Gas Terms and Conditions
1.1 “Company”
Means O’Neil Gas Services Ltd.
1.2 Owner
Means the person entering into this Agreement with the Company.
1.3 “Boiler”
Means the Gas Central Heating Boiler.
1.4 “Fire”
Means the Gas Fire.
1.5 “Central Heating System” (Hereafter “CHS”)
Means the boiler, piping and radiators connected to it. If a hot water cylinder is connected to the boiler then the piping required to heat the hot water is included. Any expansion tank which serves to fill the CHS is included. All standard timers and temperature controls as well as radiators valves are included.
1.6 Breakdown or Failure of Boiler/CHS
Means the cessation or substantial impairment of the normal heating or domestic hot water services caused by the breaking, burning out, wearing out of any part of the Boiler/CHS or it’s ceasing to function.
1.7 Breakdown or Failure of the Gas Fire
Means the cessation or substantial impairment of the normal operation of the gas fire caused by the breaking, burning out, wearing out of any part of the Fire.
1.8 “Normal Working Hours”
Means Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm, excluding Bank Holidays.
1.9 “Home
Means the Owner’s place of residence or the home owned by the Owner that is a private domestic dwelling.
1.10 “Service Area”
At the discretion of O’Neil Gas Services Ltd.
1.11 “Repair Costs”
Means the charges for parts and labour together with VAT. This is only charged for components or work that is not covered under any of the contracts after first quoting for the work.
1.12 “Commencement Date”
The date Your information is entered into Our systems – usually within 2 business days from the date of application and confirmed in our confirmation letter.
2. Period/Extent of Agreement
2.1 This agreement is to be read in conjunction with the Summary of Protection document signed by the Owner.
2.2 Once signed this agreement persists for a period of 12 months from the Commencement Date. This agreement shall renew automatically at the end of each 12 month period, for a further 12 months unless notice of cancellation is received from the Owner within 14 days of the renewal notice issued by the Company. Upon renewal Direct Debits will continue and be revised to reflect any increase in the annual cover charge.
2.3 Due to the cooling off period required by law & to protect the company from any claims made by a new customer for a breakdown/failure that was already on the boiler/fire/system when the contract was signed, any breakdown call outs in the first 21 days of the first contract year will not be covered.
This agreement provides cover at the Owners Home at the address provided in the signed Summary of Protection document attached hereto. Cover is only provided for CHS, Boilers and Fires used inside your home for domestic purposes.
3. Owners Responsibility
Where no pre-inspection is required due to the information being supplied directly by the Owner, the Company reserve the right to cancel the policy during the first requested visit to the Owners home if any of the Boiler/CHS or Fire is more than FIFTEEN (15) years old, in a poor state of neglect, unsafe, clear evidence that a fault was present on the Boiler/Fire/CHS when the contract was taken out or has a major design fault that wasn’t disclosed at the time of this Agreement. If the policy is cancelled by the Company due to any of these issues the Owner will receive a full refund of monies already paid less the cost of the engineers labour for the first requested call out.
4. Policy Levels
With the agreement, O’Neil Care Silver offers the benefit of a free annual service of one gas boiler, which is the responsibility of the client to either phone or email the company to book in a date that suits them. We will not be automatically turning up at your home to do a service.
All repairs and call outs will have a fixed fee of £80 plus vat, which will cover all parts and labour, unless the repair required is not covered under the clause exclusions, see below. The cost of each visits the owner request will be £80.00 plus vat. O’Neil Care silver may only be paid for with a direct debit in twelve monthly instalments and is for minimum of 12 months. The fixed fee for any repair will be taken via your direct debit instruction within 10 working days of our engineers being dispatched. The fixed fee with the O’Neil Care Silver does not include the fitting or the cost of a new boiler or any upgrade works. The owner remains liable to make the full 12 months payments even if they cancel the contract before the first 12 months are up. O’Neil Care Gold, offers the benefit of a free annual service of one gas boiler which is the responsibility of the client to either phone or email the company to book in a date that suits them. We will not be automatically turning up at your home to do a service.
