TERMS OF SUPPLY
Our terms for our marvellous services

A) Quotes and booking

1. Quotes are valid for 30 days from the date on the quote itself unless is it stated as an annual quote

2. All quotes are a total price (plus VAT) and do not have additional charges such as travel, accommodation, etc. to be added.

3. All quotes are based on 30 day payment terms.

4. To accept a quote, all we need is a PO number, or written confirmation that PO numbers are not used.. We will also ask for the email address of the person in Accounts to whom the invoice will be sent after the job.

5. The provision of a purchase order number, returned Booking Form or emailed booking request, is confirming acceptance of our terms of supply as detailed here, including payment terms, cancellation periods and on-site arrangements.

B) Invoicing and payment

1. 30 day payment terms
   The Noise Chap's standard credit terms are that, unless it is stated otherwise in the quote, the invoice will be issued at the time of the report being sent to the client or the training completed, and for payment to be made within 30 days of this invoice date.

   Why so foot-stampingly stringent about this?
   We are small, very small, so our invoices are pretty much directly linked to our salary that month. If we agree to ‘60 days from end of month’ or something then that is all well and good, but Mr Tesco won’t accept ‘I’ll pay you in three month’s time’ when we go and do our weekly shop there. We will do a deal though - any company can have ‘60 days from end of month’ terms if they can show me that the Head of Purchasing or the Finance Director is paid three month’s in arrears rather than at the end of the month in which they have just worked. We don’t have a big pool of money sloshing about and the smidgen of profit on our invoices (which is less than you may think) is our salary.

   We believe it is only fair that when we do what we say we will do, and do it very well, then accounts departments pay for that work promptly. The Noise Chap is VERY good at what we do and in return just ask to be paid on time.

2. Extended payment terms credit fee
   A 10% credit fee may be applied to all payment terms exceeding 30 days from the date of our invoice.

3. Payment Method
   Payments are only accepted by bank transfer, cheques are not accepted. (We aren’t being stroppy, honest. Sodding Barclays shut all our local branches!)

4. Portals
   Large companies love their computer systems and always trot out that they are 'to help suppliers manage their invoicing better' as the reason for some crazily complex online portal. I am fed up of dealing with these online portals - they may be easy for the client's accounts department but they are not easy when you have to log into portal after portal, none of which ever work properly. Seriously big companies - fire the IT people who sold you this rubbish and just hire another accountant - it will be cheaper and it will work better. And accountants can make coffee and bring biscuits in. On more than one occasion invoices have been lost into those things never to be paid so I would rather lose work than deal with those bloody portal things again - I'm especially looking at you Sainsbury's, you're on my naughty naughty spanky no-supply list until you get rid of that ridiculous portal.

5. Invoices by email
   The Noise Chap invoicing will be either by email to the nominated accounts department or email to the nominated contact.

6. Ownership
   Reports remain the property of The Noise Chap Ltd. until payment is received and no follow-up support service will be provided until payment is received.

C) Noise assessments

1. For a noise assessment, we will assess jobs, equipment or tools which are operating at the time of the assessment. If a key job or equipment only operates at specific times of day please inform us in advance so we can make sure we are there at the correct time(s) for it. Where equipment is not operating we are happy to work with the client to get a quick sample measurement from it if possible for inclusion in the report.

2. We will be on site for as long as is needed to get the measurements. Noise assessment quotes are for the job rather than a ‘full day’.

3. Our target for reports is for them to be emailed to the client within ten working days of the on-site assessment date.

D) Audiometry and spirometry

1. Health screening

   Our quotes are for a set of on-site screening hearing tests. This includes:

   • A set of times covering the quoted number of appointments.

   • Pre-test health review for each attendee.

   • Screening test, (hearing or lung) for each attendee.

   • Explanation of the result to the attendee.

   • Technician’s initial report.

   • Final in-house review of the report along with recommendations for follow-up actions.

   • A summary of who is tested and our recommended retest dates.

   The quote does not include the costs of any subsequent doctor’s review.

2. Time-limited service

   Clients are buying a batch of appointments as per item 1 above. We do not offer ongoing management of your risks or surveillance programme and we do not act as an ongoing competent person, an advisor, or provider additional services outside of the batch of screening tests quoted. Any future tests will be re-quoted and will be entirely separate jobs. If you require an ongoing routine health surveillance programme or an ongoing advisor we do not offer this service, nor do we offer any legal advice on what clients need to do in order to be compliant with health and safety regulations. The onus is on the client to purchase the correct services they require.

