GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. For the purpose of these terms and conditions the following words shall have the following meanings:
(a) “The Company” shall mean EPH System Ltd
(b) “The Customer” shall mean the person or organisation for whom the company agrees to carry out works and/or supply materials
(c) The Engineer shall mean the representative appointed by the Company.
2. The Company reserves the right to refuse or decline work at its own discretion. Where the Company agrees to carry out works for the Customer those works shall be undertaken by the designated Engineer of Company at its absolute discretion.
3. HOURLY RATE WORK. The total charge to the Customer shall consist of the cost of materials supplied by the Company (not exceeding the trade purchase price of materials + 20%) and the amount of time spent by the Engineer in carrying out works (including all reasonable time spent in obtaining unstocked materials) charged in accordance with the Company’s current hourly rates. The Customer shall only be charged for the time spent related to the Customer’s work, all other time, personal mobile calls etc. is non-chargeable. All charges are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate except in cases where the work carried out is zero rated.
4. FIXED PRICE WORK shall be given as a firm cost (manifest errors exempted) including labour and materials and shall be within 10% over and above the equivalent total hourly rate cost. All costs are plus VAT at the prevailing rate.
5. Where a WRITTEN ESTIMATE has been supplied to the Customer the total charge to the Customer referred to in the estimate should not exceed the actual time taken by more than 20% but may be revised in the following circumstances:-
(i) If after submission of the estimate the Customer instructs the Company (whether orally or in writing) to carry out additional works not referred to in the estimate
(ii) If after submission of the estimate there is an increase in the price of materials
(iii) If after submission of the estimate it is discovered that further works need to be carried out which were not anticipated when the estimate was prepared
(iv) If after submission of the estimate it is discovered that there was a manifest error when the estimate was prepared.
6. The Company shall not be under any obligation to provide an estimate to the Customer and shall only be bound (subject as hereinafter) by estimates given in writing to the Customer and signed by a duly authorised representative of the Company. The Company shall not be bound by any estimates given orally or in which manifest errors occur.
7. MATERIALS COLLECTION. Collection of non-stock items are chargeable but:
(a) Time must be kept to a minimum and reasonable
(b) The Customer must be informed wherever possible when the Engineer leaves the premises
(c) If the collection time is likely to exceed 60 minutes the Customer must be additionally informed of the circumstances
(d) Only one Engineer is allowed to leave the job to collect parts
(e) The collection of materials which should be normally stocked items in non-chargeable
8. INVOICES are due for payment immediately upon delivery to the Customer. Any part of that invoice which remains unpaid shall carry interest at the rate of 4% over the base rate until payment in full is received by the Company.
9. Where the date and/or time for works to be carried out is agreed by the Company with the Customer, then the Company shall use its best endeavours to ensure that the Engineer shall attend on the date and at the time agreed. However, the Company accepts no liability in respect of the non-attendance or late attendance on site of the Engineer or for the late or non-delivery of materials.
10. The Customer shall accept sole liability to discharge the Company’s account unless he/she discloses to the Company when initially instructing the Company to carry out work and/or supply materials that he/she is acting on behalf of a third party (including, but not limited to, a limited company or partnership) and the name of the third party appears on the written estimate.
11. If the Customer cancels their instructions prior to any work being carried out or materials supplied then the Customer shall be liable for any related expenditure together with the profit that would have been made by the Company had the work been carried out and/or materials supplied in accordance with such instructions.
12. If, after the Company shall have carried out the works, the Customer is not wholly satisfied with the works then the Customer shall give notice in writing within 12 months to the Company and shall afford the Company, and its insurers, the opportunity of both inspecting such works and carrying out any necessary remedial works if appropriate. The Customer accepts that if he/she fails to notify the Company as aforesaid then the Company shall not be liable in respect of any defects in the works carried out.
13. The GUARANTEE shall be for labour only in respect of faulty workmanship for 12 months from the date of completion with the Company manufacturer’s warranty in force. The guarantee will become null and void if the work completed by the Company is:
(a) Subject to misuse or negligence
(b) Repaired, modified or tampered with by anyone other than a Company Engineer. The Company will accept no liability, or guarantee suitability, for materials supplied by the Customer and will accept no liability for any consequential damage or fault.
