Servicing, repair, supply and installation of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.

1. About us and these terms

These terms apply when A.D.K. Kooling Ltd services, maintains, repairs, supplies or installs refrigeration or air conditioning equipment for you. Together with your quotation or agreement, they form the contract between us. If your quotation or agreement says something different from these terms, the quotation or agreement applies.

In these terms, we, us and our mean A.D.K. Kooling Ltd. You means the person or organisation named on the quotation or agreement. Equipment means the refrigeration or air conditioning equipment we work on or supply.

A domestic customer (consumer) is an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business or profession. Everyone else is a commercial customer. Where a term applies only to one of them, it says so.

2. Our services and how these terms are arranged

• Part A (sections 3 to 9) covers servicing, maintenance and repairs.
• Part B (sections 10 to 15) covers supply and installation.
• Part C (sections 16 to 20) applies to all customers.

Part A | Servicing, maintenance and repairs

3. What a planned maintenance visit includes

The tasks for each type of equipment are listed in your agreement. They typically include:

• cleaning or replacing filters and cleaning coils, drains and condensate pumps;
• checking operating pressures and temperatures, and checking for refrigerant leaks;
• checking electrical connections, controls and safety devices;
• running the equipment through its operating cycle; and
• a written service report, with F-Gas records updated where they apply.

Not included

Unless your agreement says otherwise, the following are quoted and charged separately under section 8:

• repairs, replacement parts and consumables other than standard filters;
• refrigerant;
• call-outs between scheduled visits;
• remedial or improvement work to the equipment or its installation; and
• equipment not listed in your agreement.

4. Prices and payment

Prices are set out in your quotation or agreement. Prices quoted to commercial customers exclude VAT. Prices quoted to domestic customers include VAT.

Fixed-term agreements

We invoice for the term, or in the instalments set out in your agreement. Payment is due by the date on the invoice, or within 30 days of the invoice date if none is stated.

Reactive call-outs

Unless you hold a credit account approved by us, the call-out charge and the first hour’s labour are paid before we attend. Congestion charge and parking are added where they apply. If more time, parts or refrigerant are needed, we will agree the cost with you before we continue.

The call-out charge and labour are payable for the time spent, even if the fault cannot be fixed on that visit or the equipment proves to be beyond economical repair.

Price changes

If an agreement renews, we will give you at least 30 days’ written notice of any price change, so you can cancel before the new price applies.

Late and failed payments

If a payment is not made, we may pause visits and, after giving notice, suspend or cancel the agreement. For commercial customers, we may charge interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. We do not charge interest to domestic customers.

Charges you think are wrong

Please contact us first. We will look into it straight away and refund any error promptly.

5. Renewal and cancellation of agreements

Renewal

A fixed-term agreement ends at the end of its term unless it states that it renews. Before an agreement renews, we will write to you with the new term, the price and how to cancel.

Stopping a renewal

You can stop an agreement from renewing by telling us by email or phone before the renewal date. We will confirm in writing within one working day. We do not charge domestic customers a cancellation fee.

Commercial customers ending a fixed-term agreement early

You must pay for visits already carried out and for any costs we have committed for the rest of the term that we cannot reasonably recover. We will not claim more than our actual loss.

When we may suspend or cancel

We may suspend or cancel an agreement if payment is not made when due, if we are repeatedly unable to gain access, or if the equipment is unsafe to work on. If we cancel for a reason that is not your fault, we will refund payments for visits not yet carried out.

6. Domestic customers: 14-day right to cancel

This section applies to domestic customers where a servicing or repair contract is made by phone, email, online or away from our premises. The right to cancel an installation is in section 14.

• You may cancel within 14 days of the day the contract is made, without giving a reason. Tell us clearly by letter or email. You may use the model cancellation form we provide, but you do not have to.
• We will not start work within the 14 days unless you ask us to. If you do ask and then cancel, you pay for the work done up to the time you tell us.
• If we complete a visit at your request within the 14 days, you lose the right to cancel that visit.
• We will refund all other payments within 14 days of your cancellation, by the same method you used to pay.

7. Appointments and access

• We book visits in advance and confirm them the working day before. Unless a timed appointment is agreed, visits are booked as an all-day slot between 8am and 8pm, and the engineer will call you about an hour before arriving.
• You must give us safe access to the equipment, including roofs and plant areas, with power and water available where needed, and tell us about any site rules, permits or inductions.
• For non-domestic premises, you must give us the asbestos information for the areas where we will work before we start.
• Cancelling a visit: you must give us at least 24 hours’ notice to cancel or rearrange a visit. If you do, any payment for that visit is refunded or carried over to the new date.
• If you cancel with less than 24 hours’ notice, or we attend as agreed and cannot carry out the work because access is not available or the site is not ready, we may charge the call-out, subject to section 6 for domestic customers. For planned visits, the visit counts as used.

