1. Who we are and how these terms work
1.1 These terms apply to every booking, quotation and service supplied by SM Van Services Glasgow Ltd (company number SC778267), trading as SM Waste Services Glasgow, whose registered office is at 87 North Dryburgh Road, Coltness, Wishaw, ML2 7LD, Scotland. In these terms "we", "us" and "our" mean SM Van Services Glasgow Ltd, and "you" means the person or business booking our services.
1.2 We are registered with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) as a professional carrier of controlled waste under registration WCR/R/3023956. You can check this on the SEPA public register.
1.3 By booking online, by phone, by WhatsApp, by email or in person you agree to these terms. If you are booking on behalf of a business, you confirm you have authority to do so. Some clauses apply only to consumers (individuals acting outside their trade or profession) and some only to business customers; where a clause is limited to one, it says so.
1.4 Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
2. Our services
2.1 We collect, transport and arrange the lawful disposal, recycling or reuse of controlled waste from domestic and commercial premises, and provide related services including house, garage, garden and office clearances, single-item collections, man and van removals and cleaning.
2.2 All waste we collect is taken to a licensed waste transfer station or treatment facility authorised by SEPA. We select the destination and we decide, acting reasonably, whether an item is reused, recycled, recovered or disposed of.
2.3 We are not a skip hire company and do not leave containers on site. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, all loading is carried out by our crew on the day of collection.
3. Booking, quotations and prices
3.1 Prices on our website are fixed prices for the load size or items described, and include a two-person crew, loading from the location you describe, transport and lawful disposal. Prices are the total amount payable. We will tell you before you book if VAT applies to your booking.
3.2 A booking made online is an offer by you. Our contract with you is formed when we confirm the booking by text message, email or WhatsApp with a booking reference. Same-day slots are offered subject to availability and are confirmed in the same way.
3.3 Quotations given from photographs, descriptions or site visits are valid for 30 days and are based on the information you supply. A quotation is a fixed price provided the waste, its volume, weight, location and access on the day are materially as described.
3.4 Load-size bookings are limited to the volume and weight shown for that load size on our pricing page. Van loads are measured by the space the waste occupies in our vehicle, loaded by our crew.
3.5 If on arrival the waste materially exceeds the volume or weight booked, includes items that were not declared, or requires more labour, dismantling, or access arrangements than described, we will tell you before we start and offer a revised price. You may accept the revised price, reduce the job to what was booked, or cancel. If you cancel in these circumstances after we have attended, the call-out charge in clause 6.4 applies.
3.6 Additional charges that may apply, and which we will always tell you about before doing the work, include: dismantling of items (for example sheds, fitted wardrobes, trampolines); parking charges or permits where no free or customer parking is available; waiting time beyond 15 minutes where we cannot start because of matters within your control; and items that carry a separate disposal charge (for example fridges and freezers, mattresses, tyres and dried paint) that were not declared when booking.
3.7 Prices for single items assume the item is complete and reasonably accessible. Items that are exceptionally heavy, fixed to the building or require specialist equipment will be quoted separately.
4. Your responsibilities
4.1 You confirm that you own the items to be removed or have the owner's authority to dispose of them, and that they are intended for disposal, recycling or reuse. Once an item has been collected we cannot guarantee that it can be returned.
4.2 You must check all furniture, bags, boxes and containers for money, documents, keys, jewellery and other valuables before collection. We are not responsible for valuables or personal items left inside items we are asked to remove, although we will return anything we notice.
4.3 You must give us an accurate description of the type and quantity of waste. Under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991, everyone who produces or holds controlled waste has a duty to describe it accurately and to transfer it only to an authorised person. Business customers have the full duty of care and must keep the waste transfer note we provide for at least two years.
4.4 You must make sure our crew can access the property and the waste at the agreed time, that there is somewhere our vehicle can lawfully and safely park close to the property, and that any hazards (for example unsafe floors, animals, or shared-access restrictions) are pointed out to us.
4.5 If we are collecting from a property you do not occupy (for example a bereavement clearance or a rental property) you must arrange keys or access and confirm that you are entitled to authorise the clearance.
5. Waste we cannot take
5.1 We do not collect special (hazardous) waste as defined by the Special Waste Regulations 1996, or other items that require a specialist contractor. This includes: asbestos or materials suspected to contain asbestos; gas cylinders and pressurised containers; clinical, medical or sanitary waste; liquid chemicals, solvents, pesticides, fuel and oil; wet paint; fireworks, ammunition and explosives; and animal or human remains.
5.2 Certain items are accepted only if declared when booking, because they need particular handling or carry a disposal charge: fridges, freezers and air-conditioning units; mattresses; tyres; car batteries; dried and solidified paint; plasterboard; and large quantities of soil, rubble or concrete.
5.3 If we find undeclared items in clause 5.1 on arrival we will leave them in place. If we find undeclared items in clause 5.2 we will tell you the additional charge before loading them. We may refuse, without liability, to collect any waste that is unsafe to handle or that we are not authorised to carry.
6. Cancellation and changes
6.1 Consumers' right to cancel a distance contract. If you are a consumer and you booked online, by phone, by message or by email, you have a legal right to cancel within 14 days of the day we confirmed your booking, without giving a reason. To cancel, tell us by phone, email or WhatsApp; you may use the cancellation wording at the end of these terms. If you have paid in advance we will refund you within 14 days of your cancellation.
