Our Terms & Conditions

 

Acceptance Of Our Quotation:

To accept our quotation and have us start working for you, you need to:

• Print, sign and post our quotation or scan the signature page back to us or e-mail reply accepting our work.

• Payment of your deposit which is then deemed to be your formal acceptance.

• Verbal only acceptance is not permitted.

 

Additional Works:

During the course of our initial site meeting to quote for the project, a visual inspection only will have taken place. This does not involve excavation, lifting or investigative processes other than visual. It is possible that once the work commences, additional remedial work may be due which was not quoted for. For example, a pond edge may have collapsed requiring greater strengthening and re-building during renovation. In the rare occasion where this occurs, our Team Leader will discuss the matter with you, agree a course of action and cost, and ask you to sign for this additional work.

 

Advertising & Confidentiality:

We reserve the right to photograph the project detailed within the quotation and use the pictures in our advertising material. Under no circumstances will the location or identity of your project ever be disclosed without your permission.

 

Aftercare Of Equipment:

Once our work is complete, we will leave instruction leaflets where provided with you for aftercare of your equipment, if installed in your pond. It is then your responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of that equipment. We provide an Annual Pond Service and can provide more frequent Service calls if desired – please ask:

• Pumps – need periodic removal, cleaning, possible emptying of debris, impellor cleaning (impellers are not warranted)

• Filters need regular operation to ensure their trapped dirt is purged and that they operate correctly for your pond

• All other equipment we may install will be subject to the information from that manufacturer.

Should you ever loose the information, please contact us for duplicates or search online for instruction manuals.

 

Calculation Of Time:

For payments based on a daily rate, a ‘day’ shall refer to a period of 8 hours (inclusive of travel time to and from the Client’s site):

• If we are working from home base, this travel time is based via Google Maps between our postcode PO2 7QD and yours.

• If we are based from overnight lodgings, our location changes to/from there.

Time spent in excess of 8 hours shall be charged at a pro-rated rate for a day.
For payment based on an hourly rate anytime spent which is less than one hour shall be rounded up to the next hour.

 

Contract Duration:

Unless we are working day rate for you, our quotations anticipate the labour required for the job which is advised in days of duration and we issue a fixed price quotation. By agreeing for us to work for you, you accept that if we over-run by virtue of under-estimating the job, or weather delays, we will not invoice you for additional labour. Equally, you accept that if everything goes well and we finish early, there is no discount!

 

Contract Terms:

Once a contract has been signed between the client and Aquatics Applied, the deposit is due and payable. A start date for this project will be set accounting for cheque clearance time/receipt of your deposit. If the client wishes to renege the contract, the following payments are due:

• After signing the contract – the deposit is forfeited.

• Two weeks prior to contract commencement – the whole contract becomes payable.

• E&OE.

 

Data Protection (GDPR):

The General Data Protection Regulation came into force in May ’18. We, as a company, are obliged to keep whatever data we hold on you safe, private and secure. Aquatics Applied does not do marketing, so we never sell or pass on your data to a third party. The only data we hold about you are your name, address, telephone number/s and email address. Plus, of course, copious data on your pond, or garden! We hold no bank details of yours nor sensitive data.

We work on the premise of common sense, in that you contacted us for a quote, we’ve quoted, we’ve hopefully won the work and we’ve undertaken this work. We may also provide you with a warranty, annual servicing (of your pond or deck) and a call-out/regular maintenance service. Where this is the case, we store your data (detailed above) in our secure office or on our password protected computers. If we did not win your work at the time of quoting, we keep the same details, as sometimes you might come back to us a year or two later for the same job. Our records are held for a minimum of 7 years (for HMRC reasons – audits or inspections).

If you are one of our suppliers, we have your details stored which may include your bank details – which we presume you want us to retain as you’d like to be paid.

If you are staff, we maintain very little information about you – as we see you daily! Your payroll details are stored by our Accountants as we presume you wish to remain being paid, and if you leave our employment – we dispose of these records – securely.

If you would like a copy of what we hold on you, which isn’t much, you are welcome to contact us. If you would like us to delete all records of you, you are equally entitled to request this and break our relationship.

