Terms and Conditions for Gardening Services
These Terms and Conditions set out the basis on which gardening services are supplied by Gardeners Cockfosters, referred to in this document as “we”, “us” or “our”. They apply to all domestic and commercial customers who book any form of garden maintenance, landscaping support, clearance, pruning, turf care, planting, hedge trimming or related outdoor work. By making a booking, the customer, referred to as “you” or “the client”, agrees to these terms. Please read them carefully before confirming any appointment or accepting a quotation.
Our service agreement is designed to be clear, practical and fair. It explains how bookings are made, how payments are handled, when cancellations may apply, what responsibilities both parties have, and how matters such as waste, liability and governing law are managed. The wording below is intended to apply generally across our gardening services and may be supplemented by a written quotation, invoice, work order or other agreed document. If there is any conflict between these Terms and a specific written agreement, the written agreement will take priority for the subject matter it addresses.
We reserve the right to update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in law, operational practice or the nature of the work we provide. The version in force at the time of booking will usually apply to that booking, unless a later change is required by law. Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer where those rights cannot lawfully be excluded.
Booking process begins when you request a quotation, submit an enquiry, accept an estimate or otherwise ask us to carry out gardening work. Any estimate given before a site visit or before all details are known is based on the information available at the time and may be subject to change if the scope of work differs from the original description. For example, if a garden clearance turns out to involve substantially more waste, overgrowth or access difficulty than expected, we may revise the price before starting or continuing the service.
Once a booking is confirmed, we will usually provide a date or time window and may also confirm the expected duration, the team required and any preparation needed from you. A booking is only considered binding when we confirm it, whether verbally, by email, by text message or through another written record. We may decline a booking where the requested work is unsafe, unlawful, outside our competence, or not commercially viable. In addition, we may ask for photographs, measurements or further information before confirming the appointment, particularly where the work is complex or weather-sensitive.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the information you give is accurate and complete. If the site differs materially from the description provided, we may need to adjust the price, reschedule the visit, change the staffing level or refuse part of the work. You must ensure that access is available at the agreed time, that pets and vulnerable items are safely secured, and that any special hazards are disclosed in advance. Where permission from a landlord, managing agent, freeholder or other third party is required, you are responsible for obtaining it before the work starts.
Payments and pricing will be set out in the quotation, booking confirmation or invoice. Unless expressly stated otherwise, all prices are in pounds sterling and may be subject to VAT where applicable. Quotations are generally based on labour, equipment, disposal costs and any specialist materials requested. If we agree to supply plants, soil, mulch, fertiliser, timber, paving materials or other items, these may be charged separately unless included in a fixed-price arrangement. Any additional work requested after the booking is confirmed may be charged at our standard rate or at a revised agreed rate.
We may request a deposit for larger projects, repeat services or bookings involving ordered materials. Where a deposit is required, the booking may not be reserved until the deposit is received. Final payment is due on completion unless a different payment schedule is agreed in writing. We accept payment by the methods stated on the invoice or booking confirmation. If payment is not made on time, we reserve the right to charge reasonable interest and recovery costs to the extent permitted by law, suspend further work, or withhold future appointments until the account is settled.
It is your duty to pay all undisputed sums by the due date. If you believe an invoice contains an error, you should notify us promptly and provide the reasons for your concern. Any dispute about part of an invoice does not entitle you to withhold the remainder unless the disputed amount genuinely affects the whole invoice. We may issue a revised invoice where appropriate, but this does not remove your obligation to pay for work properly carried out and accepted. Payment does not affect your statutory rights in relation to any service that was not delivered with reasonable care and skill.
Cancellations and rearrangements are often necessary in garden work because of weather, access issues and changing site conditions. If you need to cancel or move a booking, you should give us as much notice as possible. Where we incur costs in preparation for the job, including material purchase, labour allocation or travel arrangements, we may charge a cancellation fee or retain some or all of any deposit to cover reasonable losses, to the extent permitted by law and disclosed in advance where possible. The exact amount will depend on the timing of the cancellation and the nature of the booking.
If you cancel within a short period before the scheduled start time, or if we arrive and cannot complete the job because access is unavailable, the site is unsafe, or the work cannot proceed for reasons within your control, we may charge for wasted time, call-out costs or a minimum attendance fee. If we must cancel or postpone due to severe weather, illness, mechanical breakdown or another event beyond our control, we will aim to rearrange the visit within a reasonable period. We are not responsible for indirect loss caused by a necessary rescheduling, provided we act reasonably and in good faith.
Nothing in this section limits your right to cancel where such a right applies under consumer law or any mandatory cooling-off period. However, where you ask us to begin work within a statutory cancellation period, you may be asked to acknowledge that you want the service to start before that period ends and that you may lose the right to cancel once the work is fully performed, in accordance with applicable law.
Liability and service standards are governed by the principle that we will carry out the work with reasonable care and skill, using suitable methods and competent personnel. We will take reasonable steps to protect the garden and surrounding property, but garden work can involve unpredictable conditions such as hidden roots, unstable ground, underground services, brittle structures, nesting wildlife or pre-existing defects. We are not responsible for issues that could not reasonably have been foreseen, provided we acted with appropriate care and followed any information you supplied.