14. The Company will not guarantee any work in respect of blockages in waste and drainage systems etc. The Company will not guarantee any work undertaken on instruction from the Customer and against the written or verbal advice of the Engineer. Work is guaranteed only in respect of work directly undertaken by the Company and payment in full has been made. Any non-related faults arising from recommended work which has not been undertaken by the Company will not be guaranteed. The Company shall not be held liable or responsible for any damage or defect resulting from work not fully guaranteed or where recommended work has not been carried out. Work will not carry a guarantee where the Customer has been notified by the Engineer, either verbally or indicated in the ticked boxes or in comments/recommendations, of any other related work which requires attention. The Customer shall be solely liable for any hazardous situation in respect of Gas Safe Regulations or Gas Warning Notice issued.
15. Where the Company agrees to carry out works or installations of inferior quality or on equipment over ten years old at that date, no warranty is given in respect of such works and the Company accepts no liability in respect of the effectiveness of such works or otherwise.
16. Engineers work under their own registration and as such are solely responsible for any gas related work and subsequent liability.
17. The Company shall be entitled to fully recover costs or damages from any Engineer whose negligence or faulty workmanship results in the Company being made liable for those damages or rectification of the work.
18. These terms and conditions may not be released, discharged, supplemented, interpreted, varied or modified in any manner except by an instrument in writing signed by a duly authorised representative of the Company and by the Customer. Further, these terms and conditions shall prevail over any terms and conditions used by the Customer, or contained or set or referred to, in any documentation sent by the Customer to the Company. By entering into a contract with the Company the Customer agrees irrevocably to waive the application of any such terms and conditions.
19. Title to any goods, supplied by the Company to the Customer, shall not passed to the Customer but shall be retained by the Company until payment in full for such good has been made by the Customer to the Company. Until such time as title in such goods has passed to the customer:
(i) The Company shall have absolute authority to repossess, sell or otherwise deal with or dispose of all any or part of such goods in which title remains vested in the Company
(ii) For the purpose specified in (i) above, the Company or any of its agents or authorized representatives shall be entitled at any time and without notice to enter any premises in which goods or any part thereof is installed, stored or kept, or is reasonably believed so to be.
(iii) The Company shall be entitled to seek a court injunction to prevent the Customer from selling, transferred or otherwise disposing of such goods. Notwithstanding the foregoing, risk in such goods shall pass on delivery of the same to the Customer, and until such time as title in such goods has passed to the Customer, the Customer shall insure such goods to their replacement value and the Customer shall forthwith, upon request, provide the Company with a certificate or other evidence of such insurance.
(iv) Directors or their agents of limited companies and organizations will be deemed solely responsible for any outstanding debt and will act as personal guarantor until outstanding debts have been discharged
20. The Company shall not be liable for any delay, or the consequences of any delay, in performing any of its obligations if such delay is due to any cause whatsoever beyond its reasonable control and the Company shall be entitled to a reasonable extension of the time for performing such obligations.
21. The company shall only be liable for rectifying works completed by the Company and shall not be held responsible for insuring damage or claims resulting from this or other work overlooked or subsequently requested and not undertaken at that time.
22. These terms and conditions and all contracts awarded between the Company and Customer shall be governed and construed in accordance with English law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdictions of the English law.
BOILER SERVICE TERMS & CONDITIONS
These Conditions apply to the provision by EPH System Ltd of a fixed cost repair service in relation to your boiler.
For the purpose of these terms and conditions the following words shall have the following meanings:
"Appliance" means the boiler or other product in respect of which you request the Repair Service;
"Contract" means the contract for the Repair Service formed in accordance with Condition 1.1;
"Excluded Appliances" means all appliances over 15 years old;
"Fee" means the fee for the provision of the Repair Service;
"Order" means a request for Repair Services made by you;
"Property" means the premises where Repair Services are to be provided, as specified by you in the Order;
"Repair Service" means an on-site diagnosis and, if applicable, repair of faults in appliances, as described in further detail in clause 3;
"Visit Date" means the date on which an EPH System Ltd Engineer provides the Repair Service at the Property. You acknowledge that we may propose a Visit Date prior to the expiry of the seven (7) working day period noted at clause 1.2 below;
"we", "us” or "our” means EPH System Ltd;
"you" means the person who requests the provision of the Repair Services.