If you don’t like any of this, you can speak to the ICO! https://ico.org.uk/

 

Definition Of “Our Quotation”:

The entire document entitled “Our Quotation” is to be read and considered from cover to cover as our quotation and all pages and contents thereof relate to and form part of the quotation agreement between you (the client) and us (Aquatics Applied).

The entire document entitled “Our Quotation” supersedes and replaces any prior oral agreements, representations or understandings between you – the client and Aquatics Applied.

 

Delays On Site:

When we are working on commercial site projects or to a main contractor, please be advised that any downtime lost due to your not being ready for us, or not supporting this installation by machinery, labour or other needs as specified in our quotation, that cause this installation to over-run, may be chargeable at a rate of up to £2,500.00 + V.A.T. per day or part thereof. This will be evidenced by photos, be verbally reported to your site manager and finally backed up by e-mail report.

 

Deviation Of Works:

During the course of our installation works you or we may suggest “tweaks” that may improve the final appearance of the scheduled work. You may also identify other / additional work you would like us to undertake during our time with you. If there is no monetary value to these alterations and they are safe to undertake, our staff will be happy to discuss and undertake these amendments during the installation work. If additional costs are required then these will be verbally agreed between you and our Site Manager / Team Leader, being invoiced upon conclusion of the project.

 

Electrician Services:

We are not electricians and are very limited in what we can do, or can’t do. Where we are quoting to install electrical equipment, unless specifically stated, you are to provide an electrician for the hard-wiring in of any equipment we install. It thus is your responsibility to arrange this connection, and the joint responsibility of you and your electrician to ensure you have the correct power for the job where we need it connected. Our quotation will hyperlink the equipment we are to install, which should give your electrician the data they need for this connection. We are also happy to discuss requirements with the electrician prior to installation.

 

Guarantees:

Upon full settlement of our invoice, an automatic Aquatics Applied 12-month installation guarantee will apply from date of completion of the project along with any installed equipment warranty. Should you have any claims, your first port of call is us.

Please, however, be aware that for an equipment guarantee to be considered, condition of the equipment will be inspected by ourselves and possibly the manufacturer. This inspection will determine whether you have maintained your equipment or serviced it. Impellers are not warranted and where pumps fail due to impellor issues, your pump is not covered. Please see our section on Aftercare of Equipment.

 

Hours Of Work:

Our employees work a generic 8-hour flexi-day, working generically from 8.15am to 4.45pm, or whenever the job dictates. This day starts and finishes from our place of business and this time includes travel to and from a job.

If we are working with you on site, we may work site hours with flexibility to work later if the weather is holding / our welding work requires it coupled with the availability of light.

Our working time with you on this project includes our travel time to/from base.

If we are staying away from base, for example site work or multiple-day distance work, we may stay locally overnight in a, for example, Travelodge Hotel.

 

JCT:

For commercial work, unless specifically stated within our Quotation, we presume that the project has further components beyond our work. As such, our work is not subject to JCT retention and we do not subscribe to any payment retention. You have both our installation warranty and product warranty to rely on. Your acceptance of our quotation confirms this.

Liner Welding Services:

Part of our range of services is to install bespoke, welded liners to cover larger ponds, lakes or abnormal shapes. This service will require the on-site welding of two or more sheets of Firestone PondGard or GeoGard EPDM rubber liner to make a larger, single-sheet. If we are undertaking this work for you, then unless specifically stated in our quotation, our service quoted is to simply line your prepared area with the quoted geomembrane. Our service may include pre-visit and post-visit consultations but our service does not include any groundworks at all. Where we state:

• “All groundworks will have been completed” – you will have dug and prepared the area to be lined, to a compacted, smooth surface. We may inspect and confirm / advise further works prior to our installation. Unless you have specifically advised us, we will presume you have built lagoons like this before, know and understand how to finish the surface.

• “Work with you to ensure the anchor trenches / banks are built correctly to anchor the liner into place once installed* – this will be instruction on how to fill any anchor trench built or the covering of any anchor shelf. You / your team of labourers’ / machine operators will complete the groundwork element of placing soil onto / into the anchor trench to pin the liner in place. We can guide and train as appropriate.

• “We will have the use of a few labourers briefly to help us pull out the liners for welding,” – This is a specific request to your project due either to size, time or labour constraints. We therefore expect the requested number of labourers to be readily available to us when we need them to assist us in getting large sheet liners pulled out. This could be any time of the day, and our request for their time should take priority over anything else happening on site, to help keep the project on track. We will keep a daily record of their time spent with us which they will be expected to countersign, in case of any dispute.

