Terms and conditions for an appliance repair business

An appliance repair business gets paid for time, diagnosis and parts, often in someone's kitchen, sometimes on a machine that was already on its last legs. Your terms need to deal with the call-out charge, the fault you cannot reproduce, the part that is no longer made and the customer who says the leak started after you left. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Domestic and light commercial appliance engineers in England and Wales repairing washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, hobs, fridges, freezers, tumble dryers and coffee machines. Most of your work is for homeowners, who are consumers, but you will also invoice landlords, letting agents, warranty administrators and small commercial kitchens, who are not. One set of terms has to be written with both in mind.

What matters in appliance repair terms

The call-out charge and no fault found

Your terms should state plainly that the call-out or diagnostic charge buys attendance and diagnosis, not a successful repair, and that it is payable whether or not the appliance can be economically fixed, whether or not the fault shows itself on the day, and whether or not the customer goes ahead with the quoted work. Intermittent faults on washing machines and fridges are the usual flashpoint. Where you advertise a price to consumers, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 means the headline figure must include the charges the customer cannot avoid, so build VAT and any minimum labour period into what you display.

Parts, lead times and the guarantee on your repair

Parts for older machines go obsolete, arrive damaged or turn out to be the wrong revision, and the customer waiting a fortnight for a drum bearing blames you, not the manufacturer. The terms should make delivery dates estimates, allow equivalent or refurbished parts where you say so in advance, and set out what happens to a special-order part if the customer changes their mind. Say clearly what your guarantee covers: the part you fitted and the labour on that repair, for a stated period such as 12 months, not unrelated faults that appear later in a machine you did not replace.

Cancellation rights on doorstep and telephone bookings

A repair booked by phone, online or agreed in the customer's kitchen falls within the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which give a consumer 14 days to cancel. That sits badly with a trade where the customer wants the freezer fixed today. The regulations recognise urgent repairs the consumer has requested, and they allow work to start in the cancellation period at the consumer's express request, with a proportionate payment if they then cancel. Your booking form and terms have to capture that request and acknowledgement together, and record it, or you may be doing the work for nothing.

Unsafe appliances, gas work and taking the old one away

Engineers regularly find scorched terminals, perished hoses or a cooker that should not be reconnected. The terms should give you the right to stop work, isolate an appliance and refuse to reconnect anything you consider unsafe, with the diagnostic charge still payable, and to record that advice in writing. Work on gas appliances may only be carried out by an engineer registered under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, so the terms should be clear about which appliances you will and will not touch. If you remove old machines for disposal, you need registration with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier.

Water, moving appliances and damage in the home

Pulling out an integrated dishwasher marks the flooring, an old inlet hose splits when it is disturbed, and a worktop lifts where water has already been getting in. The terms should make the customer responsible for clearing access and disclosing known leaks or damage, and should record the condition of surrounding units before you start. A limit of liability in your written standard terms is subject to the reasonableness test under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977; no term can exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, and against a consumer the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not permit limiting liability for a service to below the price paid.

Landlords, letting agents and warranty administrators

When an agent books you into a tenanted flat, the tenant is not your customer and cannot authorise the spend. The terms should identify who is contracting, who approves the repair cost, who gives access and what you charge for a wasted journey when nobody is in. For these business customers you can rely on the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 for interest and fixed compensation on unpaid invoices, and you should set credit limits, a purchase order requirement and a right to suspend further work while an account is overdue.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Should I take payment before I leave the house?

Taking payment on completion is the safest approach for private work, and your terms should say so. Card payment is fine, but the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 stop you adding a surcharge for a consumer paying by card. Where you allow an account, set the credit period, the invoice date and the consequences of running over it.

The same fault came back two months later. Where do I stand?

That depends on what your guarantee says and on whether the return fault is the one you repaired. Terms that distinguish between a failed repair, a second unrelated failure in an ageing machine and misuse give you something to point at. Bear in mind a consumer's rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sit alongside anything you offer, and cannot be signed away.

Do I need different terms for the warranty companies that send me work?

Those relationships usually run on the administrator's own contractor terms, which set rates, response times and deductions. I can review what they have sent you under the review service. Your own terms still matter for the private work you take directly, and for the moment a warranty job turns into a chargeable repair the householder has asked for.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a gas engineer
• Terms and conditions for a handyman service

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.