Terms Of Business
Standard Terms of Business
Onn-Point Civil Engineering is a trade name of Demus Design Ltd Company No 10803310. VAT No 361 0420 45
Hours of business
Normal hours of business are from 09.00 to 17.00, Mondays to Fridays, excepting public holidays.
Appointments can be arranged outside of these hours where necessary and home or business visits are available.
Charges and expenses
Our fees are based on a number of factors which include the speed of response required, the size, value, complexity and novelty of the matter and any specialist knowledge required. However, the time we spend in dealing with your case is usually the most significant factor. Time is charged at an hourly rate or fixed fees and in some cases the rate increases where there is the need to work outside normal working hours. The rates which apply to each matter will be confirmed to you in writing at the beginning of the matter.
Time spent on your case includes meetings with you and others, recording attendance notes of those meetings, travel, waiting, research and considering, preparing and working on files and making file notes.
We will give you information about our likely charges at the start of your matter. We will either:
- explain the rates we charge for time spent and specific activities in relation to your work, in which case we will also estimate what our charges are likely to be in relation to all of the work, or for work up to a certain point, or
- give you a fixed quote which will not change unless new information comes to light which makes additional work necessary that would not have been apparent at the time the quote was given to you.
Where we are charging on an hourly basis, you may wish to set a limit on our charges that may not be exceeded without your authority. If so, please discuss your requirements with the Engineer dealing with your matter. Please bear in mind that, should the limit you set be reached during the conduct of your matter, it will not be possible to do further work for you until a new limit has been agreed.
Where we are charging on the basis of a fixed quote, as set out above, should it become apparent that there is more work to do than was initially apparent, then it will be necessary to amend the quote but we will not incur costs on your behalf until a revised quote has been agreed with you.
Travel expenses not included within the quotation will be charged at £95.00 per hour and £0.45p per mile.
There may also be certain additional expenses to be paid to third parties, for example sewer records, flood data, search fees or fees for experts’ reports. Some of these fees may include VAT. We are under no obligation to pay these fees on your behalf unless you have provided us with funds for this purpose. We will advise you at the outset of any known or likely expenses that will have to be paid and will notify you as soon as possible of any likely additional expenses. In addition, we may raise charges for incidental expenses such as photocopying, subsistence and travel expenses.
Exceptionally, should it appear or become apparent on investigation that a matter is unusually complex or difficult, or requires urgent work outside normal office hours, then we reserve the right to revise our charges and to make a charge in addition to charges based purely on time. We will notify you in advance in such circumstances.
Our charging rates are reviewed annually to take account of changes in overhead costs and inflation. If a review is carried out before your matter is completed, you will be advised of any variation in the rates before they take effect.
- Duty of Care
- Onn Point Civil Engineering (Demus Design Ltd) warrants that we shall execute the duties and obligations in respect of all matters which lie within the scope of the appointment, exercising the reasonable skill, care and diligence to be expected of a suitably qualified and competent civil engineering and flood risk consultancy, experienced in carrying out the duties and obligations in relation to projects of similar size scope and complexity.
- The Client and Onn Point Civil Engineering will comply with all applicable statutory requirements, secondary legislation, regulations, by-laws and planning agreements, obligations and consents.
- Insurances
2.1 Onn Point Civil Engineering shall maintain professional indemnity insurance and public liability insurance, subject to availability in the marketplace at commercially reasonable rates, in respect of each and every occurrence or series or occurrences. Unless explicitly agreed otherwise the limit of indemnity is £1 million for the term of 6 years from the completion of our services.
2.2 The company insurer is Chiswell Insurance ref CHBS2793427XB and certificates can be provided on request.
- Copyright
3.1 Copyright of all documents prepared by us in connection with the project shall remain vested in us but the Client shall have a royalty free licence to copy and use any or all of the documents for any purpose relating to the Development or application. Such licence does not include a licence to reproduce the technical designs or alter the content of any report. We shall have no liability for any use of copyright material for any purposes other than that for which it was prepared by or on behalf of us.
- Remuneration
- The Client shall pay us (Onn Point Civil Engineering):
- The fee (together with any expenses and disbursements) as full remuneration for our services; and
- Additional fees as full remuneration for any additional services.
- The Client shall pay us any VAT properly chargeable on the services and any amount expressed as payable to us under this appointment is exclusive of VAT unless stated otherwise.
- The Client shall reimburse us for any expenses or disbursements set out in the fee estimate or where reasonably incurred. All expenses will be subject to a 10% administration fee.
5.0 Payment
5.1 Payment is due prior to release of all supporting design works. We shall submit to the client an invoice for each instalment of the fee, together with any supporting documents that are reasonably necessary to check the invoice. The invoice and supporting documents (if any) shall specify the sum that we consider will become due on the payment due date in respect of the instalment of the fee, and the basis on which that sum is calculated.
