General Work Terms and Conditions

Both written or verbal acceptance of our quote means the client has entered into a contract with Finch Arboriculture Ltd to complete the specified works at agreed prices, terms and conditions and invoice terms. Finch Arboriculture Ltd will be referred to as Finch from now on and the English Law applied within this document.

Quote:

  • Quote is valid for 30 days unless otherwise agreed.

  • The client can cancel the works agreed within 14 working days of the quote being accepted.

  • All quotes are without obligation for Finch.

  • VAT will be charged at the current rate and will be displayed on all quotes and invoices.

Additional work not within the quote, will incur extra cost to be agreed before any work is undertaken either prior to arrival or on site.

Quality of Work:

Finch aims to work to BS 3998:2012 Recommendations for Tree Work. Finch aims to work at the highest standards of quality and achieve industry best practices. Due to the nature of our work and the multiple factors involved, Finch is not liable for the death or decline of vegetation that we work on or near, unless due to our negligence.

Insurances:

Finch Arboriculture Ltd is fully insured; £10M Public Liability, £5M Employers Liability and £1M Public Indemnity.

Cancellations:

  • Cancellation of scheduled works requires 48 hours' notice to avoid any charges. If the client cancels work with less than 48 hours notice the scheduled work is payable at 50% of quote and less than 24 hour’s notice work is payable in full.

  • Finch reserves the right to cancel or postpone any works due to adverse weather conditions that would be deemed hazardous for any reason.  Weather conditions is Finch’s decision to make based on decades of risk assessments and safety records, not the clients or other contractors.

Payment of invoice:

  • Payment to be made within 7 days of invoice date by bank transfer unless otherwise agreed. No cash accepted.

  • A late payment charge of 5% per week compounded may be applicable if not previously agreed.

Specified works not at your home?

The client is responsible for making arrangements with their tenants regarding providing access for Finch. If a tenant or third party is not available to provide access as and when agreed, the client may incur a full charge of the value of the agreed specified works.

Before work commences, the client Agrees to:

  • Remove any plants, pots, furniture, garden ornaments or precious items from the work area before work commences. Finch cannot be held responsible for any damage to these items. Any immovable objects should be identified to the work team on the day the work commences to prevent any damage.

  • Remove any and all animal faeces from the work area and pathways on the same day work commences. Any time Finch incur removing faeces, dealing with soiling of work clothing or equipment will be charged to the client without prior approval. Finch will inform the client at the time of removal or soiling.

Permissions and Responsibilities:

  • The client is responsible for informing neighbours of proposed works, especially when trees are overhanging the client’s boundary, or there are shared living boundaries and the client is responsible for any claims resulting from such works.

  • Unless stated in the quote, the client is wholly responsible for gaining relevant permissions and licences for works to be completed, for instance; checking if the work lies within a conservation area. If Tree Preservation Order (TPO), planning and environmental stipulation are in place. Whether Felling or Wildlife Licences are required before work commences or during works. If it is agreed in writing that Finch obtains all relevant council/other permissions for works. In the event that the client cancels a contract after applications have been submitted, the client will incur a charge of £125 + VAT.

  • The client is responsible for providing copies of any permissions obtained by the client relating to proposed works on restricted trees before the commencement of works.

  • Pictures and videos of the work area, property and surrounding areas may be used in promotional material on our website and social media pages. If you would not like this to occur, please let us know beforehand or on the first day of the works commencing.

  • All client details and personal information are kept securely online and handled with care. Data is only used within Finch for the purposes of our work. If you like us to remove any of your information from our systems please let us know.

  • The client acknowledges the quote is based upon a visual ground inspection. Finch may encounter unforeseen conditions such as; insect and wind damage, decay, utilities, embedded objects, unsafe growing conditions, etc. which were not foreseeable. Should unforeseen conditions arise, any additional work will be authorised by the client. In the event that the client does not authorise additional work, all work by Finch shall cease and the client shall pay for services completed prior to work being stopped.

  • Finch is not responsible for any damage to underground series or cables unless in the quote. Finch is also not responsible for any damage to any property that may arise from working in adverse weather conditions. In the event that damage to property occurs through negligence or substandard practices by Finch, Finch will accept responsibility.

  • Finch is fully insured and covered with £10M any one occurrence Public Liability Insurance, £10M any one occurrence Contractors Combined Liability Insurance and £1M any one claim Public Indemnity Insurance.

  • Finch is committed to completing all works in compliance with statutory requirements, including relevant environmental legislation, BS998 and UK law. Due to the presence of wildlife, we may need to temporarily or permanently halt planned and agreed works.

Best to know before we start

  • Finch will take photos prior to commencement of works through to completion to ensure our work is documented and can be evidenced as and when required. These photographs are purely for internal record keeping unless otherwise authorised or required by law.

  • Unless noted on the quote, clean up on site involves the specified work and arisings only. This includes removing branches, leaves, brush, clippings, chippings and raking of the entire area affected. Depending on surfaces, weather and the nature of the work, please note that leaves, twigs, sawdust, etc. from the work may remain.

  • If arisings from our work are agreed to be left onsite, it will be left in a place and size that is convenient and safe for the team completing the specified work.

  • Finch will attempt to minimise all disturbances to the client’s/ neighbours lawn and surrounding landscape. However, due to the nature of the work being undertaken, some lawn/landscape damage may be inevitable. Lawn/landscape repairs are not included in the quoted price, unless requested.

  • When a tree or hedge is to be removed, stumps are to be left as low as possible taking into account stones, metal, soil and other obstacles. Sometimes foreign obstacles found in the tree will prevent conventional tree stem removal. If items are found, the client will be consulted on further action as this may require extra equipment and time and thus changes to the quote and costs.

  • Unless specified in the quote, when stump grinding is undertaken, stumps are removed to just below surrounding soil level. All roots may not be removed.

  • Stumps will be removed as much as possible around any obstacles in the surrounding area. Finch will not remove or damage existing obstacles unless agreed on beforehand. On finding embedded hardened materials this will be discussed with the client as extra charges may occur.

Language clarification:

  • Removal of deadwood - means any dead wood over 5cm in diameter and 50cm in length unless stated otherwise.

  • Ground level - means within 30cm of the surrounding soil level.

  • Manageable sections - refers to two person lifts of around 40KGs.

  • Arisings is any material and waste produced from our activity that includes fallen branches, twigs, stones, bricks and litter regardless of its origin, and all grass cuttings, trimmings, weeds, moss, prunings, chippings, plant growth and other excess materials produced from purely carrying out the specified services. To be clear, any pre-existing materials and waste will only be removed if it has been requested and a quote agreed.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us and Finch looks forward to working with you.