For locksmiths
Doorstep Contracts and Cancellation Rights for Locksmiths
Work agreed at a customer's home is usually an off-premises contract under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. The customer normally has a 14-day right to cancel, and you must give them written cancellation information. There is an exception where the customer specifically asked you to visit for urgent repairs or maintenance, but extra work you sell on that visit stays cancellable.
What is an off-premises contract?
A contract agreed with a consumer face to face somewhere other than your business premises, such as their home. Most locksmith jobs are agreed this way, in person on the doorstep, so the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply to them. It does not matter that the customer rang you first.
For an off-premises contract you must give the customer certain information before they are bound, including your identity and address, the total price, and their right to cancel with a model cancellation form. It must be given on paper, or on another durable medium such as an email if the customer agrees. The full text is at www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/contents
How long does a customer have to cancel?
For a service contract, 14 days, starting the day after the contract is made. If you fail to give the customer the cancellation information, the period is extended by up to 12 months. If you give it late within that time, the 14 days run from when they receive it.
Failing to give that information on an off-premises contract is more than a civil risk. Under regulation 19 it is a criminal offence, punishable by a fine.
Keep a copy of what you gave each customer and when. A pad of printed job sheets with the cancellation notice on the back is a simple way to make sure it is always handed over.
What happens if the customer wants the work done now?
You must not start a service within the 14 days unless the customer expressly asks you to, and for an off-premises contract that request must be made on a durable medium, such as a signed job sheet or a message.
If they ask and then cancel part-way, they pay a proportionate amount for what you have done. If the service has been fully performed, the right to cancel ends. If you did not give the cancellation information, or the customer did not make a proper request, they owe nothing for work done in the cancellation period.
So for anything you start the same day, get the request in writing and keep it with the job record.
What is the urgent repair exception?
The cancellation rules do not apply to a contract where the consumer has specifically requested a visit from the trader for the purpose of carrying out urgent repairs or maintenance. That is regulation 28(1)(e). A customer who rings because a lock has failed and asks you to come and fix it is the kind of visit it covers.
Two limits matter:
- It applies only where the customer asked for the visit. A job you suggested is not covered. - Extra services, and goods other than replacement parts necessarily used for the repair, sold on the same visit stay cancellable under regulation 28(2). Upgrading every lock in the house while you are there is extra work.
The text is at www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/regulation/28
How should you set up your paperwork?
A job sheet that does the work for you:
- your business name, address and contact details - what the customer asked for, and whether they asked for an urgent visit - the total price agreed before work, including VAT - a box for the customer's request to start now, signed or confirmed by message - the cancellation notice and model form, for any work that is not urgent - any extra work listed separately, with its own price
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies too: the service must be done with reasonable care and skill, and where no price was agreed the customer only has to pay a reasonable one. A price agreed in writing protects you as much as the customer. For anything unusual, take advice from Trading Standards or a solicitor.
Common questions
Can a customer cancel an emergency lockout?
If the customer specifically asked you to visit for urgent repairs or maintenance, the cancellation rules do not apply to that work. Extra services you sell on the same visit can still be cancelled.
Do I need to give customers a cancellation form?
For off-premises work outside the urgent repair exception, yes. You must give cancellation information and a model form on paper, or another durable medium if the customer agrees. Failing to do so can be a criminal offence.
Can I start work the same day on a non-urgent job?
Yes, if the customer expressly asks you to, and for doorstep contracts the request must be on a durable medium. If they then cancel, they pay a proportionate amount for work done.