Terms and conditions for a man and van service

A man and van business gets booked by text on a Thursday for a job on a Saturday, with no survey, no inventory and a customer who has described the load optimistically. Your terms need to deal with hourly charging, damage to things you did not pack, jobs that turn out to be twice the size, and rubbish you were not expecting to carry. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Man and van operators, single-item and marketplace delivery drivers, student and house share movers, small office moves and van clearance businesses in England and Wales, trading as sole traders or limited companies. Most of your customers are private individuals, which brings in consumer law, but landlords, letting agents, small shops and online sellers are business customers on different rules. One set of terms can cover both if it is written to.

What matters in man and van terms

Hourly rates, minimum charges and what the price really includes

Most of your work is priced by the hour with a minimum charge, and the argument is always about when the clock started and stopped. The terms should set out the minimum booking, how part hours are rounded, whether travel to and from base is charged, and how waiting time is treated when the customer is still packing. Fuel, congestion and low emission zone charges, tolls, ferries and parking all need naming. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 a price quoted to a consumer must include charges they cannot avoid, so unavoidable extras belong in the headline figure, not a surprise at the end.

Bookings by phone and text, and the fourteen day cancellation right

A job agreed over the phone, by email or on a messaging app is a distance contract, and one agreed at the customer's door is an off-premises contract. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give the customer fourteen days to cancel, though off-premises jobs of £42 or less fall outside them. For a same-day or next-day booking that matters: you can only work inside the period at the customer's express request, and if the job is completed you need their acknowledgement that the cancellation right is lost. Get the wording wrong and the period can extend by up to a year.

Damage, customer-packed boxes and limits on your liability

You did not pack the boxes, you rarely see inside them, and flat pack furniture often does not survive a second move. The terms should record that you carry goods packed by the customer at their risk, exclude items already damaged or of a construction that will not take handling, and say what you do not carry at all: cash, jewellery, documents, livestock, hazardous items. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 you must still work with reasonable care and skill and you cannot cut your liability to a consumer below the price of the job, so the sensible route is a per-item limit for business customers, an insurance position stated honestly, and a short window for reporting damage.

Access, stairs, parking and the job that is bigger than described

The customer says 'a few boxes and a sofa' and you arrive to a third floor flat with a broken lift and no parking within a hundred yards. Your terms should make the customer responsible for the accuracy of what they described, for suspended bays or permits where they are needed, and for confirming that items will fit through doors and stairwells. Then set out what happens when reality differs: a revised rate, a second trip charged separately, or an aborted job fee if the load cannot lawfully or safely be carried in the van you brought.

Tip runs, clearances and what you are allowed to carry away

The moment a customer asks you to take the old mattress away, you are carrying waste. A business transporting waste must be registered with the Environment Agency under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 and the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011, and the terms should say that you carry only waste you are lawfully permitted to carry. Exclude fridges, paint, gas bottles, tyres and anything containing asbestos unless separately agreed. Charge clearance work by load or weight rather than by the hour, and make the customer confirm that what they are handing over is theirs to dispose of.

Payment, no-shows and goods you are left holding

Cash on completion is still common, but the terms should fix the point of payment, ideally before unloading, and allow card payment without a surcharge to consumers under the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012. For landlords, agents and trade customers on account, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 gives you interest and fixed compensation on overdue invoices. Deal separately with the customer who is not there when you arrive: a deposit or call-out fee is workable, but for consumers it must reflect your actual loss, because disproportionate default charges are on the grey list in the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Say what happens to goods nobody collects.

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

Can my terms take the place of goods in transit insurance?

Terms allocate risk between you and the customer. They do not pay for a wardrobe you dropped. Sensible terms and a policy work together: the terms set out what you accept responsibility for and the reporting window, and the cover stands behind it. Customers increasingly ask for the policy limit, so it is better to state your position plainly than to stay silent.

The customer wants to ride in the van and help me lift. Is that a problem?

That needs addressing in writing. Carrying passengers and letting a customer take one end of a sofa raise questions about your insurance and about injuries on the job. Your terms should state whether you allow it, and they cannot exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by your negligence, so the answer is control of the practice rather than a clause disclaiming it.

I already have terms I copied from another mover. Are they any use?

Terms written for a full removals firm usually assume a survey, an inventory and packing by the mover, none of which describe your day. The mismatch shows up in the clauses you most need. I offer a review of your existing terms at £495, returned marked up with my amendments and a note on what each change does, in three working days.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a removals company
• 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.