3. Doctor’s reviews

   We can help clients manage any subsequent doctor’s review of individual results but this is not a service we offer in-house. A ‘doctor’s review’ means an Occupational Health Physician. Any costs to the client for this are in addition to our quote and not part of it.

   We will ask the client at the time of booking if they wish us to help manage the doctor’s review element and clients are free to choose yes, or can make their own arrangements.

4. The appointment times and attendees
   We are selling a set of appointment times, within a time-frame defined by the appointments schedule for the job; we are not selling completed tests.

   We will schedule a set number of appointments over a defined period. On the day, it is the responsibility of the client to ensure people are sent to us - as much as we would like to go and shout at people if they aren’t turning up, as they are not our employees we cannot force attendance no matter how much we use our best hard and penetrating stare. If testing starts to get badly behind we will let the site contact know, but responsibility for ensuring attendance rests with the site.

   We are being rented for a defined time period covering the number of appointments requested, it is up to the client to use the appointments provided.

5. Non-attendance and ‘catching up’
   If a site does get non-attendance, we will try to re-accommodate but be please aware this is not often possible and not guaranteed, especially for more than one or two people. When a set of tests is scheduled it involves not only the time on site but also the time the Technician needs to get to their next location, therefore we cannot easily re-schedule all non-attendees back onto the end of a session as this is often not possible. The last scheduled appointment is not the end of the Technician’s working day so is not something we can often extend into - as well as travelling, there is a good chance the Technician could even be testing again later that day or evening on another site and has to be there by a set time.

   If someone doesn’t turn up for their hearing test, we aren’t ‘behind’ as we have provided that appointment slot. Similarly, there is not much sleeve in the appointments schedules so we cannot squeeze them in as we are already running at full-tilt. If there are breaks in a schedule this doesn’t mean the Technician is doing nothing - they will be cleaning and sanitising equipment, doing calibration checks, cleaning the van, and importantly, going to the loo. Sometimes the last of those is the most important of all if an unwise bucket of coffee has been consumed earlier.

   Unfortunately, once an appointment is missed, in most cases that means the person will then not be able to be tested so it is important people attend at the scheduled times. If the client doesn’t use the appointment times because someone doesn’t turn up, then payment is still due as quoted.

6. Power supply
   The van operates via a single 240v extension lead which can plug into any standard three-pin indoor socket and also into any 240V 16A round outdoor socket. The van carries around 25m of cable enabling it to be used in a variety of positions. The Client should ensure a suitable location within this range.

7. Need for a quiet testing location in audiometry
   As 'noise-proof' is impossible to achieve, even with a booth, as is the case with any mobile unit it is important that the van is positioned away from sources of high noise such as loud extraction vents, alongside busy roads, and importantly, away from fork lift truck reversing beepers. If the client instructs the van to park somewhere unsuitable we will work with them on the day to find a quieter location but if this is not possible, we will test but add the proviso to the report that there was considerable background noise at the time.

8. Reverse park policies

   Some clients have a 'reverse park' policy on their sites. Please be aware that the van cannot reverse park. Or to be accurate, it can reverse park but as the entry doors are at the back, it would render it useless. We've genuinely had a security chap with a very nice shiny yellow jacket argue this point before, insisting that all vehicles are reverse parked even though that would have meant nobody would be able to get into it for a hearing test. This man was a complete numpty.

9. Historical data from other suppliers

   If you have previously used another supplier and are coming to us, we are happy to use the previous data to give continuous testing. To enable that, we either need a PDF of all results, or paper copies, and this should be given to the Technician on arrival. In either case, they need to be given in alphabetical order please (as there is not much time during a hearing test to search through if they are out of order) and must include the actual graph or table of results. That is the decibel reading per frequency - the category of result alone is not enough to give continuity.

   If your data is with a previous supplier then it is the responsibility of the client to obtain that. We do not get involved in the sourcing of previous data from other suppliers, mainly as a lot of supplier companies make up some absolute nonsense as reasons for sitting on data and present it in a quasi-legalistic way. We do not store any historical data other than that obtained via our own testing.

