Terms of Service

Terms and Conditions

1. Who We Are and What These Terms Cover

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") apply to all quotations, bookings and work carried out by The Valleys Handyman, a sole trader trading as "The Valleys Handyman" ("we", "us", "our", "the Trader"), for any person or organisation who engages us to carry out work ("you", "the Customer"). By requesting a quote, confirming a booking, paying a deposit, or allowing us to begin work, you accept these Terms in full.

Where you are an individual engaging us wholly or mainly for purposes outside your trade, business, craft or profession, you are a "Consumer" and you have certain statutory rights that cannot be removed by this or any other contract, including rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Nothing in these Terms limits those rights. Where you are engaging us in the course of a business, trade or profession (for example as a landlord, letting agent, housing association or company), you are a "Business Customer" and clause 14 applies to you in place of certain consumer protections.

These Terms should be read together with our Cancellation Policy and our Refund Policy, both of which form part of the contract between us and are available on our website and on request.

2. Quotations and Estimates

  • All quotes are provided free of charge and without obligation, based on the information and access you give us.

  • A verbal or written estimate given before we have inspected the job in person is indicative only. The confirmed price is the one set out in writing (including by text, WhatsApp or email) once the job has been fully scoped.

  • Quotes are valid for 30 days from the date given, after which prices may be revised to reflect changes in material costs.

  • If, once work has started, it becomes apparent that further work is needed or the scope was materially different from what was described to us, we will inform you before carrying out any additional work and agree a revised price. Clause 8 (Variations) applies.

3. Our Rates and Pricing

Standard rate: £75.00 per hour (or part thereof), for all general repair, carpentry, decorating, assembly, fitting and maintenance work booked in the ordinary course of business.

Emergency / call-out rate: £150.00 per hour (or part thereof), for work requested at short notice, outside our normal working hours, or classified by us as an emergency or urgent call-out (for example, security, water, or safety issues requiring same-day attendance).

Minimum charge: A minimum charge of one hour applies to every job and every emergency call-out, whether or not the work takes the full hour, to reflect travel, set-up and administration time.

All prices are inclusive of labour only unless stated otherwise. We do not charge VAT as we are not VAT-registered. Materials, parts and any specialist disposal or hire costs are charged separately and shown on your quote and invoice, in line with our transparent, no-mark-up pricing promise. There are no hidden fees beyond those agreed with you in writing before or during the job.

4. Booking, Deposit and Payment

To confirm a booking, we require a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the quoted price, payable before work is scheduled to begin. This deposit secures your slot in our diary, allows us to turn down other work for that date, and, where relevant, allows us to order materials on your behalf.

The remaining balance (the final 50%, plus any agreed variations and materials not already invoiced) is due immediately upon completion of the work, once you have confirmed you are satisfied with it in accordance with our sign-off process. We accept payment by bank transfer, card, or other method agreed in advance. We do not offer credit accounts or extended payment terms unless expressly agreed with us in writing before the job is booked.

5. Late Payment

  • If payment of the final balance is not made immediately on completion, or by any other date agreed in writing, we reserve the right to charge interest on the overdue amount at 8% per year above the Bank of England base rate, accruing daily from the due date until payment is received in full, together with our reasonable administrative and debt-recovery costs.

  • Business Customers: where you are a Business Customer, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies, and we reserve all statutory rights under that Act to claim interest at the rate it prescribes and fixed compensation for late payment in addition to any sums above.

  • Non-payment does not release you from your obligation to pay. Unpaid balances will be pursued as a debt, including, where necessary, through the small claims track of the County Court.

  • We reserve the right to decline to start, or to pause, any further stages of work, or any future job for the same Customer, where a previous invoice remains unpaid.

6. Cancellations

Cancellation charges, the statutory 14-day cancellation ('cooling-off') period that applies to certain consumer bookings, and how outstanding sums are recovered, are set out in full in our separate Cancellation Policy, which forms part of these Terms. In summary: deposits are non-refundable once a booking is confirmed (save where you validly exercise a statutory cancellation right before work begins), and cancelling or failing to provide access at short notice may make you liable for the full quoted price of the job. Please read the Cancellation Policy carefully before booking.

7. Access and Your Responsibilities

  • You must provide safe and reasonable access to the property and the work area at the agreed date and time, including parking where relevant.

  • You must tell us before we attend about anything that could affect the job or our safety, including asbestos, structural issues, damp/mould, pests, or aggressive pets.

  • Where you are not the property owner (e.g. tenant), you confirm you have the owner's/landlord's permission for the work to be carried out.

  • If we attend at the agreed time and cannot gain access, or cannot safely or lawfully carry out the work through no fault of ours, this is treated as a late cancellation under our Cancellation Policy and charged accordingly.

