top of page
Homepage
Free Quote

Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions explain how this website may be used and the terms that apply when you request a quote from, or instruct work by, Flow Tree Consultancy.

By using this website, requesting a quote, or instructing Flow Tree Consultancy to provide services, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.

These Terms and Conditions should be read alongside our Privacy Policy.

1. About Flow Tree Consultancy

1. About these terms

These Terms and Conditions apply to:

  • use of this website;

  • enquiries submitted by contact form, email, phone, or other agreed method;

  • quotes provided by Flow Tree Consultancy;

  • services instructed by clients;

  • reports, drawings, plans, documents, and other deliverables produced by Flow Tree Consultancy.

In these Terms and Conditions, “the client” means the person, business, organisation, or other legal entity that requests a quote, accepts a quote, instructs work, or agrees to pay Flow Tree Consultancy for its services.

An “agent” means a person, business, organisation, or other legal entity that requests a quote, accepts a quote, or instructs work on behalf of another party.

In these Terms and Conditions, “another party” means any person, business, landowner, organisation, project team, or other legal entity on whose behalf an agent requests a quote, accepts a quote, or instructs work.

These terms apply to all services provided by Flow Tree Consultancy, including services relating to planning and development, mortgage and insurance matters, tree safety, and any other services provided, unless different or additional terms are agreed in writing.

For some projects, additional job-specific terms may apply. Where that is the case, these will be made clear in the relevant quote or written correspondence.

2. Website use

This website is provided for general information about Flow Tree Consultancy and its services.

You must not use this website:

  • in a way that is unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful;

  • to interfere with the operation, security, or availability of the website;

  • to copy, misuse, or reproduce website content without permission.

Flow Tree Consultancy may update, suspend, or withdraw parts of this website from time to time.

3. Website content and general information

The information on this website is provided for general information only. It is not intended to be project-specific arboricultural advice, legal advice, planning advice, insurance advice, or professional advice for a particular site or set of circumstances.

You should not rely on website content as a substitute for obtaining project-specific advice from Flow Tree Consultancy or another suitably qualified professional.

While Flow Tree Consultancy aims to keep website content accurate and up to date, no guarantee is given that the website will always be complete, current, or free from errors.

4. Enquiries and quotations

You can request a quote by contact form, email, phone, or another agreed method.

Quotes are provided free of charge unless otherwise stated.

Quotes are valid for one month from the date of issue, unless a different period is stated in the quote.

Quotes and fees are based on the information available to Flow Tree Consultancy at the time the quote is prepared. This may include information supplied by the client, third parties, public sources, desktop research, site plans, drawings, survey information, site boundaries, and any other information relevant to the proposed work.

If the scope of work changes, or if further information becomes available after a quote has been issued, Flow Tree Consultancy may need to revise the quote.

Flow Tree Consultancy may decline an enquiry or instruction where the work is outside its service area, outside its competence, unsuitable, unavailable, or otherwise not appropriate to accept.

5. Acceptance of quotes and instruction

A quote is accepted, and work is instructed, when the client or agent confirms written acceptance by email, unless another written method is agreed.

By accepting a quote, the client or agent confirms that they accept these Terms and Conditions.

The quote will refer to the Terms and Conditions published on the Flow Tree Consultancy website. The version that applies to a particular instruction will usually be the version published on the website at the time the client accepts the quote, unless a change is agreed in writing.

6. Agents

Where an agent requests a quote, accepts a quote, or instructs work on behalf of another party, the agent confirms that they have authority to do so.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, where an agent accepts a quote or instructs work, the agent and the other party are jointly and severally liable for Flow Tree Consultancy’s fees, disbursements, and other charges. This means Flow Tree Consultancy may recover the full amount owed from either or both parties.

7. Fees, disbursements, and payment

Payment is accepted by bank transfer unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Invoices are payable within 30 days of the invoice date, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Where an agent has instructed work on behalf of another party, responsibility for payment will be as set out in Section 7 unless otherwise agreed in writing.

Survey reports, drawings, plans, schedules, and other documents will not be issued until all relevant fees, disbursements, and charges have been paid in full.

Flow Tree Consultancy may charge disbursements and third-party costs where these are required for the agreed work. These may include, for example, the cost of obtaining mapping or site information.

