Terms and Conditions

About these terms

AquaForce (ABN 88 263 653 767) is a sole trader business operated by Marcus Abrao, based in Brisbane, Queensland, providing exterior pressure cleaning and soft washing services in South East Queensland. In these terms, we, us and our mean AquaForce, and you means the person or organisation booking the service.

These terms apply when you request a quote, accept a quote, or book a service with us. Together with your written quote and any written variation, they form the agreement between us. Where your quote and these terms disagree, your quote applies.

Nothing in these terms is intended to exclude, restrict or modify any right or remedy you have that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified, including your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. If any part of these terms would have that effect, that part does not apply to the extent it would.

Definitions

• Work area means the specific surfaces and areas described in your accepted quote.
• Quote means the written price we send you by email or SMS, including its scope and any conditions.
• Estimate means an indicative figure produced by our website or given verbally, which is not binding until confirmed in writing.
• Variation means a change to the scope or price, agreed between us and confirmed in writing.
• Condition record means the photographs we take of the work area before and after the job.
• ACL means the Australian Consumer Law in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).

Quotes and estimates

• Quotes are valid for 14 days from the date we send them, unless the quote says otherwise.
• A quote is prepared from the information you give us, including surface type, approximate size, condition, access and photographs. It assumes that information is accurate and complete.
• Prices shown on our website, and any figure produced by the estimate tool on our website, are indicative only. They become a price you can rely on when we confirm them in writing.
• For most residential work we quote from photographs and do not need to visit first.

If the site is not as described

If, on arrival, the work area is materially different from what was described, for example it is substantially larger, the staining is substantially heavier, or the surface is a different material, we will tell you before starting and give you a revised price. You can accept the revised price, reduce the scope, or cancel at no charge. We will not start work at a higher price without your agreement, and we will not quietly do less work for the same money.

Booking and confirmation

• A booking is made when you accept a quote and we confirm a date and arrival window in writing.
• We work to an arrival window rather than an exact time, because job durations vary. We will tell you if we are running outside that window.
• No deposit is required for standard residential work. Commercial and strata jobs may require a deposit, which will be stated in the quote.
• Most of our residential work is carried out on weekends. Weekday availability is limited and is confirmed job by job.

Getting the site ready

These things need to be done before we arrive. They keep your property safe and keep the job on schedule.

• Move vehicles, furniture, pot plants, bins, toys, mats, hoses and anything else loose off the work area.
• Close all windows, doors, vents and skylights adjacent to the work area, and remove or close any window furnishings that could be affected by overspray.
• Secure pets indoors or well away from the work area for the whole visit.
• Disconnect or cover outdoor electrical items, including garden lighting, pumps, outdoor power points and anything plugged in near the work area.
• Tell us about anything we need to know: loose tiles or mortar, failing paint or coatings, damaged seals, leaking gutters, previous repairs, unsealed or recently sealed surfaces, rainwater tanks connected to the area, or sensitive plants.
• Make sure we can get to the work area safely, including gates, side access and any keys or codes we have been told about.

Water, power and access

• Unless your quote says otherwise, you provide access to a working outdoor tap on mains pressure. We confirm this when quoting, so it should never be a surprise on the day.
• Our equipment is petrol powered. We do not need your electricity.
• Water used on the job is drawn from your supply and is at your cost, as it would be for any outdoor cleaning.
• If your property has no usable tap, tell us when you enquire. We can quote a tank supply option instead.
• If there are water restrictions in force that prohibit the work, we will reschedule at no charge.
• You confirm you are the owner or occupier of the property, or that you have the owner's permission for the work to be carried out. See clause 22.

Prices, GST and payment

Prices

• All prices are in Australian dollars.
• The price in your written quote is the price you pay, unless the scope changes under clause 8 or the site is materially different under clause 3.
• Published prices on our website are starting prices for standard conditions and sizes.
• Discounts and promotional pricing apply only where stated in your written quote.

GST

AquaForce is not currently registered for GST. No GST is charged on our prices and our invoices are issued as regular invoices rather than tax invoices. If we become registered for GST, we will update this clause and our published prices, and the prices in any quote already issued to you will not change.

Payment

• Residential jobs are paid on completion, on the day, by bank transfer or card.
• Commercial and strata jobs are invoiced on 7 day terms unless agreed otherwise in writing.
• If an invoice is not paid by the due date, we may charge a late payment fee of $25 and our reasonable costs of recovering the amount owed. We will contact you before adding either.
• We do not store your card details. Card payments are handled by our payment provider.

