Terms & Conditions

“We”, “us” and “our” mean Treemedic Ltd, 68 Molesey Close, Hersham, Surrey, KT12 4PZ.

“You” and “your” mean the person or business who accepts our quotation or asks us to attend.

“The work” means the services set out in our quotation, or agreed with you for an emergency or rescue call-out.

“The site” means the place where the work is carried out.

Our staff are qualified, and we carry out all work to BS3998: Recommendations for Tree Work unless your quotation says otherwise.

We will carry out the work with reasonable skill and care, to the specification and price in your quotation.

Once you accept a quotation, in writing or verbally, we have a binding contract.

If you are a domestic customer, you have 14 days from accepting our quotation to cancel for any reason, free of charge. We call this your cancellation period. To cancel, just tell us in writing: an email to office@treemedicltd.co.uk is fine, or you can use the cancellation form at the end of these terms.

We won’t start the work during your cancellation period unless you ask us to in writing. If you do, and then cancel before the period ends, you only pay for the work we’ve done up to the point you tell us. Once the work is complete, you can no longer cancel.

The cancellation period does not apply to business customers, or to emergency work you have asked us to carry out urgently, such as after storm damage.

After you accept, we will book the work in and, where permission is needed, deal with the council on your behalf. We will give you an estimated completion date.

Some jobs need equipment hire, or materials bought specifically for your job. Where that applies, we will tell you in your quotation, and those costs are payable when the job is booked.

If you cancel within your cancellation period, we will refund those costs in full. After that, and for business customers at any time, they are non-refundable, because we will already have committed to them.

Please tell us in writing if you want to change or cancel the work.

Any costs under Costs we pay upfront are payable on top of these cancellation charges.

If the job changes because of site conditions or something you ask for, we will give you a revised quotation to approve. That may be sent in advance or written out and signed by both of us on site.

If we find something we could not have known about beforehand, such as internal decay, hidden obstructions or protected wildlife, we may stop work and either re-quote or rebook the job.

All wild birds, their nests and their eggs are protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Some other species, such as bats, have further legal protection.

If we find an active nest or a protected species before or during the work, we are required by law to stop that part of the work straight away. We cannot carry on until it is lawful to do so.

We are not responsible for delays caused by finding protected wildlife, and any return visit may need a new quotation.

Oak Processionary Moth (OPM) is a pest of oak trees. Its caterpillars carry hairs that are harmful to people and animals.

If we find OPM or a similar hazardous pest, whether or not we knew about it when we quoted, we will stop the affected work immediately. We cannot work on or near an active infestation until it has been dealt with safely.

Removing OPM and disposing of contaminated material is specialist hazardous waste work and is quoted separately. If we find OPM on a job we did not quote it for, we will invoice you for the work completed up to that point.

We are not responsible for delays caused by finding OPM or other hazardous pests.

When the job is finished, our team leader may ask you to sign the job sheet to confirm you are happy with the work. Please only sign once everything is complete.

We issue invoices within 7 days of finishing the work. When payment is due depends on whether you are a domestic or a business customer, and is set out under Late payment: domestic customers and Late payment: business customers.

VAT is charged where it applies and will be shown on your invoice.

The call-out charge applies from the point you ask us to attend and stands once we are on our way, including where the work is no longer needed by the time we arrive. Nothing is payable before we set off, and all emergency work is invoiced once complete.

Emergency attendance at night is normally limited to making the site safe. Full clearance, chipping and waste removal are carried out on a return visit during normal working hours. We will give you a price for the return visit before we book it. Unless we agree otherwise, our emergency charges do not include taking waste away.

Where a tree is on or near overhead power lines, we cannot begin work until the network operator has attended and made the lines safe. If it is not safe to work in the dark or in the conditions on the night, we will make the area as safe as we can and return at first light.

Work to a tree that is genuinely dangerous can go ahead without prior consent, including where the tree has a Tree Preservation Order or is in a Conservation Area. The council must be notified afterwards, and we will make that notification and record the condition of the tree.

A tree that has failed or been damaged can be unstable. While we make it safe it may move, split or drop branches without warning, however carefully we work. Except where caused by our negligence, we are not responsible for further damage caused by the tree, or parts of it, while we are making it safe.

