Terms and Conditions

Section 1. H&K Structural Engineers Ltd – our services terms and conditions

Please read carefully.1.

GENERAL

1.01 These Terms and the Fee Letter constitute the whole agreement between the parties relating to the Project and supersede any

previous agreement (whether oral or in writing).

1.02 No amendment, waiver or variation of these Terms shall be binding unless made in writing and signed by both parties.

1.03 A person who is not a party to these Terms may not enforce any of its terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.

1.04 Any notice required to be given to H&K Structural Engineers Ltd shall be in writing, and the address for service is 56 The Stow, Harlow, Essex, CM20 3AN.

1.05 Any notice must be served either personally or by recorded delivery (in both cases service shall be effective on delivery). See below

1.06 These Terms and the Fee Letter shall be governed by English law.

1.07 Alternatively, standard forms of contract available from Association of Consulting Engineers, (ACE) Agreements are acceptable without amendments. Copies of relevant Agreement available upon request. Warranties are based on un-amended BPF or CIC format.

1.08 These Terms should be read in conjunction with CWT Partnership Ltd fee proposal letter to the Client (“Fee Letter”), which sets out the details of the project (“Project”), the services CWT Partnership Ltd are to perform (“Services”), CWT Partnership Ltd’s fees, and any other Project-specific details of CWT Partnership’s appointment.

2. SCOPE OF SERVICES

2.01 Unless stated otherwise normal services apply and Additional Services will only be undertaken by prior agreement. The works on which we will be acting as the Consulting Engineer shall be foundations, sub-structure and super-structure unless agreed otherwise.

2.02 In performing the Services and discharging all its obligations under these Terms, CWT Partnership Ltd shall exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence.

2.03 H&K Structural Engineers Ltd may perform such additional services as the Client may reasonably instruct, or as may be necessary in the event of an emergency without instruction. The Client shall pay an additional fee in respect of any additional services.

Unless otherwise agreed, such fee will be:

a) calculated by reference to the time charges set out below;

b) included in the next invoice following performance of the additional service to which it relates, and,

c) paid in accordance with terms set out below.

2.04 H&K Structural Engineers Ltd shall have authority to act on behalf of the Client in relation to the Services.

2.05 The Client shall provide to H&K Structural Engineers Ltd all relevant information CWT Partnership Ltd needs to carry out the Services, and H&K Structural Engineers Ltd shall be entitled to rely on such information.

2.06 CWT Partnership Ltd shall be entitled to appoint one or more sub-consultants to perform part of the Services without the Client’s consent.

3. ENGINEERS REPORTS AND REPORTING

3.01 The copyright of our Reports and Drawings remains vested with H&K Structural Engineers Ltd.

3.02 Our Reports are confidential to our Clients and CWT Partnership Ltd and we do not accept responsibility to third parties to whom our Report, or any part thereof, is made known, without formal agreement beforehand.

3.03 Our inspection of a property is intended to provide the information set out in either paragraphs (a) or (b) below. Our reports will indicate the exact nature of our brief.

a) Specific advice on any structural problems which have been brought to the attention of the Engineer and which may also be the sole basis for commissioning the report. Examples of this are fractures to walls, previous repairs etc, or

b) To provide a general overview of the property layout to draft a plan.

3.04 The inspection is not a full “Building Survey” as defined by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. A “Building Survey” deals with many of the non-structural aspects of property condition.

Our Structural Survey will not cover items other than structural items and any comments on matters non-structural are for information and may require specialist advice. For example: breach of damp proof course, damp, roof tile conditions, wood boring beetle or rot, drainage, rainwater goods, electrics, Planning and Building Regulation compliance are examples of matters not covered in our report. Other than general comments the inspection will not include the testing of any services to the property, nor will it consider the presence of any hazardous materials.

3.05 Inspections can only be made of those areas which are freely accessible. Unless arrangements have been made beforehand no inspection can be made of the foundations or areas buried beneath the structure or behind cladding, neither can any comment be made upon areas that are obscured by fitted carpets or fixed coverings. In the event that such further inspection is advisable then this will be referred to in the report. However, there is always the possibility that there are hidden defects which cannot reasonably be established from a Structural Engineer’s inspection.

3.06 The report should not be construed as an implied warranty in relation to the structure.

3.07 Clients should always obtain legal advice on matters involving the sale and purchase of property; our reports do not address legal issues.

3.08 It must be remembered that the condition of any property is a constantly changing variable. With the passage of time new defects can arise and existing ones worsen. The report should only be taken as a record of the property’s condition at the time of the inspection.

3.09 Our quotation fee is for attending site, inspection of property under the conditions as set out above, consideration of findings and reporting thereon. This fee is based on the initial instruction received. Any further involvement required if the property is found to be of a more complex nature, additional site visits and further correspondence, will be charged at our standard hourly rate, which is currently £80.00 – £130.00 plus VAT.

