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Terms of business

Terms & Conditions

These terms apply to every quotation we give and every job we carry out. Please read them before accepting a quotation — by accepting, you agree to them.

Nothing in these terms removes your statutory rights. If you are a consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 apply to our contract, and any term here that conflicts with them does not apply to you.

1Who we are

  1. We are Excite Driveways and Landscaping, Frederick Boyling, ("we", "us", "our").
  2. You can contact us on 07500 014014 or at Excitedriveways@gmail.com. Formal notices under these terms must be sent by email to that email address above. ..
  3. .
  4. We hold public liability insurance with Simply Business to the value of £10 MILLION. A copy of the certificate is available on request.

2Definitions

  1. "Works" means the work described in our quotation, and nothing else.
  2. "Site" means the property or land where the Works are to be carried out.
  3. "Quotation" means the written quotation we issue to you, including any drawings, specifications or material schedules attached to it.
  4. "Variation" means any change to the Works agreed after the Quotation is accepted.

3Quotations

  1. Our Quotation is valid for 30 days from its date. After that we may re-price it, in particular where material or fuel costs have changed.
  2. A Quotation is an offer to carry out the Works described. It is not a contract until accepted in accordance with clause 4.
  3. Quotations are based on a visual inspection of the Site and on the ground being in a condition we could reasonably expect. They assume normal ground conditions, normal access, and that there are no unmarked services, structures or contaminants beneath the surface.
  4. Unless expressly listed in the Quotation, the price excludes:
    • removal or disposal of asbestos, contaminated ground, Japanese knotweed or other hazardous material;
    • breaking out concrete, hardstanding, old foundations, tree stumps or root systems not visible at the time of quoting;
    • drainage works, soakaways, ducting, lighting or electrical works;
    • structural retaining walls or engineered solutions;
    • local authority fees, dropped kerb applications, highways licences, skip permits or parking suspensions;
    • reinstatement of lawns, planting or surfaces outside the Works area that are unavoidably affected by access, plant or deliveries.
  5. Where a Quotation is described as an "estimate", it is an indicative figure only and the final price will be calculated on the labour, plant and materials actually used.
  6. Design suggestions, sketches, layouts and material recommendations we provide remain our property and may not be passed to another contractor for pricing or execution.

4Accepting the quotation

  1. A binding contract is formed when you accept the Quotation in writing (including by email or text message) and we have received the deposit under clause 5.
  2. If you ask us to begin work without written acceptance, and we do so, you are treated as having accepted the Quotation and these terms in full.
  3. These terms apply to the exclusion of any other terms you seek to impose, including any terms on a purchase order.

5Deposits and payment

  1. A deposit of 25% of the contract price is payable on acceptance, to secure your slot in our schedule and to fund the ordering of materials.
  2. On jobs lasting more than five working days, we may require stage payments as set out in the Quotation. Stage payments fall due on the day the relevant stage is completed.
  3. The balance is due on completion of the Works, or within 7 days of our invoice where we have agreed invoicing in advance.
  4. Payment must be made in full without set-off, deduction or retention. You may not withhold payment of the whole price because of a minor or disputed item; where an item is genuinely in dispute you may withhold a reasonable sum proportionate to that item only, and must pay the rest.
  5. If payment is late we may charge interest at 4% per year above the Bank of England base rate, running daily from the due date until payment is received. Where you are contracting as a business, interest and compensation will instead be charged under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
  6. If payment is more than 14 days late we may suspend all work on the Site and on any other contract we have with you, and recover our reasonable costs of recovering the debt, including legal and agency costs.
  7. Our guarantee under clause 12 does not come into effect until the contract price has been paid in full.