If you believe an invoice is wrong, tell us and we will work it out with you. We will not charge late fees on an amount that is genuinely in dispute while we are sorting it out. If your concern is about the standard of the work rather than the figure, clause 18 sets out what happens.

Scope and variations

• We carry out only the work described in your accepted quote.
• Extra work asked for on the day is a variation. We will give you a price for it first. Variations can be agreed on site, and we confirm them by SMS or email so there is a record.
• We will not clean surfaces outside the agreed scope without your agreement, even if they look like they need it.

Cancelling and rescheduling

If you cancel

• Cancel or reschedule with 24 hours' notice or more and there is no charge.
• With less than 24 hours' notice, a $50 fee may apply. Most of our work is on weekends, and a slot cancelled at short notice usually cannot be refilled.
• If we arrive at the agreed time and cannot start, because access is not available, the area is not ready and cannot be made ready, or nobody is contactable, a call-out fee of $80 may apply and the job is rescheduled. This reflects the travel and the lost slot, not a penalty.

If we cancel

• If we cancel or cannot attend for any reason other than weather, we will offer you the next available suitable slot and you pay nothing. If you would rather not rebook, any deposit is refunded in full.

Weather

• Light rain usually does not stop a job, and for some surfaces it helps. Heavy rain, storms, lightning and high winds do stop it, for safety and because the result suffers.
• If weather stops your job, we will let you know by SMS as early as we can on the day.
• Weather-affected bookings go into a priority queue and are offered the next suitable slot ahead of new bookings.
• No cancellation fee applies to a weather-related change, whether we call it or you do.

How we clean

• We choose the method and pressure to suit the surface. Hard surfaces such as concrete and pavers are cleaned at pressure with a rotary surface cleaner. Render, cladding, painted surfaces, timber and other delicate materials are soft washed at low pressure with a treatment doing the work.
• We will tell you honestly what a surface will and will not come back to before we start. Some staining lightens rather than disappears, and we would rather set that expectation than surprise you.
• We work from the ground. We do not work at heights, on roofs, or from ladders above single storey reach.
• If, once we start, we form the view that continuing would risk damaging the surface, we will stop, explain why, and charge only for the work completed.

Existing condition

We photograph every work area before we start and again when we finish. That condition record protects both of us, and we will share it with you on request.

What cleaning reveals

Dirt, mould and algae hide things. Once they are removed, surfaces often show marks that were already there and could not be seen: old oil ghosting, acid or rust etching, surface scaling, patch repairs in a different colour, worn or failed sealer, faded areas where something sat for years, and hairline cracking. Cleaning reveals these conditions. It does not create them, and the before photographs show the difference.

Surfaces that can be affected by cleaning

Some materials are already compromised before we arrive, and correct cleaning can finish what age started. This includes paint or coatings that have begun to fail or lift, chalking or drummy render, loose or missing mortar, perished window and door seals, previously damaged or furred timber, and tiles or pavers that are loose or cracked.

This is why clause 5 asks you to tell us about these things. Where you tell us, we adjust our method or decline that surface. Where a defect was not reasonably visible and was not disclosed, clause 19 applies.

Work we do not take

We would rather say no than do something badly or unsafely. We do not:

• clean roofs, or carry out any work on a roof surface;
• work at heights, from ladders above single storey reach, or from scaffolding or lifts;
• clean asbestos containing materials of any kind (see clause 14);
• clean solar panels;
• clean windows as a standalone service;
• carry out interior cleaning;
• clean, repair or clear gutters, downpipes or roof plumbing;
• apply or remove paint, or carry out repairs, sealing of roofs, or building work.

If your job needs something on this list, we will tell you when you enquire rather than take the booking and improvise.

Asbestos and other hazards

You must also tell us before we arrive about lead based paint, unstable structures, unsecured animals, contaminated ground, needles or other sharps, overhead powerlines close to the work area, or anything else at the property that could injure someone. If we form the view that a site is unsafe, we will stop and explain why, and we will not be in breach of this agreement for doing so.

Chemicals and runoff

• We use commercial cleaning products appropriate to the surface. Safety data sheets are carried on site and available to you on request.
• We pre-wet and rinse garden beds and plants near the work area. Despite that, some plants are sensitive, and heavy existing staining sometimes requires stronger treatment. Tell us about any plant you particularly care about and we will protect it or work around it.
• We manage wash water responsibly and use containment at stormwater drains where the work requires it, consistent with Queensland environmental requirements and local council rules.
• If your property has a rainwater tank fed by a surface we are cleaning, you must tell us before we start so the downpipe can be diverted or disconnected. We cannot be responsible for tank contamination where this was not disclosed.

