Gardeners St Johns Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions set out the basis on which Gardeners St Johns provides professional gardening and garden maintenance services to residential and commercial customers. By making a booking, accepting a quotation, or allowing work to begin, the customer agrees to these terms. They are designed to create a clear and fair arrangement for both parties, covering how services are booked, how payment is handled, what happens if a booking is changed or cancelled, and the limits of liability that apply to gardening work.

For the purposes of these terms, the words “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to Gardeners St Johns, and “you” or “the customer” refer to the person, business, or property owner requesting the service. These terms apply to all services provided by our gardening team, including routine garden care, hedge maintenance, lawn work, pruning, seasonal tidying, planting, and general outdoor maintenance. Any additional work outside the original scope will be treated as a separate request and may require a revised quotation.

We aim to make the booking process straightforward. A request may be made by phone, email, online form, or through any other method we make available. Once details of the property, requested work, and preferred dates have been provided, we may offer an estimate or arrange a site visit before issuing a quotation. A quotation is based on the information available at the time and may be updated if the size, condition, access, or complexity of the garden differs from what was originally described. No booking is confirmed until we have accepted the order, agreed the service date, and, where required, received any deposit or advance payment.

Booking dates are offered subject to availability. While we will do our best to attend on the agreed date, weather, traffic, staff illness, equipment failure, or access problems may occasionally require rescheduling. In such cases, we will aim to notify you as soon as reasonably possible and arrange an alternative time. The customer is responsible for ensuring reasonable access to the garden or site, including unlocked gates where appropriate, safe entry points, and the removal or notification of hazards that could affect the work. If access is restricted or the site is unsafe, we may have to delay or reduce the service, and additional charges may apply if a return visit is needed.

To help us carry out the work efficiently, you should provide accurate information when booking, including any known issues such as pets, water supply limitations, hidden obstacles, uneven ground, overgrown areas, protected plants, or boundary concerns. If the customer gives incomplete or inaccurate information and this affects the time, tools, or labour needed, we reserve the right to revise the quotation or charge an additional fee. Any special requests, such as working around other contractors or completing work within specific time windows, should be discussed in advance and confirmed by us in writing where possible.

Our service may be carried out as a one-off appointment, a repeat maintenance visit, or a scheduled programme of works. Where a regular arrangement is agreed, the frequency, tasks included, and any seasonal variations will be set out in the quotation or service agreement. Unless stated otherwise, each visit is limited to the work agreed for that date. Garden maintenance terms do not include unlimited labour, and we are not obliged to complete additional tasks that were not part of the accepted scope. Any change requested once work has started may be accepted at our discretion and may affect timing and price.

All prices are stated in pounds sterling and may be quoted as fixed fees, hourly rates, or a combination of both depending on the nature of the work. Unless expressly stated, quotations do not include unforeseen extra work, specialist disposal charges, third-party access fees, or costs arising from conditions that were not visible during the quotation stage. If the job requires extra time, additional labour, or different equipment because of the actual site conditions, we may inform you before continuing and seek approval for the revised cost. We may also apply a minimum call-out fee where a booking is cancelled late or where access is not possible on arrival.

Payment terms will be confirmed before or at the time of booking. For many gardening services, payment is due upon completion of the work, although we may request a deposit, part payment, or full advance payment for larger projects, repeat work, or special orders. Accepted payment methods may include bank transfer, debit card, credit card, or other methods we specify from time to time. The customer must ensure payment is made in full by the due date shown on the invoice. If payment is late, we may suspend further work, charge interest in line with applicable UK law, and recover reasonable costs associated with pursuing the debt.

When a deposit is taken, it is normally used to secure the date and cover initial scheduling or procurement costs. Unless we state otherwise, deposits are non-refundable where the customer cancels after we have reserved time, ordered materials, or prepared resources specifically for the booking. If the work is completed in stages, we may issue interim invoices for completed parts of the service. Ownership of any supplied materials remains with us until payment has been received in full, where permitted by law. If there is a dispute about an invoice, you should raise it promptly so we can review the matter in good faith.

Cancellation and postponement requests should be made as early as possible. If you need to cancel or rearrange a booking, please notify us promptly so that we can manage the schedule and avoid unnecessary costs. We may specify a minimum notice period for cancellations, particularly for larger or labour-intensive jobs. If insufficient notice is given, or if our team attends and cannot complete the work because the site is unavailable, the agreed cancellation charge, minimum fee, or reasonable lost-time cost may still apply. Any materials already purchased for your job may also be charged to you if they cannot be returned or reused.

