Cancellation Policy

1. About Serv Tel Ltd

Serv Tel Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales.

References in this policy to “ServTel”, “we”, “us” or “our” mean Serv Tel Ltd.

References to “you” or “your” mean the customer who requested or booked the relevant service.

2. How to Cancel or Reschedule

To cancel or reschedule a booking, please contact us as soon as possible using one of the following methods:

Your cancellation or rescheduling request should include:

• Your full name;
• The service address;
• Your booking, quotation or invoice reference, where available;
• The date of the scheduled appointment;
• The service you wish to cancel or reschedule; and
• A telephone number or email address at which we can contact you.

You do not need to use any particular wording. A clear statement that you wish to cancel is sufficient.

Where you contact us by telephone, we may ask you to confirm the cancellation by email or text message so that both parties have a written record.

A cancellation takes effect when it is received by us, rather than when we subsequently acknowledge it. You should retain evidence showing when your cancellation was sent.

3. Our Ordinary Cancellation Policy

In addition to any statutory cancellation rights, you may cancel or reschedule a standard appointment without an administrative cancellation charge by giving us at least 48 hours’ notice before the scheduled appointment time.

For example, if your appointment is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on a Friday, notice should normally reach us no later than 10:00 a.m. on the preceding Wednesday.

Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are included when calculating the 48-hour period unless your booking confirmation expressly states otherwise.

This 48-hour appointment policy is separate from the statutory 14-day cancellation right described below. Where the statutory right applies and provides you with greater protection, the statutory right will take priority.

4. Rescheduling an Appointment

We will normally allow an appointment to be moved to another available date without an administrative charge where at least 48 hours’ notice is provided.

A rescheduled appointment is subject to:

• Staff and contractor availability;
• Weather and daylight conditions;
• The continued availability of any required materials or equipment;
• The property remaining within our active service area;
• Any seasonal wildlife restrictions; and
• Any change in the scope or condition of the work.

We cannot guarantee that a preferred replacement date will be available, but we will offer a reasonable alternative where possible.

Repeated requests to reschedule may be treated as a cancellation where they cause us material cost, prevent us from allocating the appointment to another customer or make performance of the contract unreasonable.

Before applying any charge, we will consider the circumstances and the actual loss or cost caused by the repeated rescheduling.

5. Cancellations With Less Than 48 Hours’ Notice

Where you cancel or reschedule with less than 48 hours’ notice, we may deduct or charge a reasonable amount reflecting losses and costs directly caused by the late cancellation.

This will not be an automatic penalty. Any amount charged will depend on the circumstances and may include:

• Reasonable travel or mobilisation costs already incurred;
• Non-refundable equipment hire arranged specifically for the appointment;
• Materials ordered or prepared specifically for your installation;
• Reasonable labour costs already committed to the booking;
• Administrative costs directly resulting from the late cancellation; and
• A reasonable amount for appointment time that could not be offered to another customer despite our efforts to do so.

We will take reasonable steps to reduce our losses, including attempting to reallocate the appointment where reasonably possible.

We will not charge more than the loss or reasonable cost resulting from the cancellation, and the charge will not normally exceed the total price of the cancelled service.

We may waive or reduce a late-cancellation charge where cancellation results from exceptional circumstances, such as:

• A medical emergency;
• A bereavement;
• A serious incident affecting the property;
• Extreme or dangerous weather;
• An emergency affecting access to the property; or
• Another circumstance that we reasonably consider exceptional.

We may request reasonable supporting information where a waiver is requested, but we will not require unnecessary sensitive personal information.

6. Missed Appointments and Lack of Access

You are responsible for ensuring that we have safe, lawful and timely access to the property at the agreed appointment time.

An appointment may be treated as a late cancellation or aborted visit where:

• No one is available where attendance is required;
• Gates, access routes or working areas are locked or obstructed;
• We have not been provided with necessary access instructions;
• Required permission from an owner, landlord or managing agent has not been obtained;
• Vehicles or other obstructions prevent safe access;
• A customer-provided access code or key does not work;
• Animals or occupants cannot be safely kept away from the working area;
• The service address provided is incorrect; or
• We cannot lawfully or safely access the solar panel installation.

Where we attend but cannot carry out the service because of a matter within your reasonable control, we may charge a reasonable aborted-visit amount reflecting travel, labour and other costs actually incurred.

We will not charge an aborted-visit amount where the failure to gain access was caused by us or by circumstances for which it would be unfair to hold you responsible.

7. Statutory 14-Day Cancellation Right

If you are acting as a consumer and book a service:

• Through our website;
• By telephone;
• By email or another remote communication method; or
• Away from our usual business premises, where the statutory rules apply,

you will normally have a legal right to cancel the contract without giving a reason.

