Terms of Business
The Garden Design Company (Midlands) Limited
Formally trading as Leicestershire Garden Design Company Limited
1. These terms
1.1 What these terms cover.
These are the terms and conditions on which The Garden Design Company (Midlands) Limited supply our garden design and installation services to you (we called these our Services).
Our services may include:
(a) Design work relating to your garden
(b) The installation of design work into your garden, which may also include the provision of any products which form part of the design including hard-landscaping products, soft-landscaping products (including perishable items), supplier products and bespoke products
1.2 Why you should read them.
Please read these terms carefully before you place your order with us for our services. These terms tell you who we are, how we will provide our services to you, how you and we may change or end the contract, what to do if there is a problem and other important information. If you think that there is a mistake in these terms or that they require any changes, please contact us for clarification.
2. Information about us and how to contact us
2.1 Who we are.
We are The Garden Design Company (Midlands) Limited, a company registered in England and Wales. Our company registration number is 09378342 and our registered office is at Unit 11, The Warren, East Goscote, Leicester LE7 3XA. Our registered VAT number is 159227101.
2.2 How to contact us.
You can contact us by telephoning our customer service team at 0116 210 0760
You can write to us at “Unit 11, The Warren, East Goscote, Leicester LE7 3XA”
You can email us at “[email protected]”
2.3 How we may contact you.
If we have to contact you, we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to us.
2.4 “Writing” includes emails. When we use the words “writing” or “written” in these terms, this includes emails.
2.5 Definitions.
See the definitions section at the end of these terms for the definitions used in our terms.
3. Our contract with you
3.1 How we will accept your order.
Our acceptance of your order will take place when we confirm acceptance with you, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us. Acceptance of your order is in two stages:
(a) An order for the design – This is the design work we create to provide a design for your garden (see clause 4 below); and
(b) An order for the installation of the design (see clause 8 below). Please note:
(c) You are not obliged to place an order for the installation of any design that we produce for you; and
(d) All our design work is charged for.
3.2 If we cannot accept your order.
If we are unable to accept your order (whether for the design or the installation), we will inform you of this and will not charge you for our services. This might be because a product is out of stock, because of unexpected limits on our resources which we could not reasonably plan for, because we have identified an error in the price or description of the product or because we are unable to meet an installation/delivery deadline that has been specified.
3.3 We only provide our services to the UK. Unfortunately, we do not accept orders from outside the UK.
4. Our Design
4.1 Your request for design work will be processed after an initial consultation when we will contact you to ask if you wish to proceed with the production of a design. The design order will be placed at that point for the design and payment will be taken in full in advance. No design work will take place until we have received payment for the design in full and in advance.
4.2 Our design for your garden will be based upon an estimated budget that we will ask you for when we meet you. This usually takes place when we meet for the initial consultation either in person or remotely. If you do not provide us with an estimated budget, we will produce a design based upon our own creativity with no budget restrictions.
4.3 Our design terms will be accepted by you upon agreement of these terms by signature, email confirmation or upon us receiving a design fee payment made by you.
4.4 The terms & conditions for our design service can be found at the following link;
4.5 When you sign these terms, confirm these terms by email or confirm these terms by paying an installation deposit payment, you are confirming that you have reviewed your design & all related design details and that you are happy to proceed to the installation phase based on the design.
4.6 Once you sign these terms, confirm these terms by email or confirm these terms by paying an installation deposit payment you accept that any later design changes are a variation to the original contract and that any and all variations to the original design and / or contract will be charged for accordingly.
4.7 Planting – Planting is depicted on the plan in circles, each circle is an individual plant at its mature size to prevent overcrowding at a later date and is not necessarily an indication of the plant size at the point of installation. The sizes of the plant supplied sizes are clearly detailed in the plant list on the planting plan. Some adjustments may be made to plant sizes due to supplier availability at the time of installation.
5. Our products
5.1 Products may vary slightly from the visuals used to represent them. The images of the products in our brochure, in our designs, or on our website are for illustrative & reference purposes only. Although we have made every effort to display the colours accurately, we cannot guarantee that a device’s display of the appearance or the printed pictures in any brochure or proposal document accurately reflect the colour & appearance of the products. Your products may vary slightly in reality from those images. This reflects the fact that many of our common products are made from natural products such as stone and timber or are living products such as plants and turf.
5.2 Product samples may vary from the final products supplied. We endeavour to ensure that samples in our showroom reflect the products supplied to our customers. However, we cannot guarantee that products made from concrete, timber, natural stone, and other natural resources will be identical to the samples viewed. Customers therefore need to be willing to accept reasonable variations when selecting natural products. This includes perishable products, such as plants and turf due to them being natural products. Natural weathering, general usage and how you maintain your products will also impact upon their appearance over time.
