. A signed variation takes priority for the work it changes, followed by the accepted quotation and specification, then drawings, then these terms. We will resolve any ambiguity fairly and will not use this clause to make a unilateral change.

1.4 Website use

Website descriptions, photographs, CGI, project examples, timeframes and guide prices are general information, not a contractual offer or a promise that identical results are achievable at every property. A website enquiry does not create a contract. We own or license the website content; it may not be commercially reproduced without permission. External links are provided for convenience and we are not responsible for third-party websites.

02

QUOTES, ESTIMATES AND CONTRACTS

2.1 Survey and information

We prepare our price using the access and information reasonably available at the time. You must tell us about known defects, asbestos or hazardous materials, concealed services, access restrictions, title restrictions and anything else that may affect the work. A visual visit is not a structural, drainage, electrical, asbestos or other specialist survey unless expressly included.

2.2 Quotations and estimates

We will clearly identify a pricing document as either a quotation or an estimate. A quotation is a fixed price for its stated scope and assumptions, subject to agreed variations, provisional sums, customer-caused costs, hidden conditions and other adjustments expressly allowed by the contract. An estimate is a good-faith indication based on information then available; the final price is calculated from the work, materials and agreed rates actually required.

Unless the document states otherwise, our price is open for acceptance for 30 days. After that we may withdraw it or issue an updated price. Consumer prices include VAT at the applicable rate unless clearly stated otherwise. Business prices may be shown exclusive of VAT where clearly identified, with VAT added as required by law.

2.3 What is included

Only work, materials, finishes, quantities and services identified in the project documents are included. Decoration, professional fees, statutory charges, specialist investigations, utility-company work, making good outside the stated area and work required because of hidden conditions are excluded unless expressly included.

2.4 When the contract is formed

A contract is formed when we confirm in writing that we accept your signed or written acceptance of our quotation, or when we begin work at your express request, whichever happens first. We may require the agreed deposit and any statutory cancellation or early-start paperwork before reserving a start date. We will provide the agreed contract information in a form you can keep.

2.5 Permissions and finance

You are responsible for ensuring you have authority to instruct work at the property and sufficient funds to meet payments. Responsibility for planning permission, building regulations approval, Party Wall etc. Act matters, freeholder consent, structural design and other permissions will be as stated in the quotation. Where we agree to assist, you remain responsible for third-party decisions and fees unless expressly included.

03

PRICE, DEPOSITS AND PAYMENT

3.1 Project-specific schedule

The quotation sets out any deposit, stage payments, payment method and due dates. Deposits are held against project mobilisation, reserved labour, administration and materials and are not automatically non-refundable. Your statutory cancellation rights and our duty to account fairly for work, materials and unavoidable losses always apply.

3.2 Invoices and disputes

You must pay undisputed invoices in accordance with the agreed schedule. If you reasonably dispute an item, tell us promptly in writing with details and pay the undisputed balance. We will review the item and provide an explanation or correction. You may not withhold a disproportionate amount for a minor or unrelated issue.

3.3 Late payment and suspension

If payment remains overdue, we may give written notice requiring payment within a reasonable period. If it is still unpaid, we may pause the work until payment is made. We will act reasonably, make the site safe and explain likely programme and cost consequences. We may recover reasonable losses directly caused by the breach where the law permits. For business customers, statutory interest and recovery costs may apply under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

3.4 Materials and ownership

Risk in materials we supply passes as required by law. We retain ownership of unfixed materials for which we have not been paid, so far as the law allows. We will not enter your property or remove incorporated materials without lawful authority. Incorporation does not remove your obligation to pay sums properly due.

04

THE WORK AND YOUR PROPERTY

4.1 Our responsibilities

We will carry out the services with reasonable care and skill, use materials of satisfactory quality and fit for any purpose made known and accepted by us, comply with applicable law and take reasonable care of your property. We maintain insurance appropriate to our operations. Evidence can be provided on reasonable request.

4.2 Your responsibilities

You must provide safe and timely access, agreed parking and working space, and reasonable access to water, electricity and welfare facilities where required. Please remove or protect valuables and fragile belongings, keep children and pets away from work areas, follow safety instructions and avoid interfering with the works. Tell us promptly about concerns or changes affecting the project.