All parts and labour inside the property are covered with unlimited call outs, unless it falls under the exclusions stated below. O’Neil Care Gold plus offers the benefit of a free annual service of one gas boiler and one fire, which is the responsibility of the client to either phone or email the company to book in a date that suits them. We will not be automatically turning up at your home to do a service. All parts and labour for one gas boiler and one gas fire inside the property are covered with unlimited call outs, unless it falls under the exclusions stated below.
5. Option of a Free Annual (client’s responsibility to book)
The company offers the benefit of a free annual service of one gas boiler, with the silver and gold membership & one boiler and one fire with the gold plus, which is the responsibility of the client to either phone or email the company to book in a date that suits them. We will not be automatically turning up at your home to do a service. Such annual service shall include:
(a) check gas-carrying components and gas controlling devices of the appliance are operating
satisfactorily. If deemed necessary by the Company, clean and adjust them,
(b) inspect the burners and flue ways of the combustion chamber and heat exchanger of the boiler and clean them whenever necessary.
(c) check the remainder of the system is operating satisfactorily and adjust or repair such parts as necessary.
The exact time and date when the Company will carry out the service described above will be at the sole discretion of the Company If, at the request of the Owner, the Company carry out any part of the service outside its normal working hours the Owner will pay the Company’s additional charge for out of hours service. The Annual Service will not be carried out in December of January.
6. Failure or Breakdown
The Company agrees they will within a reasonable time of the Owner notifying them that the CHS/Fire has broken down or failed, carry out the making of any repairs and the fitting of any replacement parts subject to the terms of this Agreement and the terms of this clause 6:
(a) The Company will only action a request for repair, if the Owner is up to date with payments & the failure/breakdown isn’t part of the exclusions.
(b) If any parts of the CHS which the Company are liable to replace become obsolete or unobtainable, the Owner will be informed of this and a quote to replace the appliance will be given. This Agreement does not include the costs of replacing an obsolete appliance.
(c) The Company shall not be held responsible for any delay in the provision of spare parts by suppliers.
(d) Labour covers replacement of parts only it does not cover labour involved in the fitting of a new boiler.
(e) New gas boilers/fires normally have a standard warranty to cover certain parts & labour but does not cover all eventualities, so clients take out the O’Neil Care service contract so they have a more comprehensive cover to their full system. The company reserve the right to use the services of the repair engineers of the manufacturer of the appliance to carry out a repair to the gas boiler or gas fire. This would be done at no charge to the customer & would be carried out under the term of the O’Neil Care contract.
7. Exclusions
The following works and/or items are excluded from this Agreement and for which no cover is provided and for which no liability is accepted or attaches to the Company. If such works are carried out at the request of the Owner, a signed work instruction will be required and the Owner will be directly responsible for any charges arising.
7.1 The following although connected directly or indirectly are not part of the GCH/Fire cover and are to be treated as exclusions to the cover under the Agreement:
- The electrical supply up to and including the isolating switch or socket for the CHS.
- The gas supply up to the Boiler isolating valve.
- The mains water supply up to the Boiler and or the expansion vessel or expansion tank stopcock.
- Any drain to which a condensate pipe is connected.
- Any pipe conveying hot water from the boiler or hot water cylinder to the hot water taps and unvented cylinders.
- All plumbing appliances such as showers, sinks, baths, bidets, wc’s, washing machines, dishwashers, waste disposal units etc. and all piping and taps or stopcocks connected to them.
- Any domestic cold water storage tank.
- Any energy management system other than standard time and temperature controls.
7.2 Turning off or lighting up the CHS and adjustment of time switches, controls etc. except in connection with a breakdown or failure of the system.
7.3 The replacement of decorative parts, chipped or worn paint on radiators or fire trims, lamps/lights, batteries for remote controls or any wireless controls, flue guard baskets, boiler casings, gas fire glass or coals/pebbles or such item that aren’t regarded as working parts and will not be covered by contract.
