Terms and conditions

These are the terms on which Midlands Aerial Surveys provides drone survey, inspection and aerial media work. They apply to every instruction unless we have both signed something different in writing.

Midlands Aerial Surveys is a sole trader business. In these terms we and us mean James Richardson, trading as Midlands Aerial Surveys. You means the person or organisation instructing us.

Quotations and how work is agreed

Every job is quoted as a fixed figure against a written scope, which says what will be captured and what you will receive. A quotation is valid for 30 days and does not become a contract until you accept it in writing — an email is enough.

If what is needed changes after the quotation — a larger area, extra elevations, a second visit, a different output — we will requote before doing the extra work rather than adding it to the invoice afterwards.

The scope is the whole of what we have agreed to provide. If something is not in it, it has not been included, and it is worth reading it properly before accepting.

What we need from you

So that a visit is not wasted, you agree to give us, before the day:

• Safe and lawful access to the site, and authority for us to be there
• The name and number of somebody on site who can let us in and answer questions
• Any site rules, induction requirements or restricted working hours
• Anything relevant we could not reasonably know — live plant, unstable structures, livestock, protected species, security or privacy sensitivities

You confirm you either own the site or have the landowner's permission for us to fly over it and record it.

Airspace, permissions and safety

We hold the authorisations required for the work we accept, and we will not fly outside them. Every attendance is preceded by a site-specific risk assessment.

The decision whether it is safe and lawful to fly on the day is ours alone and is final. If we judge that it is not — because of wind, visibility, rain, an airspace restriction, uninvolved people on site, or anything else — we will not fly, and no argument about the schedule changes that.

Some sites need permission from a third party before any flight can happen, such as an airport, the Civil Aviation Authority, or a landowner we are overflying. Where that applies we will tell you at the quotation stage. Obtaining it may take time and may carry a fee, and we cannot guarantee it will be granted.

Weather and postponement

Drone work is weather-dependent and there is nothing either of us can do about that.

• If the forecast will not support safe or usable capture, we will tell you as early as we reasonably can — normally the day before — and agree a new date.
• A visit postponed by us for weather or safety is not charged.
• If we attend and conditions turn on site so the job cannot be completed, we will agree a return date and charge only for the return attendance, not for the whole job twice.
• If you cancel or postpone with less than 24 hours' notice, or if we attend and cannot get access, we may charge a reasonable proportion of the fee to cover the lost day.

Delivery

We will give you a delivery date when the work is agreed and we will meet it, or tell you in advance if something has changed. Files are supplied electronically in the formats set out in the scope.

You should check the deliverable when you receive it. If something is missing or not as agreed, tell us within 14 days and we will put it right at no cost. After that we will still help, but it may be chargeable.

We keep a copy of your deliverables for the period set out in our privacy notice, so a set can usually be reissued if you lose it. That is a courtesy rather than an archiving service — please keep your own copy.

What our work is, and what it is not

This matters, so it is set out plainly.

• Our outputs are visual and photographic records, and photogrammetric models and mapping derived from them.
• They are not measured surveys, topographic surveys or setting-out data, and must not be used as though they were. We do not use ground control or survey-grade positioning, so distances, levels and volumes taken from our outputs are indicative and are suitable for comparison and planning, not for design, construction setting out, boundary determination or audited reconciliation.
• We do not carry a thermal camera and do not provide thermal, heat-loss or radiometric work of any kind.
• Our imagery records what could be seen from the air on the day. It is not a structural, building or condition survey, it is not a professional opinion on defects or their causes, and it is not a substitute for a report by a chartered surveyor or a structural engineer.
• Where we point out something visible in the imagery, that is an observation and not professional advice. If you need an opinion you can rely on, instruct an appropriately qualified professional — we are happy to work alongside one.

You agree not to present our outputs to a third party as something they are not.

Copyright and how you may use the work

We own the copyright in everything we capture and produce. That is normal for photographic work and it does not restrict you in practice.

On payment in full, you get a permanent, non-exclusive licence to use the deliverables for the purpose set out in the scope, and for your own business generally — including in tender submissions, planning applications, insurance files, reports and your own marketing. You may share them with your professional advisers, your client and your insurer.

You may not resell the files as a product in their own right, or license them to a third party for that purpose, without our written agreement. Please credit us where it is natural to do so, though this is not a condition.

We may use imagery of your site in our own portfolio and marketing, unless you tell us not to. If your site is confidential or commercially sensitive, say so at the quotation stage and we will not use it. We will always blur identifiable people and vehicle registrations before publishing anything.

Payment

Our fees are as set out in the accepted quotation and are payable within 30 days of invoice.

We may withhold delivery of files until an invoice is paid. Late payment may carry interest and costs under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

Insurance and our liability

We carry public liability insurance of £5 million. A copy of the certificate is available on request before we attend.

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

Subject to that, our total liability in connection with any instruction is limited to the fee paid for that instruction, and we are not liable for loss of profit, loss of contract, loss of anticipated savings or any indirect or consequential loss.

We are not liable for any loss arising because our outputs were used for a purpose they were not suitable for, as described above.

Consumer rights

If you are instructing us as a consumer rather than for a business, you have a 14-day right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations. If you ask us to start work within that period and we do, you may be charged for what has been done. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights.

Ending the agreement

Either of us may end an agreement in writing if the other is in serious breach of it and has not put it right within 14 days of being asked to. If work has been done up to that point, it is payable.

General

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction.

If any part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest of them continue to apply.

We may update these terms. The version that applies to your job is the one published when your quotation was accepted. The date at the top of this page tells you when it was last revised.

Getting in touch

Any question about these terms, and anything you want to raise about work we have done, should go to info@midlandsaerialsurveys.co.uk or 07762957953. We would much rather hear about a problem early.