Legal
Terms & conditions
These terms explain how we work together when ALC Elite carries out preservation, restoration, detailing or other specialist care on your car. They are written to be read, not to catch anyone out.
1. About these terms
ALC Elite is Jonathan Collier (“we”, “us”, “our”). We provide specialist vehicle preservation, restoration, detailing, preparation and ongoing care for classic, collectible, significant and high-end cars.
These terms apply to enquiries, quotations and work we carry out for you unless we have agreed something different with you in writing. If we give you a separate written quotation or work agreement, and anything in it conflicts with these terms, the separate document applies for that job.
Nothing in these terms affects your legal rights as a consumer. If any part of these terms is found not to apply, the rest still stands.
2. Services, quotations and estimates
We work on the individual car in front of us. What a car needs is decided after we have seen it and talked it through with you, so we do not sell fixed packages.
Where we can, we will give you a fixed quotation for clearly defined work. Where the work depends on what is found once it is under way — which is common with older and restored cars — we will give you an estimate and explain what could change it. An estimate is our best reasonable assessment at the time and is not a fixed price.
A quotation or estimate is valid for a reasonable period, which we will tell you. It assumes the car is broadly as described to us when we prepared it.
3. Inspecting the car and its existing condition
Before work starts we will look over the car and note its general condition. Our notes record the car’s condition as we find it; they are not a full mechanical or structural survey unless we have agreed to carry one out.
Older, modified and previously restored cars often carry wear, earlier repairs, corrosion or fragile trim and finishes that are not obvious until work begins. Carrying out agreed work can reveal or disturb pre-existing faults. We are not responsible for the pre-existing condition of the car, but we will tell you promptly if we find something that affects the work, the cost or the car’s safety, and we will agree the next step with you before continuing.
4. Scope of work and changes
We will carry out the work we have agreed with you. If we believe additional or different work is needed, we will explain why, what it involves and what it is likely to cost, and we will get your approval before doing it.
If you ask us to change the scope while work is under way, we will tell you how that affects the price and the timescale before we act on the change. Urgent work needed to make the car safe or to prevent further damage may be carried out first and confirmed with you as soon as we reasonably can.
5. Information and instructions you give us
You are responsible for giving us accurate information about the car and its history, and for telling us about anything unusual — for example non-standard parts, previous accident or restoration work, known faults, security or tracking devices, or how the car behaves.
By asking us to carry out work you confirm that you own the car or are authorised by the owner to instruct us and to accept these terms.
6. Parts, materials and specialist services
Some work needs parts, materials or the help of trusted third-party specialists — for example trim, plating, machining, upholstery, glass or transport. We will discuss this with you where it materially affects the cost or the approach.
For classic and collectible cars, correct parts can be scarce, made to order or only available used, and lead times can be long and outside our control. Where a part or an outside specialist carries its own guarantee, we will pass the benefit of that guarantee on to you so far as we are able. If you supply parts yourself, we cannot be responsible for their quality, suitability or availability, and any extra work caused by a supplied part being unsuitable may be chargeable.
7. Timescales and delays
Any dates or durations we give are estimates. We will give you a realistic idea of timing and keep you updated, particularly on longer restoration work.
Timescales can be affected by things such as parts availability, the condition found once work begins, additional work you approve, and the schedules of outside specialists. We are not liable for delays outside our reasonable control, but we will always tell you as soon as we can and do what we reasonably can to limit the impact.
8. Prices and payment
Prices are for the work described in your quotation or estimate. Where a price is given as an estimate, the amount payable is for the work actually carried out and the parts and materials actually used.
We will tell you our payment terms — including any amount to be paid before collection or before work starts — in writing before you commit to the work. Unless we have agreed otherwise in writing, payment is due before the car is returned to you. On longer projects we may agree staged payments as work progresses, and we will set those out in writing.