Where the customer repeatedly cancels, changes dates at short notice, or fails to provide access on more than one occasion, we may require a new booking fee before accepting future work. We also reserve the right to decline or terminate a booking if the property conditions are significantly different from those described, if the work requested is unsafe, or if the customer behaves in a way that is abusive, threatening, or prevents the team from working effectively. In such circumstances, we will normally charge for any work already completed and for costs reasonably incurred.

We may cancel or postpone a booking due to adverse weather, staff shortages, equipment failure, emergency circumstances, or any event beyond our reasonable control. In those cases, we will seek to reschedule the service at the earliest practical opportunity. Where cancellation is caused by our own decision and not by your breach, and where payment has been taken for work not performed, we will provide a refund for the unused portion of the service or agree an alternative arrangement. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer under UK law.

Our team will take reasonable care when carrying out gardening services, but natural outdoor environments can contain hazards that are not always visible. Trees, shrubs, hard surfaces, buried objects, fragile fixtures, irrigation systems, concealed cables, and uneven terrain may create a risk of incidental damage. We accept responsibility for direct loss or damage caused by our negligence, but we are not responsible for pre-existing defects, normal wear and tear, or damage resulting from conditions that were not reasonably foreseeable. We are also not liable for loss caused by incorrect instructions, defective equipment supplied by the customer, or the customer’s failure to disclose relevant information.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our liability is limited to the value of the service provided in relation to the relevant booking, except where a higher level of liability cannot legally be excluded. We do not exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be limited under UK law. Customers are responsible for securing valuable, delicate, or easily damaged items before work begins, including ornaments, furniture, lighting, and movable plant containers. If such items are left in work areas, they may be moved where reasonably necessary to complete the service, but we cannot guarantee that every item will be returned to exactly the same position.

Our gardeners may recommend actions such as pruning, cutting back overgrowth, or removing diseased material where such work appears necessary for the condition of the garden. However, any recommendation is advisory unless expressly included in the booked service. We are not responsible for the long-term horticultural outcome of plants, lawns, or shrubs affected by weather, pests, disease, soil condition, prior neglect, or seasonal variation. Gardening services involve living materials and outdoor conditions, so results may vary. The customer acknowledges that no guarantee is given that every plant or lawn area will respond in a particular way after treatment or maintenance.

Waste removal and disposal are handled in accordance with relevant UK waste regulations. Where green waste, soil, branches, grass cuttings, leaves, or similar material is removed as part of the service, we will dispose of it lawfully using appropriate facilities or licensed carriers where required. The customer should understand that not all materials can be taken away as standard, and some jobs may require a specific waste charge depending on volume, weight, access, or disposal method. Any waste left on the property after completion remains the customer’s responsibility unless we have agreed in writing to remove it.

We will separate and handle waste responsibly where practical, and we may reuse, compost, or recycle suitable garden material in line with applicable waste hierarchy principles. The customer must tell us in advance if the waste includes anything unusual, potentially contaminated, or subject to special handling, such as treated timber, building debris mixed with green waste, asbestos risk, sharp objects, chemicals, or invasive plant material. Such items may be excluded from the standard service and may require specialist disposal. We reserve the right to refuse to remove waste that cannot legally or safely be transported or processed within our normal arrangements.

The customer is responsible for ensuring that waste handed over to us is accurately described. If undisclosed non-garden waste is found mixed with green waste, additional charges may be applied, or the load may be left onsite if lawful disposal cannot be arranged. We also ask customers not to place hazardous substances, animal waste, or unauthorised materials into garden waste piles unless we have clearly agreed otherwise. Any waste transfer arrangements will be conducted in compliance with applicable environmental and waste-management rules, and relevant records may be kept where necessary.

These terms, and any dispute or claim arising from or connected with them, shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any matter arising from the services, except where consumer law provides otherwise. If any part of these Terms and Conditions is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force. A failure or delay by us in enforcing any right under these terms does not mean that right has been waived. Gardeners St Johns service terms may be updated from time to time, and the version in force at the time of your booking will apply unless a different version is agreed in writing.