If you do not meet these responsibilities, we may pause work after reasonable notice and adjust the programme and price for demonstrable additional cost. We will take reasonable steps to reduce avoidable loss.

4.3 Site conditions and hazardous materials

Building work can reveal conditions not reasonably visible beforehand, including defective structures, rot, damp, unsuitable ground, undocumented services, asbestos or contaminated material. We will stop affected work where appropriate, make the area reasonably safe, explain the issue and agree any investigation, variation, cost and delay before continuing, except for urgent safety measures.

4.4 Existing property and matching

We will take reasonable care but are not responsible for pre-existing defects or unavoidable effects of properly performed work, such as minor settlement, drying shrinkage or disturbance to fragile existing finishes. Exact matching of existing, aged or discontinued materials cannot be guaranteed; we will discuss reasonable alternatives.

4.5 Subcontractors, safety and site control

We may use suitably skilled employees and subcontractors and remain responsible for the work we have contracted to provide. Everyone visiting the site must comply with reasonable health and safety requirements. We may refuse access or stop work where conduct, an animal, a hazard or interference makes the site unsafe. Duties under construction health and safety law, including the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, apply according to each party's legal role.

4.6 Waste

We will remove and lawfully dispose of construction waste generated by our work only where the quotation includes this. Pre-existing, hazardous or customer-generated waste is excluded unless agreed. Reusable or salvageable items belong to you unless the project documents state otherwise; please identify anything you wish to retain before work starts.

05

CHANGES, DELAYS AND COMPLETION

5.1 Variations

Changes should be agreed in writing before the changed work begins. A variation record should describe the change and, where reasonably possible, its price and programme effect. If urgent action is reasonably required to protect people or property and we cannot contact you, we may carry out the minimum necessary work and charge a reasonable price.

5.2 Programme and delays

Start and completion dates are estimates unless expressly stated to be fixed. We will keep you reasonably informed. We are not responsible for delay outside our reasonable control, including severe weather, hidden conditions, utility or authority delay, supply disruption, industrial action, illness, emergency, changes requested by you or your failure to provide access, decisions, information or payment. We will take reasonable steps to reduce the effect and adjust the programme fairly.

If an event outside our control continues for a substantial period and materially prevents the work, either party may discuss ending the affected work. Consumer rights relating to unreasonable delay remain unaffected.

5.3 Completion and handover

Practical completion occurs when the work is substantially complete and can reasonably be used for its intended purpose, despite minor defects or outstanding items that do not prevent that use. We will invite you to inspect, record an agreed snagging list and complete valid items within a reasonable time, taking account of access, materials and the nature of the item. Minor snagging does not justify withholding more than a reasonable amount.

5.4 Guarantees and product warranties

Any additional workmanship guarantee applies only if its duration, scope and conditions are stated in the project documents. Where available and transferable, we will pass on relevant manufacturer warranties after payment. These are provided by the manufacturer under its own terms. A guarantee or warranty is additional to, and does not replace, a consumer's statutory rights.

06

CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION

6.1 Statutory cooling-off rights

If you are a consumer and the contract is a distance contract or is made at your home or another off-premises location, you will normally have 14 days from the day after the service contract is made to cancel without giving a reason. Exceptions can apply, including certain urgent repair requests, contracts of £42 or less and construction of a new building (but not generally an extension). We will tell you if an exception applies. If the contract includes goods, the legal cancellation period may be calculated differently and your cancellation notice will explain this.

To cancel, send a clear statement to our postal or email address before the period ends. You may use the model form below but do not have to. We will refund sums due within the period required by law, normally using the original payment method. We will not apply a cancellation fee to the exercise of a statutory right.

6.2 Starting during the cooling-off period

We will only start services during a statutory cancellation period if you expressly request this on paper or another durable medium. If you then cancel, you must pay a proportionate amount for services supplied up to cancellation and for other amounts the law permits, provided we gave you the required information. If the service is fully performed during the period after your express request and acknowledgement, you may lose the right to cancel that service.

