Four Seasons Tree Care Ltd

Terms and Conditions

We are very keen to provide a quality service and a high level of customer satisfaction. Please take a few minutes to read the information below as this forms the terms and conditions of our contract. Further information about the company is available on our website www.4seasonstreecare.co.uk

Four Seasons Tree Care agree to perform the work in a competent manner in compliance to the specification in the quotation or estimate. All our staff are trained and qualified to carry out your job properly.

Your Right to Cancel

The client has 14 days to cancel the contract (in writing) from acceptance date.

Do you take everything away?

Most customers these days require removal of all arising waste material from site and this will normally be specified in the quotation. We transport all unwanted arisings to our yard and everything is recycled. We are finding that more and more clients are requesting that woodchips are left for their own use as these do make a good garden mulch. Timber may also be useful for firewood but it is not normally left in sizes ‘ready for the fire’ unless specified in the quotation.

Stump grinding

Stump grinding may be carried out on the same day as the tree felling. Sometimes it may be necessary to make a second visit to remove the stump. We will always aim to remove the stump within one week of the tree removal and will call you to arrange a convenient time to undertake this work.

Stump grindings are normally used to backfill the resulting hole. Excess grindings are normally raked into a pile in situ. They can be readily composted. Stump grindings can be removed from site but this would incur an additional cost.

Will my neighbours be affected?

Sometimes it is necessary to have access to a neighbouring property, particularly when branches overhang. It would be very helpful if you could inform them of your intention to carry out work and the date on which it will take place.

Do I need to protect my walls or lawns?

Whilst our staff will operate with care and diligence often our work entails the carrying of large amounts of material (brushwood/logs) over lawns and past the house. Please make sure that vulnerable surfaces (such as white walls) are adequately protected (builders polythene is a good method) and that fragile objects are moved (such as pots etc.). Our staff will be more than happy to move heavier objects for you. Lawns tend to recover rapidly but very wet weather can give rise to very muddy conditions. We are able to provide boards to protect the lawn. However, this is not a standard procedure and may incur an additional cost. If in doubt, please discuss with us first.

When do I pay?

When the job is completed, the Team Leader will ask you to sign the job sheet to confirm your satisfaction. Please only sign this when you are satisfied that all items are completed. Please raise any queries you have with the Team Leader before signing the job off. The office will invoice completed / ‘signed off’ jobs within 7 days.

All contracts and instructions are accepted on the basis of payment of full invoice price within 7 days of the date of invoice.

Where applicable, value added tax (VAT) shall be charged at the current rate.

Amendments to the contract must be made in writing.

Any complaints, which may arise from work performed under any contract, arising from acceptance of the estimate or quotation must be made within the period of 7 days from the date of invoice, unless agreed in writing to the contrary.

What does our terminology mean?

We work in line with B.S. 3998, Recommendations for Tree Work, 2010 unless agreed otherwise with the client. The different operations we perform are as described in the British Standard.

Arisings: any part of a tree, including stem, roots, branches (brushwood), bark, other woody material and foliage, derived from the tree during tree work operations.

Coppicing: cutting trees close to ground level with the intention of encouraging regrowth of multiple shoots.

Crown Lifting: removal of lower branches to achieve a vertical clearance above ground level or other surface, stated in meters.

Crown Reduction: operation that results in overall reduction in the height and/or spread of the crown of the tree by means of a general shortening of twigs and branches. Crown reduction reduces sail area and the biomechanical stresses acting on limbs within a tree crown and the tree as a whole. Our Arborists will always aim to maintain a good, natural shape and balance to the tree, pruning branches back to suitable growth points, usually a smaller secondary branch. Crown reduction will be specified as a reduction of radial crown spread and tree height given in meters. The description may also refer to a percentage. This is an approximation of the volume of the leafing parts of the crown which are to be removed.

Crown Thinning: removal of a proportion of small live branches from throughout the crown to achieve an even density of foliage around a well-spaced and balanced branch structure. Unlike reducing, this will not affect the height or spread of a tree. Specification for crown thinning refers to a percentage of the overall leafing parts of the tree that are to be removed.

Pollarding: cutting a tree so as to encourage formation of numerous branches arising from the same height on a main stem or principal branches.

Retrenchment Pruning: form of crown reduction, intended to encourage development of the lower crown, which emulates natural process whereby an ageing tree retains its overall biomechanical integrity by becoming smaller through the progressive shedding of branches.

Fell to ground level: We always aim to leave the cut stump of a felled tree as close to the surrounding ground level as feasible. In practice, a stump often remains raised above this level, particularly if it is large and the surrounding soil is raised.