For a qualifying service contract, the statutory cancellation period normally ends 14 days after the day on which the contract is entered into.

For example, if the contract is formed on 1 August, the cancellation period will normally end at the end of 15 August.

A booking enquiry alone may not form a contract. The contract will normally be formed when we confirm that we have accepted your booking, accept payment or otherwise communicate our acceptance.

The statutory cancellation right may not apply to every contract. Exceptions may apply depending on:

• How and where the contract was made;
• Whether you are acting as a consumer or for business purposes;
• The value and nature of an off-premises contract;
• Whether the service has already been fully performed at your express request;
• Whether urgent repair or maintenance was specifically requested; and
• Any other statutory exception applicable to the particular contract.

Where the statutory cancellation right applies, you may exercise it by sending us any clear statement of cancellation before the period expires.

8. Services Started During the 14-Day Cancellation Period

If your appointment falls within the statutory 14-day cancellation period, we will not normally begin the service during that period unless you expressly ask us to do so.

We may ask you to confirm the following or similar wording:

“I expressly request that Serv Tel Ltd begins providing the booked service before the end of my 14-day statutory cancellation period. I understand that if I cancel after work has begun, I may be required to pay a proportionate amount for the service supplied before cancellation. I also understand that I may lose my statutory right to cancel once the service has been fully performed.”

If you make a valid early-start request and later cancel before the service has been completed, we may charge an amount proportionate to the service supplied up to the time you notified us of cancellation.

The proportionate amount will be calculated by reference to the total agreed price, the work completed, materials used and the value of the service already provided.

We will not charge for work performed during the cancellation period where the law prevents us from doing so, including where we failed to obtain a legally required express request for an early start.

9. Fully Completed Services

Your statutory right to cancel a service contract may end once the service has been fully performed where:

• You expressly requested that performance begin during the cancellation period;
• You acknowledged that the cancellation right would be lost upon full performance; and
• We have completed the service.

Completing a solar panel cleaning or meshing service does not affect your separate rights where the service was not performed with reasonable care and skill or did not otherwise conform to the contract.

10. Materials Ordered for Meshing Work

Solar panel meshing may require mesh, clips, fixings or other materials to be ordered, cut or prepared for a particular installation.

Where you cancel outside any applicable statutory cancellation period, we may deduct or charge the reasonable cost of:

• Materials specifically ordered for your installation;
• Materials already cut, modified or prepared to your measurements;
• Non-refundable delivery costs;
• Supplier restocking charges; and
• Reasonable costs of returning reusable materials to a supplier.

We will take reasonable steps to reuse, return or reallocate materials where possible. Any amount recovered through reuse or return will be taken into account when calculating the cancellation charge.

We will not automatically treat all materials as non-refundable merely because they were ordered for a booking.

The treatment of materials following the exercise of a statutory cancellation right will be determined by applicable consumer law and the particular facts of the contract.

11. Deposits and Advance Payments

We may request a deposit or advance payment before confirming an appointment, ordering materials or arranging specialist equipment.

Any deposit requirement and payment amount will be disclosed before the contract is formed.

A deposit is not automatically non-refundable in every circumstance. If you cancel, we may retain only an amount that fairly reflects:

• Services already supplied;
• Materials reasonably ordered or prepared;
• Non-refundable third-party expenses;
• Reasonable administrative costs directly caused by cancellation;
• Losses that could not reasonably be avoided; and
• Any other amount lawfully due under the contract.

Where the deposit exceeds the amount we are entitled to retain, the balance will be refunded.

Where our reasonable cancellation losses exceed the deposit, we may seek the balance from you, but only where the additional amount is fair, proportionate and lawfully recoverable.

No deduction will be made where you are legally entitled to a full refund.

12. Refunds

Where a refund is due following the valid exercise of a statutory cancellation right, we will make the refund without undue delay and normally no later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed of your decision to cancel.

Where a refund is due under our ordinary appointment policy rather than a statutory cancellation right, we will process it within a reasonable period, normally within 14 days after the refundable amount has been agreed.

Refunds will normally be made using the same payment method used for the original transaction unless:

• You expressly agree to another method;
• The original payment method cannot receive a refund; or
• There is a legitimate fraud-prevention or technical reason to use another method.

You will not be charged a separate fee for receiving a refund to the original payment method.

The refunded amount may be reduced by any sum that we are lawfully entitled to retain for:

• A proportion of services already supplied at your express request;
• Reasonable late-cancellation losses;
• Non-refundable property-specific materials;
• An agreed and reasonable aborted-visit charge; or
• Other amounts properly due under the contract.

We will provide an explanation of any material deduction.