6Your right to cancel

  1. If you are a consumer and the contract was agreed at your home or somewhere other than our business premises, you have the right to cancel within 14 days of entering into the contract, without giving a reason. To cancel, tell us in writing at the contact details in clause 1 before the 14 days expire.
  2. If you ask us in writing to begin the Works during the 14-day period and then cancel, you must pay for the work carried out and materials supplied up to the point of cancellation, calculated in proportion to the full contract price.
  3. Bespoke or made-to-order materials — including cut stone, non-stock colours and mixed resin — cannot be returned once ordered, and are payable in full.
  4. After the cancellation period, if you cancel or postpone indefinitely, the deposit is retained against our losses and you remain liable for the cost of materials already ordered, plant already hired, and work already carried out.
  5. If you postpone a confirmed start date with less than 7 days' notice, we may charge our reasonable costs of the lost slot, plant hire and re-scheduling.

7Your responsibilities

  1. You must give us clear and safe access to the Site during our working hours, together with somewhere reasonable to park vehicles, unload materials and site plant and stockpile spoil.
  2. You must provide access to mains water and a mains electricity supply free of charge where the Works require them.
  3. You must clear the Works area of vehicles, pots, furniture, ornaments, pets and anything else you do not want disturbed before we start.
  4. You must tell us in writing, before work begins, about the position of any private underground services — drainage runs, soakaways, water pipes, oil lines, electrical cabling, irrigation, garden lighting, pool or septic tank pipework, ducting — and any cesspits, wells, mine workings or made ground you know of.
  5. You are responsible for confirming the position of your boundaries. We build to the lines you show us, and we are not liable for boundary disputes with neighbours.
  6. You must obtain and pay for any planning permission, building regulations approval, listed building consent, conservation area consent, highways licence or dropped kerb approval that the Works require. We can advise, but we do not warrant that the Works comply with any consent regime and it remains your responsibility to check.
  7. You must keep children and pets away from the working area, excavations, plant and materials while we are on Site.

8Ground conditions and services

  1. Ground conditions cannot be fully assessed until the Site is excavated. If, once we dig, we find soft spots, running sand, high water table, old foundations, buried concrete, rubble, tree roots, contaminated soil or anything else that means the Works cannot be carried out as quoted, we will stop, tell you, and give you a price for the additional work required.
  2. You may accept that price, instruct us to carry out alternative work, or terminate the contract — in which case you pay for work done and materials supplied to that point.
  3. We are not liable for damage to underground services, structures or landscaping that were not marked, notified to us in writing, or reasonably visible before excavation began.
  4. Where waste turns out on excavation to be classified differently from the classification assumed in our Quotation, the additional disposal cost is payable by you.

9Variations

  1. Any change to the Works must be agreed in writing, including by email or text, before we carry it out. We will confirm the additional cost and any effect on the programme.
  2. Variations are charged at our then-current day rates plus materials, unless we agree a fixed figure.
  3. Additional payment for a Variation falls due on completion of that Variation.

10Timescales and delays

  1. Any start date or duration we give is an estimate made in good faith. Time is not of the essence in this contract.
  2. Groundworks are weather-dependent. We will not lay tarmac, resin, mortar or turf in conditions that would compromise the finish, and we may pause work where rain, frost or ground temperature makes it unsafe or unsuitable to continue.
  3. We are not liable for losses caused by delay, including alternative parking, accommodation, storage, or the costs of other trades — but we will keep you informed and get back on Site as soon as conditions allow.
  4. We may need to leave Site to attend an urgent matter on another job, or to allow curing time. This does not constitute abandonment of the Works.

11Materials and finish

  1. Natural stone, clay and concrete products vary in colour, shade, texture, thickness and marking. Samples, brochure images and previously completed jobs are indicative only, and variation between batches is not a defect.
  2. Efflorescence — a white bloom that appears on new concrete blocks and paving — is a natural part of the curing process. It weathers off over time and is not a defect.
  3. Some settlement and minor movement of jointing sand, pointing and edging is normal in the first months after laying and is not a defect.
  4. Resin bound and tarmac surfaces change slightly in appearance with weathering and UV exposure. Aggregate colour is subject to natural quarry variation.
  5. Where you supply materials yourself, we accept no responsibility for their quality, suitability, quantity or performance, and any resulting rework is chargeable.
  6. All materials remain our property until the final balance is paid. Until then, we may enter the Site and remove them.

