terms of business

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Thorne Commercial Surveyors Limited Terms of Business

Effective Date: 04 November 2024

1. About us

We are Thorne Commercial Surveyors Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under company number:13415063. Our registered office is at: The Triangle, Donnington, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 0XX. 

By engaging our services, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. If there is any discrepancy between these terms and conditions, and the terms of engagement, these terms and conditions shall prevail.

2. How to contact us

You can contact us by sending an email to office@tcsurveyors.com or calling us on 01451 600358.

3. These terms

3.1 These terms apply to any instructions provided to us relating to the services set out on our website. Please read these terms carefully before you instruct us, as they set out important information about your and our rights and obligations. Please note that you must agree to these terms before you instruct us.

3.2 For the purposes of these terms, you are a ‘consumer’ if you are buying services as an individual for purposes wholly or mainly outside of your trade, business, craft or profession. You are a ‘business customer’ if you are buying services for purposes relating to your trade, business, craft or profession. Some terms only apply to your instructions if you are a consumer and other terms only apply to your instructions if you are a business customer, so please make sure you read these terms carefully.

3.3 Any reference to ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ in these terms is to Thorne Commercial Surveyors Limited, and any reference to ‘you’ or ‘your’ is to the person instructing us for the provision of services.

3.4 You must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the UK to place instructions with us. If you are a business customer placing instructions on behalf of a business, you confirm that you have authority to place such instructions for and on behalf of that business.

3.5 We may make changes to these terms at any time. However, the terms which apply to your instructions will be those in force at the time you submitted your instructions to us.

3.6 Please print out or save a copy of these terms and any emails from us for your records, as we will not save or file a copy for you. These terms are only available in English.

3.7 Your use of our website is governed by our Website Terms of Use https://tcsurveyors.com/website-terms-of-use

4. Instructions

4.1 Please check your instructions carefully and correct any errors before you submit it to us.

4.2 Upon receipt of a request from you for our services, we will provide you with a written fee proposal or quotation. We may meet with you to discuss your specific requirements, after which we will provide you with a written scope of work and fee proposal or quotation. The fee proposal or quotation will outline the services to be provided and any charges, including any expenses which may be incurred during the instruction. Provision of the fee proposal or quotation does not mean that your instructions have been accepted by us.

4.3 Acceptance of our services takes place when you send to us your agreement of the fee proposal or quotation, at which point a legally binding contract is formed between you and us on these terms.

4.4 If we do not accept your instructions, for example because we are unable to take payment, the services are unavailable, the instructions are unacceptable to us, you are under 18 or live outside of the UK, or there has been a mistake regarding the pricing or description of the services, we will email you using the details you provided when you placed your instructions. We have the right to reject any instructions for any reason.

5. Availability

All instructions are subject to availability and any other terms which may prevent instructions being accepted. We cannot guarantee that any service will be available at any given time. In certain circumstances beyond our reasonable control, for example where there has been a change in law, we may need to stop providing certain services. If this happens and it affects your instructions, we will notify you by email, cancel your instructions and provide you with a refund of any advance payments made by you for any services that have not yet been provided.

6. Making changes to your instructions

If you would like to make any changes to your instructions after we have agreed the scope of work, and fees and disbursements with you, please contact us in writing as soon as possible and we will let you know if it is possible to change your instructions.

7. Providing services

7.1 General descriptions of our services are set out on our website. Any specific instructions will be considered on a case-by-case basis, they may be specified within the fee proposal or quotation and confirmed in the instructions.

7.2 We will provide the services at the location(s) at the time(s) and on the date(s) as indicated within our acceptance of your instructions. If there are any changes to the services, we shall contact you in writing at the earliest opportunity and attempt to reschedule the service on an alternative time and/or date. We are not liable to you for any losses you incur as a result of any delay caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control (for example, severe weather, accidents or unpredictable traffic delays).

7.3 For services provided over a period of time, any completion dates stated during the instructions process, or in your acknowledgment or confirmation emails, are estimates.

7.4 The services will be provided at the location(s) on the date(s) and at the time(s) where appropriate to specify, as agreed between us and you within the instructions. 

7.5 We will do all that we reasonably can to provide the services at the location(s) the time(s) and date(s) or within the period agreed with you. If there might be a delay before we can start or restart the services, we will email you to let you know as soon as reasonably possible. However, we are not liable to you for any losses you incur as a result of any delay caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control (for example, severe weather, accidents or unpredictable traffic delays).

7.6 Where a delay is caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, we will usually try to start or restart the services as soon as the issue causing the delay has been resolved. If the services are delayed by more than 14 days, we will contact you in writing to let you know and offer you the option to either continue waiting until the issue has been resolved (if this is possible) or to cancel your instructions and get a refund of any advance payments made by you for any services that have not yet been provided.

7.7 We are not liable to you for any losses you incur where the services are delayed or cannot be performed because you fail to make the location available to us, fail to prepare the location as required for us to provide the services, or fail to provide us with adequate instructions or information to allow us to perform the services.

7.8 If you are a consumer, the services are provided to you for your domestic and personal use only. You must not use our services for commercial or business purposes.

