Terms & Conditions - Electrical Home Improvements

Electrical Home Improvements Service from British Gas

Please read this document carefully as it will tell You everything You need to know about the terms and conditions of this Service(s).

1. Definitions
In these terms and conditions the following expressions will have the following meanings:

"Agreement" means these terms and conditions together with the Quotation;

"Electrical Installations" means the electrical wiring and electrical fixtures in Your Home and includes the fixed electrical wiring system inside Your Home only plus fuse boxes, light switches, wall sockets, light fixtures, circuit breakers and transformers;

"Home" means Your place of residence being Your private domestic dwelling;

"Inspection" means a visual inspection of the Electrical Installations supplemented with appropriate electrical safety tests to ascertain the condition of the Electrical Installation;

"Rented Property" means a property owned and rented by You as a Landlord to a Tenant under a Tenancy Agreement;

"Quotation" states the contract price for any work done plus any additional fees and charges payable to Us for the Service(s) as requested;

"Service(s)" means Inspections and/or Electrical Home Improvement Work, which We provide to You as described in the Quotation together with any additional services requested by You under this Agreement;

"We/Us/Our" means British Gas Services Limited (registered number 03141243) whose registered office is at Millstream, Maidenhead Road, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 5GG; and

"You/Your" means the person receiving the Service(s) under this Agreement.


2. Services

A Inspections: Periodic and Landlords Electrical Report Periodic Inspection: An Inspection that You have requested of the Electrical Installations in Your Home.
The Periodic Inspection consists of a visual inspection and test of the Electrical Installations that are visible plus an electrical safety test on all electrical circuits.

Landlords Electrical Inspection Report: Where You are a Landlord and have requested an Inspection of the Electrical Installations in Your Rented Property.

The Landlords Electrical Inspection Report is a limited Inspection consisting of a sample visual Inspection of the Electrical Installations and a series of tests on each circuit to confirm a satisfactory earth path exists and the polarity at the point of the test. The Landlords Electrical Inspection Report also includes an electrical and visual safety check on Your kitchen appliances.

1. The Quotation is fixed for a period of 28 days from the date of the quote being given. After this time should You still require the Service(s) We will provide You with a revised Quotation.

2. The deposit shown on Your Quotation, or given to You over the phone may be requested when You place Your order. You must pay the remaining balance of the Quotation when We have finished the work within 28 days of the invoice being received.

3. The ability for Us to provide an Inspection will be subject to gaining access to Your Home etc. In addition We will not provide an Inspection where We have to disturb the floorboards or fabric of the building.

4. See also Section 3 - General Terms and Conditions.

B Electrical Home Improvement and Repair Work

This section deals with any repairs or improvements undertaken to Your Home's Electrical Installations.

1. The Quotation is fixed for a period of 28 days from the date the quote is given. After this time should You require the Service(s) We will provide You with a revised Quotation.

2. The deposit either shown on Your Quotation, or given to You over the phone may be requested when You place Your order. You must pay the remaining balance of the contract price when Our engineer completes the work to Your reasonable satisfaction within 28 days of the invoice being received, unless You have signed a Credit Agreement. If Your Credit Agreement is later cancelled, subject to the terms of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the contract balance becomes immediately payable.

3. See also Section 3 - General Terms and Conditions.

3. General Terms and Conditions

1. We have quoted the cost of the Service(s) as discussed with You and set this out in the Quotation. Once You have accepted this Quotation, We agree to undertake the Service(s) on the terms set out in this Agreement.

2. We will carry out the Service(s) during Our normal working hours (which will usually be between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday) on a date agreed with You.

3. If You have scheduled an appointment which is outside Our normal working hours, it may be necessary for Us to make an additional charge, which We will agree with You in advance of the work commencing.

4. We will need access to Your Home or Rented Property at all times whilst We are doing the work.

5. The Service(s) does not include the cost of any additional work We find to be necessary at the time of the agreed work being carried out - e.g. work required to make Your electrical wiring safe. We will explain why any additional work is needed and let You know the cost of the additional work in advance.

