Terms of service

Terms & Conditions of the recurring cleaning service

These terms & conditions of service govern all transactions between you, the Client (“You” or “the Client”) and Valentina Cleaning & Maintenance Services Ltd. (“We” or Valentina Cleaning Services or VCS) concerning the service supplied by VCS to the Client as stated in the Service Agreement and in accordance with the list of tasks stated in Schedule A. We enter into this agreement (“Agreement”) with You, intending that all the terms of the Agreement between us are included in these terms and conditions (“Terms” or “Terms of Service”) as well as on the front page of the Service Agreement and Schedule A.

1. THE SERVICE
1.1. VCS will provide the Client with a recurring domestic cleaning service as follows, unless a customised list of tasks has been agreed:

General areas / all rooms:

  • All rooms – tidied up
  • All surfaces (top, front, underneath) – dusted within reach
  • Skirting boards, shelves, picture-frames – dusted
  • Radiators, window blinds – dusted
  • Windowsills – cleaned
  • Lampshades – dusted or wiped down
  • Cobwebs – removed
  • Doors and doorframes – cleaned
  • Mirrors – cleaned
  • Chromed items (light switches, table lamps, etc.) – polished
  • Upholstery (special brush required) – vacuumed
  • Hardwood or tile floors – vacuumed and washed
  • Carpeted floor – vacuumed

Kitchen:

  • Worktops – cleaned
  • Outsides of appliances – cleaned
  • Inside the microwave – cleaned
  • Cooker and tiles around – cleaned
  • Sink, taps and tiles around – cleaned
  • Cupboard doors, fridge doors – cleaned
  • Tables and chairs – wiped down
  • Skirting boards – dusted
  • Floors – vacuumed and mopped

Bathrooms:

  • Basin and tiles around – cleaned
  • Bath/shower and tiles – cleaned
  • Toilet, including base and behind – disinfected and cleaned
  • Cabinets and walls – wiped
  • Mirror – wiped and polished
  • Chrome fixtures – cleaned and shone
  • Towels and other items – tidied up
  • Floors – vacuumed and mopped

Bedrooms and other living areas:

All general duties as above, plus:

  • Beds – made up
  • Cushions and pillows – fluffed and straightened
  • Under beds – vacuumed within reach

1.2. VCS will provide the Client with regular domestic cleaning/ironing service as specified on the front of this Agreement and in accordance with the Client’s requirements and our standards as follows:

1.3. The client must allow access to hot and cold water and electricity. All fragile and breakable items must be secured or removed.

1.4. Our maids will have been thoroughly vetted, will have had references checked for authenticity and will have had to demonstrate reliability and trustworthiness before they are introduced to your home. They are fully inducted on-site at each new household.

1.5 Our cleaning system has been standardised, so should the cleaner allocated to you be away on holiday or off work sick, we will provide a substitute cleaner who will have been trained to the same high standard.

1.6 In the event of a complaint about the quality of the service, VCS must be notified by the Client within the first 24 hours of completed service. No claims will be entertained after the above time limit.

1.7 In the unlikely event that Client is dissatisfied with the result of the work of the allocated maid, VCS must be allowed the opportunity to check and re-do the job at no extra charge.