When you ask us to attend urgently you are asking us to begin work straight away, which means you give up the 14-day cancellation right under Accepting a quotation and booking the work. This applies to every call-out under this section and the two that follow.

Our emergency rates and the loss of your cancellation right cover only the work needed to deal with the emergency. If you ask us to do anything more while we are there, we will agree the price with you first, and it is treated as a separate job under these terms.

For emergency and rescue call-outs we will ask you to sign a short agreement confirming the work, the charges and these terms, either on site or by a link we send you. Where you cannot sign before we start, we will tell you our charges when you ask us to attend and send you the agreement to sign as soon as we can. Asking us to attend after being told our charges is your acceptance of these terms.

By asking us to attend, you confirm that you own the tree or have the owner’s permission for us to work on it. You are responsible for paying our charges, even where you are claiming the cost back from your insurer or someone else.

Cat rescue is a chargeable call-out at £200 plus VAT during normal working hours, Monday to Friday 07:30 to 17:00, and £250 plus VAT outside those hours. That covers the first hour, counted from when we set off to you, from wherever we are at the time, until we finish on site.

Where the rescue takes longer than an hour, we may charge £150 plus VAT for each additional hour or part hour. We will let you know when the first hour is up.

The fee applies from the point you ask us to attend and stands once we are on our way, including where the cat comes down before we arrive. Nothing is payable before we set off, and we will invoice you afterwards.

We do not carry out cat rescues after dark. Climbing in darkness prevents proper assessment of branch condition and increases the risk of the animal falling. Where you contact us in the evening we will advise what to try and attend the following morning.

We will do everything we reasonably can to bring the cat down safely, but we cannot guarantee a result. Cats may climb higher, move onto branches that will not take a person’s weight, or jump. We will not put our climber or the cat at unnecessary risk to force a rescue, and the fee applies whether or not the cat is brought down. Except where caused by our negligence, we are not responsible for injury to the cat, including if it falls or jumps.

Where the tree is on someone else’s land, we cannot go in without the landowner’s permission.

Retrieving a drone, kite or other item from a tree is a chargeable call-out at the fee we agree with you before we set off. The fee applies from the point you ask us to attend and stands once we are on our way, including where the item comes free before we arrive. Nothing is payable before we set off.

You confirm that the item is yours, or that its owner has authorised you to ask us to retrieve it.

We will retrieve the item as carefully as we reasonably can, but we cannot guarantee a result. The item may already be damaged, and freeing it may cause further damage. Except where caused by our negligence, we are not responsible for damage to the item.

Any cutting needed to reach the item needs the tree owner’s permission, and may need council consent where the tree has a Tree Preservation Order or is in a Conservation Area.

Payment is due on completion of the work.

If we have not been paid within 14 days of the invoice date, we may charge interest at 3% above the Bank of England base rate, worked out daily from the due date until we are paid in full, plus an administration charge of £25.

If you think payment is going to be late, please tell us as early as you can.

Unless we have agreed otherwise in writing, payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date.

Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, we may charge statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, worked out daily from the due date until we are paid in full. We may also charge the fixed recovery costs the Act allows: £40 for debts up to £999.99, £70 for debts between £1,000 and £9,999.99, and £100 for debts of £10,000 or more.

We may hold off starting or continuing other work until an overdue invoice is settled, and recover any reasonable costs of chasing payment.

We are insured through Trust Insurance Services, underwritten by Convex Insurance UK Limited. We hold £5 million public liability cover and £10 million employers’ liability cover, each for any one incident. We also hold product and pollution liability cover, and contractors’ all risks cover for our plant, tools and equipment.

Our cover applies to the business we have declared to our insurers: tree surgery, stump grinding, landscaping and hedge cutting.

We can send you copies of our insurance certificates on request. If you need proof of cover for a particular job, please ask when we quote.

We are responsible for loss or damage caused directly by our negligence, to the extent our insurance covers it. Except as set out in the last clause of this section, the most we can be liable for on any job is the greater of the value of that job or the amount we can recover under the insurance policy in force at the time.

We are not responsible for damage to underground or hidden pipes, cables, structures or features that were not marked or told to us beforehand.

