Cancellation and rescheduling

1. The 14-day statutory right

For many service contracts agreed entirely by telephone, WhatsApp or another distance method, or agreed during a visit at the customer’s home, a consumer may cancel without giving a reason up to the end of 14 days after the day the contract was made. The statutory cancellation regime excludes an off-premises contract worth £42 or less; there is no equivalent £42 threshold for a distance contract.

A clear statement is enough. The customer may send it by any available method before the deadline; the model wording below is optional. Where this right applies, A–Z will provide the required pre-contract information and a copy the customer can keep. If the service has not started, relevant payments will be refunded without undue delay and within 14 days. No administration or cancellation fee is deducted for using the statutory right.

Where supplying goods is an important part of the agreement, it may be treated as a sales or mixed supply-and-fit contract. The goods cancellation period normally ends 14 days after the day the customer, or a person they nominate, takes possession of the goods—or the last goods in an eligible order. Finishing the labour does not necessarily end the goods cancellation right.

After cancelling eligible goods, the customer normally sends them back within 14 days. The customer pays the direct return cost only if told of that responsibility before the contract. If goods were delivered to the customer’s home when an off-premises contract was made and cannot normally be returned by post, A–Z will collect them at its own cost where the law requires. A–Z will make the required refund, including ordinary outbound delivery where applicable, within the legal deadline and may make only a lawful deduction for handling beyond what was necessary to establish the goods’ nature, characteristics and function.

Exceptions can apply, including goods made to the customer’s specifications or clearly personalised, and goods inseparably mixed after delivery. The quote will identify the applicable treatment, return method, costs, refund timing and exceptions before acceptance; this policy does not reduce those rights.

2. Asking A–Z to start during the 14 days

Work will not start during the statutory cancellation period unless the customer expressly asks. For an off-premises contract, that request must be recorded on paper or another durable medium. The request is separate from accepting the general terms.

I expressly request that A–Z Property Maintenance starts work before my 14-day cancellation period ends. I understand that, if I cancel after work has begun, I must pay a proportionate amount for the work supplied up to cancellation. I understand that once the service has been fully performed, I will lose my right to cancel it.

If the customer cancels after a valid early-start request but before completion, A–Z may charge only the proportionate amount for what has actually been supplied and will refund the balance of any prepayment without undue delay and within 14 days. If the required information or express request was not provided, A–Z will not charge for service supplied during that period where the law prevents it.

3. Urgent repairs

Where the customer specifically requests a visit to carry out urgent repairs or maintenance, the statutory 14-day right does not apply to the urgent work requested or replacement parts necessarily used. It may still apply to additional non-urgent work or unrelated goods. A quickly arranged appointment is not automatically an urgent repair.

4. A–Z’s notice policy after statutory rights

The following applies only where no statutory free-cancellation right applies or that right has ended:

Notice is counted from when a clear cancellation or rescheduling message is sent. A–Z will take reasonable steps to refill the time, deduct saved costs and avoid double recovery. A fee will not be charged where A–Z caused the problem, attended outside the agreed window, or was already given valid notice.

5. No access

A no-access charge is possible only if it was disclosed before the appointment, A–Z attends within the agreed arrival window, makes reasonable attempts to contact the customer, waits a reasonable period, and the visit cannot proceed because the customer did not provide the agreed access. The charge is the lower of £70 and the unavoidable direct net loss. A visit described and agreed as completely free will not carry a hidden no-access charge.

6. Deposits, materials and refunds

A quotation will say what any advance payment is for and whether it is credited to the final price. A–Z does not treat every deposit as automatically non-refundable.

Where a statutory cancellation right is used, deposits and ordinary special-order costs will be refunded where the law requires. A–Z will deduct only a lawful proportionate early-start charge or an amount allowed by a specific statutory goods exception, such as goods made to the customer’s specifications or clearly personalised.

After the statutory period, or where no statutory cancellation right applies, A–Z may retain only genuine unavoidable net loss. Material cost must relate to an item actually ordered for the job that cannot reasonably be cancelled, returned or reused. Returnable, reusable and avoided costs are refunded. If A–Z cancels, unearned payments are refunded in full.

7. If A–Z needs to move the appointment

A–Z will give as much notice as reasonably possible and offer an alternative. If the new time is unsuitable or creates a material delay, the customer may cancel without charge and receive a refund for work not supplied.

8. Exceptional circumstances

Illness, bereavement, an emergency or another genuine event outside the customer’s reasonable control will be considered fairly. A–Z may reduce or waive a contractual diary charge. This discretion is additional to, and does not replace, statutory rights.