8. Repairs, parts and refrigerant

Faults found during a visit are quoted separately. We will not carry out chargeable work without your agreement, other than minor adjustments made during the visit.

If equipment is unsafe or leaking refrigerant, we may isolate it, label it and tell you straight away. It must not be used again until it has been repaired.

Parts are charged at the quoted price, and refrigerant per kilogram. Parts become yours once we have been paid for them. Parts for older equipment may be obsolete or have long lead times, and equipment using phased-out refrigerants such as R22 cannot legally be recharged. In those cases we will advise you on the options, including replacement.

9. Recall and parts warranty

We carry out all servicing and repair work with reasonable care and skill. Our labour on servicing and repairs is covered by the 30-day recall below. The one-year labour warranty applies to installations only (section 15).

30-day recall

If you have a concern within 30 days of a visit, call us and we will come back and check the system. If the problem relates to the work we carried out on the original visit, there is no charge. If it is unrelated to the original visit, the recall is charged at our standard rates.

Parts

Parts carry a warranty of 3 to 6 months from fitting, depending on the manufacturer or supplier. We can confirm the warranty period for any part on request.

What is not covered

The recall and parts warranty do not cover faults caused by misuse, work by others, lack of maintenance or events outside our control. It also does not cover repairs carried out to a diagnosis that we did not make.

Part B | Supply and installation

10. Surveys and quotations

An estimate is an indicative price given before a survey. It is not binding. A quotation is a fixed price given after a survey. It is valid for 30 days unless it states otherwise, and covers only the work described in it. The contract starts when you accept the quotation and we receive your deposit.

The site survey is a technical survey. It establishes the equipment, the positions of the indoor and outdoor units, the pipe and cable routes and the power supply needed. It is not a planning assessment (see section 11).

Included in the price

• all labour, fixings, brackets, pipework, insulation and materials for the installation;
• removal of packaging and waste from the installation; and
• parking, congestion charge and ULEZ.

Not included, unless your quotation says otherwise

• electrical works and electrical supply upgrades;
• scaffolding, hoists, cranes and other access equipment;
• builders’ work, making good and redecoration;
• removal or disposal of existing equipment we did not supply;
• planning applications and other consents (see section 11); and
• work made necessary by hidden conditions (see below).

Hidden conditions

The quotation is based on the site as it was shown to us and could reasonably be seen at the survey. If we find something that could not be seen and was not disclosed, such as concealed services, structural defects, an unsafe electrical installation or asbestos, we will stop, tell you what we have found and give you the cost in writing. Work restarts once you agree the cost. You may cancel instead, in which case section 14 applies.

11. Planning permission and property consents

Outdoor units are controlled by planning rules. Permitted development limits the number, size and position of outdoor units, and the limits are tighter for semi-detached and terraced houses, flats, listed buildings and conservation areas. Some installations need planning permission.

You are responsible for checking whether planning permission, listed building consent or any other approval is needed, and for obtaining it before work starts. If you do not own the property outright, you are also responsible for obtaining written consent from the landlord, freeholder or managing agent, including for external units and for drilling through walls.

Unless your quotation expressly includes it, we do not give planning advice, make planning applications or confirm that an installation is permitted development. A survey, design recommendation, quotation or installation by us is not confirmation that planning permission is not needed.

If permission is refused, or the council requires the installation to be altered, moved or removed because the necessary consent was not obtained, the additional work will be quoted separately and carried out only with your written agreement.

Nothing in this section limits our liability where the law does not allow it, including for our own negligence, for inaccurate information we give you, or for failing to use reasonable care and skill.

12. Deposit, payment and ownership

• A deposit, shown in your quotation, is payable to secure your installation. We order the equipment from the manufacturer once the deposit has cleared, and installation slots are allocated in the order deposits are received.
• The balance is payable on completion, or in the stages set out in your quotation. Installations are not covered by credit account terms.
• Payment is by bank transfer to the account shown on your invoice. The bank details warning and late payment terms in section 4 also apply.
• The equipment remains ours until we have been paid in full. Risk in the equipment passes to you on delivery to your site.