Photographs

• We photograph every work area before and after the job. This is our standard record and we do it on every visit.
• These photographs are kept as part of your job record and are used for quality, quoting and resolving any question about condition or damage.
• We may also use before and after photographs of work areas in our marketing. Where we do, we do not show your street address, house number, vehicle registration, people, or anything else that identifies you or the property.
• Most of that marketing use is on social media, currently Facebook, Instagram and our Google Business Profile, where we post before and after images of work areas.
• You can say no, and the best time is before we start. Tell us when you book, or any time before the job, and nothing from your property is posted or published anywhere. You do not need to give a reason, and it makes no difference to your booking, your price or how we do the work.
• If you decide after the job, tell us and we will take it down. We cannot control what someone else has already shared or saved, which is why we would rather know beforehand.

How we store and handle these photographs is set out in our Privacy Policy.

Your consumer rights

These rights apply in addition to anything else in these terms, and nothing in these terms limits them.

If you are not satisfied

We would rather fix something than argue about it. This clause sets out how that works. It sits on top of your rights under clause 17 and takes nothing away from them.

Telling us

• Tell us before we leave if you can. Most things take ten minutes to put right while the equipment is still out.
• Otherwise tell us within 7 days, by phone, SMS or email, and send a photo of the area you are not happy with so we know what we are looking at.

What we do

• We come back and re-clean the affected area at no charge, at a time that suits you.
• If it is still not right, we keep coming back until the affected area is right. There is no limit on how many return visits, and they never cost you anything.

Giving us the chance to fix it

• Where the problem is something a re-clean can put right, please give us a reasonable opportunity to do that before engaging someone else or withholding payment. This is how nearly every concern gets resolved, and re-performing the service is the remedy the Australian Consumer Law provides for a failure that is not a major failure.
• If the failure is a major failure, you do not have to give us that opportunity. You may choose your own remedy under clause 17, including cancelling and obtaining a refund for the unused portion.

What we tell you before we start

• Where we can see from your photos, or on site, that a particular mark will not fully come out, we tell you before we start and we write it into your quote. Old oil soaked into concrete, acid or rust etching, surface scaling, patch repairs in a different colour, permanent fading where something sat for years, and worn or failed sealer are the common ones.
• Those written notes form part of the agreed scope of work. The job is complete when the result matches the quote, including those notes.
• If we did not tell you about something we reasonably should have identified, that is on us and this clause applies normally.

Payment while we sort it out

• Payment for work properly performed remains due.
• If you raise a concern about part of the job, tell us before payment is due and we will agree with you what is payable now and what waits until we have been back.
• We will not charge a late fee on an amount that is genuinely in dispute while we are working through it.
• If payment is not made on the day and no concern has been raised with us, the amount becomes an overdue invoice and clause 7 applies.

What this clause does not cover

• New dirt, leaves, bird mess or marks that appear after we have left.
• Mould and algae regrowth over time. They regrow in this climate, a clean surface is not a permanent surface, and we do not represent that it is. Most properties here need attention about once a year.
• Marks or conditions we told you in writing would not fully come out.
• Surfaces or areas that were not part of the quoted scope.
• Damage or conditions covered by clauses 12 and 19.

Liability

We take responsibility for our own work. This clause explains what that does and does not cover, and it operates subject to clause 17 at all times.

What we are responsible for

We are responsible for loss or damage caused by our failure to exercise due care and skill, or by our failure to meet a consumer guarantee. Clause 20 sets out what happens if that occurs.

What we are not responsible for

To the extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for:

• damage or defects that already existed, including those revealed rather than caused by cleaning, as described in clause 12;
• loss arising from a condition you knew about and did not disclose under clauses 5, 14 or 15;
• damage to items you were asked to move or secure under clause 5 and did not;
• water entering the building through windows, doors, vents or skylights left open contrary to clause 5;
• deterioration of materials already at or past the end of their service life, where we used a correct method for that surface;
• work we carried out at your direction after advising you in writing against it;
• loss that was not reasonably foreseeable.

In each case, this only applies to the extent the loss was not caused by our failure to exercise due care and skill.

