The following are the terms and conditions (Terms) on which Penny Metcalf, trading as Hook Home Help, with principal place of business at 4 Morris Street, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9NT (referred to in these Terms by we, our or us), agrees to supply companionship and support services to you and/or your loved one(s).

Where to find information about us and our services

You can find everything you need to know about us and our services on our website before you order available at www.hookhomehelp.com.

We only accept orders when we've checked them

We contact you to confirm we have received your order, and we accept it when we confirm the key information to you by email after you order our services, at which point and on which date our contract shall come into existence in accordance with these Terms (Contract).

We charge you on a monthly basis

We issue invoices by email at the end of each month for services performed during that month. You will need to pay each invoice within 7 days of receipt. We normally require payment by BACS, however, we can make exceptions if you cannot manage online banking where this is mentioned in your order. 

In the unfortunate event of a client’s death, any outstanding invoices will be handled in accordance with the administration of the client’s estate. For these purposes, we will require details of any such arrangements when you place your order. 

We charge interest on late payments

If we are unable to collect any payment you owe us, we charge interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 2% a year above the Bank of England base rate from time to time. This interest accrues on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You pay us the interest together with any overdue amount. 

We pass on increases in VAT

If the rate of VAT changes between your order date and the date we supply the services, we adjust the rate of VAT that you pay, unless you have already paid in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.

We are not responsible for delays outside our control 

If our supply of your service is delayed or cannot be carried out by an event outside our control (such as your usual helper not being available due to unforeseen circumstances) then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and reduce the delay (for example, by promptly offering a replacement helper). As long as we do this, we will not compensate you for the delay, but if the delay is likely to be substantial you can contact us to end the Contract.

If there are periods during which our services are not required due to events outside your control (for example hospital admissions), we can agree to keep your usual slot(s) available for a period of up to 4 weeks. If our services are not resumed during this timeframe, we will be unable to retain your usual slot(s) and a new slot timeframe and helper will need to be assigned once our services are required again. 

We charge you if you don't give us information we need 

We may charge you additional sums if you don't give us information we have asked for about how we can access your property to provide the services or if you don't do preparatory work to prepare for the services, as agreed with us. 

You have a legal right to change your mind

Your legal right to change your mind. For most of our services, you have 14 days after the date we confirm your order to change your mind about an order, but you lose the right to cancel any service when it's been completed (and you must pay for any services provided up to the time you cancel).

How to let us know and what happens next. If you change your mind, please notify us in writing.

You can end an on-going Contract (find out how)

You can end an on-going Contract with us (for example, for regular services) by giving us 7 days’ written notice, subject to immediate payment of all of our outstanding unpaid invoices and interest up to the date of termination and, where no invoice has been submitted for services supplied, we may submit an invoice, which shall be payable immediately on receipt. 

You have rights if there is something wrong with your service

If you think there is something wrong with your service, you must notify us in writing. Remember too that “You have several options for resolving disputes with us”.

We can change services and these Terms

Changes we can always make. We can always change a service to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements.

Changes we can only make if we give you notice and an option to terminate. We can also make additional types of changes to the service or these Terms (for example, affecting your use of the service), but if we do so we'll notify you and if you wish to do so, you can then notify us in writing to end the Contract before the change takes effect. 

We can suspend supply (and you have rights if we do) 

We can suspend the supply of a service. We do this to:

• update the service to reflect changes in relevant laws and regulatory requirements; or

• make changes to the service (see “We can change services and these terms”).

We let you know, may adjust the price and may allow you to terminate. We contact you in advance to tell you we are suspending supply, unless the problem is urgent or an emergency. If we suspend the service, we adjust the price so you don't pay for it while it’s suspended. If we suspend supply, or tell you we are going to suspend supply, for more than 14 days in any one-month period, you can notify us in writing to end the Contract.

We can withdraw services

We can stop providing a service. We let you know at least 14 days in advance. 

We can end our Contract with you

We can end our Contract with you for a service and claim any compensation due to us if:

• you don't make any payment to us when it is due and you still don't make payment within 7 days of our reminding you that payment is due;

• you don't, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information, cooperation or access that we need to provide the service;  

• you display abusive (whether verbal or physical), violent or otherwise disrespectful behaviour towards our helpers; or

• we can no longer cater to your needs. 

Our liability under this Contract

We don't compensate you for all losses caused by us or our services

We are not responsible for losses you suffer caused by us breaking this Contract if the loss is:

• Unexpected. It was not obvious that it would happen and nothing you said to us before we accepted your order meant we should have expected it (so, in the law, the loss was unforeseeable);

• Caused by a delaying event outside our control. As long as we have taken the steps set out in the section “We're not responsible for delays outside our control”; or 

• Avoidable. Something you could have avoided by taking reasonable action, including following our reasonable instructions. 

We cap our liability for all other losses we are responsible for

Our total liability to you for all other loss or damage we are responsible for under this Contract (whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise)) shall not exceed 150% of the charges paid by you to us during the 12 months immediately preceding the date on which the claim arose.

You have several options for resolving disputes with us

Complaints and resolving disputes without going to court. We will do our best to resolve any problems you have with us or our services, so please direct any complaints to us in writing.

Which laws apply to this Contract and where you may bring legal proceedings. These Terms are governed by English law and wherever you live you can bring claims against us in the English courts. If you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring claims against us in the courts of the country you live in. We can claim against you in the courts of the country you live in.

Other important terms apply to our Contract

You cannot solicit our personnel. During this Contract and for a period of 6 months after termination or expiry of this Contract, you cannot (without our prior written consent) solicit or entice away (or attempt to solicit or entice away) any restricted person (meaning any person employed or engaged by us during this Contract who is or has been involved in the provision of the services or the management of this Contract) from their employment or service with us, other than by means of a public recruitment campaign open to all-comers and not specifically targeted at such restricted person(s). 

You can only transfer your Contract with us to someone else if we agree to this. You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under this Contract to another person if we agree in writing. 

Nobody else has any rights under this Contract. This Contract is between you and us. Nobody else can enforce it, and neither of us will need to ask anybody else to sign-off on ending or changing it.

If a court invalidates some of this Contract, the rest of it will still apply. Each of these Terms operates separately. If a court or other relevant authority decides that any of these Terms are unlawful, the remaining Terms will remain in full force and effect.

Even if we delay in enforcing this Contract, we can still enforce it later. We might not immediately chase you for not doing something (like paying) or take steps against you for doing something you are not allowed to (like breaching this Contract), but that will not mean that you do not have to do those things and it will not prevent us taking steps against you at a later date.

Communications between us

If you wish to contact us in writing, or if any of these Terms requires you to give us notice in writing, you can send this to us by email to penny@hookhomehelp.com or by pre-paid post to Hook Home Care, 4 Morris Street, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9NT. We will confirm receipt of this by contacting you in writing, normally by email. We do not under any circumstances give out personal contact details for any of our personnel.

If we have to contact you or give you notice in writing, we will do so by email or by pre-paid post to the address you provide or confirm to us.