7.4 Any work caused by or arising out of the failure of the Owner to comply with the instructions or recommendations of either the manufacturer or the installer or Company, and/or the Owner failing to take reasonable precautions to protect or minimise damage to the system on its breakdown or failing.
7.5 Any work arising from damage by the Owner or a 3rd party.
7.6 Any work caused by the failure of the public mains electricity, gas or water supply.
7.7 Making good any damage or any work carried out resulting from fire, flood, lightning, explosion, storm, frost, snow, wind and other natural hazards, war or civil disorder.
7.8 Any consequential loss, damage or liability no matter how incurred unless caused by the negligence of the Company.
7.9 The Company shall not be required to carry out any work to the building, fixtures, decorations, furniture or fitting of the building in which the CHS is situated arising out of any cause whatsoever other than the negligent or wrongful at of the company of their employees.
7.10 Chemical work of any type such as adding chemicals to remove blockages, partial blockages or gas formation from the CHS. The topping up of any chemicals for any reason including after the CHS is drained for any reason including repairs.
7.11 If parts become obsolete and cannot be replaced or the boiler becomes unsafe to use and cannot be repaired then the Owner would be given a quotation of the costs which they would be liable to pay for the replacement.
7.12 Any faults in the CHS caused by sludge, scale or rust within the Boiler, radiators or pipework are not covered by this policy. Any work required to rectify any blockages, partial blockages or gas formation by using chemicals or physical means or having to replace any parts, components, piping, fittings, radiators or boilers due to sludge or blockages in system is not covered by this Agreement. A quotation will be provided for this type of work to be carried out. The Owner has the right to use another Company to carry out this work. Once the work has been completed to the satisfaction of the Company, cover under this Agreement will recommence.
7.13 Work on any part of the CHS which is not possible for the engineer to work safely upon (such as a Boiler that is installed in a loft, which does not have a permanent ladder for access).
7.14 Any part of the CHS where it is impossible or impractical to access because of its position such as the installations of fittings such as kitchen worktops or cupboards being fitted too close to the appliance. The cost of removing any fittings which inhibits access to the boiler/appliance will be the responsibility of the owner.
7.15 Flue pipework that is outside the main building of the Home. Unvented hot water cylinders, cold water tanks or oil boilers or replacement batteries in controls.
7.16 Any defect or failing arising from the original design of the CHS or Boiler.
7.17 Any upgrades or improvement work required as a result of legislation (Health and Safety or otherwise) to meet current standards, eg. from Jan 2012 all boilers that have part of their flue pipework hidden by boxing in or due to the direction of the flue run now have to have a viewing hole made available so engineers can check the condition of the flue pipe. A quote will be issued for work of this nature. If this is deemed a safety issue and isn’t carried out this may invalidate the Agreement and cover withdrawn.
7.18 Any instances where the ventilation for the appliance is not up to the required standard. A quote will be issued to carry out this work. If this is deemed a safety issue and isn’t carried out this may invalidate the Agreement and cover withdrawn.
7.19 Any external influences which may affect the CHS/Fire such as severe frosts/winds or owner neglect.
7.20 In the case of Condensing Boiler any fault caused by condensate pipework freezing or blocking up in anyway which caused water to back fill into the Boiler causing damage. This type of failure/breakdown is not covered by any policy and the cost of repairing the appliance will be with the owner.
7.21 To avoid any doubt if the gas boiler/fire would cost more to repair than the cost of buying a new boiler/fire at trade prices this would be deemed as “beyond economical to repair” and would mean the gas boiler/fire would be written off. This contract does not cover the replacement of a new gas boiler/fire so if the boiler/fire is deemed as beyond economical to repair the cost of replacing the gas boiler/fire would lie with the client & not the company.
7.22 No smart thermostat such as Nest or Hive is covered by this maintenance contract. This is due to the high cost of replacing such a system compared to the cost of a basic thermostat system & is reflected in the cost of this maintenance contract.