Reasonable variations and other considerations for products include:
(a) Natural sandstone – This is a natural product and comes in various shades of the specified colour with no 2 units the same. This is an inherent characteristic of natural sandstone and varieties in shades and colours are not viewed as faulty or unacceptable
(b) Natural sandstone – This is a natural product and sometimes fossils and other natural blemishes can be visible in the finish surfaces. This is an inherent characteristic of natural sandstone, and these inconsistencies are not viewed as faulty or unacceptable
(c) Natural sandstone – This paving generally comes in mixed sizes and is laid in a random pattern unless otherwise specified
(d) Porcelain – This paving comes in various sizes with factory finished, chamfered edges. While we will always handle and install porcelain with extreme care following supplier guidelines, when porcelain products are cut they may show signs of shailing or minor chipping along the cut edges which differ to the factory finished, chamfered edges. This is deemed as an acceptable and natural effect of cutting porcelain. Shailing or minor chipping to porcelain units caused by cutting is not deemed as faulty or unacceptable
(e) Timber – Timber will be supplied as sawn (un-planed) softwood unless otherwise specified
(f) Timber – Timber will be supplied factory finished & treated, and will naturally weather down to a silver / grey hue over time unless otherwise specified
(g) Timber – Timber products are pressure treated with a factory finished, tanalith preservative unless otherwise specified. The tanalith preservative that is used to pressure treat the timber can give the timber a slight green hue which will weather away over time to silver / grey hue
(h) Timber – No staining, painting, oiling or other form of additional treatment will be applied to timber products unless otherwise specified
(i) Timber – As timber is a completely natural product, occasionally timber products may develop splits, cracks and other cosmetic imperfections as the timber gives up / takes in moisture from and atmosphere that is more moist / dry than itself. This is an inherent characteristic of timber that rarely affects its structural integrity or inherent strength. Because of these natural characteristics of timber, splits, cracks and other natural cosmetic imperfections are not viewed as faulty, damaged or unacceptable
(j) Plants – Planting will be supplied as specified in the planting plans. The supplied sizes of plants may be different to the established sizes of Not all plants will flower at the same time or will be flowering at the time of planting. Due to unpredicted, occasional seasonal shortages, we may need to substitute some plants to the nearest alternative. In such cases the closest match will be allocated. Any substitutions for sizes or variety will be made at the discretion of the designer.
6. Your rights to make changes
Changes to the agreed design or installation are also known as variations. If you wish to make a change to the services you have ordered please contact us. We will let you know if the change is possible. If it is possible, we will let you know about any variations or additions to the price of the product, the timing of supply or anything else which would be necessary to implement your requested change. We will confirm any changes with you and ask you to confirm if you wish to go ahead with the change before we implement any changes.
7. Our rights to make changes
7.1 Minor changes to the services.
We may change the services:
(a) To reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements; and
(b) to implement minor technical adjustments and improvements, for example to address a security threat or as a result of unexpected issues at your property. These changes will not affect your use of the Products, although it may require a minor change to the design. For example, it may be necessary to change a plant due to availability or the proposed location being unsuitable because of some unforeseen circumstance.
7.2 More significant changes to services.
(a) If we need to make significant changes to the installation service before work commences, we will notify you and agree the changes with you before we start the services. If you are unwilling to agree a significant change, then you may contact us to end the contract and receive a full refund before services are carried out
(b) If we need to make significant changes to the installation services after work commences, we will notify you and agree the changes with you before we start the services. If you are unwilling to agree a significant change, then you may contact us to end the contract and receive a partial refund for work not carried out before changes are carried out
8. Providing the Services
8.1 When services are confirmed.
(a) When you sign or confirm these terms by email or pay an installation deposit payment, you are confirming that you are happy to proceed with installation services.
(b) When you sign or confirm these terms by email or pay an installation deposit payment, you are confirming that you have reviewed the design & all related design details and you are happy to proceed with the installation service based on the design and related design details.
(c) During the order process you may pay a holding fee payment to secure an installation start date. A holding fee payment will secure the next estimated start date available at the point of receiving an installation deposit payment. While we will do our best to honour start dates, a holding fee payment does not guarantee any specific date. 8.2 When we will provide the services.
During the order process we will let you know of your proposed installation date when we will provide the products and services to you. We will also let you know the estimated completion date for the installation service during the order process.