We are not responsible for how a tree behaves naturally after agreed work, such as regrowth, dieback or movement. Nor are we responsible for the future condition of a tree we advised you to remove where you chose to keep it.

We are not responsible for damage a tree has already caused before we arrive, such as to buildings, fences, vehicles or services.

We are not responsible for indirect losses, meaning knock-on losses that follow from the work rather than being caused by it directly.

Nothing in these terms limits our responsibility for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law does not allow us to exclude.

Unless your quotation says otherwise, taking the waste away is included. We chip and clear the arisings and leave the site tidy.

If you want to keep timber or woodchip on site, please tell us when we quote. We do not leave timber cut and ready to burn unless that has been agreed.

Where burning on site is agreed, we carry it out in line with our insurer’s conditions and any local restrictions.

Stump grinding usually follows felling within a few days, unless we have booked it differently.

We use the chippings to backfill the hole. Taking the grindings away and backfilling with topsoil is not included, but we can price it as an extra where possible.

We grind the main stump and the significant roots near the surface. Deeper and spreading roots usually stay in the ground and rot down naturally.

Please tell us before we start about any pipes, cables or irrigation you know about. We are not responsible for damage to services we were not told about or could not have known were there.

If we find hazardous material such as suspected asbestos, we will stop work. You will need to arrange safe removal before we can carry on.

If we need to get to the trees across a neighbour’s land, you are responsible for getting their permission beforehand. We may ask for that in writing.

Please protect lawns, walls and delicate surfaces before we arrive. We can supply protective boards or coverings for an additional charge, just ask when we quote.

Please make sure we have clear, safe access to the site and that obstructions are moved before the crew arrives. If we are delayed by restricted access, parked cars or other obstructions, we may charge extra at our standard day rate of £1,200 plus VAT, worked out pro rata for the time lost.

Some jobs need a parking suspension or permit, which is common in London boroughs. Where one is needed we will tell you in advance and arrange it for you. We charge it on at the borough’s own rate with nothing added.

If we tell you a suspension is needed and you decide to arrange the parking yourself instead, that is your responsibility. If our crew then arrives and cannot reasonably park or reach the site, that counts as cancelling on the day under Changes and cancellation, and the full quoted price or our standard day rate applies.

We reduce to the sizes set out in your quotation, whether that is a final height and spread or an average branch length taken off. We keep the tree balanced and work to BS3998.

We remove no more than 30% of the leaf-bearing material, spread evenly through the canopy rather than taken from one area, along with any weak or hazardous growth.

We usually arrive between 08:00 and 09:00. For shorter jobs we will confirm a tighter window the afternoon before. We will fit in with a morning or afternoon preference where we can.

On the day of your visit we may text or email you a link to follow our vehicle on a map as we travel to you, with an estimated arrival time. The link shows our location only, while we are on our way to you. It stops showing our location once we arrive, and the link stops working 15 minutes after we arrive.

Arrival times shown on the tracking page are estimates based on live traffic and are not a guaranteed arrival time. Traffic, earlier jobs and conditions on site can change them.

If we are called out to an emergency, we may pause tracking and arrival times for that day’s other visits. If that affects your visit, your link will ask you to ring us, and we will let you know when we can come.

The tracking link does not track you or your phone. We can see whether the link has been opened, which helps us know you are expecting us. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle your details.

We can check whether a tree has a Tree Preservation Order or sits in a Conservation Area, and submit the application for you.

If we have prepared an application and you then cancel or choose another contractor, an administration fee of £200 plus VAT may apply.

Private covenants and any other third-party permissions are your responsibility to check.

If you are unhappy with any part of the work, please tell our office within 7 days of us finishing. We will look into it promptly and put things right where we should.

We are not responsible for delays or for being unable to do the work because of things outside our reasonable control, such as severe weather, illness, accidents or utility failures.

Completion dates depend on the weather and may change for safety reasons.

Quotations are valid for 60 days unless we say otherwise, and include any value from the arisings unless stated. Felling quotes assume there are no hidden obstructions.

We may cancel or rebook work where we need to, and we are not responsible for knock-on losses if we do.

If you are a consumer, nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and any dispute will be dealt with by the courts of England and Wales.