Terms and Conditions

Last updated: 29 September 2026

These terms explain how we work, what we expect from you, and your rights. Please read them before you book. If anything is unclear, ask us before work starts.

1. About us and these terms

Clear Drainage is a trading name of Clear Drainage Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17027788 (“we”, “us”, “our”). You can contact us by phone on 023 8112 3123 or by email at help@clear-drainage.co.uk.

These terms apply to every job we carry out, together with any written quote or confirmation we give you. If a quote and these terms conflict, the quote takes priority.

Consumers and business customers. A “consumer” is an individual acting mainly outside their trade, business or profession, for example a homeowner or tenant. A “business customer” is anyone else, including landlords letting property as a business, letting and managing agents, companies and public bodies. Some terms apply differently depending on which you are, and this is made clear where it matters. Nothing in these terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

2. How a contract is formed

A contract is formed when you accept our quote, whether verbally, in writing or by asking us to start work. We will confirm the main details, including the price or how it will be worked out, by text, email or on paper.

If you book on behalf of someone else, such as a tenant, relative or the owner of the property, you confirm that you have their authority. The person who books the work is responsible for paying for it unless we have agreed in writing, before work starts, that someone else (for example a landlord, agent or insurer) will pay.

3. Quotes and prices

We will explain the price, or how it will be worked out, before any work starts. Our quotes will say whether they are:

• a fixed price: the amount you will pay for the work described, provided the job is as described to us; or
• an estimate or hourly rate: our best assessment of the likely cost, where the extent of the problem cannot be known until work is under way. We will keep you informed and will not go beyond the estimate without your agreement.

Prices quoted to consumers include VAT (where it applies) and every compulsory charge. If a call-out, attendance or minimum charge applies to your job, we will tell you before we set off. Unless stated otherwise, a written quote is valid for 30 days.

What a fixed price for drain unblocking normally covers. Unless your quote says otherwise, a fixed price for unblocking covers clearing a single, ordinary blockage in one drain run, reached from an existing, accessible inspection chamber or rodding point, using rods or water jetting. It does not include:

• blockages caused by a defect in the pipe, such as root ingress, a collapse, displaced joints or a dip in the pipe;
• heavy build-up of fat, wipes, scale, silt or building materials needing extended cleaning;
• removing objects that should not be in a drain, or equipment left in the drain by others;
• further blockages, additional drain runs or other properties connected to the same system;
• locating, excavating or lifting buried or seized covers;
• CCTV surveys, repairs, reinstatement, or work to pumps, septic tanks and treatment plants.

4. Changes and additional work

Drainage problems are often underground and out of sight, so we sometimes find that more work is needed than first expected. If this happens, we will stop, explain what we have found and give you a price or estimate for the extra work. We will not carry out additional chargeable work without your agreement, except where immediate action is needed to prevent danger or significant damage and we cannot reach you. In that case we will do only what is necessary and tell you as soon as possible.

5. Appointments and attendance times

Clear Drainage is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Any attendance time or appointment we give you is our honest estimate. We will do our best to keep to it and will tell you as soon as possible if we are delayed, but traffic, emergencies and earlier jobs overrunning can affect our timings.

If we are unable to attend within a reasonable time, you may cancel the booking without charge.

6. What we need from you

So that we can work safely and efficiently, you agree to:

• give us accurate information about the problem, the property and its drains;
• provide safe, clear access to the property and to all relevant drains, inspection chambers and covers at the agreed time, including access codes, keys or parking permits where needed;
• obtain any permission we need from landlords, neighbours, managing agents or others to access or work on their land or drains;
• tell us before we start about any hazards, such as dangerous substances, asbestos, unstable ground, known underground cables or pipes, or animals, and keep pets and children away from the work area;
• let us use a reasonable supply of water and electricity where needed; and
• share any drainage plans or previous survey reports you have.

If we cannot carry out the work, or it costs us more, because you have not done these things, we may charge for the extra time and costs reasonably incurred. We will explain any such charge.

7. No access and wasted visits

If we arrive at the agreed time and cannot get access (for example, no one is there, access is refused, or the drains cannot be reached), we will try to contact you. If we still cannot carry out the work, we may charge any attendance or call-out charge we told you about when you booked. We will not charge for a wasted visit if you cancelled in good time or the reason was our fault.

8. Shared drains and public sewers

In England, the water company is usually responsible for public sewers and for drains shared with neighbouring properties. If we find that the problem is in a pipe that is not your responsibility, we will tell you, stop, and explain who to contact. You will only pay for work you agreed to up to that point, and any attendance charge we told you about when you booked.

We cannot guarantee that a water company, landlord or insurer will accept responsibility for a problem or reimburse you.

9. CCTV drain surveys and reports

A CCTV survey records the condition of the drains that the camera can reach at the time of the survey. Its accuracy depends on access, water levels and debris in the pipe, and some sections may not be viewable. A survey is not a guarantee of the condition of parts that could not be inspected, or of how the drains will perform in future. The survey may first require the drains to be cleaned, which we will price separately if it is not included in your quote.

Your quote will say whether a written report, footage or drawings are included. Unless agreed otherwise, reports are for the use of the person who paid for them.

