Terms & Conditions
This document describes the terms on which Organise Your House would be happy to help you. It is my aim to get the best result possible together with my clients.
Best Advice: Advice is given in good faith and it is always your decision to accept guidance on whether or not to keep particular possessions. Organise Your House can’t therefore accept responsibility for the consequences of such decisions. From time to time, I may handle items which have a potentially high market value. While I will always use my best endeavours to identify such items amongst your possessions, you acknowledge that I am not a valuer, nor do I have expertise to identify items of special value or rarity, nor am I qualified to advice on valuation matters for insurance purposes. Whatever you decide not to keep, I would like you to re-use and recycle as much as possible.
Handling goods: When I handle goods belonging to customers I take great care to look after them. Unfortunately, accidents may occur. I shall not be liable for losses or damage, howsoever caused, and rely on you to carry insurance at all times which adequately compensates you for losses or damage howsoever caused by me in my capacity as your agent.
I hold a public liability and professional indemnity insurance of £1 million.
Removal of items: Items to be removed from your premises, either for disposal or to other locations, must be at your own discretion. Disposal will not take place without your authorisation. The client accepts responsibility for all or any items disposed of in the decluttering process. I am happy to make suggestions about the disposal of unnecessary or unwanted items, and clutter in general, and sort through such material with you.
Limits of work: I will do all I can to help you achieve the state of organisation and tidiness you desire. I am very happy to help you with cleaning, vacuuming or spider-chasing, as appropriate! I’m also happy to help you relocate items to more appropriate physical locations. However I prefer not to attempt any seriously heavy moving (e.g. a refrigerator).
Hours of work: You will be charged for hours actually worked. Whilst a booking will generally be made for a pre-agreed period of time, it’s understood that it is not always possible to anticipate exactly how long will be needed. A day’s booking which turns out to involve five hours’ work will therefore be charged for five hours and not seven! If my services take longer than anticipated I will talk to you during the session and we agree together what is best to do; finish the session and charge extra time or come back on another day.
Access: If you engage me to work at a particular location and access is restricted, I reserve the right to charge for the lost time and my expenses.
Breaks and refreshments: If a session covers lunchtime, I’ll bring my own lunch with me. We’ll need to break occasionally for a few minutes – I’m happy to pause every two hours or so, but if you wish to stop more often (de-cluttering is physically and emotionally demanding) that’s fine. I won’t charge you for long (e.g. lunch) breaks.
Travel and accommodation: If you have booked for more than one day’s consecutive work, depending on your location, it may be more appropriate (and economical) to provide me with accommodation. This may either be in your own home, or in a modest local bed-and-breakfast. For travel charges, see Payment Terms below.
Deposit: To secure my services a deposit of 20% of the total cost quoted for the assignment is required. If I do not receive this deposit within 14 days of the date of the attached letter, and no later than three days before the start of the assignment, I may withdraw from our agreement.
Cancellation: Both you and I have the right to cancel the contract due to unforeseen circumstances. If you are able to give me at least two working days notice we can re-schedule our appointment. In the event of cancellation by the customer, less than 48-hours before the agree start time, I will charge 50% of the total time estimated. Travel charges or further expenses paid in advance for which I cannot obtain refunds are not refundable in any circumstances, and will be invoiced to you at the time of cancellation.
If I need to cancel our agreement for any reason, I will let you know as soon as possible and I will endeavour to re-schedule the assignment to a date convenient to both parties. If this is not possible or if it is unacceptable to you, I will refund your deposit in full.
Confidentiality and Privacy: Organise Your House is a professional service. I never divulge client information to third parties, nor any personal or business details that I may see in the course of my work (which, when de-cluttering, is generally unavoidable).
The only way in which your situation may be mentioned to others is in the context of my own services, and is depersonalised and unidentifiable (e.g. “a client in Kent”, “John in South East London”). It is helpful to be able to give examples to other clients of how particular situations can be addressed. For example: how long it took to deal with a room of a certain size, the furniture that was used for storage, the solutions we found whilst working together. If you are in agreement, I also like to take “before-and-after” photographs for use on my website, but this will only happen with your explicit permission.
Payment terms
- Charges for my services will be levied per hour. The invoice is payable at the completion of the assignment, in cash or by BACS. All payments should be made payable to Organise Your House, direct by BACS using the bank details shown on the invoice.
- Travel charges are 45p per mile by car over 15 miles one way. If travel time is in excess of one hour each way, an additional charge may be made for time taken to travel at £50 per hour. This will be made clear before the booking is accepted.
- Some jobs lasting longer than a day may involve further expenses in addition to our service charges and travel charges. Such further expenses will not be incurred without the prior approval of the customer. Examples of such further expenses include but are not limited to accommodation and subsistence.
- All charges shall be payable on invoice, as set down in item (1) above. Interest at 9% per month will be charged on any balance due which remains unpaid 45 days after invoice.