10. Office-based audiometry background noise
    If a client asks for office-based audiometry rather than a mobile unit it is entirely their responsibility to provide a suitable room for the testing to take place in. This means:

    • Two office chairs and a desk (not low coffee table).

    • One power supply.

    • It must be quiet, including for example no sounds of people talking, no telephones, no audible music and no production noise. If a client chooses this route due to it being a cheaper option, the choice of the room is entirely their responsibility. We will test where we are put but may add a proviso to the report that results may be invalid due to external noise levels.

E) Cancellation and postponement

We appreciate that occasionally a client may need to postpone a booking.

Over 22 calendar days: 
Following provision of booking confirmation, work can be cancelled or postponed by the client up to 22 calendar days before commencement. 

15 to 21 calendar days:
A payment equivalent to 50% of The Noise Chap quoted rate (plus VAT) will be due if the work is cancelled or postponed within 15 to 21 days of agreed date(s) as confirmed by purchase order or written confirmation.

Within 14 calendar days:
Due to the low probability of re-filling the dates at short notice, payment in full (plus VAT) will be due if the work is cancelled or postponed within 14 calendar days of agreed date(s) as confirmed by purchase order or written confirmation.

Note: Cancellation terms updated 1st March 2022. Quotes up to this date were for cancellation periods of over 21 calendar days; 11 to 20 calendar days; and within 10 calendar days. Quotes stating these previous periods will be honoured.

F) On-Site Rules - PPE, etc.

1. The need to notify us of PPE requirements in advance
   The Noise Chap will comply with all health and safety requirements for the client's site. If PPE is needed such as high-vis clothing, footwear, eyewear, head protection, flame-proof clothing, etc. then please notify us in advance, at time of booking as not all PPE can be carried at all times to every job. Adam particularly sometimes travels to jobs by motorbike as he loves nipping through traffic cheating death, and he can carry all the PPE required for a job but is unable to carry every variation of PPE which may be needed for every site just in case. If a client has not notified us in advance of a PPE requirement and a job cannot go ahead because of it then the invoice will be due in full for that booking.

2. Specific on-site rules
   It sounds stroppy, but if a job cannot go ahead because of a non-regulatory rule made-up by a site with which we cannot comply on the day without advance notification, the job will be invoiced in full. We will try and co-operate as much as we can, honestly, but we need to know in advance if a client has introduced some bonkers rule along the lines of it only being safe to walk into a site backwards while wearing a leather gimp suit and singing the Estonian national anthem. In Cantonese. (We suspect some employees already have the gimp suit but would need time to learn Cantonese...). In cases such as this where there is no regulatory restriction, and indeed no risk, and the job cannot go ahead, we would invoice in full.

3. Copies of risk assessments and insurance documents
   The Noise Chap can happily provide risk assessments and PL insurance certificates for all works undertaken but please ask for these in advance. The people coming to do the jobs carry minimal or no paperwork so will not have paper copies of risk assessments or procedures to hand and probably won't have access to the PL insurance certificate at all. Again, if entry to a site is denied because of this and we have not been asked for them at least 48 hours in advance then the booking will be payable in full.

G) Bad weather

If Noise Chap personnel can get to the client's site then we will consider the roads open and usable and payment for the work will be due in full.

We had to introduce this due to a job in the past where an employee got from Cardiff to Tewkesbury and then all the way to Edinburgh, only for the Client to say the job couldn't go ahead as 'the roads are blocked and people can't get in', just as our chap was arriving at their factory gates. He had to turn round and drive all the way back to Cardiff again, along the 'blocked' roads which were impassible according to the client's employees. It seemed the problem wasn't the amount of snow on the roads but was more down to how strongly the client's employees fancied a day off playing in the snow.

H) Transfer of audiometry and spirometry data to a new screening provider

Where data needs to be transferred to a new supplier let us know and we can send all historical results as PDF documents to ensure continuity of cover. Paper copies will not be provided.

When a client informs us they are moving to a new supplier we will delete all screening records within 14 days as we no longer have a link to that client so should not be holding on to personal data so if you want the data sending on let us know within that time.

All audiometry and spirometry provision is made on this basis.

I) Data Processing Agreement

All health screening works undertaken by The Noise Chap Ltd. are undertaken within the terms of the current Data Processing Agreement in place at the time of booking. This outlines the steps taken to protect Data within the terms of health screening. Any booking for work is at the acceptance of the terms of this Agreement. Copies available to all clients on request.