1. This Contract, the effect of these Conditions and Notice of the Right to Cancel
1.1 Your agreement to proceed with an Order is an offer to purchase the Repair Service from us on and subject to these Conditions. Our booking an appointment for our Engineer to visit the Property is acceptance by us of such Order and accordingly a Contract is formed at such time. Once the Contract has been formed with you we will file it in electronic and/or paper copy for our records.
1.2 Under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations you may cancel the Contract without cause within seven working days from the date the Contract is formed, provided that, if the Visit Date occurs during this seven working day cancellation period, you will not be entitled to cancel the Contract in accordance with this clause 1.2.
1.3 You may (subject to the provisions of clause 1.2) cancel the Contract in accordance with clause 1.2 by notifying us by e-mail: sales@ephsystems.co.uk or by telephone 01635 580875 and your Fee payment will be fully refunded accordingly.
1.4 We reserve the right to cancel any appointment if we reasonably believe that the health and/or safety of our Engineer cannot be guaranteed.
2. Price and Payment
2.1 The Fee is inclusive of all parts integral to the appliance, labour and VAT.
2.2 The Fee is payable in full by you by credit or debit card at the same time as you place an Order.
2.3 If the Appliance is covered by a manufacturer's warranty, the provision of the Repair Service is likely to be free of charge. You will be asked to provide details of your Appliance in the form of the serial number or by sending us proof of purchase; to enable us to confirm whether the Appliance is covered by such a warranty. If you are unable to provide such information prior to an Engineer visit being booked for you, we will require a credit or debit card payment for the amount of the Fee in order to book such a visit for you. This payment will be refunded in full if and when our Engineer is able to validate the serial number confirming that the Appliance is still covered by such a warranty. If you are unable to demonstrate through proof of purchase that the Appliance is covered by a manufacturer's warranty, we will be entitled to retain the Fee payment.
3. The Repair Service
3.1 Our Engineer will attend at the Property on the agreed date (or such other date as is arranged pursuant to clause 3.3) and will examine the Appliance and diagnose the fault.
3.2 Our Engineers carry a comprehensive range of spare parts with them on each visit. If our Engineer is able to repair the fault immediately following diagnosis, he/she will do so. If our Engineer does not carry all parts necessary to repair the fault at the time of diagnosis, we will arrange a mutually convenient date for an Engineer to return to perform the repair.
3.3 Our Engineer will use all reasonable efforts to repair a diagnosed fault. However, we cannot guarantee to be able to repair every fault diagnosed. If an Engineer is unable to repair a fault, or if our Engineer diagnoses the necessary repair as being any repair of your central heating system (for boilers) and/or any repair required as a result of faulty installation of your appliance, which are not covered by the Repair Service, he/she will inform you of the nature of the fault and will advise you of what he/she considers to be any reasonable courses of action available to you, which may include that it is beyond repair and requires replacement. In such circumstances, we will charge you an inspection fee of £90 and refund the balance of the Fee.
3.4 If your Appliance is deemed beyond economic repair, we may, and entirely at our discretion, offer to supply you with a quotation for a discounted replacement or equivalent replacement Appliance.
3.5 We will use all reasonable efforts to ensure that an Engineer visits the Property on the agreed date. However, occasionally, due to circumstances outside our control, we may be unable to get an Engineer to attend the Property on the agreed date. If this happens, we will contact you as soon as is reasonably practicable and agree an alternative date.
3.6 If you are unable to allow our Engineer to access the Property on the agreed date, you should contact us as soon as is reasonably practicable (and in any such event before 12 noon on the working day preceding such date) to arrange an alternative date for provision of the Repair Service. Subject to your right to cancel the Contract in accordance with clause 1.2 above (in which case no cancellation charge will be made and we will refund the Fee to you). If you inform us after this time we reserve the right to retain a cancellation charge of £55 and refund the remainder of your Fee.