6. The time estimate provided for doing the work is Our best estimate, and We will make every reasonable effort to complete the work on time. However, We cannot be held responsible for delays due to weather or other circumstances beyond Our control. In such situations, We will agree alternative dates with You.

7. We will not be responsible for the removal of any dangerous waste material, including asbestos which We become aware of only after We have started work. Such work will be at extra cost, the amount of which We will agree with You in advance. When You have had any asbestos removed, a clean air certificate must be provided before We will do any further work at Your Home or Rented Property.

8. If You are a tenant, You may need Your Landlord's permission to carry out the work detailed in this Quotation. British Gas will assume that You have obtained such permission. We shall not have any liability for any loss or damage arising from failure to obtain such permission.

9. Following Our work, redecoration may be needed. This will be Your responsibility and is not included in the price, unless We have been negligent with Our work.

10. Spare parts used are guaranteed for one year from the date of fitting. This does not affect Your statutory rights. 11. We will use standard replacement parts, for example We will replace a brass light switch with a standard equivalent white plastic switch, unless You provide Us with alternative fittings.

12. Where the safety earthing arrangements are not compliant with the standards defined in the current Institute of Electrical Engineers' Wiring regulations (BS7671:2008), You will be informed of any remedial work required to rectify any such problem. In such circumstances it will be at the discretion of the electrical engineer on site whether work under this agreement can proceed without remedial work being carried out and We may cancel this agreement. Any remedial work will be at extra cost, the amount of which We will agree with You in advance.

13. The work to be carried out will be agreed between Us, and will be carried out as soon as is reasonably practicable, subject to engineer availability.

14. One of Our electrical engineers will usually carry out the work. In some cases We may authorise a suitably qualified sub-contractor to carry out the work. All sub-contractors are approved by Us and are fully competent and registered with an appropriate organisation such as the ECA, NICEIC, SELECT, ELECSA, NAPIT, BSi etc. All subcontractors carry identity cards.

15. We will not be liable for losses or damage suffered by You under this Agreement where there has been no breach of legal duty of care owed to You by Us or any of Our employees, sub-contractors or agents, or where such loss is not a reasonably foreseeable result of a breach by Us or any of Our employees, sub-contractors or agents; You incur business losses; such loss or damage is a result of a breach by You of any term of this Agreement; such loss or damage is caused by You or someone else.

16. You are entitled to cancel the work agreed between Us up to 24 hours before commencement, subject to no work having been carried out. If You cancel within 24 hours of the work being due to commence, We may retain all or part of Your deposit as a contribution towards any losses or costs We suffer as a result of the cancellation. If We cancel the contract without good reason We will pay You any losses or costs You suffer as a result of the cancellation. If You have signed a Credit Agreement which related to this purchase Your cancellation rights are set out in the terms of the Credit Agreement.

17. Where the 7 working day "cooling off" period applies, and We have allowed You to cancel after this period, We will retain all or part of Your deposit as a contribution towards any losses or costs We suffer as a result of the cancellation. If We cancel the contract without good reason We will pay You any losses or costs You suffer as a result of the cancellation. If You have signed a Credit Agreement which related to this purchase Your cancellation rights are set out in the terms of the Credit Agreement.

4. Using Personal Information

Information You provide or We hold about You (whether or not under Our contract or contracts with You) may be used by Us or Our agents to:

  • identify You when You contact Us;
  • help identify accounts, services and products which You could have from Us from time to time (We may do this using an automatic scoring system, which uses the information You have provided, any information We hold about You and information from other agencies, including credit-reference agencies);
  • help run and contact You about the improved running of any accounts, services and products We have provided before, or provide now or in the future (We may contact You by e-mail or text message if You have given Us these contact details);
  • create statistical and testing information and carry out marketing analysis and customer profiling (including using information about what You buy from Us and how You pay for it, for example usage rates and any discounts We have offered You - these are examples only and not a complete list);
  • help to prevent and detect fraud or loss; and
  • contact You in any way (including mail, e-mail, phone, visit, text or multimedia messages) about products and services offered by Us and selected partners.

