The Terms and Conditions set out the terms of the contract between the Removal/Storage Contractor (Fletcher Removals and Storage) and explain your rights and obligations and responsibilities and those of the Contractor.
1. Interpretation
1.1 Any reference in these conditions to “we” or “us” is a reference to the Contractor.
1.2 “Goods” means the goods being removed and/or stored.
2. Quotations
2.1 Quotations are fully inclusive with no additional VAT applicable. However, they do not include any other customs duties levies or fees payable to government or other statutory bodies and all such duties or fees (if any) will be payable by you in addition to the quoted price.
2.2 Although we quote a fixed price we reserve the right to amend it or make additional charges if any of the following have not been taken into account when preparing the quotation:
2.2.1 If due to any circumstances outside our control the work is not carried out.
2.2.2 If our costs increase as a result of currency fluctuations, changes in taxation or transportation charges beyond our control.
2.2.3 If we have to collect or deliver goods above the first upper floor or below the ground floor. Or where a property has a lift, but is not accessible to use due to any reason.
2.2.4 If we are expected to provide additional services not quoted for.
2.2.5 If there are delays outside our reasonable control in which event we will make an additional charge for waiting time calculated in accordance with our standard rates applicable at the time.
2.2.6 If access to the collection or delivery point is inadequate or the approach is unsuitable for our vehicles. If the distance from the vehicle to the access point (i.e front interior door) is in excess of 10 meters from the rear of the vehicle. Internally if the property is non standard preventing delivery of goods.
2.2.7 If any parking or other fees or charges that we have to incur and pay in order to carry out the services you require. In all these circumstances you will be responsible for the extra charges.
2.2.8 Failure to declare an accurate list of inventory when requesting a quotation via our customer self survey form.
2.3 A quotation is not a guarantee that we have agreed to move your goods and does not constitute a contract.
We must have your acceptance of our quotation and the terms and conditions in writing. Bookings can not be confirmed until we receive this.
All bookings are subject to availability and must be confirmed by the Contractor. The Contractor has the right to refuse any booking prior to written email confirmation.
3. Works excluded, unless stated in our written quotation
3.1 Dismantle or assemble furniture, fittings or fitments (and in any event these works will not be covered by any insurance provided). Furniture liable to collapse or fail to reassemble due to the structure or worn fixings.
3.2 Disconnect or reconnect appliances, fittings or equipment and fit transit bars.
3.3 Remove or lay fitted floor coverings.
3.4 Take down or re-hang curtains, blinds or other window coverings.
3.5 Move night storage heaters unless they are dismantled.
3.6 Move or store any items under Clause 4.
3.7 Move any item or items which our removal crew reasonably believe they cannot move safely, or the removal of which may damage the item or items in question or its or their surroundings. In this event, the contract will be considered fulfilled, any additional service(s), including storage and delivery will be at your expense.
3.8 Packing boxes and materials unless quoted for and paid.
3.9 Removals of goods from loft or attic space.
4. Excluded Property
The following items are specifically excluded from this contract and will not be removed:
4.1 Jewellery, watches, trinkets, precious stones, money, deeds, securities, stamps, coins, or goods or collections of a similar kind.
4.2 Paint, gas cannisters, petrol lawnmowers or any other potentially dangerous, damaging or explosive items.
4.3 Goods likely to encourage vermin, other pests or to cause infection. This specifically includes but is not limited to rodent infestations or droppings.
4.4 Refrigerated or frozen food or drink.
4.5 Any animals and their cages or tanks including pets, birds or fish.
4.6 Overfilled and unsealed boxes that are unable to be stacked on top of eachother safely to prevent damage to the contents.
4.7 Furs, perfumery, wines, spirits, tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, foodstuffs, perishable goods or any kind of explosives and flammable or hazardous liquids.
Such goods will not be removed by us. If you submit such goods without our knowledge and prior to written agreement we will not be liable for any loss or damage injury or death unless they can be proved to be caused by our negligence our employees or agents and you will indemnify us against any charges, expenses, damages or penalties claimed against us by third parties.
