Terms and Conditions

Our Inspection

1. Our service is to inspect (snag) your property to the best of our ability. The length of time each inspection takes, and the number of defects found should be seen as a guide only.
2. Our inspection service can vary in the length of time to carry out depending on several factors, including property size, quality, age etc. Regardless of the number of defects found and the time taken to carry out the inspection, the price paid is unaffected. 
3. Access to the full property, both internal and external, should be granted for the entirety of the inspection. Unless it is pre-arranged and we receive email confirmation, our inspectors will not remain or wait at the property if you have to leave.
4. It is recommended that the inspector has sole access to the entirety of the property during the inspection. If multiple persons are completing works on the property during the time of the inspection, it is not reasonable to expect the inspector to wait for any works to be completed.
5. If any areas of the property are deemed un-inspectable by the inspector, they reserve the right to not inspect those areas and no refunds or discounts will be offered. 
6. HouseScan reserve the right to cancel your inspection, at any time, and issue a full refund of your deposit and/or any other payments made.

HouseScan

7. HouseScan offers a building inspection / snagging service. Our inspectors use their skills and experience to help ensure every defect in your house is included in your report. However, due to many issues, including but not limited to, accessibility, visibility internally or externally, human error, or other, this may not always be possible. HouseScan acknowledges this but takes no responsibility for defects missed or misrepresented.
8. HouseScan and its inspectors are here to support you every step of the way and are proud of our aftercare service. Our goal is to ensure your house has been built to the standard you expected. However, this is out of goodwill and the service we offer is a snagging inspection and report. Should your builder/developer refuse to complete defects, we will advise on ways to approach them, but can take no responsibility for their lack of service
9. Personal and payment information may be processed by a third party company. This is purely in the interest of safeguarding customer data. The current payment client used is Stripe.

Bookings

10. Upon receipt of our booking confirmation to your provided email address, you agree to the location, date, time and final payment amount. Any changes you need to make to the booking must be given in writing (email) at least three working days (not including weekends) before the inspection takes place.
11. A minimum of three working days’ notice is required to change the date of a booking (not including weekends). Failure to provide three working days’ notice will result in loss of the deposit and a new booking will need to be made to secure a new date.
12. The deposit payment acts as a method of securing a booking and the reservation of an inspector and is non-refundable, unless more than two weeks’ notice is given for cancellation.
13. If the inspection is unable to go ahead due to reasons including, but not limited to, the property being incomplete/unfinished, the inspector identifying a risk to the client or their own safety or the inability to gain access to the property on the day of the inspection, 50% of the total cost will be payable to HouseScan. A further £50 deposit will then be required to book a new inspection date.

Pricing and Fees

14. The price of each package is based on the property type and number of bedrooms. Any room above the ground floor (with the exception of storey townhouses, eg where the living room/kitchen etc is on the first floor) that is not a ‘wet room’ will be classed as a bedroom. For example, offices, snugs, media rooms, gyms, cinema rooms, etc will count as a bedroom in relation to our pricing policy. Any deviation to this condition must be agreed in writing.
15. Any property in excess of 2500 square feet, regardless of the number of bedrooms, will be subject to a bespoke quote.
16. Payment for all packages is due in full before the first report can be released. This includes packages where a Pre-Completion Checklist Inspection is booked.
17. Payment should be made within 14 days of confirmation of completion of a report.
18. All prices shown are inclusive of VAT

DeSnag / Re-inspection

19. The desnag/re-inspection is a separate service at which the inspector will check the workmanship of the defects found at the original snagging inspection/on the initial report. They will not carry out a second inspection of the whole property.
20. The desnag/re-inspection will only be booked on a date when a HouseScan inspector is working in the postcode area.
21. The desnag/re-inspection is only valid for 24 months from the date of the original snagging inspection. 
22. Wherever possible the de-snag/reinspection will be completed by the original inspector. However, this is not always possible due to a number of reasons, and as best practice, a different inspector will attend.
23. Should you decide not to go ahead with the de-snag/re-inspection, and you do not cancel this part of the package within one calendar month from the date of the original inspection, no refund is available.