6.3 Cancellation outside statutory rights

If you cancel after any statutory period, we will provide a fair account. You must pay for work properly completed, non-returnable or committed materials ordered for your project, and reasonable unavoidable losses directly caused by cancellation, less costs we save or recover. We will take reasonable steps to reduce the loss. This is not a fixed penalty and you will not be charged more than our actual reasonable loss.

6.4 Ending the contract for breach

Either party may end the contract by written notice if the other commits a serious breach and, where it can be corrected, fails to correct it within a reasonable period stated in a prior written notice. We may end or suspend immediately where continuing would be unlawful or expose people or property to serious danger. We may also end for persistent non-payment, denied access or abusive or threatening conduct after appropriate warning.

Ending the contract does not affect accrued rights. We will leave the site reasonably safe, and you must pay amounts fairly due for work, materials and reasonable consequences up to termination. If we end without your breach or a valid contractual reason, your rights and remedies are unaffected.

07

STANDARDS, DEFECTS AND LIABILITY

7.1 Consumer rights

If you are a consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires services to be performed with reasonable care and skill. Information you rely on may be binding; where price or timing has not been agreed, it must be reasonable. Goods must meet applicable statutory standards. Remedies may include repeat performance, repair, replacement, a price reduction, refund or compensation, depending on the circumstances. Nothing in these terms excludes or restricts those rights.

7.2 Reporting a problem

Please tell us promptly, with photographs where helpful, and allow reasonable access to inspect and, where appropriate, put our work right within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience. This does not require you to give us another opportunity where doing so would be unreasonable, unsafe or inconsistent with your legal rights.

7.3 What we are not responsible for

We are not responsible for loss or damage caused by inaccurate information or unsafe instructions supplied by you, work by others, misuse, lack of maintenance, fair wear and tear, pre-existing defects or events outside our reasonable control, except to the extent that our breach contributed to the loss. Any exclusion applies only so far as it is lawful, fair and reasonable.

7.4 Liability that is never excluded

Nothing excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence; fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; breach of statutory consumer rights; defective products where liability cannot be excluded; or any other liability that the law does not allow us to exclude or limit.

7.5 Business customers

For business customers only, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or loss of profit, revenue, business, contracts, anticipated savings or goodwill, unless expressly agreed. Subject to clause 7.4, our aggregate liability arising from a project will not exceed the total contract price, except where that limit would be unreasonable or unlawful. Consumers are not subject to this business-only limitation.

08

COMPLAINTS AND GENERAL TERMS

8.1 Complaints

Please contact us by email or phone as soon as possible. We will acknowledge and investigate the complaint, may request evidence or a site visit, and will use our best efforts to respond and resolve it promptly. If we disagree, we will explain why. We are not currently committed to a particular alternative dispute resolution provider; if a complaint remains unresolved, we will tell a consumer about any applicable ADR option we are required or willing to use.

8.2 Personal information and photographs

We process personal information to respond to enquiries, administer contracts, perform work, keep records and meet legal obligations, in accordance with UK data protection law and our Privacy Policy. We will not use identifiable photographs of your home or project for marketing without your permission. You may withdraw marketing permission for future use, although this may not affect material already lawfully published.

8.3 Notices

Important notices should be sent by hand, prepaid post or email to the latest contact details supplied by the other party. This does not prevent a consumer exercising a cancellation right by any clear statement permitted by law. Please keep copies of contract communications.

8.4 Transfer and third-party rights

You may not transfer the contract without our written agreement, which we will not unreasonably withhold. We may transfer it only where this does not reduce a consumer's protections. Except where the contract expressly says otherwise, no third party has a right to enforce it under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

8.5 Waiver, severance and entire agreement

A delay in enforcing a right does not waive it. If a term is unlawful or unenforceable, it will be removed or adjusted only as far as necessary and the rest remains effective. The project documents are the agreement between us, but nothing excludes liability for fraud or prevents a consumer relying on information that the law makes binding.

8.6 Governing law and courts

English law governs the contract. The courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere in the UK, you retain any mandatory protections and may bring proceedings in the courts available to you under applicable law.