10. Our standard of work and care of your property

We will carry out our work with reasonable care and skill, using suitable methods and equipment. We will take reasonable care to protect your property and will leave the work area clean and tidy, removing waste we create.

Some drainage work carries risks that cannot always be avoided. We are not responsible for:

• damage caused by an existing defect, such as a pipe that is already cracked, perished or fragile and fails during normal clearing, unless we failed to use reasonable care and skill;
• breaking covers or frames that are seized, cracked or corroded when we lift them with reasonable care;
• damage to underground cables, pipes or other services that were not marked or disclosed to us and could not reasonably have been found;
• minor disturbance to surfaces, planting or finishes that is unavoidable to carry out the work you agreed.

We will tell you before we start if we believe any of these risks are more likely than usual on your job. Where excavation is needed, your quote will say whether reinstatement of surfaces is included.

11. Payment

Payment is due when the work is completed, for consumers and business customers alike, unless we agree otherwise in writing before work starts. We will tell you the payment methods we accept when you book.

If a payment is late, we may charge interest on the overdue amount at 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate from the due date until payment. For business customers, we may instead claim interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. If you have a genuine query about an invoice, please tell us promptly; you do not have to pay the part in dispute while we look into it.

If your insurer, landlord or another party has agreed to pay, you remain responsible for any amount they do not pay, unless we agreed in writing to look only to them for payment.

12. Your right to cancel (consumers)

If you are a consumer and you booked by phone, online or away from our premises (for example, during a visit to your home), you normally have the right to cancel within 14 days of the contract being formed, without giving a reason.

• Urgent repairs. If you asked us to visit to carry out urgent repairs or maintenance, such as clearing a blocked drain, the 14-day cancellation right does not apply to that urgent work. It does apply to any additional services or goods we supply on that visit that you did not specifically ask for.
• If you ask us to start within 14 days. For non-urgent work, we will only start within the 14-day period if you expressly ask us to. If you then cancel, you must pay for the work carried out up to the point you tell us. If the work is complete, the right to cancel ends, provided you asked us to start and acknowledged that you would lose the right once the work was completed.

To cancel, tell us clearly by phone or email using the details in section 1. You may use the model form below, but you do not have to. We will refund any money due to you within 14 days of being told, using the method you paid with.

Changing your mind about a booking. Separately from your legal right to cancel, you may cancel or rearrange a booking before we set off without charge. If we have already set off, we may charge any attendance charge we told you about when you booked.

Business customers may cancel a booking before we set off without charge. After that, you must pay for work carried out and costs reasonably incurred up to the point of cancellation.

13. When we may cancel or pause work

We may decline, pause or stop work, and will explain why, if:

• it is unsafe to continue, for example because of a hazard that was not disclosed;
• we cannot get the access or permissions needed;
• the work turns out to be the responsibility of a water company or another party; or
• you have not paid an amount that is due and not genuinely disputed.

If we cancel for a reason that is not your fault, you will not pay for work that has not been done, and we will refund anything you have paid in advance for it.

14. Our liability to you

Consumers: if we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach or our failure to use reasonable care and skill. Loss or damage is foreseeable if it is obvious that it will happen or if, when the contract was made, we and you both knew it might happen. We are not responsible for business losses, such as loss of profit or business interruption, where you are a consumer using the property privately.

Business customers: we are not liable for loss of profit, revenue, business or goodwill, or for any indirect or consequential loss. Our total liability arising from any job is limited to the greater of the price paid for that job and the amount recoverable under our insurance for the claim, except where the law does not allow liability to be limited.

For everyone: nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot be limited or excluded by law. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events outside our reasonable control, such as severe weather or flooding. If this happens, we will tell you as soon as possible and do what we reasonably can to minimise the effect.

15. Photographs, footage and your information

We may take photographs and video, including CCTV footage, of the drains and work area to diagnose the problem, record the work and prepare reports. We handle all personal information in line with our privacy policy.

16. Problems and complaints

If you are unhappy with our work or service, please contact us as soon as possible using the details in section 1. Please give us the chance to put it right, including returning to inspect the work where appropriate. We will acknowledge your complaint, look into it and give you our response as soon as we reasonably can.

If you are a consumer and we cannot resolve your complaint, you can get free advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or at citizensadvice.org.uk. Your legal rights include the right to have a service repeated or to receive a price reduction if it was not carried out with reasonable care and skill.

17. Use of this website

The information and advice on this website is general guidance only. It does not replace an inspection of your drains, and it does not form part of any contract with you. We aim to keep it accurate but cannot guarantee it is complete or up to date.

The content and design of this website, including our name and logo, belong to us. You may view and print pages for your own personal use, but you may not copy or reuse them for commercial purposes without our permission.

18. General

• If a court decides that part of these terms is unlawful or unenforceable, the rest of the terms will continue to apply.
• If we delay in enforcing any of these terms, we can still enforce them later.
• Only you and we have rights under this contract; no one else can enforce it.
• We may update these terms from time to time. The terms in force when you book your job will apply to that job.
• These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your local courts.