You should inform us before the work begins of any known hazards, including buried cables, irrigation systems, drainage covers, fragile edging, structural defects, asbestos risk, contaminated soil, aggressive animals, or areas that must not be disturbed. If you fail to disclose relevant information, we will not be liable for damage or delay caused by that omission. Where it is reasonable to do so, we may pause work to seek clarification or to protect the site. Any instructions you give after work has started should be clear and lawful; if they would create a safety or legal issue, we may decline to follow them.
To the fullest extent allowed by law, we do not exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded by law. Subject to that, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of enjoyment, or loss arising from events outside our reasonable control. Where we are found liable for a breach of contract or negligence, our total liability will ordinarily be limited to the amount paid or payable for the specific service giving rise to the claim, unless a higher limit is required by law.
Property protection is part of our working practice, but it remains important that the site is ready for attendance. You are responsible for moving delicate items, ornaments, garden furniture, decorations, potted plants or valuables if you do not want them to be exposed to risk during the work. We may cover or move items where practical, but we are not obliged to handle fragile objects that are difficult to move safely. If you request that we work close to glass, vehicles, greenhouses, irrigation fittings or other sensitive features, you accept that additional care may be needed and that some residual risk may remain even when reasonable precautions are taken.
We may take photographs before, during and after the work for record-keeping, quoting, quality control and dispute resolution. Such images may also be used to demonstrate completed work to the client or to support an invoice. Any personal data obtained in the course of providing services will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection law and our privacy practices, as relevant. We will not knowingly disclose personal information except where required for the performance of the contract, legal compliance or legitimate business administration.
Where access to your property is arranged through a third party, you remain responsible for ensuring that the arrangement is lawful and that the person granting access is authorised to do so. If access is delayed or denied, we may charge for the time reserved. We may also refuse to continue if doing so would place our staff, your property or the public at risk.
Waste regulations and green waste handling are an important part of gardening services. Unless we expressly agree otherwise, any waste we remove as part of the work will be handled in line with relevant environmental and waste management obligations. This may include green waste, soil, branches, grass cuttings, leaves, hedge trimmings, invasive plant material, old timber and similar materials arising from garden operations. We will generally collect and transport waste to authorised disposal or recycling facilities, or use lawful composting, mulching or recovery methods where appropriate.
Where waste is included in the service price, the quotation will usually reflect the expected volume and type of waste. If the waste quantity is significantly higher than expected, or if it includes restricted items such as treated wood, rubble, non-organic refuse, contaminated materials or items requiring special handling, we may charge an additional fee or decline to remove it. You must tell us in advance about any material that may be regulated, hazardous, invasive, or otherwise unsuitable for ordinary green waste disposal. We do not accept responsibility for waste that is concealed, misdescribed or illegally presented for removal.
You must not ask us to dispose of items in a way that breaches environmental law. If we believe a request would create a regulatory risk, we may refuse it without liability. When waste transfer documentation, receipts or other records are required, we may complete them in accordance with applicable rules. If waste is left on site at your request, you are responsible for storing, transporting and disposing of it lawfully. Fly-tipping, improper dumping and unauthorised burning are prohibited, and any request connected with such activity will be rejected immediately.
Client responsibilities include ensuring that the area is available, that the service can be carried out safely, and that any permissions required for the work are in place. You should also notify us of restrictions affecting parking, loading, noise, working hours, shared access, wildlife protections or leasehold rules where relevant. If the garden contains features that require specialist treatment, such as ponds, mature trees, formal lawns, retaining walls or sensitive planting, you should alert us before work begins so that we can decide whether the requested service is suitable.
We will do our best to follow reasonable instructions, but we are not obliged to perform any task that is unsafe, unlawful, outside the agreed scope or beyond the competence of the team attending. If a task is requested on the day and would materially alter the price or time required, we may treat it as a separate instruction and quote accordingly. Any change to the scope of work should ideally be confirmed in writing, especially where the project involves multiple visits or substantial labour.
Force majeure, termination and general provisions apply where events beyond reasonable control affect performance. Such events may include extreme weather, fire, flood, strikes, transport disruption, utility failure, disease outbreak or other emergencies. In those circumstances, either party may need to postpone the service without being in breach. If the contract is terminated by either party before completion, you must pay for services already provided and any non-recoverable costs properly incurred up to that point. We may end the agreement immediately if you provide unsafe instructions, fail to pay, behave abusively, or materially breach these Terms.
These Terms and Conditions, together with the accepted quotation or booking confirmation, form the entire agreement between the parties for the relevant service unless a separate written contract says otherwise. If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect. A failure by us to enforce a right immediately does not waive that right. No person other than the parties to the contract shall have any right to enforce its terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 unless expressly stated otherwise.
Governing law shall be the law of England and Wales, and any dispute arising from or in connection with these Terms or the services supplied will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. This applies whether the issue concerns payment, cancellation, liability, waste handling, contractual interpretation or any other matter connected with the gardening services. By proceeding with a booking, you confirm that you have read and understood these Terms and agree to be bound by them in relation to all services supplied.