Terms and Conditions of Service

General Information

Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd always recommends to arrange inspection of the client’s site by our qualified surveyors for correct identification of Japanese knotweed as there are many similar species that can be mistaken for Japanese knotweed throughout their growing cycle.

No charges will be made by Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd for identifying any weed issues from photographs sent by a potential client through our website or by email. In certain cases, 100% correct identification cannot be guaranteed using photographs.

Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd will not be held liable for any misidentification errors using photographs sent by a potential client.

Communication between Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd and potential client related to photographic identification cannot be used as official confirmation of identification of weeds.

A Japanese Knotweed Survey Report (further referred to as survey report) with official confirmation of identification of weeds will only be provided after inspection of the site.

Japanese Knotweed Survey Report

A survey cost is a subject to an upfront charge of £200.00 applicable within a radius of 20 miles from the Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd registered office. Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd reserves the right to increase the amount of £200.00 in line with increasing overheads, e.g. if the survey is to be undertaken outside of the 20-mile radius.

The survey cost covers the surveyors’ travel time, site inspection and administration in producing the survey report.

The survey report well be forwarded to the client after the survey is paid.

The survey cost at £200.00 or other agreed charge (see above) will be deducted from the final bill if we are employed to carry out an eradication treatment/monitoring course.

The client should pay the survey invoice within the three working days (or other agreed term) as specified in the invoice.

If payment for the survey is not received within four weeks after the survey, we reserve the right to start a legal procedure to claim money for the survey through small claims court.

The survey charge will be non-refundable if there has been a deliberate attempt by the client to hide any evidence of weeds from our surveyors at the time of the survey or before any treatments begin.

Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd will not be held responsible or liable for any legal proceedings issued by the client or their chosen claims solicitor with regard to misidentification due to a deliberate attempt by the client to mislead our surveyors or spraying operatives.

We are obliged to report any deliberate attempt to defraud the company or any potential buyers etc. to the relevant authorities. Please note that any attempt to defraud the company could result in a substantial fine to the client which will be imposed by the Environment Agency/government.

Site Inspection by Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd Will Include the Following:

• Identification of Japanese knotweed and/or other nuisance weeds at the client’s property/site.
• Assessment of the scale of infestation and the risk posed by weeds to the client’s property/site.
• A full walk across the site and adjacent land that may also be contaminated.
• Producing photo evidence showing contaminated areas on the client’s site and as much as possible on adjacent sites when required.
• A measurement of total area of contamination in square metres.
• A measurement of distances from the infested area to the habitable space(s) and/or the property boundary where applicable.
• Professional advice on the weed treatment procedures best suited for the client’s property/site.

Following the survey of the site and once payment is received by Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd, a survey report including relevant legislation will be sent to the client electronically within three working days (the preparation time of the report may be increased during busy periods).

If the client decides to undertake treatment with Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd, a formal Japanese Knotweed Management Plan & Control Work Report (further referred to as management plan) will be provided.

A hard copy of the survey report will be available for an additional charge of £10.00. The charge covers print work and postage. Additional time for delivery by post should be considered.

A charge of £10.00 will be applied to post a hard copy of the management plan to the client.

The management plan will be updated after each treatment/monitoring action has taken place. Additional time for delivery by post will be required.

A ten-year insurance backed guarantee provided by the third party (valid from the date of the treatment agreement with us) will be offered to the client free of charge. The insurance covers the cost of any ongoing treatments if Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd should cease trading.

Our Contract 

Our contract with the client starts from the date of receiving the first payment in case of payment by instalments or full payment if the client paid full amount upfront.

Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd usually undertakes the work ourselves. However, we reserve the right to sub-contract to a suitably qualified third party. Where a contract is made with a third party by Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd, they are not acting as either agent or principal. The contract is made between the client and Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd and will be subject to our terms and conditions of service.

When the client places an order for our services an acknowledgement email confirming receipt of the order will be forwarded to the client.

By instructing Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd, the client is agreeing to our terms and conditions of service. When the client instructs Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd, this is the client’s responsibility that all details provided to Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd are true and accurate. False information will void the contract.

Due to the short window of opportunity and weather conditions, our planned schedules for treatment may be changed without notifying the client or the residents currently occupying the property.

We reserve the right to visit the property without notifying the client or the residents of the property, due to the weather conditions, traffic, urgent necessary changes in our schedule, etc.

We reserve the right to visit the property while nobody is at home to carry out our treatments according to our management plan.

The client will be contacted if necessary arrangement to provide access of our operatives to the area under the treatment is required, e.g. opening the gates.

The times of treatment may vary according to availability of manpower and is subject to delays resulting from weather conditions or force majeure for which we will not be held responsible.

