Terms of Engagement

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These are the terms we work to. We'll confirm the price and what's included in writing before starting, and that written proposal together with these terms forms our agreement.

What we do

We produce planning drawings, building regulation packages, structural design, build over applications and bills of quantities. Work is produced by our design team and checked and approved by a Chartered Civil Engineer.

Prices and payment

• Prices are fixed and agreed in writing before we start. The price we quote is the price you pay us.
• Quoted prices apply to a typical terraced, semi-detached or detached house. Larger, unusual or more complex properties are priced individually, still on a fixed-price basis once we've seen the scope.
• Payment is half on instruction and half when the drawings are issued, unless we agree otherwise in writing.
• Statutory fees are not included and are paid by you directly: council planning fees, Planning Portal service charges, building control charges, water company fees, and any party wall surveyor.

What you provide

Where you are taking the measurements, the drawings we produce rely on the information you give us. Please take care with it. If measurements or photographs turn out to be inaccurate or incomplete, any redrawing needed will be chargeable. We will tell you if what you've sent isn't enough to work from.

Revisions

One round of minor changes is included in the price. Further changes, or changes that alter the design after it has been agreed, are charged at our then-current rate and quoted before we do them.

Approvals

We cannot guarantee that planning permission or building regulations approval will be granted. Those decisions rest with your local authority or building control body. We design within the policies your council applies in practice and will tell you honestly when a scheme looks marginal. If an application is refused we'll discuss the reasons with you and agree what happens next at that point.

Timescales

Any dates we give are estimates made in good faith. We are not responsible for delays caused by local authorities, building control bodies, water companies or third parties.

Ownership

Copyright in the drawings stays with us. Once you have paid in full you have a licence to use them for the project they were prepared for, including giving them to your builder and submitting them to the authorities. They may not be reused on a different property or resold.

Your responsibilities

• Obtaining any consents needed, including party wall notices, unless we've agreed otherwise.
• Appointing and managing your builder. We do not supervise construction or act as contract administrator.
• Arranging building control inspections and giving them access at the right stages.

Liability

We carry professional indemnity insurance. Our liability is limited to the level of that cover, and we are not liable for construction defects, a builder's workmanship, or losses arising from information given to us that turns out to be inaccurate. Nothing here limits liability where it cannot lawfully be limited.

Cancellation

You can cancel at any time. If work has started we'll charge fairly for what's been done and refund the balance. Where you are a consumer contracting at a distance, you have 14 days to cancel; if you ask us to start within that period and then cancel, we'll charge for work completed.

Getting in touch

The quickest way to reach us is WhatsApp. You can also email contact@500.co.uk and we'll reply at the earliest opportunity. These terms are governed by the law of England.