  • Where materials are to be supplied by you, you are responsible for ensuring they are on site, correct, and fit for purpose before we start. Delays caused by missing or incorrect customer-supplied materials may be charged at our standard hourly rate.

8. Variations and Additional Work

If, once on site, we identify that additional work is required, or you ask us to carry out extra work not included in the original quote, we will let you know the likely extra cost before proceeding wherever reasonably practicable. Verbal agreement given on-site (e.g. by phone, text or in person) is sufficient authority for us to proceed and for the corresponding charge to apply.

9. Materials

We are happy either to supply all materials, or to work with materials you have purchased, as agreed at quotation stage. Where we supply materials, these are charged at cost with no mark-up, and shown separately from labour on your invoice, in accordance with our website pricing promise. Materials specifically purchased or ordered for your job (including cut-to-size, bespoke, or special-order items) are non-refundable once ordered, whether or not the job proceeds, save as set out in our Refund Policy.

10. Standard of Work and Your Statutory Rights

We will carry out all work with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, and for the price agreed, in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If you are a Consumer and the work does not meet this standard, you have a statutory right to ask us to put it right (repeat performance) free of charge and within a reasonable time; if we cannot do so, or have already had a reasonable opportunity to do so without success, you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction. Our approach to this, including our sign-off and satisfaction process, is set out in full in our Refund Policy. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

11. Insurance and Liability

  • We hold public liability insurance and will provide evidence of this on reasonable request.

  • We accept liability for damage to your property directly caused by our negligence during the course of the work, and for death or personal injury caused by our negligence. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or breach of the statutory rights referred to in clause 10.

  • We are not liable for pre-existing defects, hidden faults, or issues in the property that were not reasonably visible or disclosed to us before work began, or for the consequences of inaccurate information given to us about the property.

  • We are not liable for delay or failure to perform caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control (see clause 15, Force Majeure).

  • Business Customers: subject to the paragraph above, our total liability to a Business Customer arising out of or in connection with any job is limited to the total price paid or payable for that job, and we exclude liability for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of business, or loss of opportunity.

12. Your Right to Cancel Before Work Begins (Consumers Only)

Where you are a Consumer and this contract was agreed away from our business premises — for example, at your home, or by phone, WhatsApp, email or our website (an 'off-premises' or 'distance' contract) — you may, in certain circumstances, have a statutory right to cancel within 14 days of confirming the booking under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 ('CCRs'). This is separate from, and additional to, our own Cancellation Policy. Full detail on how this right works, how to exercise it, and when it is lost, is set out in our Cancellation Policy, and we will provide you with the required cancellation information and form separately before or at the time of booking.

13. Complaints

We want every job to end with a happy customer. If you are unhappy with any aspect of the work, please contact us as soon as possible, and in any event within 7 days of completion, so we can inspect and put things right. We aim to acknowledge complaints within 2 working days and to arrange a inspection or remedial visit within 7 days where appropriate. Our full approach to remedial work, price reductions and refunds is set out in the Refund Policy.

14. Business Customers

Where you are a Business Customer, the consumer-specific rights referred to in clauses 10 and 12, and in our Cancellation Policy and Refund Policy, do not apply to you in the same way, and instead the commercial cancellation, payment and liability terms agreed between us (including the tiered cancellation charges in our Cancellation Policy) apply as a matter of ordinary contract. Any terms implied by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 and Sale of Goods Act 1979 as to satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose and reasonable care and skill continue to apply and are not excluded.

15. Force Majeure

We are not liable for any failure or delay in carrying out work caused by events outside our reasonable control, including but not limited to severe weather, illness, injury, vehicle breakdown, supplier delay, or other emergencies. Where this affects your booking, we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to rearrange, and any deposit paid will be carried forward to the rearranged date or refunded in full at your choice — this is not a cancellation by you and no cancellation charge applies.

16. Data Protection

We process your personal data (such as your name, address and contact details) in order to provide quotes, deliver work, and take payment, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. We do not sell or share your data with third parties other than as needed to deliver the service (e.g. payment processing) or as required by law.

17. General

  • Entire agreement: these Terms, together with our Cancellation Policy, Refund Policy and the specific quote provided to you, form the entire agreement between us for the job in question.

  • Severability: if any part of these Terms is found by a court to be unenforceable, the remainder will continue in full force and effect.

  • No waiver: if we do not immediately enforce any part of these Terms, this is not a waiver of our right to do so later.

  • Assignment: we may use suitably qualified subcontractors or associates to deliver work, while remaining responsible for its quality.

  • Governing law and jurisdiction: these Terms, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter, are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, save that if you are a Consumer resident elsewhere in the UK, mandatory local consumer protections may also apply to you.

18. Contact Us

The Valleys Handyman, serving the South Wales Valleys and surrounding areas. Phone: 07391 512497. Email: thevalleyshandyman1@gmail.com. Website: www.thevalleyshandyman.com.