Once the treatment has commenced, Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd reserves the right to modify the management plan regarding the treatment/monitoring in line with the best practice of the company.

It is the sole responsibility of the client/landlord to supply copies of the survey report, management plan, terms and conditions of service and other relevant documents to the new owner/tenant.

Contractors working at the property during our treatment/monitoring course, e.g. builders, gardeners, etc., must be instructed by the client to make them aware of the Japanese knotweed and precautions required. Copies of the survey report, management plan, terms and conditions of service and other relevant documents must be passed to them when necessary.

Payment for the Contract

Two payment options are offered to the clients.

(i) Upfront payment. The invoice to pay in full for the treatment/monitoring course will be sent to the client once the client have agreed to proceed with the course. Our contract with the client starts immediately after full payment has been received.

A ten-year insurance backed guarantee policy is available free of charge. The policy will only be provided to the client on request within a seven-day period of receipt of full payment of the invoice. If the policy is not requested within this period, it might not be supplied by the company.

(ii) Payment by instalments. The full cost of treatment may be spread over the treatment period specified in the management plan, i.e. before the monitoring stage. We accept payment by up to four instalments. The sum in each instalment will be agreed with the client; by default, we offer the instalments with equal sum.

The invoice to pay the first instalment for the treatment/monitoring course will be sent to the client once the client has agreed to proceed with the course. Our contract with the client starts immediately after the first payment is received. The invoices to pay other instalments will be forwarded to the client in due time agreed with the client. Failure to pay any of the invoices provided to the client in due time will void our contract and treatment/monitoring will be stopped with no refund.

The insurance backed guarantee is available for an extra charge. The cost of the insurance policy is £100 with a contract value below £5000; this cost will be increased with a higher contract value.

Cancellation of the Contract

If the property/site owner, tenant or any other person acting on their behalf does not allow undisturbed access to our operatives to carry out work according to the management plan, the treatment will be stopped with no refund of the payment for our services.

Once a treatment/monitoring course has started, it is the responsibility of the client, new owner, landlord or tenant to ensure that the treated area is not disturbed by any means, e.g. poisoning, digging, cutting, trampling or building. If we find that there is a potential that dormancy of the plant has been caused by any of the above, the treatment/monitoring may be stopped with no refund of the payment for our services.

If the treated area has been disturbed by any means listed above, it is at the discretion of the company to decide if the treatment can be continued. The client may be offered to proceed with treatment for extra charge. The management plan will be modified accordingly and agreed with the client. If the client does not agree to continue treatment for the extra charge the treatment/monitoring will be stopped with no refund.

Refund

The client has the right to cancel our contract and request a refund under certain circumstances as follows.

(i) If we did not visit the client’s site and carried out any work in accordance with the management plan between the dates of payment and claim for the refund, full refund for the amount paid by the client may be arranged*.

(ii) If the refund is claimed after we visited the client’s site and have undertaken work according to the management plan, the cost of the visit and work will be revoked from the refund*.

*The cost of the insurance backed guarantee, if arranged in case of full payment upfront, will be revoked at £100 for a contact value below £5000; this cost will be increased with a higher contact value. The cost of the insurance backed guarantee, if arranged in case of payment by instalments, will not be refunded. The insurance backed guarantee policy will be cancelled on the same day the contract is cancelled. The administration cost at £100 will be revoked from the refund.

Completion of the Contract

Once we have not observed regrowth of Japanese Knotweed for two consecutive years, if the client abides by our terms and conditions, our contract is completed.

The completion certificate will be issued and forwarded to the client electronically to the email address provided and posted to the property address or to the address specified by the client.

The contract may be completed either before or after the terms specified in the management plan, depending on the success of treatment, but no later than the date of validity of insurance backed guarantee or ten years from start of the contract if insurance backed guarantee is not arranged.

No refund will be provided to the client if the contract has completed before the terms specified in the management plan.

No additional cost will be claimed from the client if the contract completed after the terms specified in the management plan.

Once our contract is completed, our terms and conditions are no longer applicable and we do not hold any responsibility with any Japanese Knotweed issue in the area specified in the contract.

Complaints

We operate a complaints handling procedure, which we will use to resolve disputes should they arise. If the client has any comments or complaints, one of the directors of Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd may be contacted directly.

This Agreement

The above Terms and Conditions of Service constitute the agreement between the parties and supersede any and all preceding and contemporaneous agreements between the client and Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd.

Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd reserves the right at any time to modify this agreement and to impose new or additional terms.

Japanese Knotweed Plus Ltd.

Registered Address: 139-143 Union St, Oldham, Lancashire, OL1 1TE

Registration Number in England and Wales: 09777855

Phone: 0161 883 0666

Email: info@japaneseknotweedplus.co.uk