TERMS & CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS
We are committed to delivering the highest quality work for every customer at a fixed price.
Please see our small print detailed below.
PRICING
We operate a ‘fixed’ pricing scheme for a straightforward sweep or job.
We rely on you to tell us what we are sweeping – the price will be quoted to you based on that information. If you have failed to tell us in advance of any problems or if, for example, your fireplace is larger than average, we reserve the right to ‘re-quote’ on arrival. You may decline to use the service at that point.
If we encounter a problem (this might be a blockage or a flue problem) the sweep will advise you in advance of completing any work if there is likely to be any extra charge made.
If you decide you do not want the sweep to continue with the job, we reserve the right to make a charge to cover our costs including a contribution to works already taken undertaken.
CHARGES (Prices include VAT at 20%)
Standard Sweep £75.00 (within 15 miles of Elgin or Inverurie)
Standard Sweep £85.00 (up to 30 miles from Elgin or Inverurie)
Standard Sweep £95.00 (over 30 miles from Elgin or Inverurie)
Pre-Installation Sweep with Camera Check £120.00
Full CCTV Check with Comprehensive Report £POA
Cowl Replacement £110 (includes a stainless-steel bird guard cowl)
Bird Nest Removal £50.00 (plus call out or sweep charge)
Brick Replacement £25 per standard brick cut on site
Rope Replacement £20 per stove (includes rope & glue)
Glass Replacement £10 charge plus cost of glass
Standard Call-out Charge £48.00
CANCELLATION
We understand our customers lead busy lives. If you need to change or cancel an appointment, please let us know as soon as possible, with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice. We have allocated that slot to you specifically and a late cancellation notice means we cannot offer that appointment to someone else.
We reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee of up to 100% of the quoted price, in the event that no-one is at home when we attend the property and/or we cannot gain access.
We also reserve the right to charge in the event of a late cancellation (less than 24 hours’ notice) subject to the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
PAYMENT
Payment is due at the time of provision of service, except where alternative arrangements are arranged in advance.
Various payments are available:
• Cash payments can be made directly to the chimney sweep
• You may phone our showrooms and pay by DEBIT or CREDIT card
• BACS (bank transfer) details will be provided at the time of service if payment is not received. A reference will also be provided
• We can email an invoice, and payment will be required within 7 days
NESTS OR BLOCKAGES
We are unable to remove ‘live’ birds’ nests (usually found between April and June when Jackdaws are nesting) as it is illegal to do so (please see RSPB guidelines).
If we find a nest in the chimney when we are sweeping, we will usually arrange to come back to remove it when it is legal to do so. Please don’t ask us, or any other person, to break the law and remove the nest.
We may charge for our time if we cannot sweep. This will be credited to your account when we return to remove the nest for you.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS
While great care is taken to prevent damage to your property, the sweep cannot be held responsible for badly maintained or deteriorating pots, cowls, chimney stacks, fireplaces or any other part of your chimney. Material information should be disclosed, such as age and type of bird guard or cover, and any known problems.
No responsibility can be accepted for chimney problems that occurred during sweeping that were not obvious before the sweep was undertaken or have not been advised to us if known by the customer.
We’ll do our best to advise you and take precautions to prevent damage, but in some instances, we may recommend remedial work prior to sweeping or ask you to sign a
disclaimer to allow us to continue. Please don’t be offended – we’d rather you knew in advance.
We aim to sweep all types of appliances that burn solid fuel, wood, oil or gas, in residential or commercial premises. We do encounter some problems with woodburning stoves (and sometimes other installations) that have been fitted without provision for sweeping. Worse, some are not ‘legal’ installations and are just plain dangerous. We will do our best to sweep but sometimes we will be unable to undertake the job, leaving you with the best advice we can offer to rectify the problem.
Stainless steel flue liners are not indestructible. We carry a range of brushes and will use the one most suitable for the job, but tar is the enemy of steel flue and very aggressive cleaning may not be appropriate. We will do our best! For the sweeping of Aga and Rayburn flues make sure the appliance is switched off the allowing plenty of time (at least 24 hours) to cool down. If we are unable to sweep, as the appliance is too hot, we reserve the right to charge a call out fee.
CERTIFACTES OF SWEEPING
Your insurance company may require a certificate of sweeping the chimney. We will happily provide a certificate for every chimney we attend; details are retained on file should you need them.
The certificate is not warranty or guarantee that your chimney is safe to use since a full visual inspection (CCTV or other) has not been made and soundness or integrity testing has not been carried out. These are separate tasks that can be performed if any problems or concerns are highlighted by our customer or by the sweep. The certificate is confirmation however that we have passed a brush or appropriate device through the flue and removed as much soot and/or debris as we are able.
FITTING CAGES, CAPS & COWLS
It is frequently necessary to cross the roof in order to reach the chimney stack. If it can be avoided, we will not use the roof ladder to avoid broken tiles and/or guttering. When we do have to use it, we will take every care in placing the ladder to avoid broken tiles and/or guttering. We rely on our customer to advise us if there are any problems already identified.
WEATHER
If we are working outdoors (such as fitting a cage, cap or cowl) the work will be dependent upon the weather being suitable for working from a ladder. We’re sorry if we have to postpone but we will carry out the work as soon as we possible can.