The following Terms and Conditions of business give details of the basis upon which RH Ecological Services will provide our consultancy services and should be read in conjunction with any accompanying correspondence.
RH Ecological Services agrees to supply Ecological Consulting Services as advised or as commissioned. The service provided by RH Ecological Services is the best assessment of current ecological practice. Rachel Hepburn is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM).
1. Any dispute or legal issue arising from them will be determined by the law of England and Wales and considered exclusively by the English and Welsh Courts.
2. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, or unless superseded by a later edition of these Terms and Conditions, these establish and represent the entire agreement between us and supersede any previous or other agreement and shall apply without variation to all present and any future instructions given to us by you.
3. These Terms and Conditions and any documents referred to in them are made for the benefit of the parties to them and their successors and permitted assigns, and are not intended to benefit, or be enforceable by, anyone else.
4. The rights and obligations of the parties shall continue for the benefit of and shall be binding upon their respective successors and assigns.
5. RH Ecological Services shall not be in breach of these Terms and Conditions nor liable for delay in performing, or failure to perform, any of our obligations if such delay or failure results from events, circumstances or cases beyond our reasonable control.
6. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions is intended to, or shall be deemed to, establish any partnership or joint venture between any of the parties, constitute any party the agent of another party, or authorize any party to make or enter into any commitments for or on behalf of any other party.
7. Instructions to undertake work on your behalf will amount to acceptance of these Terms and Conditions, though in some instances it may not be possible for RH Ecological Services to start or continue work on your behalf until one copy of them, signed by you, has been returned to us.
8. RH Ecological Services do not accept any responsibility to store your data or files and our work, including any communications between you and us, in hard copy or using digital media. Any storage of your data or files and our work is on the clear understanding that we have the right to destroy your data or files and our work after such period we consider reasonable, which may be less than one year, although reports in PDF/word format will be kept for 5 years. Should the client want a full copy of the data (such as bat sound files/videos) it must be requested within 12 months of the survey date. Fees will be chargeable for sorting the data and providing a copy.
9. During our engagement we will not store or make available for retrieval your data or files and our work, whether in hard copy or digital media.
10. RH Ecological Services do not accept any responsibility whatsoever for the collection, recovery or disposal of any items, products or equipment purchased by you as a disbursement and utilised as part of our work at your site or elsewhere, collectively referred to as ‘disbursement items’. Examples of disbursements items are fencing, signposts, reptile refugia (this list is not exhaustive). If you require disbursement items to be recovered from your site, this does not form part of our standard method of work nor our fees. Therefore, any collection, recovery or disposal of disbursement items is an incremental demand on our time and would require a revision to our agreed fees.
11. Fees
11.1 All of our fees and expenses (‘fees’) are quoted exclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT). RH Ecological Service VAT number is – 432810422.
11.2 If we have given you a fixed quote or estimate for our fees, this will be based on the information available to RH Ecological Services now and assumes that our work will not prove to be substantially more complex, require more resources or be more time consuming than is normal for that type of work. RH Ecological Services reserve the right to revise our fixed quote or estimate for our fees if we are required to do work that is additional to that which can be anticipated at the outset, or if you instruct us to carry out further work. If we have to carry out additional work; suffer disruption in our performance because the project is varied by you; because additional services are performed by agreement with you; because of any delay by you in fulfilling your obligations; in taking any steps necessary for the execution of our work; because we are delayed by others (or by events which were not reasonably foreseeable); because of other reasons beyond our control then you shall make an additional payment to us in respect of the additional work carried out and additional resources employed.
11.3 In other cases, our fees will be calculated mainly by reference to the amount of time actually spent by our surveyors carrying out any work which we are instructed, expected or required to do on your behalf. This will include time spent travelling to and from our place office or home; meetings with you and others; reading and working on papers; preparing and approving documents and drawings; correspondence; e-mail; making and receiving telephone calls; preparation of any detailed costs calculations. Hourly and daily rates for fees on a time charging basis are quoted or estimated unique to each instruction to reflect the diverse demands of our work.