 

Supply, Supply & Install Or Install Only Options:

We can be requested to issue three quotes to you – Supply, Supply and Install or Install only:

• When you request our “Supply” service, that is exactly it – we supply the equipment and materials that you have requested. If you ask us to measure from drawings, we will refer these measurements back to you for agreement and, thus, your responsibility. We therefore assume that you know what you want when you request it, and we cannot and will not be held responsible if errors are made in the requested sizes.

• When you request our “Supply and Install” service, we take away any concern or worry that you have enough material to undertake the job. If we are short on materials or there is a delay in delivery – this is our problem with no comeback on you.

• When you request our “Install only” service, that is exactly it – we install only what you have ordered to your lining plan. If you miscalculate or under-order resulting in delays through supplementary deliveries, these delays are chargeable. We will have no input whatsoever in your material ordering process.

 

Materials & Safety:

Please note that any materials delivered or left ‘on-site’ during the progress of this contract shall be at the Client’s risk immediately from delivery to the site. Stacks of bricks, paving stones etc can be dangerous. Please ensure your own, and your staff’s safety, by keeping away from stored materials on site. For your further safety, please keep staff and pets away from trenches and excavations, machinery, tools or other equipment on site, as we can accept no responsibility for accidents.

Our Payment Terms Are:

• Deposit – all equipment and materials included in the quotation is payable in advance so we can place orders for the equipment. If install only, a 50% deposit of the quoted total will be requested.

• Balance – payable upon completion of the contract.

• Stage payment/s – if and as applicable; as per our quotation or tender.

 

If any payment is made later than 30 days after the invoiced date then we shall be entitled (without prejudice to any other right or remedy):

• Reserve the right to charge you interest on the outstanding debt. This interest rate is charged at 5% above the Bank of England’s base rate.

• To require the Client to make a payment in advance of services or goods not yet provided.

• Not to provide any further service or part of the services until appropriate payments have been made (in effect, suspend services).

• Not to provide any reports or warranties due on completion of the services until appropriate payments have been made.

 

If your invoice remains unpaid to the point where we need to appoint our contracted debt collectors (after 60 days), any fees incurred will be payable by yourselves (normally 10% of the debt). Where we are providing ongoing site support, your account is then suspended until payment is bought up-to-date.

In the rare occasion we need to take you to Court, all fees become chargeable, contact between us is broken and the Court will set fees as they see fit.

 

These standard terms may be varied at any time and if any variation occurs, this will be superseded by specific details in your quotation.

 

Payment – Forms Of:

Our primary source of payment is via bank transfer (BACS – online banking). We can currently still accept cheques. Please notify us if you wish to pay by this method to see if we can accommodate it.

 

Planning Permission:

In certain circumstances planning permission may be required. We wish to draw your attention to this fact and advise that it is the clients’ responsibility to check with the local planning authority if they are unsure whether planning permission is needed (& subsequently getting it) or not. This permission may well apply to both the project and choice of materials. Any recommendation of materials from Aquatics Applied do not account for any form of interpretation of planning or building consent.

 

Price Matching:

Aquatics Applied are aware of their market place, equipment costs, labour costs and those charges and services our competitors offer. With 10+ years of experience, we believe we offer a complete ‘turn-key’ package and are very happy and comfortable with our quotation rates. We are not the cheapest, nor are we the most expensive. You can buy cheaper on the internet, if you wish to deal with that level of service, or indeed battle with it should something go wrong. When we issue a quotation, we issue it knowing we’ve done the best we can for you. Any haggling or reduction in price normally has a reflective reduction in service level. As we pride ourselves on our service to you – before, during and after-care, please do not be offended if we decline your attempts to haggle.

 

Product Faults And Warranty Claims:

In the rare occasion a fault may occur within the manufacturer’s warranty period, please inform us immediately by phone. Aquatics Applied staff will discuss the fault and attempt to resolve the problem with you over the phone or, if necessary, via e-mails (if we require pictures to assist our diagnosis). If the fault cannot be rectified by our discussion, Aquatics Applied will visit you with spare equipment to inspect and repair or replace at their discretion. The charge for a call-out or warranty claim is thus:

• Our call-out generally isn’t but could be chargeable, irrespective of the fault. Your warranty lies with the manufacturer and not with the installation company. This will need to be considered based on distance of travel and complexities in resolving the fault.

