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AES Maintenance — Terms of Service

DRAFT — not for publication. Not legal advice. AES's solicitor must review before go-live (Gate D). The live editable version is the "AES Maintenance — Terms of Service (draft)" doc; if they differ, the doc wins and this file is updated from it. Items in [square brackets] are placeholders.

Solicitor checklist: (1) the 50% late-cancellation charge inside the 14-day cooling-off period; (2) consumer liability limits in section 6; (3) AES's role as contracting party and waste broker in section 5; (4) saved-card authority in section 2.4; (5) VAT number, complaints email, insurer name.

1. About us and who does the work

1.1 Who we are. AES Maintenance is a trading name of Absolute Environmental Solutions LTD, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 12258371), registered office Norton Canes, Cannock, Staffordshire. VAT number [VAT number]. We are registered with the Environment Agency as a waste broker and dealer, registration CBDU309472.

1.2 How to contact us. Phone +44 7432 607493, email [enquiries@aes-maintenance.co.uk], or through your account at aes-maintenance.co.uk.

1.3 These terms. These terms apply to every service you book with us through our website, by phone or by accepting a quote. Please read them before you book. By ticking the box at checkout you agree to them. The description, price and options shown on the booking page also form part of your contract.

1.4 Who carries out the work. Cleaning is carried out by self-employed cleaners we engage. Skip hire, waste collection, house clearances, window, roof and drain cleaning are carried out by licensed, vetted contractors we appoint for your job. Whoever does the work, your contract is with us and we remain responsible to you for the service under these terms.

1.5 Where we work. We cover the postcode areas listed on our website. If you book for an address outside them, we will tell you and refund anything you have paid.

2. Booking, prices and payment

2.1 When your booking is confirmed.

2.2 Prices. All prices include VAT at the current rate. The price is fixed for the option you choose, plus any extras or surcharges shown before you pay.

2.3 Prices depend on what you tell us. Prices are based on the information you give (number of bedrooms and bathrooms, condition, skip size, load size, access). If what we find on the day is materially different, for example more waste than booked or a property far larger or dirtier than described, we will tell you before doing any extra work and give you the choice of paying the difference, reducing the job to what was booked, or cancelling. If you cancel at that point, you pay for any reasonable costs already incurred, such as the contractor's call-out.

2.4 Saved cards and later charges. For regular bookings and contractor-delivered services, you authorise us to store your card securely with our payment provider (Stripe) and to charge it:

We email a receipt for every charge. We never see or store your full card details. You can remove your saved card from your account at any time, but any upcoming bookings that depend on it will then be cancelled under section 3.

2.5 Failed payments. If a charge fails, we email you a secure payment link. We may pause further visits until it is paid.

3. Cancelling or changing a booking

3.1 Your 14-day right to cancel. If you book online or by phone as a consumer, you can cancel within 14 days of the day your booking is confirmed, for any reason, by telling us through your account, by email or by phone.

3.2 If the work happens inside those 14 days. By booking a date within 14 days, you ask us to start the service during the cancellation period. You can still cancel, but:

3.3 Cancelling within 48 hours. If you cancel less than 48 hours before the booked start time, we charge 50% of the booking price, because we will usually have turned away other work or paid a contractor for the slot. If you cancel 48 hours or more before the start time, we refund you in full.

3.4 Rescheduling. You can move a booking free of charge to another available time up to 48 hours before it starts. Moves within 48 hours are treated as a cancellation under section 3.3 unless we can re-fill the slot.

3.5 Skips already delivered. Once a skip has been delivered, the hire charge is not refundable, but we will collect it early at no extra cost.

3.6 Regular bookings. You can stop a regular booking at any time. Each visit is treated as a separate booking for the 48-hour rule.

3.7 If we have to cancel. If we cannot provide your service (for example no cleaner or contractor is available, severe weather, or it is unsafe), we will tell you as soon as possible and offer another date. If that doesn't suit you, we refund everything you have paid for that booking. For contractor-delivered services where we have not yet confirmed a date, your card will not have been charged.

3.8 If you are not there or we cannot get in. If we arrive at the booked time and cannot get access, cannot place a skip where agreed, or the work cannot safely go ahead because of something within your control, we treat it as a cancellation within 48 hours.

4. Your responsibilities

4.1 Access. Make sure we can get into the property and to the work area at the booked time, with somewhere legal to park within a reasonable distance. Tell us about stairs, narrow access or parking restrictions when you book.

4.2 Keys and access codes. If you give us keys or an access code, we store them securely, use them only for your booking and return or delete them when you ask or when your bookings end. Tell us if an alarm needs setting.

4.3 Water and electricity. Cleaning needs running hot water and working electricity; window and drain cleaning may need an outside tap. If these aren't available, we may not be able to complete the job (section 3.8).

4.4 Pets and people. Keep pets secured away from the work area. Children and pets should be kept away from skips, open drains and cleaning equipment.

4.5 Valuables and fragile items. Put away cash, jewellery and items of special value or fragility before we arrive. Tell us about any surfaces or items that need special care.

4.6 Accurate information. Describe the job honestly when you book, including anything hazardous. Under section 2.3, prices depend on it.

4.7 Safety. Our cleaners and contractors can refuse or stop work that is unsafe, including where there is aggressive behaviour, a pest infestation, biohazards, or suspected asbestos. If that happens because of something you didn't tell us, section 3.8 applies.