6.2 Because most bookings are for collection within that 14-day period, by choosing a collection date within 14 days of booking you expressly request that we start the service during the cancellation period. If we complete the collection you will lose the right to cancel. If you cancel after we have started (for example after our crew has been dispatched or has attended) you must pay for the part of the service we have carried out, as set out in clause 6.4.
6.3 Free rescheduling and cancellation. Whether or not the 14-day period applies, you may cancel or move any booking free of charge by telling us at least 24 hours before the start of your collection slot.
6.4 Late cancellation and wasted journeys. Where you cancel with less than 24 hours' notice and our crew has already been dispatched, or our crew attends and cannot carry out the work for reasons within your control (for example no access, waste not as described and revised price declined, or nobody available to let us in when attendance was required), we may charge a call-out fee of £30 to cover the costs we have incurred. This fee reflects our genuine costs and is not a penalty.
6.5 Our right to cancel or reschedule. We may cancel or move a booking if we cannot safely carry out the work, if the waste is not as described, if access is not available, or because of events outside our reasonable control such as severe weather, road closures, vehicle breakdown or illness. We will tell you as soon as we can and offer the next available slot or a full refund of any payment made. We are not liable for any loss caused by rescheduling.
6.6 Collection slots are time windows, not fixed appointment times. We will text you when the crew is on the way. Same-day bookings made after 12 noon may be moved to the next available slot.
7. Payment
7.1 Consumers pay on completion of the work, by card, bank transfer or cash, unless we have agreed a different arrangement in writing. For larger clearances we may ask for a deposit, which we will tell you about when quoting.
7.2 Business customers who have been given account terms must pay within 14 days of the invoice date. We may withdraw account terms at any time.
7.3 If a business customer pays late we may charge interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, currently 8% a year above the Bank of England base rate plus the fixed sum allowed by that Act, and we may suspend further collections until the account is settled.
7.4 If a consumer does not pay on completion we may charge simple interest at 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate from the due date until payment, and recover reasonable costs of collecting the debt.
8. Waste transfer notes and reuse
8.1 We provide a waste transfer note for every collection, sent to the email address or phone number you give us. It records the description and quantity of the waste, the transfer date, our carrier registration and the destination facility, as required by the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991. Keep it: business customers must retain it for two years, and it is your evidence that your waste was transferred lawfully.
8.2 Items in reusable condition may be donated to reuse organisations or sold. Unless we agree otherwise in writing before collection, you are not entitled to any payment for items we reuse or sell, and reuse does not change the price you pay.
8.3 We may photograph waste before, during and after collection for our records and to prepare the waste transfer note. We will not publish photographs that identify you or your property without your consent.
9. Our liability
9.1 We carry public liability insurance and will carry out our services with reasonable care and skill. If we do not, we will put things right: where reasonable we will return to complete or re-do the work, and otherwise reduce the price appropriately.
9.2 We are responsible for loss or damage to your property that is caused by our negligence, up to the limit of our public liability insurance. You must tell us about any damage before our crew leaves, or within 48 hours where it was not reasonably discoverable at the time, so we can inspect it. We are not responsible for pre-existing damage, for marks or wear that are unavoidable when removing large items through tight spaces where you have asked us to proceed, or for damage to items you have asked us to dispose of.
9.3 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 lawfully be limited or excluded.
9.4 Business customers only: our total liability to you under or in connection with any booking, whether in contract, delict (including negligence) or otherwise, is limited to the price paid for that booking, and we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption or any indirect or consequential loss.
9.5 We are not liable for delay or failure to perform caused by events outside our reasonable control, but we will do what we reasonably can to reschedule.
10. Cleaning and removals services
10.1 Cleaning services are carried out to the specification agreed when booking. Tell us about any concern before our team leaves or within 24 hours, and we will return to put it right where reasonable.
10.2 For man and van removals, goods are moved at your risk unless we have agreed in writing to insure them in transit. We do not carry passengers, live animals, plants in soil, or items in clause 5.1.
11. Complaints
11.1 If something goes wrong, contact us at Smvanservices@gmail.com or on 07789 072813. We aim to acknowledge complaints within two working days and to resolve them within 14 days.
11.2 We are not obliged to, and do not currently, use an alternative dispute resolution provider. If we cannot resolve your complaint you may bring a claim in the courts (see clause 13).
12. Website use
12.1 The content of smwasteservices.co.uk, including text, photographs, icons and the SM Waste Services name and logo, belongs to us or our licensors and may not be copied or reused without our written permission.
12.2 You must give accurate information when booking, must be 18 or over, and must not use the site in any way that is unlawful or that could damage it. We may suspend or refuse bookings that appear fraudulent.
12.3 We aim to keep the site available and accurate but do not promise that it will be uninterrupted or error-free. Prices and availability shown are updated regularly but a booking is only confirmed as described in clause 3.2.
13. General
13.1 We may update these terms from time to time. The version on our website when you book is the version that applies to that booking.
13.2 If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.
13.3 These terms are governed by the law of Scotland, and the Scottish courts have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer living elsewhere in the United Kingdom you may also bring proceedings in, and rely on the mandatory consumer protection law of, the part of the UK where you live.
Cancellation wording
If you wish to cancel under clause 6.1 you can use this wording, by email to Smvanservices@gmail.com or by post to 87 North Dryburgh Road, Coltness, Wishaw, ML2 7LD, Scotland:
"To SM Van Services Glasgow Ltd: I give notice that I cancel my booking for the supply of the following service [booking reference], booked on [date]. Name of consumer: [ ]. Address of consumer: [ ]. Signature (if sent on paper): [ ]. Date: [ ]."