The suggested installation date and completion date are best estimates at the time and may change due to delays outside of our control or due to the late payment for our services.
8.2 Contractors / Third parties.
We may choose to appoint a sub-contractor to carry out services. If we appoint a sub-contractor to carry out services, we will manage that sub-contractor in accordance with our schedule of works and quality standards.
You may choose to appoint a sub-contractor or third party to carry out services that impact our services. If you appoint a sub-contractor or third party to carry out services that impact our services, we may offer to liaise with your sub-contractor or third party for the smooth running of our installation services. While we may liaise with your sub-contractor or third party for the smooth running of our installation services, we will only do so for the duration of our installation services. We will not liaise with a sub-contractor or third party once our installation services are complete or during any suspension of our services.
We do not take responsibility for any schedule of work or quality of work carried out by any sub-contractors or third parties that you have appointed. We will not accept delayed payments for our services due to the services of sub-contractors or third parties appointed by you. If you appoint a sub-contractor or third party whose services prevent us from carrying out our services, we may charge you accordingly for delays. If you appoint a sub-contractor or third party whose services prevent us from carrying out our services, we may end the contract and clause 11.2 will apply
8.3 Delays.
If the supply of our services and products is delayed by an event outside our control, including but not limited to inclement weather, then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of the delay. Provided we do this we will not be liable for delays caused by the event, but if there is a risk of substantial delay you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for work not carried out and products you have paid for but not yet received.
8.4 If you do not allow us access to provide services.
If you do not allow us access to your property to perform the services as arranged (and you do not have a good reason for this) we may charge you additional costs incurred by us as a result. If, despite our reasonable efforts, we are unable to contact you or re-arrange access to your property we may end the contract and clause 11.2 will apply.
8.5 When you become responsible for the product.
We will arrange delivery of the products to the property and store the products safely.
The products will be your responsibility from the point when we receive delivery of the products to the property. Please ensure that where products are stored at the property prior to installation, the products are stored securely. We do not accept responsibility for theft or damage caused to the products once they have been delivered to the property.
You are responsible for perishable products once they have been installed into the garden. We do not accept responsibility for the failure of perishable items once they have been installed into the garden.
8.6 When you own the Products.
You own a product once we have received payment in full.
8.7 What will happen if you do not give required information to us.
We may need certain information from you so that we can supply the services to you. For example: available dates for the installation of services to begin. We will contact you to ask for this information.
If you do not give us this information within a reasonable time of us asking for it, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information, we may either end the contract (see clause 11.1) or make an additional charge of a reasonable sum to compensate us for any extra work that is required as a result.
We will not be responsible for delays in the services, including supplying the products late or not supplying any part of them if this is caused by you not giving us the information we need within a reasonable time of us asking for it.
8.8 Reasons we may suspend the supply of services to you.
We may have to suspend the supply of our services to:
(a) Deal with technical problems or make minor technical changes
(b) Make adjustments to our schedule due to inclement weather
(c) Update the product to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements
(d) Make changes to the product as requested by you or notified by us to you (see clause 7)
(e) Make adjustments to our schedule due to contractors appointed by us
(f) Make adjustments to our schedule due to contractors appointed by you
8.9 Your rights if we suspend the supply of services.
We will contact you in advance to tell you we will be suspending supply of the services, unless the problem is urgent or an emergency.
You may contact us to end the contract for our services if we suspend it, or tell you we are going to suspend it, in each case for a period of more than six weeks.
If we suspend the services for more than six weeks you may request to cancel the contract and request a refund for services or products that you have paid for in advance.
8.10 We may also suspend supply of the services if you do not pay.
If you do not pay us for the services and products when you are supposed to (see clause 13.4) and you still do not make payment within 3 working days of us reminding you that payment is due, we may suspend supply of the services until you have paid us the outstanding amounts.
We will contact you to tell you we are suspending supply of the services. As well as suspending the products we can also charge you interest on your overdue payments (see clause 13.5).
9. Maintenance / Aftercare
9.1 Following completion of the services, you will be responsible for maintaining your garden / the installation. This will include cleaning and (where appropriate) treating the products in accordance with our recommendations and manufacturer’s guidance. You are also responsible for the watering and care of all perishable products.
We are not responsible for any perishable products that fail after installation due to insufficient watering and due care (unless the perishable products were defective when delivered). Watering your new plants and turf is vital.
9.2 A maintenance contract (Aftercare Package) may be arranged with us for an additional fee. Please contact our customer service team on 0116 210 0760 for more details.
