Terms and Conditions
These Terms and Conditions govern the services provided by Essential Touch to you. By requesting a quote, accepting a booking or receiving services from us, you agree to be bound by these terms. Please read them carefully.
Nothing in these terms is intended to exclude, restrict or modify any rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded.
About Essential Touch
- Acceptance of These Terms
- Our Services
- Quotes and Pricing
- Bookings and Scheduling
- Payment Terms
- Access to Your Property
- Cancellations and Rescheduling
- Your Responsibilities
- Additional Work and Variations
- Bond Back Re-Clean Guarantee (End of Lease)
- Satisfaction Guarantee
- Complaints and Rectification
- Insurance and Liability
- Damage and Breakage
- Health and Safety
- Privacy
- Intellectual Property
- Confidentiality
- Force Majeure
- Termination
- Governing Law
- Changes to These Terms
- Contact Us
1.
Definitions
In these terms:
- “Essential Touch”, “we”, “us”, “our” means Essential Touch and its related entities operating in Melbourne, Victoria.
- “Client”, “you”, “your” means the person or organisation that has requested, booked or received our services.
- “Services” means the cleaning, gardening, property maintenance and related services we provide.
- “Quote” means the written estimate or fixed price we provide for the requested services.
- “Booking” means a confirmed appointment to deliver services on an agreed date and time.
- “Property” means the residential or commercial site at which services are to be delivered.
2.
Acceptance of These Terms
You accept these terms when you confirm a booking, pay a deposit or invoice, or allow our team to commence work at your property. If you are booking on behalf of another person or an organisation, you confirm that you have authority to do so.
3.
Our Services
We provide residential and commercial cleaning, end of lease cleaning, carpet steam cleaning, window cleaning, Airbnb turnover cleaning, gardening, lawn mowing and general property maintenance services across metropolitan Melbourne.
Our team is trained, police-checked and covered by public liability insurance. Details of the specific services included in your booking will be confirmed in your quote or service agreement.
4.
Quotes and Pricing
- Quotes are provided free of charge and without obligation.
- Written quotes are valid for 30 days from the date they are issued, unless otherwise stated.
- Quotes are based on the information you provide about the property and the scope of work. If the actual condition, size or scope of work differs materially, we may adjust the price after discussion with you.
- All prices are in Australian dollars and include GST where applicable.
- Additional services, add-ons or out-of-scope work are quoted separately and are not included unless stated on the quote.
5.
Bookings and Scheduling
- A booking is confirmed once we have issued written confirmation (by email or text message).
- We will do our best to attend at the confirmed time. If we are running late or need to reschedule, we will contact you as soon as possible.
- Bookings at short notice are subject to availability.
- For ongoing scheduled services, we will agree the frequency, day and approximate time with you in advance.
6.
Payment Terms
- Residential clients: payment is due on completion of the service unless we have agreed different terms in writing.
- Commercial clients: invoices are issued in line with the agreed service agreement, typically on 7 to 14 day terms.
- End of lease clients: payment is due on the day of the clean unless otherwise agreed.
- Accepted payment methods include bank transfer, EFTPOS and card payments. Card payment surcharges may apply and will be disclosed before payment.
- Overdue accounts may be subject to reasonable late-payment fees and, where necessary, referral to a collection agency. Any recovery costs may be added to the overdue amount to the extent permitted by law.
Placeholder: Confirm exact late-payment fee amounts and interest rates (if any) with your legal reviewer.
7.
Access to Your Property
- You are responsible for providing safe and timely access to the property at the confirmed time of service.
- If access cannot be provided within a reasonable window of the booking time, a missed-access fee may apply. We will always contact you first to try to resolve any access issue.
- If you provide us with keys, remotes or a lockbox code, we will handle them securely and return or reset them promptly after the service. Any specific access instructions should be confirmed in writing.
Placeholder: Confirm missed-access fee amount (e.g. 50% of quote, minimum call-out charge).
8.
Cancellations and Rescheduling
- You may cancel or reschedule a booking free of charge if you notify us more than 24 hours before the scheduled start time.
- Cancellations or reschedules made less than 24 hours before the scheduled start time may attract a cancellation fee of up to 50 percent of the quoted price.
- Where our team arrives at the property and is unable to commence work due to lack of access or last-minute cancellation, the full quoted price may be charged.
- We may need to reschedule in exceptional circumstances (illness, unsafe conditions, extreme weather). We will contact you as soon as possible and reschedule at no extra cost.
Placeholder: Confirm cancellation windows and percentages with your legal reviewer.
9.
Your Responsibilities
To help us deliver the best possible result, you agree to:
- Provide accurate information about the property size, layout, condition and any specific requirements when requesting a quote.
- Remove, secure or clearly identify valuable, fragile, sentimental or hazardous items before our team arrives.
- Disclose any known safety hazards, structural issues, biohazards, aggressive animals or vulnerable areas at the property in advance.