12. Should you instruct RH Ecological Services and cancel for whatever reason before we have carried out a survey, including office-based/desktop work, you will be liable to pay an abortive fee of a minimum of £100, or 30% of our quote or estimate, whichever is the greater, to cover the cost of our consultant not being engaged on a survey, plus any disbursements already incurred (see below).
13. If, for any reason, your instructions do not proceed to completion, then unless we have agreed otherwise in writing, we will be entitled to charge you for our work done, including work of an administrative nature and any expenses incurred. Our minimum fees in those circumstances is £100+VAT.
14. If we attend site to undertake a survey and are unable to proceed due to circumstances under your control, including but not limited to site access and security, you will be liable to pay the full amount of our quotation.
15. Disbursements –
15.1 In the course of discharging your instructions, we may need to incur some additional costs called disbursements. Examples of disbursements include obtaining an Ordnance Survey tile for your site survey, or obtaining biological data from a wildlife trust or local authority records centre for your ecology report.
15.2 RH Ecological Services will advise you of the requirement for us to incur such costs and the likely expense to you as the matter progresses. Disbursements are quoted exclusive of VAT. If you instruct us to procure disbursements on your behalf, and then cancel your survey for any reason, you are still liable for the disbursement costs plus our handling charge of £50+VAT.
16. Instructions – RH Ecological Services will not undertake any work without being instructed to do so in writing. The only acceptable method of instructing us is via email, which constitute your unequivocal agreement to these Terms and Conditions. In the highly unlikely event of any dispute, you accept that a returned e-mail from your account, is considered as binding as a physically signed copy.
17. Consumers and Distance Selling
17.1 If you are a ‘Consumer’ (as defined by regulation 4 of the Consumer Contracts [Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges] Regulations 2013 [‘Regulations’]) then you will be deemed to have instructed us in accordance with the above.
17.2 If these Terms have been entered into as a ‘Distance Contract’ (as defined by Regulation 5 of the Regulations) then under normal circumstances, you have a right to cancel your instructions within 14 days of instructing us, as along as no works have been started (see Clause 12 above). Such cancellation must be made in writing; e-mail is acceptable. Confirmation of the quote and/or an agreed site visit date will be taken to assume the desktop/research aspect of the job can be started ASAP and will be chargeable.
17.3 If you are a Consumer and cancel in accordance with above clause, we will reimburse any payments received from you, unless you have supplied us with your ‘Express Request’ (as defined by Regulation 36 of the Regulations) for us to begin your work immediately or within the 14-day period. Such payment will be made without undue delay and not later than 14 days of receipt of your written cancellation. If you are a Consumer and require us to carry out any work within the 14-day period, then you must supply us with your Express Request before we can undertake our work. The following action taken by you shall be understood by us to be your express request for us to begin your work: instructing, requesting, or agreeing for us to begin your work on a date that falls within the 14-day period, verbally or in written correspondence (including by e-mail), originating from you, or from an agent acting for you, in accordance of these Terms. Usually, that means we will have begun our work within the 14-day period. For the avoidance of doubt: your cancellation rights under the Regulations will end if we receive your express request for to us to begin work within the 14-day period.
17.4 If you are a consumer, we reserve all rights to recover full payment for our work in circumstances where you attempt to cancel your appointment or require us to cease work after the 14-day period has expired, or in the event you gave your express request for us to being your work within 14-day period.
17.5 If you are a Consumer and provide your Express Request for us to commence work pursuant to clause 16, and we have completed the work as instructed, then we are entitled to charge you our full Fees plus other costs.
17.6 If you are a Consumer and provide your Express Request for us to commence work, and you then cancel before we have completed our work as instructed, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until you have communicated to us your cancellation of our work. This may be up to 100% of the bill.
18. Agents – you are an Agent if you are instructing us on another party’s behalf (‘Agent’).
18.1 For example, the Agent might be an architect instructing us on behalf of a client. It could also be a consultant, lawyer, friend, relative, or business associate. In the event that the Agent instructs us, then the Agent agrees to Joint and Several Liability for our Fees.
18.2 Joint and Several Liability – In the event that two or more individuals or parties are instructing us, including Agents instructing us on behalf of their clients, the individuals or parties shall be jointly and severally liable for their respective obligations and liabilities arising under this agreement.