9.3 We provide a 12 month workmanship warranty for our services as standard
10. Your rights to end the contract
10.1 You can end the contract for the supply of services before they have been completed. You may contact us to end your contract for the services at any time before we have completed the installation and you will be charged accordingly as described below. In the case where a product is faulty or mis-described you have rights (see clause 12, “If there is a problem with the products”).
10.2 What happens if you have a good reason for ending the contract.
If you are ending a contract for a reason set out in (a) to (e) below, the contract will end and we will refund you in full for any services you have paid for in advance, but not yet received.
The reasons are:
(a) We have told you about an upcoming change to the product or these terms which you do not agree to (see clause 7.2);
(b) We have told you about an error in the price or description of the product you have ordered and you do not wish to proceed;
(c) There is a risk that the supply of the services may be significantly delayed because of events outside our control;
(d) We have suspended supply of the services for technical reasons, or notify you we are going to suspend them for technical reasons for a period of more than six weeks; or \
(e) You have a legal right to end the contract because of something we have done wrong.
10.3 What happens if you end the contract without a good reason.
If you are not ending the contract for one of the reasons set out in clause
10.2 then the contract will end immediately and we will refund any sums paid by you for the services not provided but we may deduct from that refund (or, if you have not made an advance payment, charge you) reasonable compensation for the losses and costs we will incur as a result of your ending the contract.
11. Our rights to end the contract
11.1 We may end the contract if you break it.
We may end the contract for services at any time if:
(a) You do not make any payment to us when it is due, and you still do not make payment within 3 working days of us reminding you that payment is due
(b) You do not, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information that is necessary for us to provide the services
(c) You do not, within a reasonable time, allow us access to your premises to supply the services
(d) A sub-contractor or third party appointed by you prevents us from supplying our services
(e) You request a member of our team to price for, or carry out additional or separate work without our consent
(f) You request a sub-contractor that has been appointed by us to price for, or carry out additional or separate work without our consent
11.2 You must compensate us if you break the contract.
If we end the contract in the situations set out in clause 11.1 we will refund any money you have paid in advance for services we have not provided, but we may deduct or charge you reasonable compensation for the losses and costs we will incur as a result of your breaking the contract.
12. If there is a problem with the product
12.1 How to tell us about problems. If you have any questions or complaints about the product, please contact us.
You can telephone our customer service team at: 0116 210 0760
You can write to us at: Unit 11, The Warren, East Goscote, Leicester LE7 3XA
You can email us at: [email protected]
Alternatively, you can speak to a member of our team.
12.2 Summary of your legal rights.
We are under a legal duty to supply products that are in conformity with this contract. See the box below for a summary of your key legal rights in relation to the product. Nothing in these terms will affect your legal rights.
This is a summary of your key legal rights. These are subject to certain exceptions. For detailed information please visit the Citizens Advice website www.adviceguide.org.uk or call 03454 04 05 06.
If your product is goods, for example furniture, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says goods must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality. During the expected lifespan of your product your legal rights entitle you to the following:
· Up to 30 days: if your goods are faulty, then you can get an immediate refund.
· Up to six months: if your goods can’t be repaired or replaced, then you’re entitled to a full refund, in most cases.
· Up to six years: if your goods do not last a reasonable length of time, you may be entitled to some money back.
If your product is services, for example installation services, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says:
· You can ask us to repeat or fix a service if it’s not carried out with reasonable care and skill or get some money back if we can’t fix it.
· If you haven’t agreed a price beforehand, what you’re asked to pay must be reasonable.
· If you haven’t agreed a time beforehand, it must be carried out within a reasonable time.
12.3 Your obligation to return rejected products.
If you wish to exercise your legal rights to reject products you must either return them in person to where you bought them, post them back to us or (if they are not suitable for posting) allow us to collect them from you.
13. Price and payment
13.1 Where to find the price for the services.
(a) Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the price for the Design will be aligned with the Design Fee package purchased
(b) The price for the installation and the products and services (which includes VAT) will be the price set out in the proposal document. We use our best efforts to ensure that the price of services advised to you is correct. However please see clause13.3 for what happens if we discover an error in the price of the services and products you order.
13.2 We will pass on changes in the rate of VAT. If the rate of VAT changes between your order date and the date we supply the product, we will adjust the rate of VAT that you pay, unless you have already paid for the product in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.
13.3 What happens if we got the price wrong.
It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the services or products may be incorrectly priced. If we accept and process your order where a pricing error is obvious and unmistakeable and could reasonably have been recognised by you as a mispricing, we may end the contract and refund you any sums you have paid.
