These are the terms and conditions on which we provide our services to you. These terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Website Terms of Use, tell you who we are, how we will provide the services listed on our website to you, how you and we may change or end the contract between us, what to do if there is a problem and other important information. If you think that there is a mistake in these terms, please contact us to discuss.
These terms do not apply to any third party company or service which may be purchased on your behalf, outside of our direct control.
Please read these terms carefully and make sure that you understand them. Before ordering any services from us, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and accepted these terms and that you agree to comply with and be bound by them. If you refuse to accept these terms, you will not be able to order any services from us.
In some areas, you will have different rights under these terms, depending on whether you are a business or a consumer. You are a consumer if you are an individual and you are purchasing services from us wholly or mainly for your personal use (not for use in connection with your trade, business, craft or profession).
If you are a business customer, these terms constitute the entire agreement between us in relation to your purchase. You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise, representation, assurance or warranty made or given by, or on behalf of, us which is not set out in these terms and that you will have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement in these terms.
We are Arcplan.co.uk, our registered office is 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, England, N1 7GU
Our architectural designers and members of the Arc Plan service, come from various sectors of the Architectural and construction industry. Arc Plan, ensures they have relevant experience to match any project we undertake. We also ensure that they hold relevant insurances.
You can contact us by emailing us at [email protected] or by writing to us at our registered office address as referred to above.
If we have to contact you, we will usually do so through the online Dashboard or messenger function on our website (located at www.arcplan.co.uk). We may also contact you by telephone or by writing to you at the email address or postal address you provided to us.
When we use the words "writing" or "written" in these terms, this includes emails and any electronic messages we send you through the online Dashboard or messenger function on our website.
Your use of our website is governed by our Website Terms of Use. Please take the time to read these, as they include important terms which apply to you.
You can place an order with us and pay for the related services through the online Dashboard on our website. Alternatively, you can use the information provided in your quote to initiate a BACS transfer. After you place your order and pay for the related services, you will receive an email confirmation from us acknowledging receipt of your payment and confirming our acceptance of your order, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us.
If we are unable to accept your order, we will inform you of this and will not charge you for the services you have ordered (or, if you have already paid for the services, we will refund you for them). This might be because of unexpected limits on our resources which we could not reasonably plan for, because we have identified an error in the price or description of the services you have ordered or because we are unable to meet the delivery deadline (if any) for the relevant services.
We will assign you an order number when we accept your order which will be visible on the online Dashboard on our website. It will help us if you can tell us your order number whenever you contact us about your order.
We currently only offer our services in the English language and in relation to properties located in the United Kingdom. However, we can accept an order from you if you are based outside the UK, provided that the relevant property is located in the United Kingdom.
We will exercise reasonable skill and care in carrying out the services you have ordered from us.
Whilst we will use all reasonable endeavors to ensure that any drawings produced by us as part of our services are accurate, you must ensure that, if your project goes to construction, all drawings and measurements are checked on site by your appointed contractors before work commences. We will not be liable for any inaccuracies that come to light after work commences.
Any planning and design drawings produced by us as part of our services should be relied on for planning and design purposes only. If your project goes to construction, they are not a substitute for detailed technical building regulations drawings, which will be required to comply with building regulations.
If, as part of the services, you ask us to produce any illustrative drawings to help inform your decision in relation to, for example, the development of an existing property or the purchase of a new one, these will be for illustrative purposes only and should not be used to replace the production of detailed technical building regulations drawings, which will be required to comply with building regulations.
Some measurements taken by us (or by third parties appointed by us) may be based on assumptions, for example if accurate measurements cannot be taken due to restricted access, and we cannot accept any responsibility for any such inaccuracies. If you become aware that any such measurements are inaccurate (or you become aware of any other discrepancies), you must notify us immediately.
Some of our services may be provided remotely without us carrying out a site visit of your property. In this case, you are responsible for ensuring that any measurements you provide us with are correct and accurate. We cannot accept any responsibility for any incorrect measurements provided to us (whether by you or by any third party instructed by you or acting on your behalf). If your project goes to construction, it is important that your appointed contractors attend the site to complete a full measured or cross-checking survey and discuss your specific requirements.
If we provide our services alongside other professionals you have instructed, then it is your responsibility to ensure that all information held by those other professionals that could be relevant to our services is communicated to us promptly. We will not be liable for any inaccuracies in information provided to us by those other professionals.
If we provide our services alongside other professionals you have instructed, then it is your responsibility to ensure that all information held by those other professionals that could be relevant to our services is communicated to us promptly. We will not be liable for any inaccuracies in information provided to us by those other professionals.