8. Service of Notices
Any notice served by the Company on the Owner hereunder shall be deemed to be properly served if addressed to the Owner and left at or posted to either the Owner’s last know address or the address or Owner’s Home as disclosed in this Agreement.
9. Changes of Ownership (Transferable)
If the Ownership of the CHS changes, the Owner shall have the option to transfer cover under this Agreement to the CHS and/or Fire to their new Home provided it is within the Service Area. Upon notification of change of ownership cover under this agreement for the former Home of the Owner will cease.
10. Alteration to Central Heating System
If during the period of this Agreement the Owner wishes to alter the CHS or have work carried out on the System by persons other than the Company, notification must be submitted to the Company in writing, at least two weeks prior to the work being carried out the Company may then:
(a) Agree in writing that this Agreement will apply to the system after inspection by an O’Neil Service Engineer (a charge will be made for this service).
(b) Cancel this Agreement forthwith should the system be altered, extended or have work carried out, without agreement of the Company.
11. Cancellation
11.1 Aside from any other cancellation rights within this Agreement, the Company further reserves the right to cancel this Agreement immediately, by providing notice in writing in the following circumstances:
- If the Owner fails to comply with his/her obligations under this Agreement.
- If the Owner gives false information.
- If the Owner does not make the agreed payments in accordance with Clause 13.
- If the Owner does not provide access to the property where required.
- Where there are Health and Safety issues.
- If permanent repairs or improvements the Company tell you are required are not completed.
- If the appliances or systems for which cover is provided is more that EIGHTEEN (18) years old at the date of commencement of this agreement or its renewal.
- If the Company find something wrong at the first inspection that wasn’t disclosed when the contract was taken out, such as any faulty component on the boiler/fire/system. As there is no pre-inspection visits the first time we may gain access to the property could be several months into the first contract year.
- If the Company are not reasonably able to find parts for your appliance, Fire or CHS.
- In the event of the Company, in pursuance of their rights set out in this Agreement cancelling the agreement at the first visit a full refund of any money paid will be made.
- If the Company cancels this Agreement at any time after the first visit the Company will refund any money paid for the time left to run during the current period of cover.
11.2 If the Owner cancels this Agreement during the period of cover the Owner will be responsible for full 12 months payment of the balance of the annual charge for the period of cover.
12. Limitation of Obligations
The Company shall not be liable for any failure to perform their obligations under this Agreement if they are prevented from doing so by any cause reasonably beyond their control (including all industrial disputes, strikes, lock-outs, fire, accidents, road conditions war or force majeure).
13. Payment Terms and Conditions
13.1 If default in monthly payment of the Direct Debit occurs, constituted by the non-payment of one month, the Company reserves the right to refuse all service until monies in arrears are paid. For each unpaid Direct Debit the Company will charge an administration fee of £10.00 which will be collected by Direct Debit.
13.2 If the Direct Debit monthly payment falls into two months arrears, the Company reserves the right to terminate this Agreement. The Owner will be notified of this by letter. No refund will be made of any money paid to the Company.
13.3 This Agreement constitutes a legal obligation to pay in full for the plan and cover which has a minimum period of one year. If the Direct Debit is cancelled and payments fall in to arrears then any outstanding payments for the rest of the 12 month period of cover become immediately due to the Company.
13.4 If during the period of Direct Debit collections an increase of the rate of V.A.T. is announced then the Direct Debit amount collected shall increase to include the increased V.A.T.
13.5 Direct Debits from your account will be regular monthly payments with the first payment being advised to you a minimum of 10 days before it is collected from your account. Thereafter, no notification will be given unless there was an increase in V.A.T. or parts were added so the Direct Debit amount changed.
13.6 The Company is entitled to charge interest on any outstanding sums at the rate of 8% over the Bank of England base lending rate from time to time until payment.
14. Miscellaneous
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Scots Law and the parties hereby prorogate the non-exclusive jurisdiction of Ayr Sheriff Court in respect of any dispute arising.
