Terms and conditions for a shoe repair and key cutting shop

A repair counter takes in other people's property, prices the job before anyone knows what is inside the shoe, and then has to get paid and get the goods collected. Terms for a shoe repair and key cutting shop have to deal with all three, and with keys that turn out to be restricted. I draft them around your counter for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Cobblers, heel bars, key cutting kiosks, repair shops inside supermarkets and stations, and locksmith counters in England and Wales. Most of your customers are consumers, which brings the Consumer Rights Act 2015 into everything you do. Many shops also cut keys and repair footwear on account for letting agents, care homes, schools and shoe retailers, and those customers need separate treatment.

What matters in a repair counter's terms

The ticket is the contract

Your contract is formed in about a minute, across a counter, on a numbered ticket. That creates two problems. Terms printed on the back of a ticket handed over after payment may not bind a consumer at all, because binding someone to terms they had no real chance to see sits on the grey list of unfair terms under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The terms need to be displayed at the counter and referred to before the goods are taken in. The second problem is description: 'brown boots' on a ticket is not much of a defence when a customer says the pair you returned is not the pair they left.

Counter quotes and work that grows

You price from a board, then open the shoe up and find the sole delaminated, the shank broken or a previous repair someone else botched. Your terms should make the counter price an estimate until inspection, require the customer's authority before you exceed it, and say what happens if they decline: goods returned unrepaired, with or without an inspection charge. Any price shown to consumers has to include all mandatory charges under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, so express surcharges and fitting fees belong in the headline figure, not at the till.

Damage to the customer's own property

You work on goods that are worn, vintage, sentimental and often already repaired once. Stitching tears, dye takes unevenly, a press marks an upper, a watch back will not reseal, an engraving plate splits. A notice saying that all goods are left entirely at the owner's risk will do very little against a consumer: a service must be performed with reasonable care and skill, and you cannot limit liability for a service to less than the price paid. What terms can properly do is record which items you accept only on a declared basis, ask the customer to tell you if an item is unusually valuable, and exclude sentimental and consequential loss.

Uncollected shoes and keys

Every repair shop has a shelf of bags nobody came back for, some of them years old. The terms should set a collection period running from the day you tell the customer the item is ready, allow a proportionate storage charge after that, require written notice to the contact details the customer gave you, and set out what you will do before disposing of anything. A term saying that goods become yours the moment the collection period expires is the sort of provision a consumer can challenge as unfair, so the process and the record of notice matter more than the wording of the forfeiture.

Key cutting, authority and keys that do not work

Cut keys fail for reasons that are not your fault: a worn original, a variable blank, a lock that has dropped in its frame. Your terms should promise a re-cut against the lock rather than an open ended guarantee, and make clear that the condition of the lock is the customer's responsibility. Restricted, patented and 'do not duplicate' keys need a right to refuse without explanation and a record of who asked. For vehicle keys and fobs, deal with proof of entitlement to the vehicle, who supplies programming codes, and pre-existing faults in the immobiliser or electronics.

Trade accounts and bulk work

Letting agents, care homes, schools, gyms and shoe retailers order master suites, bulk cutting and repair runs on account, and they pay when they get round to it. For those customers you can charge interest and fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and a credit period of thirty days applies where none is agreed. The terms should also name who at the account customer is authorised to order keys, set a credit limit and a suspension right, and cap your liability at a level judged reasonable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

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 I sell or dispose of shoes that were never collected?

Disposal is possible, but only after a proper process. I set out a collection period, a written notice to the customer's last known contact details, a record of that notice, and a waiting period before you act. Shops that skip the notice and simply clear the shelf are the ones that end up paying for a pair of handmade boots.

Does a sign saying goods are left at the owner's risk protect me?

It protects you far less than most shop owners assume. Against a consumer, a blanket disclaimer of responsibility for your own workmanship is likely to be unenforceable. What works is honest allocation: you take care of the item, the customer tells you about its condition and value, and unusual or fragile work is accepted on stated terms.

Do I have to refund a key that does not work?

Goods sold to a consumer must be as described and fit for purpose, with a short term right to reject within 30 days. In practice most failed cuts are resolved by re-cutting against the lock, which your terms should offer first. Where the fault lies in the lock rather than the key, the terms need to say so plainly.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Ask Caesar, £495 a month
• Terms and conditions for a dog groomer
• Terms and conditions for a hairdressing salon

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.