13. Cancellation by ServTel

We may cancel, postpone or suspend an appointment where:

• The work cannot be completed safely or lawfully;
• The installation is outside our current service capabilities;
• The property is outside our active service area;
• Suitable personnel, equipment or materials are unavailable;
• The information provided about the property or installation is materially inaccurate;
• Required permission or access has not been obtained;
• The installation appears structurally or electrically unsafe;
• Weather conditions make the work unsafe or unsuitable;
• Wildlife, nesting or environmental restrictions prevent the work;
• You have not made a payment when due;
• You or another person behaves in a threatening, abusive or unsafe manner;
• An event outside our reasonable control prevents performance; or
• We otherwise have a lawful and reasonable basis for cancellation.

Where we cancel permanently for a reason that is not your fault, we will refund payments made for services that have not been provided.

We will not ordinarily be responsible for indirect losses caused by a cancelled appointment, such as loss of earnings or the cost of taking time away from work, unless such loss is legally recoverable and was reasonably foreseeable.

Where possible, we may offer a replacement appointment instead of cancelling the contract entirely.

14. Weather and Unsafe Working Conditions

Solar panel cleaning and meshing are outdoor services. Work may need to be postponed because of:

• High winds;
• Heavy rain;
• Lightning or thunderstorms;
• Snow or ice;
• Extreme heat or cold;
• Poor visibility;
• Wet, unstable or slippery surfaces; or
• Any condition that makes roof-level or access work unsafe.

We may also postpone cleaning where the weather would prevent the service from being completed effectively or could cause an unsuitable cleaning result.

A weather-related postponement by ServTel will not attract a cancellation or rescheduling charge.

We will offer a replacement date where reasonably possible. If repeated weather delays make performance impractical, either party may ask to end the contract.

Where the contract is ended because we cannot provide the service, we will refund amounts paid for work not completed, less any separable service already properly supplied and accepted.

15. Wildlife and Nesting Issues

Cleaning or meshing may need to be postponed or cancelled where we discover:

• An active bird nest;
• Eggs or dependent young;
• Bats or another protected species;
• A wildlife situation that requires a licence or specialist assistance;
• A substantial infestation or hazardous accumulation of animal waste; or
• A risk to our workers, the customer, the property or the animals.

We will not knowingly carry out work that would unlawfully disturb, harm, capture or exclude protected wildlife.

Where the issue could not reasonably have been identified before attendance, we may charge a reasonable amount for an inspection, travel or work already completed, provided that the charge was agreed or is otherwise fair and lawful.

The remaining service can normally be rescheduled once the wildlife issue has been lawfully resolved.

Any specialist wildlife removal, survey or licensing cost is not included in the standard service price unless expressly agreed.

16. Cancellation Following a Price or Service Change

A standard website price or remote quotation may be based on the panel count, photographs and property information you provide.

If we discover before beginning work that the quoted service cannot be provided for the original price, we will explain:

• The reason for the change;
• The revised service scope;
• The revised price;
• Any available alternatives; and
• Any effect on the appointment date.

You may accept or reject the revised quotation.

If you reject a material price increase caused by circumstances that were not reasonably apparent and were not caused by inaccurate information from you, you may cancel the affected service and receive a refund of payments made for work not supplied.

If the revised price is required because information you provided was materially inaccurate or incomplete, we may deduct reasonable costs already incurred before refunding the balance.

We will not carry out additional chargeable work without your agreement.

17. Business Customers

The statutory 14-day consumer cancellation right does not ordinarily apply where you are purchasing the service wholly or mainly for the purposes of a trade, business, craft or profession.

Business bookings are instead subject to:

• The cancellation provisions in the accepted quotation;
• Any written commercial agreement between the parties;
• These Terms of Service; and
• Applicable law.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we ask business customers to provide at least 48 hours’ notice of cancellation or rescheduling.

We may recover reasonable costs and losses caused by a business customer’s cancellation, including committed labour, equipment hire, materials, travel and appointment capacity that could not reasonably be reallocated.

18. Model Cancellation Form

Consumers may use the following form to cancel a qualifying contract during the statutory cancellation period. Use of the form is optional.

19. Questions and Complaints

If you disagree with a cancellation charge, deposit deduction or refund amount, please contact us using the details in Section 2.

Please include:

• Your booking or invoice reference;
• The date and method of cancellation;
• A copy of any cancellation email or message;
• The reason you believe the amount is incorrect; and
• Any relevant supporting information.

We will review the circumstances, including the notice provided, work already completed, materials purchased, losses avoided and your statutory rights.

Further information about our complaints process is provided in our Terms of Service.

20. Changes to This Cancellation Policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes to our services, booking processes, business practices or legal obligations.

The policy applying to your booking will normally be the version made available when the contract was formed, unless a change is required by law or expressly agreed with you.

The latest version will be published on this page and identified by the “Last updated” date.