13.4 When you must pay and how you must pay. We accept payment with major UK debit and credit cards. We accept AMEX. When you must pay is set out in the proposal document payment terms, although the following default position applies if the payment terms are not set out:
(a) For the preparation of the design, you must pay for the design in advance. If payment is not made in advance by reason of a technical error, such as a returned payment from your bank or credit card provider, the fee for the design is payable on presentation of invoice.
For installation and the services, the payment terms are set out in the proposal document. If the payment terms are not set out in the proposal document, you must pay:
(i) An initial deposit of 50% of the total price of the services on placing the order, and before we start providing services.
(ii) We will invoice you for the balance of the price of the services on an interim basis by a number of instalments as the services progress, with the final instalment payable on completion of the Services.
(iii) You must pay each invoice by the due date.
13.5 We can charge interest if you pay late.
If you do not make any payment to us by the due date, we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 4% a year above the base lending rate of the Bank of England from time to time
This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with any overdue amount.
13.6 What to do if you think an invoice is wrong.
If you think an invoice is wrong, please contact us promptly to let us know. You will not have to pay any interest until the dispute is resolved. Once the dispute is resolved we will charge you interest on correctly invoiced sums from the original due date.
13.7 Failure to pay.
If an invoice remains unpaid, we may pass the debt to our Collections Department where further charges will be incurred.
14. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you
14.1 We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by us. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable.
Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for example, if you discussed it with us during the design process. This will also apply to perishable products which you fail to care for (e.g. watering).
14.2 We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or sub-contractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; for breach of your legal rights in relation to the products as summarised at clause 12.2; and for defective products under the Consumer Protection
14.3 When we are liable for damage to your property.
If we are providing services at your property, we will make good any damage to your property caused by us while doing so. However, we are not responsible for the cost of repairing any pre-existing faults or damage to your property that we discover while providing the services.
14.4 We are not liable for business losses.
We only supply the products for domestic and private use. If you use the products for any commercial, business or re-sale purpose we will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.
15. How we may use your personal information
15.1 How we will use your personal information.
We will use the personal information you provide to us:
(a) To supply the products to you;
(b) To process your payment for the products; and
(c) If you agreed to this during the order process, to inform you about similar products that we provide, but you may stop receiving these at any time by contacting us.
15.2 We will only give your personal information to other third parties where the law either requires or allows us to do so.
16. Warranty
16.1 We will provide a 12 month workmanship warranty as standard for our installation services.
16.2 Our 12 month warranty also applies to hard landscaping products unless otherwise specified by the supplier
16.3 Bespoke or other supplier items will be subject to the relevant warranty provided by the supplier
16.4 Perishable items including, but not limited to, plants & turf are not included within our 12 month warranty unless otherwise specified
17. Other important terms
17.1 We may transfer this agreement to someone else. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another organisation.
17.2 You need our consent to transfer your rights to someone else. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if we agree to this in writing.
17.3 Nobody else has any rights under this contract. This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.
17.4 If a court finds part of this contract illegal, the rest will continue in force. Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.
17.5 Even if we delay in enforcing this contract, we can still enforce it later. If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of your breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you, but we continue to provide the products, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.
17.6 Which laws apply to this contract and where you may bring legal proceedings. These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in the English courts.
If you live in Scotland, you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland, you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the products in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.
17.7 Alternative dispute resolution. Alternative dispute resolution is a process where an independent body considers the facts of a dispute and seeks to resolve it, without you having to go to court.
If you are not happy with how we have handled any complaint, you may want to contact the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI). You can submit a complaint to BALI via their website at www.bali.org.uk or by telephone on 024 7669 0333. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may bring legal proceedings.
– Definitions
(a) “Design” means the design that we produce for your garden.
(b) “Design Work” means the production of the design
(c) “Inclement weather” means weather of a type which will interfere with our services and the installation such as snow, heavy rain, freezing temperatures, high winds and general bad weather.
(d) “Initial maintenance” means the immediate aftercare for your garden.
(e) “Installation” means the installation of the design and the products at your property.
(f) “Installation Date” means the date provided to you for the installation.
(g) “Maintenance” means general maintenance of the products and the perishable products.
(h) “Perishable Products” means perishable items supplied as part of the design, such as plants and turf that require ongoing care.
(i) “Property” means the property address where we are to provide our services.
(j) “Proposal Document” means the document provided to you with the design which includes the price for our services.
(k) “Services” means the services of design work and/or the installation supplied to you, as the case may be.
(l) “Warranty” means a 12-month warranty from the completion of the Installation at your Property in respects of the Services