18.3. RH Ecological Services may take action against, or release or compromise the liability of any person with Joint and Several Liability or grant time or other indulgence without affecting the liability of any other person.
19. Billing and Payment – unless otherwise agreed in writing, payment in full is due immediately upon receipt of your instructions. An electronic invoice, with bank details will be sent.
19.1 We require payment in full prior to accepting instructions from or on behalf of overseas clients.
19.2. In all other circumstances we will issue our final work to you once we are in receipt of your payment, which must made be within 30 days of the tax date of our invoice unless otherwise stated on the invoice.
19.3. Invoices shall not be re-assigned without the prior written consent of RH Ecological Services.
19.4. We are entitled to charge you interest on the amount of our bill until the date of payment, if payment of the bill is not made within 30 days of your invoice tax date. Interest is charged at 8% over the HSBC Bank PLC base lending rate from time to time in force.
19.5. You are liable for any costs (including but not limited to interest; compensation; our fees; disbursements) involved in recovering outstanding Fees including those levied by the us in accordance with The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended and those levied by third parties including but not limited to Debt Collectors, Solicitors and the Courts.
19.6. Interim bills for our Fees and disbursements incurred may be raised at any time during the course of our work on your behalf.
19.7. We only accept payments in cash made directly into our nominated bank account. Cash payments made directly into our nominated bank account must be confirmed to us in writing, otherwise we have no means of identifying your payment.
19.8. Receipt of your payment does not constitute our acceptance of your instructions and we reserve the right to return your payment and decline to accept your instructions.
19.9. We are under no obligation to release any report, survey or other work until payment has been received in full in accordance with the Terms and Conditions.
19.10. The title to our intellectual property and copyright covering all work issued by us (whether hard copy or digital media) remains in our ownership until paid for in full, and can be subject to withdrawal from either public or private domain if our payment terms are exceeded. The continued use of our intellectual property, by any party following withdrawal shall be considered a breach of the terms and copyright.
19.11 All fees and disbursements for next working day services may require payment immediately upon booking for all elements of your quotation including both the service you are booking and any disbursements.
19.12 We do not accept payment by instalments Rachel Hepburn of RH Ecological Services has agreed this at the outset in writing.
20. We may decide to stop working for you if there is or may be a conflict of interest, where you fail to produce satisfactory evidence of identity, or where there is another good reason (such as failing to pay a bill in accordance with these terms or failing to follow advice provided, which may cause legal issues for either yourself of RH Ecological Services as a business).
21. CIS Scheme and Retainers – there will be no CIS deductions in respect to our invoices as the type of work undertaken by us is explicitly excluded from the scheme.
22. Complaints
22.1 It is our aim to offer you an efficient and effective service at all times and RH Ecological Services hope that you will be pleased with the work we undertake. However, if there is any part of our service you are not happy with, please raise your concern. If the mistake was 100% our error we will correct it at no charge. Along with a sincere apology, this action is generally sufficient to satisfy our clients.
22.2. If you still have queries or concerns, please contact Rachel Hepburn directly.
22.3. By forwarding any report, survey or other work to a third party (including but not limited to Local Planning Authorities) and thereby using it for its intended purpose, you are deemed to have accepted the quality of such work and shall not be entitled to any set-off or refund.
23. Data Protection – RH Ecological Services will use the information you supply primarily to provide you with our services and for related purposes including: updating and enhancing client records; management and analysis of our company and its performance; statutory returns; legal and regulatory compliance. Our use of this information is subject to your instructions, the Data Protection Act 1998, GDPR and our duty of confidentiality. We may sometimes have to give your information to third parties such as your other professional advisors, ecological data recorders, Local Authorities and public bodies. You have a right of access to the data we hold about you.
24. Limitation of Liability
24.1 RH Ecological Services maintain adequate professional indemnity insurance policies at all times, however, in no circumstances whatsoever, including negligence, shall we be liable to you or any other third party for indirect or consequential loss of revenue, profit or business opportunity (list is not exhaustive).