If an invoice is not paid when due, we may pause further work and we may be entitled to keep possession of the car until payment is made. We will always contact you before taking that step.
9. Deposits
For some work — for example where we need to order parts or reserve a block of workshop time — we may ask for a deposit before we begin. If we do, we will tell you the amount, what it covers and how it is treated if the work does not go ahead, in writing, before you pay it. Sums we have already spent on your behalf, such as parts ordered specifically for your car, may not be refundable.
10. Cancelling or rescheduling
If you need to cancel or move a booking, please tell us as early as you can. If work has already started, or we have already ordered parts or committed time or outside services for your car, we may charge for the work done and the costs reasonably incurred up to that point. We will explain any such charge and how it is worked out; we do not apply a fixed cancellation fee.
We may need to reschedule occasionally — for example if earlier work overruns or a specialist is delayed. If we do, we will offer you the earliest reasonable alternative.
11. Your cancellation rights as a consumer
If you are a consumer and we agreed the work at a distance or away from our premises (for example entirely by phone, email or online), you normally have a 14-day right to cancel. If you asked us to start the work during that period, you may have to pay for what was done before you cancelled. This does not apply to goods made or clearly personalised to your specification. These rights are in addition to anything else in these terms.
12. Collecting and returning the car
We will agree with you how the car arrives and how it goes home — driven, trailered or collected. Please make sure the car is legally allowed to be on the road for any part of the journey you are responsible for, and that it is adequately insured while it is being driven to or from us by you or someone acting for you.
When the work is finished we will let you know the car is ready and agree a collection or return date with you.
13. Belongings left in the car
Please remove personal belongings and valuables before the car comes to us. We will take reasonable care of items left in the car but we cannot accept responsibility for loss of or damage to personal property left inside it, except where that loss or damage is caused by our negligence.
14. Storage after the work is finished
We ask that cars are collected reasonably promptly once we have told you the work is complete and any balance has been paid.
If a car is left with us well beyond an agreed collection date, we may need to make a charge for continued storage. We will not apply a storage charge without first contacting you, explaining the amount and giving you a fair opportunity to collect the car.
15. Looking after your car while it is with us
We will take reasonable care of your car while it is in our keeping and store it appropriately for the work being done. We will only use the car on the road where that is needed for the work — for example setting-up, testing or road-testing — or where you have asked us to.
16. Our responsibility to you
We will carry out the work with reasonable care and skill. If something we do falls short of that, tell us and we will put it right where we reasonably can.
We are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking these terms or failing to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for loss or damage that is not foreseeable, for the pre-existing condition of the car or for faults that were already present, or for loss caused by circumstances outside our reasonable control.
Where you are a business rather than a consumer, our total liability connected with a job is limited to the charges paid for that job, and we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of use or other indirect or consequential loss.
17. Things we do not exclude
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited or excluded under the law of England and Wales.
18. Your statutory rights
If you are a consumer, you have legal rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other consumer legislation — including that services are carried out with reasonable care and skill and that goods supplied are of satisfactory quality. Nothing in these terms affects those rights.
19. Photography and marketing
We may take photographs or video of cars and of work in progress for our own records and quality checks.
We will not publish images that identify your car — for example on our website or social media — without your permission. If you would prefer us not to photograph your car for any purpose beyond our internal records, just tell us and we will respect that. Where you do give permission, you can withdraw it for future use at any time by contacting us.
20. Privacy and your personal data
We handle the personal details you give us in line with ourprivacy policy, which explains what we collect, why, and how to change your preferences. Please read it alongside these terms.
21. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms from time to time — for example to reflect how the business works or changes in the law. The version that applies to your job is the one in force when we agree the work with you. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last changed.
22. Governing law
These terms and any work we do for you are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer resident elsewhere in the UK, you may also bring proceedings in your local courts.
23. Contact us
For anything about these terms or a job, contact Jonty:
- Email: jonty@alcelite.com
- Phone: 07808 664866