Where a client is unable to provide a required topographic survey, OS MasterMap, or other suitable plan, Flow Tree Consultancy may obtain an OS map or other required mapping and charge the cost to the client as a disbursement, together with a £50 handling fee. Flow Tree Consultancy will notify the client of the cost of obtaining the relevant plan or mapping before doing so.

If payment is late, Flow Tree Consultancy may charge interest, recovery costs, or other charges where legally permitted.

8. Client information, plans, and site boundaries

The client, or agent where applicable, is responsible for providing accurate and complete information needed for Flow Tree Consultancy to provide the agreed services.

This may include, where relevant:

  • site address;

  • site boundaries;

  • ownership or access information;

  • planning references;

  • site plans;

  • topographic surveys;

  • OS MasterMap data;

  • drawings;

  • architect’s plans;

  • mortgage, insurer, solicitor, or surveyor requirements;

  • previous tree reports;

  • relevant correspondence;

  • any other documents or information needed for the work.

Where required, including for some development and subsidence-related surveys, the client is responsible for providing either a suitable topographic survey or OS MasterMap of the site. Unless otherwise agreed, this should be georeferenced and provided in DWG format.

Flow Tree Consultancy may rely on information, documents, plans, drawings, reports, instructions, and site details supplied by the client or by third parties. Unless expressly agreed in writing, Flow Tree Consultancy is not responsible for independently verifying the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of information supplied by others.

If inaccurate, incomplete, unclear, or late information affects the scope, cost, timing, or outcome of the work, Flow Tree Consultancy may need to revise the quote, request further information, delay the work, or charge additional fees.

9. Plans for BS5837 surveys

For BS5837 surveys, a topographic survey showing tree locations is recommended wherever possible.

Where a suitable topographic survey is not provided, Flow Tree Consultancy may use an OS MasterMap plan or other available mapping as the base plan. Where an OS MasterMap plan is used, or where a topographic survey does not show trees accurately or in sufficient detail, the accuracy and precision of the tree survey drawings may be reduced.

Where a topographic survey is not provided, tree locations, canopy spreads, groups of trees, and Root Protection Areas may be plotted using a combination of GPS, aerial imagery, and site observations. This will be undertaken with reasonable care, but it may not provide the same level of positional accuracy as a suitable topographic survey showing tree locations.

By instructing Flow Tree Consultancy without providing a suitable topographic survey showing all individual tree locations, the client acknowledges that it may not be reasonable or practicable for all individual stems to be plotted separately in all circumstances. In such cases, trees may be surveyed and plotted as polygon groups rather than as individual stems, particularly where trees form groups, woodland edges, belts, hedgerows, or dense vegetation. Canopies and average Root Protection Areas may be plotted for the group, and individual stems within the group may not be separately plotted.

If a suitable topographic survey showing tree locations is not provided, Flow Tree Consultancy is not responsible for reduced accuracy or precision arising from the absence of that information.

If a topographic survey is provided but tree positions are inaccurate, incomplete, or missing, Flow Tree Consultancy will take reasonable steps to adjust or supplement tree locations where appropriate. However, Flow Tree Consultancy is not responsible for inaccuracies in the base plan or for errors arising from tree locations supplied by the client or third parties.

10. Site access and survey extent

The client, or agent where applicable, is responsible for arranging suitable access to the site before any survey, inspection, or site meeting. is responsible for arranging suitable access to the site before any survey, inspection, or site meeting.

The client must make Flow Tree Consultancy aware of any relevant access restrictions, hazards, locked areas, tenants, occupiers, animals, site rules, security requirements, or other matters that may affect access or safe working.

The survey extent will be agreed before the survey is undertaken. This may be based on a site plan provided by the client or an agreed extent drawn using georeferenced software, such as google earth.

If access is unavailable, unclear, restricted, unsafe, or otherwise insufficient at the agreed time, and Flow Tree Consultancy is unable to complete the work, abortive or wasted time costs may be charged.

Abortive or wasted time costs may include, but are not limited to:

  • time spent travelling to and from site;

  • time spent on site;

  • fuel and travel costs;

  • administration time;

  • any other reasonable costs incurred as a result of the failed visit.

11. Cancellations and rearranged appointments

If the client or agent cancels a survey or site meeting less than one week before the arranged date, Flow Tree Consultancy may charge a cancellation fee equal to 50% of the instructed amount for that survey or site meeting.

This charge reflects the time that was reserved for the client’s work and the potential loss of opportunity to undertake other work during that period.

