The Really Handy Co. offers an affordable building maintenance service at rates designed to achieve value and fairness.
Labour Charges – we charge a basic flat rate of £49/hr (No VAT) to private households and charities in Muswell Hill and much of North London (i.e call-out areas served listed under Locations). Payment of the first hour is the minimum fee required for attendance. We also offer a day rate of £45/hr on bookings likely to exceed 8 hrs – if applicable this will be agreed at the booking stage. We charge slightly higher rates for the following, rental properties, insurance jobs, business premises and shared or communal areas. These rates are £55/hr and £49/hr day rate (see above). Please check listed prices at time of bookings as these may vary to reflect changes in seasonal demand. No VAT is charged. A 50% surcharge to applicable rates is added to bookings specified for timings outside our normal hours of business (specified below).
Non-local Call-outs and ULEZ/Congestion Zone Charges – where significant travel is involved outside of the listed areas we may add a mileage fee, particularly on short bookings. Where relevant we will let you know if this is applicable and how much it will be when you make the booking. Please see our Green Lite service for call-outs in ULEZ/Congestion charge areas.
Materials – generally basic fixing materials are supplied free of charge and include screws, wall plugs, silicone, powder filler, abrasives and adhesives. Where additional materials such as wood or paint or specialised fixings need to be purchased, costs will be passed back to you inclusive of any discounts we obtain on your behalf. Any time spent collecting additional materials will be charged at our basic hourly rate.
Work commissioned by tenants – where work is requested by tenants it is assumed that the permission of the landlord has been granted. If you are unsure you should seek permission or check the conditions stipulated in your tenancy agreement.
Quotes and Estimates – where possible we will always provide you with an estimate of costs for your project when requested. On larger projects (at least a days work) we may be able to provide free fixed quote on request, dependent on location and time availability. We define quotes as fixed fees and estimates as rough indications of cost based on typical experience. Quotes include an additional margin to reflect the confidence with which an estimate can be provided, as such they will always exceed estimates.
Hours of Business London – 8:30am – 6:00pm Monday – Friday excluding bank holidays. Morning bookings typically start around 8:45 depending on where you are. Please email enquiries outside these hours
Project description – please be as full and as honest as possible in the description of the work needed and highlight any known problems or ongoing issues – where possible upload photos using the facility provided. We rely on you to let us know of any issues such as the presence of Asbestos, pesticides, gas supply pipe-work, structural damage or any other safety hazards where work is to be carried out. We also rely on you to let us know where drilling or other work may damage gas/electrical/water/telephone or fibre optic supply lines tanking or any other structural element within the building.
Parking – please ensure that there is reasonable provision made for parking. If there is a parking restriction please provide a permit. If paid parking is necessary then these costs will be added to the invoice. Congestion and ULEZ surcharges may also need to be added in central London.
Waste Disposal – unfortunately due to licensing requirements and very high disposal costs we don’t offer rubbish removal – where waste can’t be disposed of with domestic refuse you will need to make separate arrangements – we can advise on disposal and will break down rubbish to help with disposal.
Cancellations and rescheduling As we rely on advance bookings, often a few days or more in advance, last minute cancellations and changes to scheduling with short warning prevent us from working and earning income. Accordingly, it is necessary for us to charge cancellation fees to compensate against losses incurred in this way and to ensure commitment from customers. For scheduled work please give 48 hrs prior notice of cancellation or rescheduling (unless booked less in advance). We reserve the right to charge cancellation fees if the above (48 hrs.) prior notification isn’t provided. Prior notification should have been acknowledged by us ahead of the 48hr minimum period (text messages or voice-mails will not be regarded as a cancellation unless validated with a written response from us) – we would recommend that you call direct or email. Such charges will be at least 50{3e1ace64bb52abf85e76cb337faf5fa180d6ac45f6146aa0c07ecfe3758cea47} of the value of the length of the rough booking slot and will not be less than the first hour minimum if cancelled on arrival. Waiting time, where for example, access/work is delayed on arrival, will be charged a standard hourly rates. Cancellation fees will also be applied where the works cannot be carried out because of inaccurate or incomplete details, customer no-shows, where there are safety, access or other practical issues. Where materials are collected for cancelled work, the goods will be returned fees will reflect the above minimums plus the time spent collecting and returning goods. We will consider reasonable mitigating circumstances.
Illness – If you or any member of your household are suffering from contagious illnesses including common conditions such as – colds, flu, coronavirus, stomach bugs etc. please contact us to reschedule your slot.
Building regulations compliance – where work is conducted and problems arise due to previously botched or non building regulation compliant work we accept no liability. Further to this, we reserve our right to charge for our time even where this means we are unable to complete the relevant works. Where materials are supplied by the client we accept no liability for failure of those materials.
Shower Sealing – we do not offer shower or bath sealing or re-sealing services
Late Payment – Generally we experience little problem with payment from our clients. However, occasionally some clients are slow; where this is the case we exercise the right to charge for the additional admin. generated by pursuing the debt . Following expiry of your 14 day settlement period you will receive a payment reminder. At least a week later you will receive a second reminder, this time incurring a £50- admin fee and the same for each reminder issued each subsequent week until the debt is settled. Unsettled debts will be passed on to a third party collection agency. In cases where we are notified of genuine difficulty we will consider deferring payment.
Please print off a copy of these terms.