7.9 If you are a business customer, you confirm that you are purchasing the services for the purposes of your named business only and not for or on behalf of any third party. Further, you confirm that your business shall remain liable to us under these terms unless both we and you agree in writing to vary these terms.

8. Your privacy and personal information

8.1 Any personal information that you provide to us will be dealt with in line with our Privacy Policy available here https://tcsurveyors.com/privacy-policy which explains what information we collect and hold about you, and how we collect, store, use and share such information.

8.2 Your privacy and personal information are important to us. Any personal information that you provide to us will be dealt with in line with our Privacy Policy, which explains what personal information we collect from you, how and why we collect, store, use and share such information, your rights in relation to your personal information and how to contact us and supervisory authorities if you have a query or complaint about the use of your personal information. 

9. Prices

9.1 Prices for our services are set out in the fee proposal or quotation. All prices are in pounds sterling (£)(GBP) and exclude VAT which shall be applied at the applicable rate. Any additional fees will be agreed with you prior to incurring any additional costs.

9.2 Prices for our services may change at any time. If our prices change, we will try to contact you using the contact details you provided when you placed your instructions. We will give you the option to re-confirm your instructions at the revised price, or to cancel your instructions. If we are unable to contact you, we will treat the instructions as cancelled and notify you by email. We will not apply any change to the price of our services until this has been communicated to you and you have agreed to the change in writing. Except as set out in clause 9.3 below, such changes will not affect existing instructions.

9.3 If there has been an error in the fee proposal or quotation provided to you regarding the pricing of any of our services or disbursements, and this error affects your instructions, we will try to contact you using the contact details you provided when you placed your instructions. We will give you the option to re-confirm your instructions at the correct price or to cancel your instructions. If we are unable to contact you, we will treat the instructions as cancelled and notify you by email.

10. Payment

10.1 We accept payment by bank transfer, or any other payment method agreed upon between you and us.

10.2 We may require an administration fee payment when you place your instructions. We will invoice for this payment when we send you your instructions confirmation email. If the payment is unsuccessful/remains unpaid, we will not proceed with the instruction until the balance has been settled. 

10.3 We will invoice you for the remaining amount either in the process of undertaking the instructions or after we have completed the services. Your invoice will be sent to the email address you provided when you placed your instructions and must be paid by you within 14 days of the deemed dateof receipt.

10.4 If your payment is not received by us when due, we may charge interest on any balance outstanding at the rate of 8 percent per year above the Bank of England base rate.

11. Consumer cancellation rights

This clause 11 only applies to you if you are a consumer.

11.1 You have 14 days from the date of your instructions confirmation email to change your mind and cancel your instructions.

11.2 We will not provide any services during the 14-day cancellation period unless you request for us to do so by writing to us. We are under no obligation to accept your request.

11.3 If you request for us to start providing services during the 14-day cancellation period and we agree to do so, this will impact your cancellation rights as follows:

11.3.1 you lose your right to cancel once the services are fully performed and will not be entitled to a refund even if the cancellation period has not expired;

11.3.2 if the services have not been fully performed, you will be required to pay for the services provided up to the time that you told us that you want to cancel.

11.4 To cancel your instructions, please email us at office@tcsurveyors.com or call us on 01451 600358. To help us process your cancellation more quickly, please have your full property address including postcode  ready or include it in the email you send to us.

11.5 We will provide you with a refund as soon as possible and no later than 14 days after the day on which you told us that you want to cancel. If services have been provided during the cancellation period at your request, we will make deductions from any refund due to you as explained in clause 11.3 above.

11.6 If your instructions are cancelled, we will issue your refund to the same payment method you used when you placed your instructions.

12. Faulty services—consumers

This clause 12 only applies to you if you are a consumer.

12.1 We must provide the services to you with reasonable care and skill.

12.2 We are under a legal duty to supply services that are in conformity with our contract with you.

12.3 If a service is not carried out with reasonable care and skill, you can ask us to repeat the service or to fix it, or get some money back if we cannot fix it.

12.4 This is a summary of some of your key rights. They are in addition to your cancellation rights set out in clause 11above. For more detailed information on your rights, you can contact:

12.4.1 The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors website at www.rics.orgor call 0247 686 8555, or

12.4.2 The Property Ombudsman website at www.tpos.co.uk or call 01722 333 306, or

12.4.3 Citizens’ Advice Bureau website at www.citizensadvice.org.ukor call 0808 223 1133.

12.5 If there is a problem with a service we have provided to you, please contact us as soon as reasonably possible.

13. Faulty services—business customers

This clause 13 only applies to you if you are a business customer.

13.1 We warrant that the services will be:

13.1.1 performed with reasonable care and skill within the meaning of section 13 of the Sale of Goods and Services Act 1982; and

13.1.2 free from material defects at the time the services are completed.

13.2 As your sole and exclusive remedy, we will (at our option) remedy or re-perform any services that do not comply with clause 13.1, provided that:

13.2.1 you notify us by email to office@tcsurveyors.com within 7 calendar days from the date that the services are completed; and

13.2.2 you provide us with sufficient information as to the nature and extent of the defects.