We may allow other people and organisations to use information We hold about You:

  • to provide services You have asked for;
  • as part of the process of selling one or more of Our businesses;
  • help to prevent and detect debt, fraud or loss. In addition, if You have failed to pay Us, in which case We may transfer Your debt to another organisation and provide them with details about You and that debt;
  • if We have been asked to provide information for legal or regulatory purposes;
  • as part of current or future legal proceedings; or
  • if You hold an insurance policy with Us, pass information to an insurer to manage Your insurance policy including underwriting and claims, to assist in the development of the new services, dealing with reinsurers and to assess financial and insurance risk.

From time to time, these other people and organisations may be outside the European Economic Area in countries that do not have the same standards of protection for personal data as the UK. We may also allow Your information to be used by other Centrica Group companies (including those using the British Gas, Scottish Gas, and Dyno Group brands) for them to carry out any of the above purposes. We may pass Your address, property and postcode, and details of Your gas appliances, flue, hot water cylinder, system controls and electrical installations (including details of any repairs or removals), to organisations that supervise these activities including CORGI (Council of Registered Gas Installers) and the ECA (Electrical Contractors Association). These organisations may pass this information to local authorities to meet building regulations. They may also use this information to contact You to inspect appliances or systems, recall faulty products and carry out audits, and for health and safety purposes. Where appropriate, We will give You or the property owner (or both) a certificate to show that Your appliances and so on meet building regulations.

Your information may be used for training purposes. We may also monitor and record communications with You (including phone conversations and e-mails) for quality assurance and to make sure that We are meeting Our legal and regulatory requirements. We will check Your details with one or more credit-reference and fraud-prevention agencies to help Us make decisions about Your ability to make payments and the goods and services We can offer You. We have given a brief guide to how We, the credit-reference and fraud-prevention agencies will use Your information below. If You would like more information about this, You can find the full version online at www.britishgas.co.uk or phone Our membership office on 0845 7 365 100 and We will send You a leaflet. We will search at credit-reference and fraud-prevention agencies for information about You and all the people You are applying with - if You are providing information about others on a joint application, You must make sure they agree that We can use their information to do this. If You provide false or inaccurate information and We suspect fraud, We will pass Your details to credit-reference and fraud-prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies (for example, the Police and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) may use this information.

We will use the information provided to Us by credit-reference and fraud-prevention agencies to:

  • help make decisions about credit or credit-related services for You and anyone applying with You;
  • check Your identity;
  • prevent and detect fraud and money laundering; and
  • manage Your account.

When credit-reference agencies receive a search from Us they will record this on Your credit file whether Your application is successful or not. The information which We and other organisations provide to the credit-reference and fraud-prevention agencies may be supplied by credit-reference agencies to other organisations and used by them to perform similar checks. Organisations may access and use the information recorded by fraud-prevention agencies from other countries.

If You want to see what information credit-reference agencies hold about You, You can contact the following three credit-reference agencies currently operating in the UK. The information they hold may not be the same, so it is worth contacting them all. They will charge You a small fee.

Call Credit
Consumer Services Team,
PO Box 491, Leeds LS3 1WZ
Phone: 0870 060 1414

Equifax PLC
Credit File Advice Centre,
PO Box 3001, Bradford BD1 5US
Phone: 0870 010 0583
Website: www.myequifax.co.uk

Experian
Consumer Help Service,
PO Box 8000,
Nottingham NG80 7WF
Phone: 0870 241 6212
Website:www.experian.co.uk

If You give Us information on behalf of someone else, You confirm You have given them the information set out in this document, and that they have given permission for their personal information to be used in the way We have described. If You give Us sensitive information about yourself or others (such as health details or details of any criminal convictions of members of Your household), You agree (and confirm that the person the information is about has agreed) to Us processing this information in the way set out in this document.