5. Service-specific terms

Cleaning

5.1 What each clean includes is set out on its service page. We bring our own cleaning products and equipment unless agreed otherwise.

5.2 Cleaning improves condition but can't remove permanent marks, wear, damage, mould staining or limescale build-up that won't come away with normal methods. We will point out anything like this.

5.3 End-of-tenancy re-clean. If your landlord or letting agent reports a cleaning issue within 72 hours of our clean, and it is something our clean covered, we return to put it right free of charge. Send us their report or photos. This doesn't cover items added after our visit, damage, or areas we couldn't access.

Skips, waste collection, waste removal and house clearances

5.4 Your duty of care. You are legally responsible for making sure your household waste goes to someone authorised to take it. We appoint only contractors registered with the Environment Agency, give you their registration number and send you a waste transfer note or receipt afterwards. Keep it.

5.5 What can't be included. Asbestos, gas cylinders, paint, oils and other liquids, chemicals, tyres, batteries, fluorescent tubes and clinical waste cannot go in a skip or a general load. Sofas, armchairs and other upholstered seating, fridges and freezers, mattresses and plasterboard need separate handling and carry the surcharges shown at booking. If prohibited or undeclared items are found, the contractor may refuse them or we will charge the extra disposal cost, which we will tell you first.

5.6 Skip placement and permits. A skip on your own drive needs no permit. A skip on a road, verge or pavement needs a council permit, which we arrange and add to the price; it can only be delivered once the permit is issued. You are responsible for any damage to your drive or surface caused by placing the skip where you asked, unless the contractor was negligent.

5.7 Filling a skip. Don't fill above the top edge or let others use it. Heavy materials (soil, rubble, tiles) reach the weight limit before the skip looks full. An overfilled or overweight skip may not be collected until it is made safe, and any extra disposal cost will be charged.

5.8 Hire period. Skips are hired for 1 week unless agreed otherwise. Extra weeks are charged at the rate shown on our website.

5.9 Van loads. Van collections are priced by the space your waste takes in the van. If there's more than you booked, the crew will tell you the price for the extra before loading it.

5.10 House clearances. Before the clearance, remove anything you want to keep and tell us about anything that must not be removed. We are not responsible for items left in the property that you meant to keep.

Windows, roofs and drains

5.11 Window cleaning is external unless you book interior cleaning. We can't clean windows we can't safely reach.

5.12 Roof cleaning quotes include the access equipment needed. Roof cleaning won't fix broken or slipped tiles, which we will report to you if we see them.

5.13 Drain cleaning covers the drains you are responsible for. If the blockage is in a shared or public sewer, it's the water company's responsibility; we will tell you and charge only the call-out shown at booking.

6. Problems, complaints and liability

6.1 Tell us quickly. If you're unhappy with a service, tell us within 48 hours of it finishing (72 hours for an end-of-tenancy clean, under section 5.3), with photos if you can, by email to [complaints email] or through your account. We will reply within 2 working days.

6.2 Putting it right. We will first offer to put the problem right at no cost, usually by returning to redo the affected part. If we can't, or the redo doesn't fix it, we will give you a fair price reduction or refund.

6.3 Your legal rights. We must carry out our services with reasonable care and skill, as described, and for the price agreed. Nothing in these terms affects your legal rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Citizens Advice can explain them.

6.4 Damage. We hold public liability insurance. If something is damaged through our or our contractor's fault, tell us within 48 hours with photos. We will repair, replace or pay a fair value for it. We are not responsible for damage caused by an existing fault or wear, by items that weren't secured or were faulty, or by following your instructions.

6.5 What we are not responsible for. We are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of us breaking these terms or failing to use reasonable care. We are not responsible for loss that wasn't foreseeable, or for business losses if you are a consumer using a service for business purposes.

6.6 What we never exclude. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn't allow us to limit.

7. Business customers, your data and general terms

7.1 Business customers. If you book for a business (for example office cleaning), the 14-day right to cancel in section 3.1 doesn't apply, and our total liability to you for any one booking or contract is limited to [the price paid for that booking or 12 months' charges under a contract], except where the law doesn't allow this. We are not liable to business customers for loss of profit, business or data. A written contract or quote for regular commercial work may set out different terms, which take priority.

7.2 Your personal data. We use your personal details to provide the service, take payment and contact you about your booking, as explained in our [Privacy Notice]. We share only what's needed with the cleaner or contractor doing your job, and with Stripe for payments. We will only send marketing if you opt in.

7.3 Photos. Cleaners and contractors may take photos of the work area before and after the job, as a record of the work and for any complaint or claim. They are stored securely and not published without your permission.

7.4 Changes to these terms. We may update these terms. The version in force when you book applies to that booking. For regular bookings, we will email you at least 14 days before a change applies, and you can stop the booking free of charge before then.

7.5 Events outside our control. We are not responsible for delays or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as severe weather, road closures or a contractor's vehicle breakdown. We will tell you and rearrange, or refund you for anything not provided.

7.6 Other. If a court decides part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies. Only you and we have rights under this contract. If we don't enforce a term straight away, we can still enforce it later.

7.7 Law and courts. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. You can bring a claim in the courts of England and Wales; if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring a claim in your local courts.