13.3 Except as set out in this clause 13, we give no warranties and make no representations in relation to the services, and all warranties and conditions (including the conditions implied by sections 12–16 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 and any implied terms relating to the ability to achieve a particular result), whether express or implied by statute, common law or otherwise are excluded to the extent permitted by law.

13.4 For more detailed information on your rights, you can contact:

13.4.1 The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors website at www.rics.org or call 0247 686 8555, or

13.4.2 The Property Ombudsman website at www.tpos.co.ukor call 01722 333 306.

14. Events beyond our control

We are not liable to you if we fail to comply with these terms because of circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

15. Our liability to consumers

This clause 15 only applies to you if you are a consumer.

15.1 If we breach these terms or are negligent, we are liable to you for foreseeable loss or damage that you suffer as a result. By ‘foreseeable’ we mean that, at the time the contract was made, it was either clear that such loss or damage would occur or you and we both knew that it might reasonably occur, as a result of something we did (or failed to do).

15.2 We are not liable to you for any loss or damage that was not foreseeable, any loss or damage not caused by our breach or negligence, or any business loss or damage.

15.3 Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for any death or personal injury caused by our negligence, liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that the law does not allow us to exclude or limit.

16. Our liability to business customers

This clause 16 only applies to you if you are a business customer.

16.1 Subject to the below, our liability under or in connection with these terms (regardless of whether such liability arises in tort, contract or in any other way and whether or not caused by negligence or misrepresentation) will not exceed the total price paid for the services OR the amount of £250,000 whichever is the lesser.

16.2 We will not be liable to you under or in connection with these terms (regardless of whether such liability arises in tort, contract or in any other way and whether or not caused by negligence or misrepresentation) for:

16.2.1 consequential, indirect or special losses; or

16.2.2 any of the following (whether direct or indirect):

(a) loss of profit;

(b) loss of opportunity;

(c) loss of savings, discount or rebate (whether actual or anticipated); or

(d) harm to reputation or loss of goodwill.

16.3 Nothing in these terms will limit or exclude our liability for:

16.3.1 death or personal injury caused by negligence;

16.3.2 fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or

16.3.3 any other losses which cannot be excluded or limited by law.

17. No third party rights

No one other than us or you has any right to enforce any of these terms.

18. Complaints

18.1 If you are unhappy with us or the services we have provided to you, please contact us at office@tcsurveyors.com.

18.2 Our Complaint Handling Policy is available here https://tcsurveyors.com/complaints-procedure

18.3 If your complaint cannot be resolved in accordance with our Complaint Handling Policy or you are unhappy with the outcome, you may want to submit your complaint to RICS Dispute Resolution Service, 55 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 2AA 

Tel: 020 7334 3806 Email: drs@rics.org Web: www.rics.org/drs. 

18.4 The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) by going to www.cedr.com. The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) is the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider we use and is approved by the government to provide ADR services. ADR is a process for resolving disputes that does not involve going to court. If you do not wish to use ADR or are unhappy with the outcome of ADR, you can still bring court proceedings.

19. Governing law and jurisdiction

19.1 If you are a consumer, the laws of England and Wales apply to these terms, although if you are resident elsewhere you will retain the benefit of any mandatory protections given to you by the laws of that country. Any disputes will be subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. This means that you can choose whether to bring a claim in the courts of England and Wales or in the courts of another part of the UK in which you live.

19.2 If you are a business customer, these terms and any dispute or claim arising out of, or in connection with, the terms, their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of England and Wales. You and us both irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of, or in connection with, these terms, their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).

20. General terms

20.1 You are not allowed to transfer, sub-contract, encumber or assign your rights under these terms (in whole or part) to anyone without our prior written consent. We may transfer our rights under these terms to another business without your consent, but we will notify you of the transfer and make sure that your rights are not adversely affected as a result.

20.2 Nothing in this Agreement constitutes, or shall be deemed to constitute, a partnership between the parties nor make any party the agent of another party.

20.3 If any provision of these terms (or part of any provision) is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable, the legality, validity and enforceability of any other provision of these terms will not be affected.

20.4 If you breach these terms and we take no action, we will still be entitled to use our rights and remedies in any other situation where you breach these terms. No failure, delay or omission by us to exercise any right, power or remedy shall be considered as a waiver of those rights, powers or remedies, nor shall any partial exercise preclude any future exercise of the same, or of some other right, power or remedy.

20.5 If you are a business customer, you warrant and undertake to us that you have full right, power and entitlement to enter into these terms without reference to any other person. Further, you warrant to us that your signatory or signatories to our terms have full right, power and entitlement to execute them on behalf of your business.

20.6 If you are a business customer, any variation to these terms will not be binding unless expressly agreed in writing between you and us.

20.7 If you are a business customer, you and we both agree that these terms constitute the entire agreement between you and us in relation to your instructions. You acknowledge that you have not entered into these terms in reliance on any representation or warranty that is not expressly set out in these terms and that you will have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation on the basis of any statement in these terms.