- Ensure that utilities required to perform the service (running water, electricity, hot water where relevant) are available at the property.
- Provide a safe working environment for our team, including safe access to any area to be cleaned or maintained.
10.
Additional Work and Variations
If, on arrival, our team identifies that the actual scope of work is materially different from the scope quoted (for example, the property is significantly larger, dirtier or more damaged than described), we may:
- Contact you to agree an updated price for the full scope of work.
- Complete only the work that fits within the original quote and provide a separate quote for anything additional.
- If we cannot reach you, we will exercise reasonable judgement and complete the work within the quoted scope. Additional work will not be undertaken without your agreement.
11.
Bond Back Re-Clean Guarantee (End of Lease)
Our bond back re-clean guarantee applies to end of lease cleaning services on the following conditions:
- The property inspection must take place within 72 hours of the completed clean.
- The property must not have been re-occupied between the clean and the inspection.
- The guarantee covers cleaning-related issues raised in the exit condition report. It does not cover damage, wear and tear, gardening, pest issues, structural defects, items outside the agreed scope, or areas that were not accessible at the time of clean.
- You must notify us in writing of any inspection issues within 72 hours of the inspection. We will return to re-clean the affected areas at no additional cost.
- The guarantee does not cover a full refund of the service fee.
12.
Satisfaction Guarantee
If any aspect of a residential or commercial clean does not meet the agreed standard, please contact us within 24 hours of the service. We will return to rectify the affected areas at no extra cost.
The satisfaction guarantee does not apply to damage, ordinary wear and tear, or issues arising after the clean (for example, new marks, spills or activity in the property between the clean and the inspection).
13.
Complaints and Rectification
If you are not satisfied with any part of our service, please contact us as soon as possible (within 24 hours for residential and commercial cleans, within 72 hours for end of lease cleans). Providing photos and a written description of the issue helps us respond quickly.
We aim to acknowledge complaints within one business day and rectify agreed issues within a reasonable timeframe.
14.
Insurance and Liability
- Essential Touch carries full public liability insurance on every job. A certificate of currency is available on request.
- To the maximum extent permitted by law, our liability for any breach of these terms or negligence in the delivery of services is limited to the cost of the service or, at our option, the re-supply of the service.
- We are not liable for indirect, consequential or economic loss, including loss of income, loss of opportunity or loss of goodwill.
- Nothing in these terms limits, excludes or modifies any rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified.
15.
Damage and Breakage
Accidents are rare but can happen. If any accidental damage occurs during a service, we will:
- Report the incident to you within a reasonable timeframe.
- Investigate the cause.
- Where Essential Touch is responsible, rectify, replace or compensate the item to a fair and reasonable standard, in accordance with our insurance cover.
Please report any damage you observe within 24 hours of the service to allow us to investigate promptly. We may not be able to accept liability for damage reported after this window.
The following items are typically excluded from damage cover:
- Pre-existing damage or wear.
- Damage caused by defective, unstable or improperly installed fixtures and fittings.
- Damage to items that were not secured or clearly identified as fragile, valuable or sentimental.
- Damage caused by the use of products or equipment supplied or requested by you against our advice.
16.
Health and Safety
Our team has the right to refuse or suspend work in conditions that pose a risk to their safety. These may include:
- Biohazards, hoarding conditions or other environmental risks.
- Aggressive or unrestrained animals.
- Structural issues, electrical hazards or unsafe access.
- Threatening or abusive behaviour toward our team.
Where a service cannot be commenced or completed for these reasons, the full quoted price or a fair proportion of it may be charged. We will always try to discuss any concerns with you before deciding not to proceed.
17.
Privacy
Our handling of personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy, available at essentialtouch.com.au/privacy-policy. By engaging our services, you consent to the collection and use of your personal information in accordance with that policy.
18.
Intellectual Property
19.
Confidentiality
We treat information about your property, your business and your circumstances confidentially and only share it with those who need it to deliver your service or where required by law. Our team is briefed on confidentiality expectations as part of their induction.
20.
Force Majeure
We are not liable for delays or failures in providing services caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including extreme weather, natural disaster, fire, flood, illness outbreaks, industrial action, government restrictions or utility outages. Where a service is affected, we will contact you to reschedule as soon as reasonably practicable.
21.
Termination
- For ongoing service arrangements, either party may end the arrangement by giving reasonable written notice, unless a fixed term or notice period has been separately agreed.
- We may terminate or suspend service immediately for non-payment, unsafe conditions, or a serious breach of these terms.
- Termination does not affect any rights or obligations that arose before the date of termination, including payment for services already delivered.
22.
Governing Law
23.
Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms and Conditions from time to time. The current version will always be available on our website. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will indicate when they were most recently revised. Continued use of our services after any update constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.
24.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about these terms, please contact us:
- Email: hello@essentialtouch.com.au
- Phone: 03 7074 3746
Placeholder: Insert postal address if you wish written correspondence to be directed to a specific address.
