Legal
Terms & Conditions
Clear, fair, UK-compliant terms covering every Dukes London booking — from a small repair to a full loft conversion.
Last updated: 29 May 2026
Contents
- About us
- Who you are dealing with
- Definitions
- Booking & contract formation
- Your right to cancel
- Pricing & surcharges
- Variations & additional work
- Payment terms
- Our obligations
- Your obligations
- Insurance & liability
- Workmanship guarantee
- Photography & reference use
- Events outside our control
- Complaints
- Data & privacy
- General
1. About us
Dukes London (referred to as "we", "us", "our") is a sole-trader handyman and building service operated by John Gutteridge, trading as Dukes London. You can reach us at:
- Phone / WhatsApp: 07909 680036
- Email: john@dukeslondon.org
- Website: https://dukeslondon.org
- Service area: Central London (Zones 1–2 + selective Zone 3) and North London (N1–N22, EN, HA, WD)
We are insured to £2 million public liability through a UK-regulated insurer. Proof of cover is available on request before any work begins.
2. Who you are dealing with
When you book Dukes London you are dealing directly with John or his son Zack. For larger or specialist work we may bring in members of our small team of trusted operatives, or specialist subcontractors (electricians, gas-safe plumbers, structural engineers, etc.) where the scope of the job requires it. Where subcontractors are used we will tell you in advance and remain responsible for the overall delivery and quality of the work.
3. Definitions
- "Client" / "you" — the person or organisation engaging us to carry out work.
- "Quote" — our written estimate of the price for an agreed scope of work, valid for 30 days unless stated otherwise.
- "Works" — the services, labour and materials we agree to supply.
- "Site" — the property at which the Works are to be carried out.
- "Small job" — discrete repair, maintenance or handyman work typically completed within one or two visits.
- "Building work" — brickwork, plastering, partitions, knock-throughs, openings, extensions, loft conversions and similar work, quoted on inspection rather than by the hour.
4. Booking & contract formation
4.1You may request a quote by phone, WhatsApp, email or our online form.
4.2For small jobs, a contract is formed when you confirm acceptance of our written quote (by reply email, WhatsApp message or signed quote) and we confirm the booking with an arrival time. For building work, the contract is formed on signature of our written scope-and-price document.
4.3We never start work without your explicit written approval of the price.
5. Your right to cancel
Important: Because most of our contracts are agreed at your home, by phone, or by email, you have a statutory right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to cancel within 14 calendar days at no charge, provided we have not yet started work.
5.1The 14-day cooling-off period applies to off-premises and distance contracts (jobs agreed at your home, by phone or by email).
5.2To exercise this right, send written notice to john@dukeslondon.org or message 07909 680036 before the 14-day period expires.
5.3If you ask us to start work inside the 14-day cooling-off period (common for repairs and urgent jobs) you remain entitled to cancel, but you must pay for any work and materials we have already supplied up to the point of cancellation.
5.4The cooling-off right does not apply to: (a) urgent repairs or maintenance where we have been called out at your specific request to address an immediate problem, or (b) goods or materials made or modified to your specification.
5.5Outside the 14-day window, cancellation by you may be subject to a charge to cover materials already ordered, labour already carried out, and time reserved that we cannot reasonably re-book.
6. Pricing & surcharges
6.1North London hourly rate: £60 per hour, minimum 1 hour. No call-out fee.
6.2Central London bookings: £220 half-day (4 hours) or £400 full-day (8 hours). Half-day is the minimum booking for central London.
6.3Materials: charged at cost plus a 15% handling fee. Receipts available on request. Materials are charged upfront before ordering for any item over £100.
6.4Weekend rate: Saturdays 8am–6pm at standard rate plus 30%. Sunday and bank holiday work is by arrangement only and may carry a higher premium.
6.5Emergency same-day callouts: +50% surcharge.
6.6Central London congestion surcharge: £13.50 per day. We drive electric vehicles, which receive a 25% Auto Pay discount on the standard £18.00 daily charge — we pass on the discounted rate. No surcharge applies in North London or surrounding areas.
6.7Building work: quoted on inspection, not by the hour. Quotes are valid for 30 days from issue.
6.8Rates are subject to change with at least 30 days' written notice. Any change does not affect bookings already confirmed.
7. Variations & additional work
7.1If, during the Works, we identify additional work that is reasonably required (for example, hidden damage discovered behind a wall), we will stop and tell you before continuing. No additional work will be carried out without your written approval of the additional price.
7.2If you request a change to the agreed scope after work has begun, any additional time, materials and rescheduling costs will be quoted and must be agreed in writing before that change is implemented.
8. Payment terms
8.1Small jobs under £200: payment is due on completion, same day, by bank transfer, card on site (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) or cash.
8.2Small jobs over £200: a 50% deposit is required to confirm your booking. The balance is due on completion.