Limit

Where the law allows us to limit our liability, and subject always to clause 17, our liability for a claim connected with the services is limited, at our election, to supplying the services again or paying the cost of having them supplied again.

Incidents and claims

If something is damaged while we are working, this is what happens.

1. We stop work straight away and tell you.
2. We photograph the damage alongside the before photographs from the same visit.
3. We complete a written incident record with you on site before we leave, and you get a copy.
4. We respond to you within 2 business days with how we propose to resolve it.
5. We keep you updated until it is resolved.

If you discover damage after we have left, tell us as soon as you can and send photographs. Reporting it promptly helps both of us, because the condition record is clearest closest to the job. Reporting late does not remove any right you have under the ACL.

Complaints

• Contact us first. Call or text 0450 536 695, or email services@aquaforce.com.au. Most things are sorted with a phone call or a return visit.
• We will acknowledge a written complaint within 2 business days and give you a substantive response within 10 business days.
• If we cannot resolve it between us, you can contact the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, or take any other action available to you. Using our complaints process does not affect your legal rights or any time limit that applies to them.

Booking for someone else

• If you book on behalf of an owner, a tenant, a body corporate or a business, you confirm you are authorised to do so and to agree to these terms.
• If you are a tenant, you are responsible for getting the owner's or agent's permission before the work goes ahead.
• The person or organisation named on the quote is responsible for payment, unless we agree otherwise in writing before the job.
• For strata and body corporate work, the person engaging us is responsible for arranging access to common property and for notifying residents.

Our people

Work is carried out by AquaForce personnel or by contractors engaged by us. Where we engage a contractor, we remain responsible to you for the service under these terms and under the ACL. You do not need to deal with anyone other than us.

Events outside our control

Neither of us is in breach of this agreement for a delay or failure caused by something genuinely outside our reasonable control, such as severe weather, flood, fire, serious illness, vehicle or equipment failure, water restrictions, or an emergency. If that happens, we will contact you as soon as we can and offer the next available suitable slot, or a full refund of anything you have paid for work not done. This clause does not limit your rights under the ACL.

Privacy

We handle your personal information in line with our Privacy Policy, which explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and how to access, correct or delete it.

Website and content

• The content on our website, including text, photographs, pricing structure and the AquaForce name and logo, belongs to us or is used with permission. Please do not reproduce it without asking.
• Information on our website is general. Your written quote is what applies to your job.
• We take care to keep the website accurate, but we do not promise it is free of errors. If a price or detail on the site is obviously wrong, we will tell you before confirming a booking rather than hold you to it.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The version in force on the date you accept your quote is the version that applies to your job, and a later change does not affect a booking already made. The effective date and version number at the top of this page tell you which version you are reading.

General

• This agreement is governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia, and the courts of Queensland have jurisdiction. This does not take away any right you have to bring a claim where you live.
• If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, it is severed and the rest continues to apply.
• A delay by either of us in enforcing a right under these terms is not a waiver of that right.
• These terms, your quote and any written variation are the whole agreement between us about the services.

Promotions and offers

Any offer we are running is published on our promotions page. We do not run offers that are not listed there, so if someone quotes you a discount that is not on that page, ask us.

The street rate

Where two or more properties on the same street book us for the same day, each of those jobs is discounted by 15% off its quoted price. The conditions are:

• the properties must be on the same street, and each job must be quoted before either is booked;
• the discount is applied to each job's own quoted price, not to a combined total;
• each job is quoted, invoiced and paid separately, and no customer is responsible for another's job;
• the discount applies to residential work. Commercial and strata jobs are quoted individually;
• it applies on top of our published bundle pricing, and not with any other discount unless your quote says so;
• we may limit the number of street rate bookings taken for a given day.

If one of the jobs is cancelled before the day, we will contact the remaining customer and ask whether they would prefer to proceed at the standard price or reschedule to a day when we are next on that street. We will not charge you more than the amount you agreed without asking you first, and you may cancel at no charge if you would rather not proceed.

General

• Discounts and promotional pricing apply only where stated in your written quote.
• We may withdraw or change an offer at any time. A quote already issued to you is honoured for its full 14 day validity regardless.
• No offer, discount or benefit of any kind is ever conditional on leaving a review. We ask for reviews, and we never pay for them in money or in kind.

Contact us

AquaForce · ABN 88 263 653 767 · Brisbane, Queensland
Phone and SMS: 0450 536 695
Email: services@aquaforce.com.au