Terms

These terms apply to the garden design services, including sketches, proposals, quotations and advice, given by Styleseed Garden Design.

Prior to any works commencing, a contractual ‘agreement of services’ must be approved, signed and sent to Styleseed. This will form a binding agreement and no other terms will have precedence.

Verbal amends or orders from you will also form part of the agreement. Wherever possible, therefore, amends to the original agreement will be requested in writing to avoid doubt.

Fees, scope and time:

The fee structure included in the agreement is for all work and meetings specified at the outset, and are based on known conditions at the time of quoting. The work will be estimated in hours and stated as an estimated cost per project stage. Occasionally, particularly for work without a fixed deliverable, fees will be charged purely based on time spent. In this case, timesheets will be kept and verified with you.

Travel, travel time (if more than 1 hour from Styleseed’s studio in London, N8), print production or other expenses will be estimated and included in the agreement of services. This will remain valid for 60 days.

Any other work or time requested by you, or deemed essential by Styleseed Garden Design for the quality design and build of the garden – including design revisions, site visits and liaison with 3^rd party contractors – will be charged at a flat hourly rate (calculated to the nearest quarter hour and timesheeted). This will be estimated and communicated to you in advance of the hourly rate being incurred.

Designs are created based on your agreed brief, practical considerations and expertise. One round of basic design revisions, based on your feedback (noted by Styleseed in writing and agreed by you) is built into the fee structure. Additional revisions requested after the first round of revisions will be charged at the hourly rate. If significant revisions are requested to a design deemed to adequately answer the brief, these will be charged at the hourly rate.

Styleseed operates normal business hours, Monday-Friday. If required, evening and Saturday calls and meetings can be arranged, but at our discretion.

Payment terms:

Payment stages are normally based on 20% initial payment, then staged per phased deliverable. The work will commence upon receipt of first staged payment. Payment terms are within 15 days.

The cost of any materials we purchase on your behalf, such as plants, will be required in full at the point of the supplier confirming the order; terms for this will be immediate. Copies of supplier invoices will be sent to you.

Late payment: If a staged payment is not received within the payment terms of 30 days despite clear reminders, compound interest may be charged on the owed sum at 10% per week, and work may halt. Any administration or bank fees will also passed on to you until payment is made.

Liability:

Styleseed is responsible for the design content and advice given within the agreed deliverables only, and holds Professional Indemnity and public Liability insurance to that effect. Where specifications involve complex site measurements, drainage, foundations, retaining walls above 1 metre in height or other significant works, relevant professional advice (for example that of a structural engineer or a surveyor) is recommended, to be contracted directly by you or via Styleseed if requested, and their fee be borne by you. Styleseed cannot be liable for any loss or damage incurred by failure to consult professional advice as recommended.

An optional service is management of the tender process to up to three contractors. Those asked to tender will be landscape contractors, who will be asked to show they are properly insured and with a suitable track record. However the decision to contract is ultimately yours alone, and the contractual relationship is between yourself and the chosen contractor. Styleseed takes no responsibility for, or financial gain from the relationship.

Styleseed cannot be liable for any scheduling issues, damage, direct or indirect losses incurred during build due to any 3^rd party contractor. The scope of our optional ‘project monitoring’ service is to check on your behalf the visual quality and adherence to the design only.

Ordered materials: The welfare of all materials or plants purchased by Styleseed on your behalf is your responsibility once on site – suppliers do not provide guarantees on supplies delivered to site in good condition, so care must be taken to water and treat them well. Cost of return, including administration time, of any materials/plants ordered on your instruction or in good faith but no longer wanted will be born by you.

Cancelling: If the agreed services are cancelled, any work carried out in good faith up to the point of written cancellation will be charged at the hourly rate, plus a £50 administrative fee, due 15 days from point of cancellation.

Copyright: All creative outputs, documents and photographs created by Styleseed Garden Design are the intellectual property right and remain the property of Styleseed Garden Design, and are subject to UK copyright law. Any unauthorised sharing or copying of any element of design is prohibited.

Post completion: Unless stated at the outset, Styleseed may use the project and photos of the garden as a case study for promotional purposes, and may request access for up to 24 months after completion to photograph the garden.

(These terms and conditions are subject to the laws of England Wales, and the client agrees to be bound by the exclusive jurisdiction of these courts.) So… that’s all the detail! Give me a call to clarify anything; I’m here to make things as smooth and simple as possible.    – Jilly   0208 340 0114