2. INSURANCE
2.1. We recommend that you have your own insurance, and not just the insurance mentioned in this section.
2.2. Valentina Cleaning Services is insured with public and employer’s liability cover for accidental damages to property or injury to the cleaner: Insurance policy includes public liability cover providing for a maximum payment of £2,000,000 in the event of damage to the Client’s property, provided that this damage is caused by the negligence or omission of the Cleaner. You acknowledge and confirm that it is your responsibility to notify VCS about any fragile items of high or sentimental value which require extra care, as well as to provide recommended by or agreed with VCS cleaning products and domestic equipment for use by a Cleaner in safe and good working order. We will not be liable for any act, default or omission of the Cleaner. You acknowledge and agree that VCS does not have access to police records, and may not have access to criminal records, when vetting Cleaners and We cannot be liable for false or misleading information provided by Cleaners.
2.3. The insurance policy will only cover damage to property if and to the extent that the damage is of a value of more than £150. Neither we nor our insurers will accept liability for any claims under £150, which are hereby excluded. Where any claim is of a value exceeding £150, you shall be liable to pay the first £150 of any such claim.
2.4. The insurance policy does not cover loss or theft of property or possessions, or damage or loss caused by bleach or any substances containing bleach.
2.5. The insurance policy is subject to the terms and conditions, and exclusions, set out in the policy, a copy of which is available from VCS on request, and you shall be bound by such terms and conditions, and exclusions. However, the main conditions for making an insurance claim are as follows:
2.5.1. The Client must take all the necessary and reasonable precautions and emergency action to prevent further injury, loss or damage occurring;
2.5.2. The Client must notify VCS as soon as possible, giving full details of the incident;
2.5.3. Where necessary, notify the Police of any incident involving loss, theft, malicious damage or vandalism;
2.5.4. The Client must make a statement, using the Damage Claim Forms provided by VCS, concerning damage, how it was caused and the value. The Client must also provide receipts or quotes from firms approved by VCS in respect of such damage;
2.5.5. The Cleaner must issue a statement and admit that the damage was caused by their own fault or negligence;
2.5.6. An Insurance claim form will then be completed by VCS, following which, if the insurance broker appointed to handle the claim needs further information, you will supply it.
2.5.7. You will be responsible for the applicable excess on the policy, currently £150. Only claims exceeding £150 in value are covered by the policy.
2.5.8. Claims where the Client is already covered under its own household insurance policy are excluded;
2.6. We will not arrange for the insurance referred to in this clause if there is an outstanding unpaid amount owed by the Client to VCS in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement

3. EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY
3.1. To the extent permitted by law, VCS hereby excludes liability for any loss or damage whatsoever, including breach of contract, breach of any statutory provisions or implied terms, and/or as a result of negligence by VCS or its employees or agents, or that of any Cleaner sourced through VCS.
3.2. VCS will not be liable for any loss or damage to the Client or any goods or property of the Client, however arising.
3.3. Maids of Valentina Cleaning Services will make every effort to complete the service to the highest standard. However, VCS cannot be held liable or responsible for:
3.4. Cleaning service not complete due to the lack of suitable and in good working order cleaning equipment (i.e. vacuum cleaner, mop, sponge, clothes, cleaning liquids, etc.);
3.5. Existing damage or spillage that cannot be cleaned/removed completely by the Cleaner using the domestic cleaning products or cleaning equipment;
3.6. Accidental damages due to faulty equipment provided by the Client;
3.7. Any accidental damages caused by a maid working on behalf of Valentina Cleaning Services, if there is an outstanding amount owed by the Client to Valentina Cleaning Services (excluding the payment due for the cleaning visit when the damage occurred).
3.8. Damages to any fragile or highly breakable items, items of sentimental value, art and antiques which were not declared and documented as such before the commencement of the service.
3.9. If VCS is held liable by the courts to the Client for any reason whatsoever, including for its negligence, VCS will only be responsible for any losses that the Client suffers which are a reasonably foreseeable consequence, up to a maximum of four recurrent payments as specified at the front of this Agreement.
3.10. In any event, VCS does not accept liability for any business loss (including, without limitation, any loss of contracts or business opportunity, loss of revenue, loss of profits or loss of anticipated savings in expenditure).
3.11. VCS shall not be liable under any circumstances for any losses that the Client suffers as a result of any failure by a Cleaner to comply with his/her contractual obligations for whatever reason, even though such Cleaner has been introduced to the Client by VCS.
3.12. VCS shall not be liable for any failure of, or delay in, performance of all or any part of any contract in accordance with these Terms which is due wholly or partially to any cause or occurrence beyond VCS’s reasonable control,
3.13. VCS shall not be required to perform or complete performance, nor shall it incur any liability for failure to carry out the terms of this Agreement, if at the relevant time the Client is in breach of any obligation to VCS under any contract with VCS. VCS shall have a reasonable time, after such a breach is remedied, to carry out its obligations under this Agreement. If such a breach is not remedied within a reasonable time, VCS may, on giving reasonable notice to the Client, end this Agreement and shall have the same rights against the Client as if VCS had ended this Agreement due to a breach of a term of this Agreement by the Client.
3.14. In any event, VCS shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever caused by bleach or any substances containing bleach.
3.15. All warranties in respect of the Service, whether implied by statute or common law, made expressly or otherwise, are hereby excluded to the extent permitted by law. Furthermore, to the extent permitted by law, VCS does not guarantee the service, or the performance thereof, in any way whatsoever.