Packages and Offers

24. HouseScan reserve the right to withdraw any offers issued via email, website/social media or in person. This includes, but is not limited to, any referrals, monthly discount and rewards.
25. All packages offer a discretionary discount and is payable on completion of the original snagging inspection. Once the original inspection has taken place, the packages cannot be ‘dismantled’ or broken up into individual services.
26. If a bronze package has been purchased, clients can include additional extras, payable at the full price amount.
27. If a silver package has been purchased, clients can request to cancel the desnag/reinspection if cancelled in writing (email) within one month of the original inspection. The amount to be refunded will be subject to any discounts applied to the original package cost.
28. If a gold package or a platinum package has been purchased, a refund on the additional service elements within those packages can only be offered if cancelled in writing (email) within one month of the pre-completion inspection. The amount to be refunded will be subject to any discounts applied to the original package cost.
29. NHS & Armed Forces discounts can only be used against our bronze package.

Thermal Imaging Inspection

30. Our thermal imaging inspection is carried out in accordance with a tier 1 grade, which means that it may not be able to detect all issues present (when compared to a higher tier that can be purchased from other companies and includes a blower door at a cost of approximately £400).
31. A thermal imaging inspection is included in our silver, gold, platinum and Active International (AI) packages. It can be added to the bronze package as an optional extra, but cannot be purchased as a separate, standalone service.
32. On receipt of your booking confirmation email, you will be asked to ensure the heating is switched on in the property at least one hour before the arrival of our inspector. If your property has any underfloor heating, this needs to be on approximately 12 hours beforehand. The thermostat should be set to 28°, with all windows, trickle vents, doors and openings closed. Note: the earlier in the day the inspection can be completed, the better the results.
33. The accuracy of the thermal imaging results is dependent on a number of factors including external temperature and wind speed. By purchasing the thermal imaging inspection, you acknowledge that the results and credibility may vary. Specific information, including camera settings relating to external factors are detailed in the report.
34. If the outside temperatures are too high to allow the thermal imaging inspection to be carried out, no refund will be offered, and the thermal imaging inspection will be carried out at the desnag/reinspection (unless purchased as an optional extra). Our inspector will not return to complete the thermal imaging inspection on a separate occasion.
35. If there are any technical issues with the thermal imaging camera, which means the thermal imaging inspection cannot be carried out, clients will be refunded only if it was booked as an optional extra. For all other service packages (silver, gold, platinum and AI), the thermal imaging inspection will be carried out at the desnag/reinspection. Our inspector will not return to complete the thermal imaging inspection on a separate occasion.

Active International

36. The full-service offering of the Active international package can be found on the web page: https://housescan.co.uk/our-packages/
37. The Active International package does not include uploading reports/images on behalf of the client to third party systems/databases.
38. At no point will any refunds or discount be given in relation to a lack of cooperation or acceptance of the report etc by the developer or any other third party involved.
39. HouseScan takes no responsibility if the developer or any other third party does not complete remedial works on the client’s property.
40. In circumstances where HouseScan offers advice or support to the client or any third party, HouseScan takes no responsibility for any time, resource or cost implications this may have.
41. Once the desnag/reinspection has been completed, HouseScan will not, within the original package cost, continue acting on behalf of the client.
42. HouseScan takes no responsibility if, following the desnag/reinspection, defects/snags remain outstanding. We will, however, advise on the best course of action.
43. If the client requires HouseScan to continue acting on their behalf following the desnag/reinspection, whether that be for further communications with third parties or to complete additional inspections, this will be priced on a case by case basis.
44. HouseScan will not be held accountable for any misinformation or lack of transparency by the client’s developer or any third party.
45. The Active International package service provision is limited to 12 months from the date of the original inspection to the de-snag (this time frame should be much less, but any time spent after the 12 months will not be included and HouseScan will offer no refunds or discounts). This does not include providing general advice and support.

Bound Reports

46. Our printed bound report will be ordered seven days from when your final balance is received and posted out to you within 2-3 days of it being ordered. It will be sent by Royal Mail to the postal address confirmed when you made your booking.