If Flow Tree Consultancy needs to rearrange a survey or site meeting due to weather, illness, access, safety, or other practical reasons, Flow Tree Consultancy will notify the client as soon as reasonably practicable and seek to rearrange a mutually suitable time.

12. Consumer cancellation rights

Where the client is a consumer and the contract is agreed remotely, including by email, phone, or website form, the client may have a legal right to cancel within 14 days.

If the client wants Flow Tree Consultancy to start work within the 14-day cancellation period, the client must give clear written confirmation that they want the work to begin before the cancellation period has ended.

If the client later cancels after work has started, the client may be required to pay for work carried out up to the point of cancellation, including reasonable costs and expenses already incurred.

If the services have been fully performed within the cancellation period with the client’s prior written agreement, the right to cancel may be affected.

​

13. Surveys, reports, drawings, and deliverables

Unless otherwise agreed, reports and documents will be issued electronically as PDF files.

Drawings and plans will normally be issued as PDF files. CAD files can be provided on request where available and appropriate.

Any timescales given for site visits, reporting, drawings, or other deliverables are estimates only, unless expressly confirmed in writing as fixed deadlines.

Flow Tree Consultancy will not be responsible for delays caused by missing information, unclear instructions, late payment, access issues, third-party delays, weather, site safety matters, or other circumstances outside its reasonable control.

Reports, drawings, schedules, plans, and other deliverables will not be issued until payment has been received in full.

14. Use of reports and third-party sharing

Reports and documents are prepared for the client and for the purpose stated in the quote, report, or written instruction.

The client may share final issued reports and drawings with relevant professional advisers, project team members, mortgage lenders, insurers, solicitors, local planning authorities, or other relevant parties where this is necessary for the purpose for which the report was prepared.

Flow Tree Consultancy accepts no responsibility for the use of reports, drawings, plans, schedules, or other documents for purposes other than those for which they were prepared, unless this has been agreed in writing.

15. Intellectual property and ownership of documents

Reports, drawings, plans, photographs, documents, schedules, and other materials prepared by Flow Tree Consultancy remain the property of Flow Tree Consultancy until all fees, disbursements, and charges have been paid in full.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, payment does not transfer copyright, background intellectual property, templates, methods, working files, or draft materials to the client.

Drafts, working notes, internal calculations, survey data, and editable files do not need to be provided unless this has been agreed in writing.

16. Professional limitations

Flow Tree Consultancy will provide services with reasonable skill and care.

Arboricultural advice, surveys, inspections, reports, and recommendations are based on the scope of work agreed, the information available at the time, the conditions present at the time of inspection or assessment, and the limitations stated in the relevant report or correspondence.

Flow Tree Consultancy may rely on information supplied by the client or third parties and is not responsible for errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in information supplied by others.

17. Liability

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions limits or excludes liability where it would be unlawful to do so.

Subject to that, Flow Tree Consultancy’s liability will be limited to the extent permitted by law and in accordance with the scope of services agreed in writing.

Flow Tree Consultancy will not be responsible for losses arising from:

  • inaccurate or incomplete information supplied by the client or third parties;

  • use of reports or documents for purposes other than those for which they were prepared;

  • unauthorised reliance by third parties;

  • delays caused by missing information, access restrictions, late payment, or third-party delay;

  • matters outside Flow Tree Consultancy’s reasonable control.

​

18. Links to other websites

This website may include links to third-party websites or resources. These links are provided for convenience only.

Flow Tree Consultancy is not responsible for the content, accuracy, availability, or operation of third-party websites.

The inclusion of a link does not mean that Flow Tree Consultancy endorses the linked website or accepts responsibility for it.

19. Privacy, cookies, and other policies

Flow Tree Consultancy handles personal information and uses cookies in accordance with its Privacy and Cookies Policy.

You should read these Terms and Conditions together with the Privacy and Cookies Policy and any other policies or notices published on the website.

20. Changes to these terms

Flow Tree Consultancy may update these Terms and Conditions from time to time.

The terms that apply to a particular instruction will usually be the version published on the website at the time the client accepts the quote, unless a change is agreed with the client in writing.

Updated Terms and Conditions will apply to future website use, future enquiries, future quotes, and future instructions.

21. Governing law

These Terms and Conditions are governed by the law of England and Wales.

The courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction, subject to any legal rights that apply to consumers.

22. Contact

For questions about these Terms and Conditions, please contact Flow Tree Consultancy using the contact details provided below.

bottom of page