8.3Building work and larger projects: payment follows a staged schedule agreed in writing before work begins, typically a deposit plus milestone payments tied to defined stages, with the balance on completion. The flat 50% deposit rule does not apply to building work.
8.4Businesses and landlords: invoiced on completion with 14-day payment terms.
8.5An itemised invoice is issued the same day as job completion.
8.6Late payment: invoices not paid within the agreed terms attract interest at 8% over the Bank of England base rate, plus reasonable recovery costs, under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
8.7Title to materials supplied passes to you only on full payment of the relevant invoice.
9. Our obligations to you
9.1Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 we will perform the Works with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, and using materials of satisfactory quality.
9.2We will arrive at the agreed time. If a delay is unavoidable (traffic, prior job overrun, emergency) we will message you as early as possible.
9.3We will leave the work area as tidy as we found it. Waste and packaging from the Works is removed at no extra charge for small jobs; for building work, skip hire and tipping fees are itemised.
9.4We will send you a photo update on completion of the job before we leave site.
10. Your obligations
10.1You confirm you are the owner of the property, or that you have the owner's permission for the Works to be carried out.
10.2You will provide reasonable access to the Site at the agreed time, and access to electricity and water where required for the Works.
10.3You will remove or protect items of significant value or fragility from the immediate work area before we arrive. Where this is not possible we will take reasonable care, but cannot accept liability for incidental damage to items left in the work area.
10.4You will ensure parking is available within a reasonable distance of the Site, or reimburse parking and congestion costs that arise as a result.
10.5For building work you will obtain any planning permission, building control approval, party wall agreements or freeholder/leaseholder consents required. We can advise on what is needed but cannot apply on your behalf without separate written authority.
11. Insurance & liability
11.1We hold £2 million public liability insurance.
11.2We accept liability for direct loss or damage to your property caused by our negligence, up to the limits of our public liability cover.
11.3We do not accept liability for:
- pre-existing defects in the property or services we are working on;
- consequential loss (loss of earnings, loss of rental income, alternative accommodation costs) unless agreed in writing in advance;
- damage caused by hidden services, pipes or wiring whose location was not disclosed to us before work began and which were not reasonably foreseeable;
- delay or non-performance caused by events outside our reasonable control (see clause 14).
11.4Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be limited under English law.
12. Workmanship guarantee
12-month workmanship guarantee from the date of completion against defects caused by faulty installation or poor workmanship.
12.1The guarantee does not cover normal wear and tear; damage caused by misuse, accident or third-party work; products and materials supplied by you; or manufacturer defects in materials (which carry their own manufacturer warranty).
12.2To make a claim under this guarantee, contact us in writing within 12 months of completion. We will inspect the issue within a reasonable time and, where the claim is valid, return at no charge to remedy the defect.
13. Photography & reference use
13.1We may take photographs of completed work for use on our website, social media and marketing material. Photographs will not identify your property, your name or your address without your prior written consent. If you would prefer we do not photograph the work, please tell us before we start.
14. Events outside our reasonable control
14.1We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events outside our reasonable control, including extreme weather, flooding, fire, industrial action, supplier failure, pandemic, government action or restrictions on travel into central London.
14.2If such an event occurs we will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to agree a revised timeline or, if the delay is significant, to discuss cancellation with a fair adjustment of any sums already paid.
15. Complaints
15.1If you are unhappy with any aspect of the Works, please tell us immediately so we have the opportunity to put it right. In most cases we will return to site within a reasonable time to remedy the issue.
15.2If we cannot resolve the issue directly, you can escalate the complaint in writing to john@dukeslondon.org. We will acknowledge within 5 working days and provide a substantive response within 21 days.
15.3If you remain dissatisfied, you may refer the dispute to a UK Trading Standards Approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider, or to the small claims court.
16. Data & privacy
16.1We process the personal data you give us (name, address, contact details, job details) only to provide our services to you and to comply with our legal and tax obligations.
16.2We do not sell your data, share it with marketers, or use it for any purpose other than delivering the Works and managing our business records.
16.3We retain customer records for 6 years after the last job, in line with HMRC requirements. After this period, records are securely deleted.
16.4You have the right under UK GDPR to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you, to ask us to correct it, or to ask us to delete it (subject to our legal record-keeping obligations).
17. General
17.1These terms, together with the written quote and any agreed variations, form the entire agreement between us.
17.2If any provision of these terms is found by a court to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.
17.3We may update these terms from time to time. The version in force at the date your booking is confirmed is the version that applies to that booking. The current version is always available at dukeslondon.org/terms.html.
17.4These terms are governed by English law and any disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
These terms are drafted to comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and UK GDPR. They are written for the typical Dukes London engagement. For complex or high-value building work we recommend a separate written contract on JCT or similar standard form.