5.2 The final date for payment shall be 14 days after the date on which payment becomes due.
5.3 If the Client fails to pay an amount due to us by the by the final date for payment then the Client shall pay simple interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 8% per annum above the Bank of England’s base rate. Such interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the final date for payment until actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. The Client shall also pay to us:
- a) statutory fixed costs of recovery (or, if statutory fixed costs do not apply to our appointment, the costs of our management time at the director’s charge rates under paragraph 6.5); and
- b) our reasonable costs of recovery, including the costs of instructing a lawyer or employing a debt collection agency including on terms whereby the solicitor or debt recovery agency is entitled on recovery to a percentage of the debt.
6.0 Additional Services
6.1 We shall perform additional services to the agreed scope of works upon receipt of a written instruction to do so from the Client.
6.3 No additional fee shall be payable if the requirement for an additional service arises solely from our default or negligence, or the default or negligence of our sub-contractors or suppliers (if any).
6.4 Any additional fee payable by the Client shall be included in the next invoice following performance of additional services to which it relates.
6.5 Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, the additional fee shall be a reasonable amount calculated by reference to the time charges set out below:
Name and/or position |
Hourly rate |
Director |
£95.00 |
Senior Infrastructure Engineer |
£65.00 |
Infrastructure Engineer |
£55.00 |
Graduate/Technician |
£40.00 |
Apprentice |
£30.00 |
7.0 Termination and Suspension.
7.1 The Client may at any time and without providing reason, by giving four weeks notice in writing to us, terminate or suspend our appointment.
7.2 In the event that the Client fails to make payments due to us, we may by giving seven days notice to the client, terminate or suspend the provision of our services.
7.3 Upon any termination or suspension of our services we shall take immediate steps to bring an end our services in a professional manner, but with all reasonable speed and economy, and shall, providing our fees have been paid in full, within 7 days deliver to the Client all correspondence and documentation in our possession or control relating to the Services.
7.4 If our services are terminated or suspended the Client shall pay a fair and reasonable proportion of the fee in respect of services, such proportion to be commensurate with the services performed by us up to the date of such termination or suspension, together with any outstanding expenses including those to which we were already committed to expending at the date of termination or suspension.
- Dispute Resolution
8.1 The parties shall attempt in good faith to settle any dispute by mediation.
8.2 Any dispute or difference arising may, in the first instance, be referred to an adjudicator appointed on the request of either party by the Adjudicator Nominator for a decision in accordance with the provisions of Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (as amended).
8.3 The Adjudicator’s decision shall be final and binding unless either party serves a notice in writing on the other, within three months of the Adjudicators decision, to refer the dispute for final determination by the Courts.
- Limitation of Liability
9.1 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this agreement, our liability under or in connection with this Agreement whether in contract or in tort, in negligence, for breach of statutory duty or otherwise (other than in respect of personal injury or death) for any claim or claims arising out of or in connection with any cause shall not exceed the lesser sum of £1,000,000 or a multiple of 20 times the total fee paid by the Client.
9.2 No actions or proceedings whether in contract or in tort or in negligence or for breach of statutory duty or otherwise shall be commenced against us after the expiry of 6 years from the date of completion of our services.
9.3 Our liability for any claim or claims shall be further limited to such sums as we ought reasonably to pay having regard to our responsibility for the loss or damage suffered as a result of the occurrence or series of occurrences in question, on the basis that all other consultants and all contractors and sub-contractors shall be deemed to have provided contractual undertakings on terms no less onerous than those given by us to the Client (whether or not they shall have been so provided to the employer) in respect of the carrying out of their obligations and shall be deemed to have paid to the Client such proportion which it would be just and equitable for them to pay having regard to the extent of their responsibility.
9.4 Save in respect of death or personal injury the Client shall look only to Onn Point Civil Engineering, and not to any of Onn Point Civil Engineering’s personnel for redress if the Client considers that there has been any breach of this agreement. The Client agrees not to pursue any claims in contract tort or statute (including negligence) against any of Onn Point Civil Engineering’s personnel as a result of carrying out Onn Point Civil Engineering’s obligations under or in connection with this Agreement at any time and whether any of Onn Point Civil Engineering’s personnel are named expressly in this agreement or not.
9.5 The data relied on as part of any technical report or assessment is provided by local authorities, Environment Agency, and/or utility search companies in response to a general enquiry. The information provided has been utilised by Onn Point Civil Engineering and we are not liable for any inaccuracies or errors in the data provided by the suppliers.
10.0 Collateral Warranties
10.1 Unless explicitly detailed to the contrary in our fee proposals, third party warranties are not provided under the terms of this appointment.
10.2 However, subject to agreement on the terms and conditions, Client specific appointments and warranties will be accepted subject to a legal and administrative charge based on hourly rates.
11.0 Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act
11.1 Nothing in this Agreement confers or purports to confer on any third party any benefit or any right to enforce any term of the Contract pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.