3.10 Unless otherwise agreed, it is company policy that our drawings, calculations and reports will not be released until payment has been received in full. Payment of outstanding invoices is expected by return. We will exercise our statutory rights to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the terms of the late payment legislation if payments are unreasonably delayed.

4. LIABILITY & INSURANCES

4.01 The Agreement sets out our liability as the Consulting Engineer to the limit of our total liability identified.

4.02 Unless agreed otherwise, our duties do not include a duty to advise on pollution or contamination, liability for pollution and contamination claims is excluded. CWT Partnership Ltd’s advice is solely for the Client’s confidential use. The advice should not be relied upon by any third party.

4.03 CWT Partnership Ltd’s total liability under or in connection with these Terms in respect of any one occurrence or series of occurrences arising out of any one original cause, source or event, shall not exceed the sum set out in the Fee Letter or, if no sum is set out in the Fee Letter, shall not exceed the level of professional indemnity insurance required to be maintained under this agreement.

4.04 CWT Partnership Ltd shall not be liable for the use by any person of any of the documents for any purpose other than that for which the same were prepared by or on behalf of H&K Structural Engineers Ltd.

4.05 H&K Structural Engineers Ltd’s total liability to the Client under these Terms shall be limited to the proportion of the Client’s loss and damage that it would be just and equitable for CWT Partnership Ltd to pay having regard to the extent of CWT Partnership Ltd’s responsibility for the loss and/or damage in question on the assumptions that:

– All the Client’s other consultants, advisors, contractors and subcontractors providing work or services for the Project have provided to the Client contractual undertakings on terms no less onerous than that of CWT Partnership Ltd. There are no exclusions of or limitations of liability nor joint insurance or co-insurance provisions between the Client and any other person referred to in this clause; and

– All the persons referred to in this clause have paid to the Client such sums as it would be just and equitable for them to pay having regard to the extent of their responsibility for that loss and/or damage.

– Nothing in this clause seeks to limit any liability that cannot be limited under English law.

– No action or proceedings under or in respect of these Terms shall be commenced against H&K Structural Engineers Ltd after the expiry of 6 years following the conclusion or termination of the Services under the relevant Fee Letter.

– CWT Partnership Ltd shall maintain cover until at least the expiry of the period of 6 years professional indemnity insurance with a limit of indemnity of not less than the amount specified in the Fee Letter, provided that such insurance continues to be offered on commercially reasonable terms.

5. FEES

5.01 The fee for Larger Projects shall be as advised in the attached letter. The fees, unless agreed separately shall be paid on account monthly so that at least on completion of each work stage the following proportion of total fees shall have been made; Definition 5%, Outline Proposal 15%, Scheme Design 35%, Tender Stage 60%, Production Information 85% and Construction 100%. Until the final overall Project Cost is known, fees will be based on the current estimated project cost.

5.02 Additional services including any instructed modifications to completed Design Work will be charged at the following hourly rates:

DIRECTOR – £120.00 PER HOUR

ENGINEER – £80.00 PER HOUR

CAD TECHNICIANS – £50.00 PER HOUR

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT – £25.00 PER HOUR

6. PAYMENT TERMS

6.01 All rates and fees quoted are exclusive of VAT. And VAT will be charged at the prevailing rate at the time of the commission.

6.02 The financial liability of H&K Structural Engineers Ltd under the terms of these conditions is limited to losses only incurred to the value of the Professional Indemnity Insurance available and in force at the time of the works.

6.03 The client shall pay all the fees in full without deduction by way of set off, counterclaim, discount, abatement, retention or otherwise.

6.04 All invoices fall due for payment at 7 days from date of invoice.

7. FORCE MAJEURE

7.01 The Consultant may upon the occurrence of any circumstances beyond the control of the Consultant (which for the avoidance of doubt includes any pandemic and/or epidemic) (“Force Majeure”) which prevents or significantly impedes the performance of the Services, without prejudice to any other remedy and upon the giving of not less than two weeks’ Notice, suspend for a period of up to twenty-six weeks the performance of the Services in respect of all or part of the Services affected. For the avoidance of doubt, the Consultant shall not be in breach of this Agreement and shall have no liability under or in connection with this Agreement as a result of:

i) any act, omission, or default

ii) any failure to perform the Services in accordance with this Agreement and/or

iii) any prolongation or delay to the Services, to the extent it is caused or contributed to by any Force Majeure

8. ECONOMIC LOSS

8.01 Neither Party shall under any circumstances whatsoever be liable to the other for any direct or indirect loss of profit, loss of business or anticipated saving or special, indirect or consequential damage suffered by the other Party that arises under or in connection with this Agreement