4. PAYMENT
4.1. You shall sign and return to VCS or agree to online recurring transactions authority authorising VCS to take payment from Your Bank Account or Credit card company of the sum specified on the front, or at the beginning of this Agreement (“Sum”), payable on the day the service is agreed to be provided.
4.2. If Client wishes to cancel a contracted cleaning session, a minimum of 2 (two) working days’ notice must be given to VCS. All cancelled sessions are subject to a minimum cost of £25.00 or 50% of the total regular contracted amount, whichever is higher. The remainder from the regular recurring payment for the cancelled cleaning session will be refunded or can be used towards payments for other products and services from VCS.
4.3. If a regular contracted cleaning session was not cancelled by the Client and the cleaner was unable to enter the premises on the day the service was scheduled, the full contracted amount for that session will be due and must be paid in full before the next scheduled cleaning session. Therefore, the recurring payment made to VCS for that day will not be refunded to the Client.
4.4. Valentina Cleaning Services reserves the right to terminate the service with immediate effect due to non-payment or, if the regular payments are not maintained as stated in the Agreement.

5. TERMINATION
5.1. Client can terminate this Agreement only by giving a 1 (One) month notice in writing to Valentina Cleaning Services, specifying the date of the last cleaning session. The account must be settled within 7 days of the last cleaning session.
5.2. VCS can terminate this Agreement only by giving not less than one-week notice in writing to the Client, or (by the discretion of the company) with immediate effect if the payments are not maintained as specified in this Agreement.
5.3. VCS may keep any monies owed to the Client, and decide to terminate the service, if it believes that the Client is/was acting unlawfully or is unsuitable or is being unreasonable. VCS’s decision is final in this matter.
5.4. If VCS believes that the Client has used, or is attempting, or intending to use their cleaner directly without paying VCS, VCS has the right to substitute the Cleaner or to discontinue the supply of the service. VCS’s decision is final in this matter.
5.5. It is a responsibility of the Client to cancel the standing order payments upon final settlement of the account. Any overpayments will be refunded within 14 days of request and are subject to a processing fee of £18.50.

6. POST -TERMINATION COVENANTS
6.1. By entering into this Agreement with Valentina Cleaning Services, you agree that upon the termination of the service, you will not hire or use any home-related services provided by the present or past Cleaners introduced to you by VCS.
6.2. You will not refer any cleaner introduced to you by Valentina Cleaning Services to any other person, except by referring through VCS.
6.3. If you wish to hire, refer or use domestic services provided by such a cleaner directly at any time within 12 (twelve) months of the last cleaning services provided to you through us, you will be liable to us for our referral fee of £1,500.
6.4. The referral fee must be paid within 14 days of a written request to the Client by VCS.

7. GENERAL
7.1. It is the intention of Valentina Cleaning Services and the Client that all the terms of the Agreement between us are included in writing on the form to which these Terms are attached/annexed. Therefore, any other applicable terms or special requirements should be included in the space provided on the form to which these Terms are attached/annexed; these other applicable terms or special requirements, or any variation of this Agreement, shall only be effective if such variation is in writing and signed by the owner of VCS and the Client.
7.2. If any provision of this Agreement shall be found to be void, invalid or unenforceable, whether by a court of law, job agreement of the parties or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding any such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability but the provision in question will either be amended to make it valid, legal and enforceable or, if this is not possible, deleted.
7.3. No delay or failure on the part of VCS to exercise or enforce any rights or remedies pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall constitute a waiver of such rights or operate to prejudice the exercise of any such rights at any time thereafter.
7.4. Any headings to clauses or sub-clauses are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation or construction thereof.
7.5. Valentina Cleaning Services and the Client submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.