• If you have damaged the warranty equipment, any repair cost or replacement cost is chargeable.

• If the damaged equipment has failed through no fault of your own, we will replace the equipment at no charge to you, save our call-out fee as above which is and potentially remains chargeable.

 

Retention Of Title:

Title to “the goods and services provided by Aquatics Applied” as detailed in our quotation (hereinafter referred to as “the Goods”) shall remain vested in Aquatics Applied and shall not pass to you until the invoice for this quotation has been settled in full. Until title to “the Goods” passes, Aquatics Applied and its agents and employees shall be entitled at any time and without the need to give notice enter upon any property which “the Goods” or any part are stored, or upon which Aquatics Applied reasonably believes them to be kept and shall have authority to retake, sell or otherwise deal with and/or dispose of all or any part of “the Goods” as they see fit.

Retention Of Funds Through Warranty Period:

Title of goods has transferred upon full payment of our invoice. Should a warranty claim arise during our 12-month installation warranty, we will come, investigate and fix the fault if it is warranty related. If not warranty related, we can repair after agreeing the repair cost. Please note that we do not subscribe to a percentage retention during the 12-month warranty term and if you engage our services, your engagement accepts this.

 

Timber Products:

We source all timber we use from reputable sources. Timber is a natural product and may split, bend or warp – this is a natural product issue and entirely beyond our control. Nor can we be liable or responsible for the quality of timber – knots etc. It’s a natural product which we use for you.

 

Validity Of Our Quotation:

Unless it is specifically mentioned on your personal quotation, all our quotations are valid for 30 days.

 

V.A.T.

We are a sole trader business and thereof do not charge VAT on any labour or services provided.

 

Warranty:

Aquatics Applied warrants that it will use reasonable care and skill in performing the Services being quoted for to a standard which confirms to generally accepted industry standards and practices.

Aquatics Applied offers an industry-standard 12-month warranty for its work from completed date of installation and this is only valid once full payment for our invoiced work has been settled.

Aquatics Applied honours the warranty of equipment we install from our suppliers once full payment for our invoiced work has been received. Any call-outs for any equipment related issues (warranted or not) will be chargeable, as we are supplying a service to inspect. If a fault is found with a piece of equipment that is covered by warranty, there will be no charge for the replacement or repair of that faulty item. Our call-out charge however remains.

As per Guarantees above, for a piece of equipment to be claimed under warranty, it will be inspected by ourselves and/or the manufacturer for signs of whether you have maintained your equipment or serviced it. Impellers are not warranted and where pumps fail due to impeller issues, your pump is not covered. Please see our section on Aftercare of Equipment.

We expressly do not warrant any reports, suggestions or objectives stated in any form of communication.

We equally do not warrant any suggested or scheduled completion date.

Except in the case of death or personal injury caused by Aquatics Applied’ negligence, our liability under or in connection with our quotation whether arising in contract, Tort, negligence, breach of statutory duty or otherwise howsoever, shall not exceed this quotation value.

 

Web Links:

Our external weblinks are provided for your convenience or interest. Those sites are not under our control nor are maintained by us. Please note we are neither responsible for nor take and responsibility for the content of those sites.

Your Obligations

To enable us to provide the services we have quoted, we expect you to agree and participate with the following obligations:

• Co-operate with us as we reasonably require you to.

• Provide us such information and documentation as we reasonably require during this work.

• Make available to us the facilities, resources, working space, staff and/or sub-contractors as specified in our Quotation and/or as we reasonably require from time to time.

• Instruct any staff / agents / representatives you employ to cooperate and assist with us as requested.

Your Right To Cancel:

Congratulations for making it this far! So, you’ve called us, we’ve visited you, we’ve quoted for the work and you presumably have accepted our quote. Now feel like changing your mind? No problem. The law says you have 14 days to do it and we invite you to ring us if you have any concerns.
 
If you want to read all the legal jargon, please feel free to research it online. Remember, we’re there to ‘help’ you, not hinder you.

Aquatics Applied may revise these Terms and Conditions at any time by updating this page.

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Terms & Conditions up to date as of 10th March 2021.