5. Customer’s responsibility
It is your sole responsibility to:
5.1 Declare to us the proper value of the goods, prior to the contract moving date if they individually exceed £50 for cover under our Regular Liability.
5.2 Obtain at your expense all documents necessary for the removal to be completed.
5.3 Be present yourself or appoint a representative at the departure and destination points to ensure that nothing is removed or left in error or is left in the wrong room.
5.4 Prepare adequately and stabilize all appliances prior to their removal. For example Stabilizers on Washing machines. Other than by reason of our negligence we will not be liable for any loss or damage, costs or additional charges that may arise from any of these matters.
6. Ownership of the goods
By entering into this contract you confirm to us that:
6.1 The Goods are your own property: or
6.2 You have the authority of the owner of the property to make this contract in respect of the goods.
6.3 You will be responsible to pay for any claim for damages and/or costs against either of the above if this proves to be untrue.
7. Postponements/Cancellations
7.1 If you postpone or cancel this contract we charge according to how much notice you provide prior to the agreed removal date. Although we do not need to take a deposit prior to your booking, we do have a cancellation policy in place which is designed to cover our costs incase of cancellation.
This is based on a sliding scale,
9 days or more prior = 20%
5-8 days = 35%
Less than 5 days notice = 50%
Less than 48 hours from confirmed arrival time = 80%
Cancellation or failure to complete on moving day = 100%.
8. Damage to premises
Where large or heavy items are expected to be placed in rooms they cannot fit, or likely to cause damage against our advice, we are not liable.
9. Limited Liability for loss or damage
9.1 In the event that we lose or damage your goods, if we are liable, we will pay you up to a maximum of £50 for each goods or item which is lost or damaged, towards the cost of repairing or replacing that item. In this respect an item is defined as any one article, suite, pair, set, complete case, package, carton, box or other container.
9.2 We may choose to repair or replace the damaged. However if we choose to repair the item we will not be liable for any depreciation in value and any replacements will not be on a 'new for old' basis.
9.3 We will not be liable for any loss, damage or failure to deliver goods if caused by any of the following circumstances:-
9.3.1 Fire howsoever caused.
9.3.2 War, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), civil war, terrorism, rebellion and/or military coup, Act of God, weather, incorrect inventory however construed, industrial action or other such events outside our reasonable control.
9.3.3 Normal wear and tear, natural or gradual deterioration, leakage or evaporation or from perishable or unstable goods. This includes goods left within furniture or appliances.
9.3.4 Cleaning, repairing or restoring unless we did the work.
9.3.5 Mould, moth, vermin or similar infestation.
9.3.6 Electrical or mechanical derangement to any appliance, instrument or equipment unless there is evidence of external impact.
9.3.7 Any goods in wardrobes, drawers, appliances, or in a package, bundle, case, box or other container not packed by us.
9.3.8 We accept no liability for any garden furniture, pots, plants etc due to the nature of weathering that can make such items unstable and brittle.
9.3.9 No liability accepted for television's where the original box and packaging is not provided.
10. Regular Liability
10.1 If you provide us with a written declaration of the proper value of your goods prior to the contract moving date, the amount of our liability to you will be as follows:
10.1.1 In the event of loss or damage caused by our negligence or breach of contract, our liability to you will be assessed as a sum equivalent to the cost of their repair or replacement taking into account the age and condition of the goods immediately prior to their loss or damage but subject to a maximum liability of £10,000 (this can be increased to suit your requirements).
Claims are subject to a deductible £250 excess of which the claimant will be liable for.
10.1.2 Where the lost or damaged item is part of a pair or set, our liability to you will be our assessed cost of replacement of that item in isolation and not the cost of that item as part of a pair or set.
10.2 We accept no liability under clause 9.3 in this contract.
10.3 Our Public Liability Insurance policy cover has an Indemnity limit of £5,000,000.
11. Delays in transit and Waiting Time Charges/Waiver
11.1 Unless we give a specifically agreed written timescale then arrival and departure times are an estimate only.
11.2 If we do not keep to an agreed written timescale schedule and any delay is within our reasonable control we will pay your reasonable expenses which arise as a result of our not keeping to the agreed written time schedule. If through no fault of ours we are unable to deliver your goods, we may take them into storage. This contract will then be fulfilled, any additional service(s), including storage and delivery will be at your expense.