BuildScan

47. The use of BuildScan is an additional, free of charge, service platform and does not form part of a HouseScan package.
48. BuildScan and its collaborators support clients directly at: support@buildscan.co, with queries including, but not limited to, technical issues, report redeem codes and homeowner accounts.
49. HouseScan takes no responsibility for the inoperability of BuildScan.

Terms of Service for HouseScan Pal

1. Acceptance of Terms

By purchasing and using HouseScan Pal, you agree to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions. Please review these terms carefully. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not use this service.

2. Report Submission and Review

• 2.1 Once you have submitted your report to us, you may not make any changes to it during the professional review process.

• 2.2 General enquiries relating to snags must only be submitted when you submit the report. Questions on defects cannot be asked prior to submitting.

• 2.3 After your professionally reviewed report is returned to you, you will have the ability to have a follow-up call with an inspector. All questions should be asked at that point. Following this, the service does not include additional information or questions being answered.

3. Access to Checklist and Guide

• 3.1 Although we will endeavour to provide you with access to the checklist on BuildScan as soon as possible, you should allow up to 4 working days for this to be with you. The 4 working days may be extended if you have not attempted to access the checklist on the same working day the checklist info is provided to you.

• 3.2 If the guide or information provided to complete the service is out of date, you must report this to us so we can provide you with the correct instructions. We will endeavour to do this within 24 working hours.

• 3.3 The checklist is created by professionals for people who generally do not have much experience with home building. An AI is used within the app to provide you with the correct checkpoints for the location of your property. If you find any errors or have any feedback for the checkpoints and performance of the app, you must notify us immediately. Any suggestions or bugs do not warrant a refund, and we will work with you and BuildScan to rectify this.

• 3.4 You must generate the PDF report when submitting to us for professional review. This cannot be generated in-app and must be generated via the web system via a PC at www.buildscan.app. Instructions on how to do this are provided in the guide.

4. Standards and Follow-Up Call

• 4.1 We will do our best to match any snags/defects you pick up with the relevant warranty standards/building standards; however, this will be primarily limited to the NHBC or LABC due to other providers having limited standards publicly available.

• 4.2 Booking your follow-up call after you’ve received your professionally reviewed report should be booked at a time convenient to the customer and the inspector. This should be between 9 am and 5 pm Monday to Friday. At the sole discretion of the inspector, this may be outside of these times.

• 4.3 The follow-up call should be focused on answering questions from the report, limited to up to 30 minutes, with a 5-minute buffer time. If the call does not need to take the full 30 minutes, this will not warrant a refund of any kind. If you require an additional call, you must contact HouseScan directly to book this.

5. Limitation of Liability

• 5.1 HouseScan Ltd or BuildScan Ltd make no guarantee regarding the accuracy of the checklist or that if it is followed exactly, no defects or snags would be missed. This is a piloted service which acts purely as guidance, and we shall not be held liable for any defects or snags that were missed or misrepresented.

6. Customer Support and Communication

• 6.1 You may contact us at any time with questions about the service itself.

• 6.2 Should there be a problem with the BuildScan app used to complete the inspection, this must be submitted to support@buildscan.co and cc in contact@housescan.co.uk. We will work with you and BuildScan to ensure this is rectified as soon as possible.

7. Refunds and Limitations

• 7.1 Refunds will not be provided if you feel as though not enough feedback has been given in the report. We will do our best to provide as much information on specific defects as possible, but limitations on the information you have provided to us may limit the service we can offer.

• 7.2 Refunds will not be given due to BuildScan not working to your expectation or not working on your device.

8. Follow-Up Inspections

• 8.1 If you decide you require a follow-up inspection, we do not under any circumstances guarantee that we can fulfil a full professional inspection. We may advise or recommend an alternative snagging company, but this is at our sole discretion.

• 8.2 By purchasing HouseScan Pal, you accept in full that this is a standalone service and does not guarantee the ability for you to purchase a follow-up physical inspection if you need one.

9. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these terms at any time. Any changes will be posted on our website, and your continued use of HouseScan Pal after such changes have been posted will constitute your acceptance of the changes.

10. Contact Information

For any questions or concerns regarding these terms, please contact us at contact@housescan.co.uk.