Grind out stump: This is a process whereby the stump is reduced to a mulch of wood and soil. The mulch that arises is normally raked out in situ to break down naturally in the soil. We can clear this material where required. Clearance of stump-grindings incurs an additional cost and this will be stated on the quote if it is included as part of your job. Generally we grind stumps down to a depth of 25 cms which is usually sufficient to prevent regrowth and to remove a trip hazard. It may be necessary to grind to a greater depth than this and we will state this on our quote where it applies. Unless stated on our quote we do not chase out roots that radiate from a stump.

What time will the team arrive?

Most jobs are completed efficiently and on time. We will normally provide at least one weeks notice of job dates. However, occasionally a job will over-run or the weather will prevent us from working to time. The team will normally arrive by 8.30/9.00 a.m. However, in the case of smaller jobs, we are not always able to give an exact arrival time where we are fitting in several jobs in the same day. However, we will make every effort to advise you of our arrival time on a given day.

Do I need permission?

The trees within this contract specification may be in a Conservation Area or be subject to a Tree Preservation Order. Upon acceptance of our quotation, Four Seasons Tree Care shall check for the presence of legislative protection (Tree Preservation Orders etc). We would be happy to make an application on your behalf but would advise that a charge may be made for this service but no additional charges shall be applied to this work without first seeking your acceptance.

Investigation of Private Covenants shall be the responsibility of the Owner and no liability shall attach to Four Seasons Tree Care for a breach any such Covenant.

Do you replace trees/shrubs that die?

We endeavour to obtain good quality plants that comply to BS3936: Part 1: 1992 – Nursery Stock – ‘Specification for Trees and Shrubs’ which are handled with care and planted to industry standard. It is important however that you look after your new plantings and ensure that they are regularly watered and maintained. Trees and shrubs that fail due to circumstances beyond our control shall not be replaced. Please ask our staff for guidance on how to look after new trees if in doubt.

Do I need to treat (poison) the stump after felling?

The majority of conifers will cease to grow following felling and will decay naturally. Advice can be given on suitable herbicides where appropriate.

Underground and overhead services

Although every reasonable effort shall be made to locate the presence of underground services, unless a plan showing the exact location of underground pipes, wires or cables has been forwarded to us by the Owner of the land or his agent prior to the formation of the Contract; Four Seasons Tree Care shall be under no liability for any damage caused as a result of work performed under the Contract to such pipes, wires or cables, or for any damage to property resulting there from, and the Owner of the land or his agent shall be solely liable for any such damage.

Any charge for the removal of power lines or telephone cables shall be the responsibility of the Owner, unless otherwise agreed in writing with Four Seasons Tree Care.

Subsidence and heave

These conditions result from changes in soil volume and can be damaging to property and other structures. Trees growing on clay soils can cause changes in soil volume by drawing water from the soil as they grow or allowing water to swell a soil after their death or removal. This subject is beyond the expertise of Four Seasons Tree Care and we recommend specialist advice is obtained where you are wanting to remove trees from close to property.

Measurements

All measurements mentioned in any correspondence are approximate.

Insurance

All work carried out by Four Seasons Tree Care shall be covered by a £ 10,000,000 Third Party and Public Liability Insurance for damage to person’s property that may result in the implementation of the Contract.

General

Four Seasons Tree Care shall not be liable in damages or otherwise because of non-performance of a Contract arising on account of adverse weather conditions, strikes, lock-outs, war and civil commotion; or lack of adequately skilled labour due to causes beyond our control. Further, we retain the right in such circumstances to cancel the Contract in whole or in part. Completion dates shall be contingent upon weather conditions.

Four months after the submission of the quotation, Four Seasons Tree Care reserves the right to withdraw and re-price work, unless otherwise agreed in writing on acceptance of instructions from the Owner.

Quotations for felling are based upon the assumption of trees being free from metal, stone or other hidden obstructions. In the event of a tree being impossible to fell in the normal way, Company reserves the right to re-quote accordingly.

The Contract price is based on the site conditions existing at the time of the preparation of the estimate / quotation remaining unchanged.

Dispute Resolution

We are Arboricultural Association Approved Contractors and as such we comply with their codes of ethics and professional conduct. In the unlikely event that you have a complaint against the company and are not able to resolve this directly with us you do have recourse to the Arboricultural Association Complaints Procedure. Details of this procedure can be downloaded from their website on www.trees.org.uk. Alternatively you can write to them at Arboricultural Association, The Malthouse, Stroud Green, Standish, Gloucestershire, GL10 3DL. or by telephone on 01242 522152.

Customer Information and Data Protection

Please be reassured that we only use your personal information for the purposes of completing your tree work. Our IT systems are secure, and we do not share your details with anyone unnecessarily. We will share your details with the Local Authority if we need to make an application for permission to undertake the work and whilst it is unlikely, in certain circumstances work might need a licence from the Forestry Commission. Please refer to our customer privacy notice on our web site for full details.