11.3 Waiting Time Charges due to delays in completion of contracts, late keys or access to your new property is charged at 15% per hour of the total removal charge from 2pm up until 5pm.
12. Claims
We will not be liable for any loss or damage to any goods unless any claim for loss or damage is notified to us in writing within 3 days of completion of your move.
13. Our rights to withhold or dispose of goods. (Applies more to storage)
We have a legal right to withhold or (subject to complying with the notice procedure in condition 17.6) ultimately dispose of some or all of the goods until you have paid all our charges and other payments due under this contract. These include any charges that we have paid out on your behalf. While we hold the goods and wait for payment you will be liable to pay all storage charges and other costs incurred as a result of our withholding your goods and these terms and conditions will continue to apply.
14. Sub-contracting the work
14.1 We reserve the right to sub-contract some or all of the work for which we have provided a quotation without reference to you. This is to cover for the unlikely events such as extreme weather, staff sickness or vehicle breakdowns.
16.2 If we sub-contract, these conditions will still apply in full.
15. Furniture dismantling/assembly and carpets
15.1 Dismantling and reassembling of wardrobes, beds etc and removal of carpets will be charged for if not previously quoted for in writing. We also reserve the right to refuse this additional service. Flatpacked furniture may not reassemble as well as its first assembly, we will not be liable for final construction.
16. Electrical Equipment
16.1 Disconnection and reconnection of cookers, washing machines, dish-washer and other electrical items is the client’s responsibility. Fridges and freezers are to be emptied and dried out to avoid defrosting in transit and mould damage whilst in storage. You are responsible for standing fridges and freezers for 24 hours before switching on.
17. Removals and Storage services
The following terms in addition to all other terms set out in this document will apply to all contracts of removals and the storage of goods.
17.1 If you require storage facilities you are obliged to provide a forwarding address and notify us in writing if it changes. All correspondence and notices will be deemed to have been received by you seven days after it is sent to the last forwarding email address recorded by us.
17.2 The manner in which goods are transported and whether we use conventional or indoor/outdoor containerised storage shall be within our sole discretion subject to availability.
17.3 All our charges must be paid in full before any goods are released from storage and we shall be entitled to exercise a lien over those goods until we have received payment of all charges due from you to us. A late payment charge of 10% will be incurred for unpaid invoices for removals or storage after the invoice due date and subsequently proceeding every 7 days.
17.5 We review our storage charges periodically. You will be given 28 days’ notice in writing of any increases following which our revised rates as notified will apply. We will always act reasonably in reviewing our storage charges.
17.6 On giving 28 days’ notice we are entitled to require you to remove your goods from our custody and pay all outstanding charges. Any such notice will tell you that we will dispose of your goods three months thereafter if you fail to pay all outstanding sums due to us and, in that event, we will do so without further notice. The cost of the sale or disposal will be charged to you. The net proceeds will be credited to your account and any eventual surplus will be paid to you without interest.
17.7 If your payments are up to date we will not end this contract except by giving you three calendar months’ notice in writing. If you wish to terminate your storage contract you should give at least 14 days’ notice. Whilst we will use reasonable endeavors to arrange the release of your goods on the dates you require, specific dates cannot be guaranteed.
17.8 If you choose someone else to collect your goods from our storage facilities we are entitled to make a charge for handing them over. Our responsibility for such goods will cease upon their being handed over to your chosen representative.
Insurance for goods whilst in storage:
17.9 We do not provide insurance for any goods stored. It is your responsibility to arrange this. We are a registered and approved storage facility with GM Store Insure. You can get a quick quote and purchase cover instantly at https://www.store-insure.co.uk/get-a-quote
18. Whole agreement
These terms and Conditions together with our quotation are intended to form the whole agreement between us and to prevail over any verbal discussions. Should we mutually
agree to any variation of these terms such variation should be confirmed in writing. Any variation however agreed shall never invalidate the remainder of these Terms and Conditions.