We do not offer any guarantee that any required planning permission will be secured or Permitted Development successfully certified. Furthermore, please note the following:
If you wish to make a change to the services you have ordered (for example, you wish to upgrade to a different package or amend a planning permission application after its submission to your local planning authority), please contact us. We will let you know if the change is possible. If it is possible, we will let you know about any additional cost, the timing of supply or anything else which would be necessary as a result of your requested change and ask you to confirm whether you wish to go ahead with the change.
We may change the services we offer: (i) to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements; and (ii) to implement minor technical adjustments and improvements, for example to address a security threat. These changes will not affect your ability to make use of the services we provide. However, if any such change results in a delay in the provision of our services to you, we will contact you to tell you about the delay. If the delay continues for a period of more than 30 days, you may contact us to end this contract and receive a refund for any services you have paid for but not received.
We will begin the services on the date we accept your project or on such other date as may be agreed with you during the order process, provided in each instance that you have given us all relevant information to allow us to do so. Any plans, drawings, renders, images, reports and other documents provided to you as part of the services (including any received from third parties such as structural engineers and drainage specialists) will be uploaded to your online account on completion of the services.
If our provision of the services is delayed by an event outside our control, then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimize the effect of the delay. Provided we do this, we will not be liable for delays caused by the event, but, if there is a risk of substantial delay, you may contact us to end this contract and receive a refund for any services you have paid for but not received quantified to the work not undertaken.
We may need certain information from you so that we can provide the services to you, for example: (i) your name, contact details and the address of the property in question; (ii) basic information about the property; (iii) your preferred style, estimated budget and a description of what you are looking to do; and (iv) uploads of floor plans, inspiration or existing photos of the property.
We will contact you to ask for this information using the contact information you have provided to us. If you do not respond to us or you do not give us the information we need within a reasonable time of us asking for it and in any event within 6 months of our first request we will not be responsible for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under this contract and we may:
If you do not pay us for the services when you are supposed to (see clause 13.5) and you still do not make payment within seven days of us reminding you that payment is due, we may refuse to provide, or suspend provision of, the services until you have paid us the outstanding amounts (and we will contact you to tell you that we are doing this). We may also charge you interest on your overdue payments (see clause 13.8). However, we will not do this where you correctly dispute an unpaid invoice (see clause 13.9).
Your rights when you end this contract will depend on what services you have purchased, whether there is anything wrong with them, how they are performing, when you decide to end this contract and whether you are a consumer or business customer.
If you are ending this contract for a reason set out at clauses 9.2.1 to 9.2.4, it will end immediately and we will refund you quantitatively for any services which have not been provided.
The reasons are:
If you are a consumer, then you have a legal right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to change your mind within 14 days and receive a refund.
Your right as a consumer to change your mind does not apply if the services you order have been completed, even if the cancellation period is still running.
If you are a consumer, you have 14 days after the day we confirm acceptance of your project. However, once we have completed the services you cannot change your mind, even if the period is still running. If you cancel after we have started to provide the services, you must pay us for the services provided up until the time you tell us that you have changed your mind.
To end this contract, please let us know by doing one of the following:
If you are entitled to a refund under these terms, we will refund you by the method you used for payment. We may make deductions from the price you paid for the services, as described in these terms.
If you are exercising your right to change your mind, we may deduct from any refund an amount for the provision of the services for the period for which they were provided, ending with the time when you told us you had changed your mind. The amount will be in proportion to what has been provided, in comparison with the full coverage of this contract.
We may end this contract at any time by writing to you if:
If we end this contract in the situations set out in clause 11.1.2 to 11.1.6, we will refund any money you have paid in advance for services we have not provided, but we may deduct or charge you reasonable compensation for the net costs we will incur as a result of you breaking this contract. For example, we may charge a reasonable fee for any work done by our architectural designers prior to the date we end the contract between us.
If we end this contract in the situation set out in clause 11.1, then in accordance with clause 8.3, we shall hold the sums you have paid to us in advance for services not provided as a credit on your account which may be used by you against any other service within 12 months from the date we issue the credit.
The price for the services you order will be the price indicated in your quote or through the online Dashboard on our website, or as otherwise agreed between us and notified to you in writing. We take all reasonable care to ensure that the price for the services advised to you is correct. However, please see clause 13.4 for what happens if we discover an error in the price for the services you order.
We reserve the right to increase the price for the services we provide if, having accepted your order, there is a change to the scope of those services (for example, you request more than one set of revisions to any plans or a whole new design). In such circumstances, we will, where practicable, seek your agreement to the increased price before continuing with the services.
If a secondary service through a third party is employed, any increase or decrease in the price of their services will be passed on to you and charged accordingly.
