Terms and Conditions
Our terms of service, in plain English, so you know what you will get when you book us for chimney sweeping (or related services), what you need to do, what we will do, payment and cancellations and what happens if there is a problem.
Booking and Cancellations
When you book us your booking is made understanding both you and we accept these terms.
We will provide you with a time that we aim to arrive with you. Our services can over or under run depending on traffic, previous jobs etc so your arrival time is usually +/- 45mins either side, you should ensure someone is in to provide access during this window (unless agreed otherwise). If we are running late or early, we will let you know by text.
We are always busy, we make bookings based on your location and our day is planned around geography. Should you cancel between 24 and 48hrs before your appointment a cancellation fee of £25 is payable. If you cancel with less than 24hrs notice, including if we arrive and are unable to get a reply at the door, a cancellation fee of £60 is payable. We will send you an online payment request for this cancellation fee which is payable by you within 24hrs. At our discretion we may reduce the cost of any repeat booking you make with us to reflect some of this fee.
Why do we do this? We are a small business that provides the best service we can to customers. This includes arranging our diaries to minimize travelling time (and environmental impact). If you forget or otherwise cancel your appointment at such short notice, we are unlikely to be able to rebook someone in who lives close to that days round meaning we lose financially. We don’t think this is either fair or acceptable, therefore we charge a fee.
Your Service
Parking
When we arrive, we try to park close to your property to enable us to move equipment back and forth between with the van. If you are in a residents parking zone you should provide a visitor’s ticket to enable us to park, if you have off road parking then please make a space for us. You may consider blocking a space for us close by the night before to facilitate our arrival if parking is particularly difficult. Our kit is heavy and often we need to go back and forth depending what we find when sweeping etc. If we are unable to park within a reasonable distance of your home we will be unable to provide a service to you, parking, particularly in Bristol, is the bane of our lives, please help us if you can.
Access to the work area
You do not need to cover internal furniture and fixings, unless we specifically ask you to. If it is wet and/or muddy on the approach to your door we provide floor coverings. We do not remove our footwear for health and safety reasons but will wear shoe coverings if asked.
Please move all nik-naks and items in close proximity to the fire and on the mantle shelf and clear a work area around the fire allowing us to work effectively. Clear all ash and other debris from your stove or fireplace before we arrive please. Not only is it good manners but it helps us considerably. You would not like encountering old tissues, sweet papers, toe nail clippings, nails/screws etc, at your work place, nor do we; clear out the appliance.
Problem solving site visits
Customers sometimes ask us to visit to evaluate problems they are suffering (e.g. damp, smoking appliances etc). We will make a firm booking to visit and carry out a visit and provide a verbal briefing on the findings at the time. We may, if the issue is complex or repairs likely to be expensive, provide a written report to you at a later stage, at our discretion. The cost of a basic site visit is £60. This is deductible from any subsequent work (other than sweeping) you may ask us to carry out as a result of the visit.
Why do we do this? Solving pre-existing chimney problems often needs skill and knowledge and sometimes analysis with camera kit. Previously we have identified problems and their solutions only to find this knowledge has been passed on to other contractors who have then completed the work. Whilst we are happy that our visit has proved correct and the problems solved, we no longer invest time and money with no recompense, hence we charge a realistic initial fee. We do refund it, in full, if you instruct us at a later stage to carry out the work so you don’t lose out, nor do we.
After your Sweep
We will leave your appliance and surrounding area at least as clean as it was on arrival. We do not remove soot and debris from your property. Some people use it on gardens/allotments others just put it in their dustbins. Let us know your preference on arrival.
If you have asked us to perform a particularly dirty service e.g. extensive tar removal where sealing the fireplace is difficult, then we will advise you accordingly prior to starting the job so you know what to expect as this type of job can be extensive.
If we are unable to sweep an appliance effectively or safely (this happens frequently with home installed stoves that do not comply with current guidance/regulations) the full annual sweeping fee is charged.
We will issue you with a certificate of sweeping or other service detailing key findings and problems if they exist. We will take photos of your appliance and store them in accordance with our GDRP policy.
Payment
Payment is made at the time of completion by card or cash unless other methods have been agreed at the time of booking.
We will invoice commercial customers only if agreed at the time of booking with 14 day payment terms. Late payments are subject to a £40 fixed penalty charge in addition to the initial fees invoiced, additionally interest will be charged in accordance with existing late payment legislation. We will pursue all late/non-payments through the small claims court and seek to recover the additional legal costs.
We will collect and return keys by arrangement, usually for estate agents, at a charge of £25
After sales service/problems
We pride ourselves on our service, both at the time and afterwards. Most post sweep problems such as smoke coming back into the room are due to operator error. We strongly encourage all customers to visit www.burnright.co.uk to establish how best to use your appliance.
If you have a problem after our visit then get in contact with us as soon as possible so we can sort it out. If we have made a mistake, we will rectify the problem and make a full refund if appropriate. We want you to be satisfied and recognize that mistakes can be made, if we have made a mistake, we will sort it out, no question.
We will prioritise your appointment, if however, there is nothing wrong or problems are due to how you are operating the appliance the visit will be charged at the normal sweeping fee of £60
We hope these simple terms are to your satisfaction, we operate them to help both you and us to continue to achieve excellent working relationships. You can download a copy of these terms by clicking here.