13. Delivery and installation

• Before you pay, we can give you an estimated lead time from the manufacturer. This is an estimate, not a promise. Once the equipment is ordered, we will confirm the delivery date in writing on the day the manufacturer gives it to us.
• We will agree an installation window when your deposit is received, and confirm the day once the delivery date is known.
• We are not liable for delays caused by the manufacturer or by supply problems outside our control. If there is a delay, we will tell you promptly and agree a new date.
• You must give us safe access to the installation areas, with power and water available. If we attend as agreed and cannot proceed because access is not available, a consent has not been obtained or the site is not ready, we may charge for the wasted visit at our standard call-out rate.
• We will leave the site clean and remove packaging and waste from the installation at no charge.

14. Cancelling an installation

You may cancel at any time before installation by telling us in writing. What you pay depends on how far the order has progressed:

Despatched equipment is sealed, factory-charged and serialised to your order, so the manufacturer will not credit its full value once it has left them. We will give you a copy of the credit note.

Domestic customers: 14-day right to cancel

If you are a domestic customer and the contract was made by phone, email, online or away from our premises, you also have a legal right to cancel within 14 days of the equipment being delivered to you, without giving a reason.

• You must return the equipment, or let us collect it, within 14 days of cancelling. You pay the direct cost of return. Because of its size and weight this needs a specialist carrier, which we estimate at £150 to £400.
• We will refund your payments within 14 days of receiving the equipment back, less any loss in value caused by handling it more than necessary. The restocking charge in the table above does not apply during the 14 days.
• We will not install during the 14 days unless you ask us to in writing. If we complete the installation at your request, you lose the right to cancel because the equipment can no longer be returned.

Commercial customers do not have the 14-day right. The table above applies to them in full.

Cancellation by us

We may cancel if the deposit or balance is not paid when due, if access is not provided, or if we find that the installation would be unsafe or unlawful to carry out. If we cancel for a reason that is not your fault, we will refund everything you have paid.

15. Installation warranty and handover

• The equipment carries the manufacturer’s warranty. The period varies by manufacturer and model and is stated in your quotation.
• Installations carry a one-year labour warranty from completion. If a fault arises from our installation in that time, we will put it right free of charge.
• To keep the manufacturer’s warranty valid, air conditioning systems must be serviced at least once a year if used for cooling, and at least twice a year if used for heating, or more often if the manufacturer requires it. If the system is not serviced, the warranty may be void. We can quote for a maintenance agreement.
• Neither warranty covers misuse, alterations, work by others, lack of maintenance or events outside our control.
• At handover we will give you the system documentation and tell you whether the system needs F-Gas leak checks (see section 16).

Part C | All customers

16. F-Gas leak checking and records

Equipment containing fluorinated refrigerants must be leak checked at intervals set by the F-Gas Regulation as it applies in Great Britain. The interval depends on the refrigerant charge.

The legal duty to arrange leak checks and keep records rests with the operator of the equipment, which is normally you. Where your agreement includes leak checks, we carry them out and give you the record of each check. Where it does not, we will tell you what the law requires.

17. Liability

We hold public and products liability insurance. Details are available on request.

We are responsible for loss you suffer that is a foreseeable result of us breaking these terms or failing to use reasonable care and skill. We do not exclude or limit liability where the law does not allow it, including for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud.

If you are a domestic customer, nothing in these terms affects your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, including the right to goods that are as described and fit for purpose, and to services carried out with reasonable care and skill.

Subject to the paragraphs above, our total liability is limited to the price of the installation, or, for servicing and repairs, to the charges payable by you in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

If you are a commercial customer, we are not liable for loss of profit, business or revenue, business interruption, or loss of or damage to stock, food or other goods stored in the equipment. We recommend you hold insurance for stock loss and equipment breakdown.

18. Complaints

If something goes wrong, please contact us at service@adk.co.uk or write to 3 Waterloo Road, Uxbridge, UB8 2QX. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and aim to resolve it within 20 working days. If we need longer, we will tell you why.

19. Your information

We use your personal information only to carry out our work, take payments and meet our legal obligations, in line with UK data protection law. We do not sell it. You can ask for a copy of the information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it.

20. General

• These terms and your quotation or agreement are the whole agreement between us, under the law of England and Wales.
• We are not responsible for delays or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as severe weather, supply shortages or industrial action.
• We may update these terms. The version in force when you accept your quotation, or when your agreement starts or renews, applies.
• If any part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies. Nobody other than you and us has any rights under this contract.