24.2. You acknowledge and accept that our fees do not contain a sufficient premium to cover the risk of our unlimited liability and that a limit of liability is therefore reasonable in any and every circumstance or eventuality. Total liability in contract, tort (including negligence or breach of statutory duty), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise arising in connection with the performance, or contemplated performance, of the Contract shall be limited to the price paid for the Services. We have no further liability to you or any other third party in connection with our work.
24.2. We will not be liable to you for any losses, damages, costs or expenses (‘losses’) if such losses are due to the provision of false, misleading or incomplete information or documentation, or due to the acts or omissions of any person other than a member of permanently employed staff at RH Ecological Services.
24.3 We will not be liable to you for any loss of revenue or profit whether potential or realised, or any potential or realised foregone economic or business opportunity, for any reason.
24.4. Details of our professional indemnity insurance cover and provider are available upon request.
25. Performance
25.1. RH Ecological Services will provide you with an estimated programme for our works either in our quotation or shortly after accepting your instructions.
25.2 RH Ecological Services will not be liable for any delays in performance caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control and will be entitled to a time extension for such performance. We will keep you informed by any delays as soon as we are aware.
25.3 RH Ecological Services may subcontract some or all of our obligations to a competent third party, for example during nocturnal bat surveys or data processing.
25.4 Where RH Ecological Services request documentation or information from you or other parties, we expect to be in receipt of this information within 5 working days, otherwise this will delay the performance of your work.
26. Hard copies – RH Ecological Services do not provide paper and other physical or hard digital media copies of our work or communications unless otherwise stated explicitly in our quotation at the outset. All works and communications will be electronic for speed and environmental sensitivity. Data can be provided upon request and at additional fees.
27. Reliance
27.1 Information provided to us by you or third parties will be relied upon and will not be verified or checked for accuracy by us. RH Ecological Services cannot guarantee the accuracy of survey data where there is no easy access to the subject or in the event we are supplied with inadequate documentation or information on which to base our work.
27.2 If we are unable to complete a report compliant to a recognised or industry best practice standard because of an absence or inadequate,
a) information supplied by the client
b) lack of third party data, goods or services, or
c) lack of access to the survey subject, then we reserve the right to release your Report in draft form only.
28. Site inspection/investigation
28.1. You are exclusively responsible for making all necessary notices and arrangements to grant RH Ecological Services access to your site, and third-party landholdings (if any), and to secure it after we have left. We require free and unfettered access to relevant areas of your site or property. Access must always be arranged by you in an appropriate time frame and not less than one working day before we are due to visit your site. RH Ecological Services do not hold, collect, drop off or post keys.
28.2 The scope of the site investigation is preliminary in nature, unless otherwise agreed with the client(s). Where a more detailed investigation is required, the client(s) will be advised accordingly.
28.3 During the site investigation if the ecologist considers their personal safety is at risk, or that they would breach the conditions of the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), then they are entitled to abandon the investigation and advise the client(s) accordingly.
28.4 The inspection is generally limited to visual examination of the subject building, trees or structures from ground level only, unless suitable measures such as scaffolding or MEWPs are in place. Observations are only valid for the day of the site visit.
29. Information Sharing
29.1 It is often necessary, and beneficial to the client, for the consultant to discuss details of the approach to and/or results of surveys and other contracts with the responsible authorities (local authorities, Natural England etc.), particularly where planning permission or a protected species licence is required. This helps the consultant to ensure that the approach will provide precisely the information required by the relevant authority in order to determine an application, and therefore this will normally be undertaken on behalf of the client. Where possible this will be discussed with the client in advance; however, on occasion (e.g. where the authority has contacted us directly to clarify certain issues) such discussions may be undertaken without further reference to the client, unless expressly instructed not to do so in advance.
29.2 Ecological records from reports will be provided to the appropriate Local Environment Records Centre (LERC) automatically unless the client expresses in writing their refusal before the final version of the report is issued.
30. Wildlife Crime – if we believe a potential wildlife crime has been committed or believe a crime may be about to be committed, this will be brought to the client’s attention. In such circumstances we will be constrained to notify the relevant authorities if a crime has been committed or is likely to be committed. We reserve the right to communicate with relevant authorities directly, any information at any stage should it be felt that this is necessary in order to report or prevent the commission or continued commission of a crime.
31. Language – the only language offered by us for any contract is English.