Terms & conditions

1. About us and these terms

“We”, “us” and “our” refer to Matthew Jones, trading as Jones Chimney & Stoves, at 21 Scarlatti Road, Basingstoke, RG22 4LY. You can contact us on 07542 105954 or at joneschimneyandstoves@gmail.com.

These terms apply to work for domestic customers acting mainly outside their trade or business. The agreed quotation or booking confirmation sets out the particular work we will provide. Commercial work requires separately agreed terms. Nothing here removes or limits your statutory consumer rights.

2. Bookings and quotations

A booking is agreed when you accept our proposed work and price and we confirm acceptance. Sending an enquiry alone does not reserve an appointment. We will provide the agreed scope, price, these terms and relevant cancellation information in a form you can keep, such as email or paper, before you are bound and confirm the booking accordingly.

Photograph-based estimates may need an on-site assessment. A fixed quotation covers the work described in it. If an assessment identifies additional work, we will explain the options and price and obtain your agreement before carrying it out. You may decline work outside the agreed scope.

3. Prices and payment

The standard power chimney sweep is £70, including a HETAS sweeping certificate for the sweep completed. Additional services, repairs and parts are priced separately unless expressly included in your booking. We will confirm the total payable, including applicable taxes and agreed charges, before you commit.

For sweeping, servicing and inspection appointments, payment is due on completion unless we agree another arrangement beforehand. Installation deposits and stage payments, if required, will be specified in the written quotation and agreed before booking. Deposits are credited against the contract price and are not automatically non-refundable. Statutory cancellation and refund rights take priority.

4. Preparing for our visit

Please ensure the appliance is out of use and completely cold, clear access to the fireplace, and move fragile or valuable items away from the work area. Keep children and pets away from the working space. Let us know about access restrictions, known damage, previous chimney fires, suspected blockages or other relevant concerns.

If safe access is unavailable or the appliance is too hot, we may need to rearrange. We do not impose an automatic full-service charge for a missed or unsuitable appointment. Any separate attendance charge must have been explained and agreed before booking, be reasonable and remain subject to your consumer rights.

5. Sweeping, servicing and inspections

We take reasonable care to protect the surrounding area and remove debris from our work. The agreed service covers the accessible parts of the chimney or appliance. Where the sweep involves a stove, a complimentary clean of the stove and glass is included. This is separate from the optional full stove service and does not include replacement parts. CCTV surveys, specialist deposit removal, nest removal, repairs and replacement parts are included only where expressly agreed.

A sweeping certificate records the work undertaken and observations at the visit. It is not an installation compliance certificate, a structural survey or a guarantee against future faults or chimney fires. An inspection is limited to the agreed scope and what can reasonably be accessed or observed; it does not replace further specialist investigation where needed.

If we find a concern or cannot complete the agreed work, we will explain what we found and the proposed next steps. We will discuss a fair adjustment for incomplete work rather than automatically charging the full price. These scope limits do not excuse a failure to exercise reasonable care and skill.

6. Installations, repairs and access equipment

Installation quotations identify the appliance, materials, labour and finishing work included. Scaffolding, access equipment, waste disposal, decoration and making good are included only where the quotation says so; any arrangements you must make will be identified before agreement.

We will agree who is responsible for necessary permissions, approvals and notifications. You must have authority to commission work at the property. Our responsibilities for carrying out the work lawfully and competently are not transferred to you. Relevant installation documentation will be provided as applicable to the agreed work.

We will pause and discuss hidden defects, unsafe conditions or unexpected work before continuing. Changes to the price or scope require your agreement. If a change cannot be agreed, we will explain the position and seek a fair resolution, including appropriate treatment of any payments for work not supplied.

7. Changing an appointment

Please give as much notice as possible if you need to cancel or rearrange; we ask for at least 24 hours where practicable. This request does not shorten your legal cancellation rights. There is no automatic late-cancellation fee under these terms.

Outside any statutory cancellation period, an installation cancellation may involve reasonable, evidenced losses directly caused by the cancellation, after taking account of costs saved and steps we can take to reduce the loss. We will explain any proposed deduction and refund the remaining balance. We will not automatically retain the whole deposit or charge for work we have not done.

8. Your cooling-off rights

Where consumer cancellation law applies to a service booked at a distance or away from our premises, you may cancel without giving a reason until 14 days after the day the contract is made. Tell us clearly by phone, email, WhatsApp or post before the deadline. The optional cancellation wording below may be used, but is not compulsory.

For qualifying service cancellations, we refund payments within 14 days of being told, using the original payment method unless you agree otherwise, without a refund fee. A lawful proportionate charge for work started at your express request may be deducted as explained below. If required cancellation information has not been supplied, the legal cancellation period may be extended.

9. Work requested during the cooling-off period

If you want work to start during the cancellation period, we will obtain a separate express request, recorded in writing for an off-premises contract. Booking an early date does not by itself waive your cancellation rights.

If you cancel after we start, you only pay a proportionate amount for services supplied where the required information and express request have been obtained. A service-only contract loses its cooling-off cancellation right once fully performed only if you first expressly requested early performance and acknowledged that consequence. Your rights concerning faulty work remain.

10. Goods supplied with an installation

A contract to supply and fit a stove can have different cancellation rules from a service-only booking. Where the statutory right applies, the cancellation period normally runs until 14 days after the day you receive the goods, or the last goods in a single order delivered separately. Completing installation does not by itself remove your right to cancel the goods element.

We will give the applicable return arrangements and any return or collection costs before you order. Where you cancel, return goods within 14 days of notifying us unless we offer to collect them. We may withhold the goods refund until we receive them or evidence of return, whichever is earlier; we then refund within 14 days. Any lawful deduction for unnecessary handling or services supplied will be explained.

Any applicable exception for genuinely made-to-specification or personalised goods will be explained before purchase. Ordering a standard stove specially for you does not alone make it non-refundable. Your rights if goods are faulty or misdescribed remain.

11. Delays or cancellation by us

If weather, illness, unsafe conditions or other circumstances affect the appointment, we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible and discuss a new date. If we cannot provide the agreed service, we will refund payments for work or goods not supplied. This does not restrict any further remedy you have under consumer law.

12. Our responsibility and your rights

We will carry out services with reasonable care and skill and supply goods that meet the contract and your statutory rights. Where work is defective, available remedies may include repeat performance or a price reduction; rights relating to faulty goods also apply. Manufacturer warranties are additional to these rights.

We are responsible for foreseeable loss or damage caused by our breach of contract or negligence. We do not exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or anything the law does not permit us to exclude. Pre-existing defects are not automatically our responsibility, but we remain responsible for damage we cause through a failure to take reasonable care.

13. Concerns and complaints

Please contact us using the details above, with your name, job address, service date and a description of the concern. Photographs may help where available. We will investigate, explain our response and discuss a suitable remedy. Allowing us a reasonable opportunity to inspect can help resolve the issue, but does not remove your rights or require you to delay urgent action needed to prevent harm.

If we cannot resolve a complaint, we will provide information about an appropriate alternative dispute resolution provider and explain whether we are obliged or willing to participate, as required. You can also seek independent consumer advice or use the courts.

14. Changes to these terms

The version provided when your booking is agreed applies to that booking. Later website updates do not change an existing agreement without your consent. These terms are governed by English law, without depriving you of mandatory consumer protections or any right to bring proceedings in a court available to you under law.

Optional cancellation wording