Phone : (01563) 573 176 E-Mail : mail@baldelectrician.com
Brief Terms and conditions of business, if in doubt phone for
details.
Payment Terms:
PAYMENT IS DUE ON COMPLETION OF WORK for personal customers.
Payment can be made via cash, credit or debit card.
CHEQUES are no
longer accepted [with
the exception of business cheques]
Estimates
We give free estimates for
non fault finding work- phone for details
There is NO CHARGE for a
VERBAL ESTIMATE.
If a detailed quote or visual report is required in
writing (usually for insurance purposes etc) there is a charge levied for
administration purposes, if there is any work
resulting from the quote a discount will be applied.
Arranged Works:
When work is arranged on a
specific date and time a deposit is usually taken. A deposit, by its nature is
a form of security, and is not refundable. A part refund, minus costs and time
may be issued, more detail below.
Cancellations:
Where no deposit is
taken the job and estimated costs are not binding. The job can be cancelled by
either the customer or a.b.c. Electrical, prior to
work commencing, without penalty or charge.
We usually prioritise clients
who pay a deposit, or those we have regular business with.
If materials are ordered and
a job is subsequently cancelled the client will be liable for any costs or time
used to return the order, this may include wholesaler charges.
If an item is ordered and a
date is not arranged to have items fitted within 30 days then there will be a
storage charge of 5% per week. After 20 weeks the item will become property of
abc Electrical (we have had items sitting in the van that were specially
ordered and then the client calls 11 months later to request a refund as they don’t
want it now).
Since October 2008
there is a 7 day right to cancel for customers having works carried out in
their own home. If we have been on
site to give advice and a job is subsequently cancelled within this 7 day
period then we may make a charge (based on time used surveying / giving
professional advice / travelling to and from site).
Once work is arranged, and a
deposit taken, a contract is formed and we guarantee a slot in the works
schedule.
We usually have to refuse
other work as a result of arranging a slot in the diary, if work is cancelled
we may levy a charge- we do not do this on a regular basis (2 times in 5
years). If work is cancelled late we may still charge for the time – if it is
not subsequently used elsewhere.
When work is arranged we will
generally order materials for the work. Some materials may be non returnable
(special order, or cut cable for example) and these will be charged
All estimates / invoices given are for prices after prompt payment and OAP discount (if
applicable)have been applied.
Hourly Rate
The standard hourly rate is chargeable at £80.00 per
hour- BEFORE PROMPT PAYMENT DISCOUNT.
This is the rate applied to the invoice that you pay. A discount will be applied of at
least 50% on the labour rate (discount applies to works inside normal
business hours, and if payment received on completion). This is due to a few
non-paying / late paying customers.
A small job will still be around the same low price as it
was 3 years ago; the only difference is the invoice will show a ‘prompt payment
discount’.
There is usually an apprentice / trainee on site and the
rate includes their labour.
As a.b.c. Electrical are
committed to training future electricians there is not an option of
having ‘no apprentice and a reduction in the hourly rate’.
The working week runs from Monday – Friday. Invoices are
usually raised on a Friday and payment is required prior to any continuation of
further works on site.
Telephone Calls
As abc Electrical take credit
and debit card transactions over the telephone we may record telephone calls
for fraud prevention purposes. Calls may also be recorded for staff training
and fact verification purposes.
How and when we charge:
Where we carry out work at a clients request we levy the
standard labour charges.
A couple of stories (and learning experiences)
·
Nice electrician from a.b.c.
Electrical (no bias here!) called out to a faulty shower. Client asks us to
check shower. Shower cover off, switch cover removed. Fault diagnosed as faulty
shower switch. Customer informed and told cost of job, stating we had a new
switch in the van and could fit it there and then. Customer replies “My cousin is working away on the rigs as an electrician-
I’ll get him to fix it when he gets back. I only wanted you out to find out
what was wrong.”
·
Called from a client with socket circuit
problem. My sockets do not work in my kitchen and part of my living room, can
you come out? Arranged work for next morning and client finished off with “I’m
only looking for a quote”. The question to him was “To
be clear- you wish us to come round, spend time finding the faults, tell you
what and where the problem is and give you the opportunity not to pay?
“Yes”
was the answer. Needless to say the works were un-arranged.
To sum up, if we
do work (including investigatory work) there will usually be a labour charge.
If the client is
informed there will NOT be a charge there will be no charge.
There is not a
hidden agenda.
Most people don’t go to work and offer their
boss a couple of hours work for free; we all have bills to pay.
Almost all customers are super, but you get the rogue and
slightly misinformed element, which amounts to <2% of all customers.
Retention of Title (a legal thing)
When goods or services are supplied by ourselves
ownership of the goods remains with us until all monies are paid in full.