3.7 Once inside the Property, if your Appliance has been installed in an area where it is inaccessible and our Engineer cannot gain clear and safe access to it and we are therefore unable to repair the Appliance, we reserve the right to retain an inspection fee of £90 and refund the remainder of the Fee.
3.8 EPH System Ltd Engineers drive vans and need access to their van during the Repair Service to fetch tools and equipment. Engineers must therefore be able to park within a practical distance from the Property - it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that parking is available.
3.9 Our Engineers will exercise reasonable care and skill in providing the Repair Service.
4. Guarantee
4.1 We will, free of charge, re-perform any Repair Service where the same Appliance fault repaired by one of our Engineers in providing the Repair Service reoccurs within 90 days following the Visit Date. This guarantee will not apply where the same defect arises again as a result of:
(i) wilful or accidental damage;
(ii) use of the Appliance otherwise than in accordance with the user instructions;
(iii) any tampering with, or alteration of, the Appliance by anyone other than us; or
(iv) a fault in any other appliance, such as (without limitation) your ancillary heating system to which the Appliance is connected.
4.2 We will, free of charge, replace any part fitted by our Engineer in providing the Repair Service which is found to be defective within twelve (12) months from the Visit Date.
4.3 If you wish to arrange for an Engineer to attend to re-perform the Repair Service and/or replace any defective parts pursuant to clauses 4.1 and/or 4.2 above, please contact us. Upon booking a time for such re-visit, we may require a credit or debit card payment for the amount of the Fee. This will be refunded once our Engineer has re-performed the Repair Service and/or replaced the defective part unless our Engineer reasonably believes that the new fault is not covered by the guarantees in clauses 4.1 and/or 4.2 above in which case the Fee will be payable. In such circumstances we will be entitled to retain any payment made by you, or if no payment has been made, to invoice you for the Fee.
4.4 To take advantage of either of these guarantees you must contact us as soon as reasonably practicable upon becoming aware of the defect.
4.5 The guarantees set out above do not affect your statutory rights as a consumer. If you prefer, you may rely on your statutory rights rather than make a claim under the guarantees. For further information about your statutory rights please contact your local authority Trading Standards Department or local Citizens Advice Bureau.
5. Limitations on our Liability
5.1 We will not be liable to you for any loss, damage, costs or expenses:
(i) that are not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of a breach by us of these Conditions;
(ii) that are not caused by any breach of these Conditions by us; and for business losses, or losses to non-consumers.
5.2 You agree that it is your responsibility to have in place and maintain adequate insurance policies in respect of your property.
5.3 Nothing in these Conditions shall:
(i) limit our liability under Part 1 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 in relation to the safety of parts or for death or personal injury caused by our negligence; or
(ii) affect any statutory rights which you may have as a consumer.
6. Events Beyond Our Reasonable Control
If we are unable to perform any of our obligations under this Contract as a result of any event or circumstance beyond our reasonable control including (without limitation), for example, flood, fire, strikes, lockouts, acts of Government, terrorism and non-availability of parts or other items from our suppliers, such failure shall not be regarded as a breach of our obligations and we shall be entitled to suspend performance of those obligations and/or this Contract until such time as we are able to perform the obligations. We shall use all reasonable efforts to recommence performance of any obligation affected by any such circumstances as soon as reasonably practicable.
7. General
7.1 We do not intend that any of these Conditions should be enforceable, by virtue of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, by any person who is not a party to this contract.
7.2 This contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, and we both agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
7.3 These Conditions can only be amended or varied by written agreement between us.
7.4 If any one or more of the provisions of these Conditions is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining Conditions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
8. Your Personal Details
We shall use and safeguard your personal details in accordance with all applicable Data Protection legislation. We may use your personal details to inform you of our other products and/or services. If you would rather not receive any such communications, please contact us as set out below.
9. Contact Us
If you need to contact us at any time or you have any queries or complaints, please contact us at EPH System Ltd, 148 Kings Road, Newbury, RG14 5RG; sales@ephsystems.co.uk; 01635 580875.