It is always possible that, despite our best efforts, some of the services we provide may be incorrectly priced. We will normally check prices before accepting your project so that, where the correct price at your order date is less than our stated price at your order date, we will charge the lower amount. If the correct price at your order date is higher than the price stated to you, we will contact you for your instructions before we accept your project.
Your quote will break down the cost of each service and may include a payment schedule. The payment schedule usually consists of a deposit and then various milestone payments tied to the progression of your project.
All deposit payments must be made by debit or credit card through the online Dashboard on our website or by BACS transfer (using your invoice number as the payment reference).
If paying your deposit using your debit or credit card, you will automatically be opted in to Automated Payments for future milestone payments.
With milestone payments, it's possible your payments may fall due before a service is rendered.
Automated payments are made possible via a Continuous Payment Authority agreement entered when first paying your deposit via a debit or credit card payment.
If you are a business customer, you must pay all amounts due to us under these terms in full without any set-off, counterclaim, deduction or withholding (other than any deduction or withholding of tax as required by law).
If you do not make any payment to us by the due date, we may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate from time to time. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us interest together with any overdue amount.
If you think that any invoice issued by us is wrong, please contact us promptly to let us know. You will not have to pay any interest until the dispute is resolved. Once the dispute is resolved, we will charge you interest on correctly invoiced sums from the original due date.
If, in the course of providing our services to you, we introduce or refer work to a third party (for example, a mortgage adviser, party wall surveyor, structural engineer, drainage specialist, building control surveyor, designer or other contractor/supplier), we may receive payment or other inducement from the third party for making the introduction or referral. However, this will not in any way affect the price you pay for the services you order from us. Any introduction or referral to a third party that we might make to you shall not, under any circumstances, constitute a warranty or representation from us as to: (i) the suitability of such third party to provide the relevant services; or (ii) the quality of the work undertaken by such third party. We will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by you arising out of, or in connection with, any services provided by a third party or any act or omission of such third party in providing those services.
We own and retain the copyright in all plans, drawings, renders, images, reports and other documents produced by us in performing the services (including any uploaded to your online account).
You will have a license to copy and use, and allow other persons providing services to you to copy and use, the plans, drawings, renders, images, reports and other documents uploaded to your online account. Neither we, nor our directors or employees, will have any liability for any use of the same other than for the purpose for which they were prepared.
We shall have the right to use any plans, drawings, renders and images produced by us in performing the services for our own marketing purposes, including reproducing the same on our website.
If, having used our services, your project goes to construction, we shall have the right to take and publish photographs of the project, and you agree to give us reasonable access to your property for this purpose.
If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of this contract or our negligence, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if it is an obvious consequence of our breach of these terms or our negligence or if it was reasonably contemplated by you and us at the time of the contract between us coming into effect as a possible result of such breach or negligence, for example if you discussed it with us during the order process.
This includes liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; for breach of your legal rights in relation to the services, including the right to receive services which are of satisfactory quality and fit for any particular purpose made known to us.
If we attend your property for the purpose of providing the services to you, we will make good any damage to your property caused by us while doing so. However, we are not responsible for the cost of repairing any pre-existing faults or damage to your property that we discover while providing the services, nor are we responsible for any damage to your property caused by third parties.
If you are a consumer, we only provide the services to you for domestic and private use. If you use the services for any commercial, business or re-sale purpose, our liability to you will be limited as set out in clause 17.
We will only use your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Please take the time to read this as it includes important terms which apply to you.
You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if we agree to this in writing.
You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these terms to another person if we agree to this in writing.
This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.
Each of the clauses of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining clauses will remain in full force and effect.
If we do not insist immediately that you do anything you are required to do under these terms, or if we delay in taking steps against you in respect of you breaking this contract, that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you fail to make a payment and we do not chase you but we continue to provide the services, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.
If a dispute arises out of, or in connection with, this contract or its performance, validity or enforceability, then either party may give to the other party written notice of the dispute, setting out its nature and full particulars, together with relevant supporting documents, following which the parties shall attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute within 30 days of such notice, the parties may, if so agreed between them in writing, enter into mediation in good faith to settle the dispute in accordance with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) Model Mediation Procedure using a mediator nominated by CEDR. However, the commencement of mediation shall not prevent the parties commencing or continuing court proceedings in relation to the dispute under clause 19.7 or clause 19.8 (as the case may be).
These terms are governed by English law and you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the services in the English courts. If you live in Scotland, you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the services in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland, you can bring legal proceedings in respect of the services in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.
If you are a business, any dispute or claim arising out of, or in connection with, this contract or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute or claim.