Terms & Conditions

1. General

This report has been prepared by C2 Utility Reports, the trading name of Francesca Margiotta, using information and records available at the time the search was undertaken.

The report is prepared for the client and site identified in the quotation and report.

2. Basis of the Report

The report is provided as one of the following, as specified in the accepted quotation:

• a Comprehensive PAS 128:2022 Survey Type D – Quality Level D (QL-D) Desktop Utility Records Search;
• a Core Utility Search; or
• a Bespoke Utility Search, tailored to the requirements of the site and the scope agreed in the quotation.

The Comprehensive service is prepared in accordance with the principles and requirements applicable to a PAS 128:2022 QL-D desktop records search and HSG47 guidance.

The Core Search is a more limited search of core statutory infrastructure and is not presented as a PAS 128:2022 or HSG47 compliant search.

A Bespoke Utility Search is carried out according to the specific scope, asset owners, search area and requirements agreed in the quotation and is not presented as a PAS 128:2022 or HSG47 compliant search unless expressly stated in the quotation.

All services are based on information obtained from utility asset owners, statutory bodies and other available record sources. C2 Utility Reports does not control the accuracy, completeness, availability or currency of information supplied by those third parties.

3. Accuracy and Reliance

Whilst every reasonable effort has been made to identify relevant underground apparatus within the search area, C2 Utility Reports does not warrant or represent that every item of underground apparatus has been identified.

Utility records can be incomplete, inaccurate, outdated or limited in positional accuracy. Records may also differ in format, level of detail and coverage between asset owners.

The information provided should not be treated as confirmation of the exact position, depth, condition or absence of underground apparatus.

Where a utility owner has not responded to an enquiry, this does not confirm that no apparatus is present.

4. Site Works and Safe Digging

This report is a desktop records search and does not replace site investigation, utility detection, locating or safe-digging procedures.

Before excavation, construction or other works that may affect underground apparatus, relevant records should be reviewed and appropriate precautions taken in accordance with applicable legislation, guidance and the requirements of the relevant asset owners.

5. Third-Party Information and Enquiries

C2 Utility Reports compiles and presents information received from third-party asset owners and other record sources.

C2 Utility Reports is not responsible for omissions, inaccuracies or limitations within records supplied by those third parties, or for infrastructure installed, altered or removed after the relevant records were provided.

Where an asset owner has not responded to an enquiry, C2 Utility Reports will normally issue a follow-up enquiry once 10 working days have passed since the original enquiry.

If no response is received within a further 10 working days, the enquiry may be closed and recorded as such within the report where applicable.

This enquiry and follow-up process is carried out in line with the response timescales and guidance applicable to PAS 128:2022 desktop utility records searches, allowing reasonable time for utility asset owners to provide their records.

Closure of an enquiry or failure to receive a response does not confirm the absence of underground apparatus.

6. Report Validity

The report reflects the information and records available at the time the search was undertaken.

Individual utility asset owners may apply their own validity periods, record dates or requirements for obtaining updated plans and information. These may differ between asset owners.

Unless otherwise stated, C2 Utility Reports considers the compiled report to be current for 3 months from the Date of Issue as a general guide. This does not override or extend any validity period or requirement specified by an individual asset owner.

An updated search should be obtained where the relevant information is no longer considered current, an asset owner's validity period has expired, the proposed works or site details have changed, or the site boundary or route has changed.

7. Search Boundary

The search area is based on the site boundary, route or other search area supplied by the client.

The client is responsible for checking that the boundary supplied to C2 Utility Reports correctly represents the full area for which the search is required.

C2 Utility Reports is not responsible for apparatus outside the supplied search area.

Changes to the site boundary, route or site details after a quotation has been accepted may require additional searches, charges or changes to the agreed turnaround time.

8. Who May Rely on the Report

The report is prepared for the named client and site.

Without additional charge, the report may also be relied upon by:

• the current owner of the site;
• the client's professional advisers;
• a party purchasing the whole site and their professional advisers;
• a party funding the whole site and their professional advisers; and
• parties involved in a planning application relating to the site.

Any party relying on the report is subject to the same limitations, conditions and restrictions that apply to the original client.

No other person or organisation may rely on the report without prior written consent from C2 Utility Reports.

9. Distribution and Use of the C2 Report

Where the C2 Utility Reports report itself is shared or relied upon, it should be shared in its entirety, including the Advisory Notes & Limitations and these Terms & Conditions.

The C2 report must not be altered, edited or presented in a way that changes or misrepresents the information, findings or limitations contained within it.

10. Utility Records, Intellectual Property and Use of Information

Utility asset-owner records and information remain the property of the relevant asset owners and may be subject to their own terms and conditions.

C2 Utility Reports' own report structure, formatting, analysis, commentary, conclusions and original content remain the property of C2 Utility Reports.

The client and other parties permitted to rely on the report under Clause 8 may use the utility records and information supplied within the report for the stated site. This includes extracting, reproducing or incorporating relevant utility information into their own reports, drawings, plans, designs and site documentation, subject to any applicable terms or restrictions imposed by the relevant asset owner.

Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of third-party utility records to C2 Utility Reports or the client.

11. Liability

C2 Utility Reports will provide the service with reasonable care and skill.

C2 Utility Reports' responsibility is to carry out the agreed search and accurately compile and present the information received from the relevant asset owners and other record sources.

C2 Utility Reports is not responsible for losses arising solely from:

• omissions, inaccuracies or limitations in third-party records;
• underground apparatus that is not recorded by the relevant asset owner;
• an asset owner's failure or refusal to respond to an enquiry;
• changes to infrastructure after the relevant search or records were obtained; or
• the client's failure to provide an accurate search boundary, route or site information.

The report is intended to support desktop planning and preliminary site planning. It is not a substitute for site investigation, utility detection, physical verification or safe-digging procedures.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability or legal right that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

12. Delays and Circumstances Beyond Our Control

C2 Utility Reports will make reasonable efforts to complete the service within the turnaround period stated in the accepted quotation.

C2 Utility Reports is not responsible for delays caused by circumstances outside its reasonable control, including delays in receiving information from third-party asset owners, network or system failures, industrial action, extreme weather, changes in legislation or regulatory requirements, or other circumstances beyond reasonable control.

13. Severance

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will be treated as modified or removed only to the extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue to apply.

14. Cancellations and Refunds

Cancellation requests must be made in writing.

Subject to applicable statutory rights, the C2 Utility Reports service fee is refundable where cancellation is requested within:

• 48 hours of payment for Comprehensive – Standard;
• 24 hours of payment for Comprehensive – Express; or
• 24 hours of payment for Core Search.

For a Bespoke Utility Search, the applicable cancellation and refund terms will be stated in the quotation.

After the applicable cancellation period, the service fee is non-refundable.

Third-party disbursements that have already been paid or committed on the client's behalf are non-refundable.

Payment processing fees are also non-refundable where they have already been incurred.

Nothing in this clause affects any statutory rights that apply to the client.

15. No Additional Third-Party Contractual Rights

Except for the parties expressly permitted to rely on the report under Clause 8, these Terms do not create contractual rights for any person other than the client and C2 Utility Reports.

A party permitted to rely on the report under Clause 8 is subject to the limitations and conditions applicable to that permitted reliance.

16. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

Any dispute arising from the service or these Terms will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, except where applicable law provides otherwise.