12Our guarantee

  1. We guarantee our workmanship for three years from the date of completion. If a defect in our workmanship appears in that period, tell us in writing and we will put it right at our cost.
  2. The guarantee is conditional on the contract price having been paid in full, and on you having maintained the surface reasonably.
  3. The guarantee is personal to you and does not transfer to a new owner of the property unless we agree in writing.
  4. Our obligation under the guarantee is to repair or replace the defective work. It does not extend to compensation for any other loss.
  5. The guarantee does not cover:
    • ground movement, subsidence, heave, tree root growth, flooding or other events outside our control;
    • damage from vehicles heavier than the surface was specified for, skips, scaffolding, plant, or turning under load with power steering;
    • damage from spilt fuel, oil, chemicals, paint, cement, barbecues, fire pits, or de-icing salt;
    • staining, algae, moss, weed growth in joints, or general discolouration — these are maintenance items;
    • damage caused by high-pressure washing, wire brushing, or unsuitable cleaning products;
    • work altered, repaired or interfered with by you or another contractor;
    • materials supplied by you, or defects in manufactured products, which carry only the manufacturer's own warranty;
    • any part of the Works we advised against in writing and which you instructed us to carry out anyway.
  6. Manufacturer warranties on products such as resin, blocks or fencing are passed to you as supplied by the manufacturer, and are subject to that manufacturer's own terms.

13Completion and snagging

  1. The Works are complete when they have been carried out substantially in accordance with the Quotation. Minor snagging items do not prevent completion.
  2. Please inspect the Works with us on completion. Tell us in writing within 7 days of anything you consider defective, so we can look at it while we are still local.
  3. Use of the surface by you — parking on it, walking on it, furnishing it — is taken as acceptance that the Works are complete, without prejudice to the guarantee in clause 12 and to your statutory rights.
  4. Newly laid surfaces need curing time. We will tell you how long to stay off; damage caused by using the surface too early is not covered.

14Our liability

  1. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
  2. Subject to clause 14.1, our total liability arising out of the contract is limited to the contract price.
  3. Subject to clause 14.1, we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business, loss of use, loss of opportunity, or any indirect or consequential loss.
  4. We are not liable for damage to items you were asked to move and did not, or to unmarked underground services (clause 8.3).
  5. We are not liable for wear to driveways, verges, kerbs, grass or shared access routes caused by the normal passage of delivery vehicles and plant necessary to carry out the Works.

15Events outside our control

  1. We are not liable for failure or delay caused by anything outside our reasonable control, including severe weather, flooding, fire, accident, illness, industrial action, transport failure, supply shortages, epidemic, or acts of government.
  2. If such an event continues for more than 8 weeks, either of us may end the contract. You pay for work carried out and materials supplied up to that point, and we refund anything you have paid over that amount.

16Photographs and marketing

  1. We may photograph or film the Works before, during and after completion, and use those images on our website, on social media and in advertising.
  2. We will not publish your name, house number or anything else that identifies your address. If you would rather we did not use images of your property at all, tell us in writing and we will not.

17Data protection

  1. We use your contact details and site information only to quote for, carry out and guarantee the Works, and to meet our legal obligations. We do not sell your data.
  2. We keep records for six years after completion so that we can deal with guarantee claims and meet accounting requirements.

18Complaints

  1. If something is not right, contact us first on 07500 014014 or at Excitedriveways@gmail.com. We will acknowledge within 5 working days and set out how we intend to resolve it.
  2. Please give us a fair opportunity to inspect and put right any alleged defect before instructing another contractor. Where you engage someone else without giving us that opportunity, we are not liable for their costs.

19General

  1. We may use subcontractors to carry out part of the Works. We remain responsible to you for the Works.
  2. If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.
  3. If we do not insist on a term straight away, that does not mean we have given it up.
  4. These terms and any dispute arising from them are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.