Terms and Conditions

About SubsidenceUK.co.uk

SubsidenceUK.co.uk provides information and practical guidance for people who are concerned about subsidence, structural movement, cracking and related property problems.

We may also provide online tools designed to help you consider signs of possible movement and may, where appropriate, help you identify an independent structural engineer, surveyor, foundation specialist or other relevant professional.

The website is intended primarily for properties within the United Kingdom.

General information, not a structural diagnosis

Information on SubsidenceUK.co.uk is provided for general information and guidance.

It should not be regarded as a structural survey, engineering report, building survey, valuation, insurance assessment or professional diagnosis of subsidence.

Subsidence and structural movement can have many different causes. Photographs, descriptions and answers given through an online form cannot provide the same information as a physical inspection of a property by an appropriately qualified professional.

Where there is significant cracking, continuing movement, safety concerns, or uncertainty about the condition of a property, you should consider obtaining appropriate professional advice.

Our Free Subsidence Check Tool

SubsidenceUK.co.uk may provide a Free Subsidence Check Tool to help users consider signs that can sometimes be associated with subsidence or structural movement.

The tool is intended as a general guide only.

A result from the tool does not confirm that a property has subsidence and does not confirm that a property is free from subsidence.

Buildings, foundations, soils, drainage systems, trees and surrounding ground conditions differ considerably. An online tool cannot take account of every factor that may affect an individual property.

You should therefore not make an important financial, structural, insurance or property-purchase decision solely on the basis of a result from the Subsidence Check Tool.

Information you provide to us

If you contact SubsidenceUK.co.uk, you are responsible for ensuring that the information you provide is accurate to the best of your knowledge.

This may include descriptions of cracks or movement, information about the property, photographs, its location and details of when a problem first became apparent.

The usefulness of any general guidance we provide may depend upon the accuracy and completeness of the information you give us.

Please do not deliberately provide false, misleading or unlawful information.

Photographs and files

You may be able to send photographs or other files to help us understand a property problem.

By submitting a photograph or file, you confirm that you are entitled to provide it to us for the purpose of considering your enquiry.

Please avoid including personal, confidential or sensitive information that is not relevant to the property problem.

Photographs and files will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Introductions to specialists

Where appropriate, SubsidenceUK.co.uk may help you identify or contact an independent structural engineer, surveyor, foundation specialist, contractor or other property professional.

Any professional or business introduced through SubsidenceUK.co.uk is an independent person or organisation unless we specifically tell you otherwise.

An introduction does not mean that the specialist is an employee, agent or representative of Prudent Plus Limited.

You are free to decide whether or not to contact, appoint or instruct any specialist suggested to you.

We will not pass your personal contact details, property information, photographs or enquiry to a specialist without your express permission.

Choosing and appointing a specialist

If you decide to appoint a structural engineer, surveyor, contractor or other specialist, any agreement for inspections, reports, repairs, investigations, fees or other services will normally be between you and that specialist.

You should satisfy yourself that the person or company you appoint is suitable for the work you require.

Depending on the type of work involved, you may wish to consider qualifications, professional memberships, insurance, experience, references, quotations and the proposed scope of work before making an appointment.

SubsidenceUK.co.uk cannot guarantee the availability of any specialist or that a particular specialist will agree to accept an instruction.

Independent specialists and contractors

Independent professionals and businesses are responsible for their own advice, inspections, reports, recommendations, quotations and work.

SubsidenceUK.co.uk and Prudent Plus Limited are not responsible for controlling the way an independent specialist performs their work.

Nothing on this website should be understood as guaranteeing the workmanship, conclusions, recommendations or conduct of an independent third party.

This does not affect any rights you may have directly against that specialist under applicable law or under any agreement you make with them.

No guarantee that cracking is subsidence

Cracks in buildings can occur for many reasons.

They may be associated with subsidence, but they may also result from settlement, thermal movement, shrinkage, defective materials, lintel movement, alterations, corrosion, moisture changes or other causes.

The presence of a crack, sticking door, uneven floor or any other individual symptom does not by itself establish that a property is suffering from subsidence.

Similarly, the absence of commonly recognised signs cannot guarantee that movement is not occurring.

Urgent or dangerous situations

SubsidenceUK.co.uk is not an emergency structural service.

If you believe that part of a building may be unsafe, at risk of collapse, or presents an immediate danger to people or neighbouring property, you should not rely on the website or wait for a response to an online enquiry.

Seek appropriate urgent professional or emergency assistance.

Insurance

Information on SubsidenceUK.co.uk is not insurance advice.

If you have buildings insurance and believe that your property may be suffering from subsidence or structural movement, you may wish to check the terms of your policy and consider contacting your insurer.

Insurance policies vary, and we cannot confirm whether a particular claim, investigation or repair will be covered.

You should take care before arranging significant investigation or repair work if doing so could affect an insurance claim.

Property purchases and sales

Information from SubsidenceUK.co.uk should not be used as a substitute for appropriate professional advice when buying or selling a property.

We do not provide valuations and do not guarantee the marketability, mortgageability, structural condition or future value of any property.

If structural movement may materially affect a proposed purchase or sale, you should consider obtaining advice appropriate to the transaction.

Accuracy of website information

We take reasonable care when preparing information for SubsidenceUK.co.uk and aim to keep the website useful and accurate.

However, property defects are complex and information that is generally correct may not apply to every building or every set of circumstances.

We do not guarantee that every page will always be complete, current or suitable for a particular property.

Website content may be corrected, updated, removed or replaced when necessary.

Availability of the website

We aim to keep SubsidenceUK.co.uk available, but we cannot guarantee uninterrupted access.

The website, forms or tools may occasionally be unavailable because of maintenance, technical problems, security issues or circumstances outside our reasonable control.

We may change, suspend or discontinue a feature where reasonably necessary.

Free services

Some information, tools or enquiry services on SubsidenceUK.co.uk may be provided without charge.

The fact that a service is described as free means that we do not charge you for using that particular service unless we clearly tell you otherwise before you choose to proceed.

A specialist introduced to you may charge for an inspection, report, consultation, investigation, repair or other service.

Any such charges should be agreed between you and the specialist.

Third-party websites

SubsidenceUK.co.uk may contain links to websites operated by other organisations.

These links may be provided because we believe the information or service may be useful.

We do not control independent websites and are not responsible for their content, availability, security, terms or privacy practices.

You should review the relevant terms and privacy information when using another organisation's website.

Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, the text, design, graphics, branding, tools and other original content on SubsidenceUK.co.uk are owned by or licensed to Prudent Plus Limited.

You may view and use the website for your own personal and legitimate purposes.

You may not reproduce substantial parts of the website, copy our tools, republish our content commercially, systematically extract information from the site or represent our content as your own without permission, except where permitted by law.

Acceptable use

You must not use SubsidenceUK.co.uk:

• For any unlawful or fraudulent purpose.
• To deliberately provide false or misleading information.
• To upload malicious software, harmful code or infected files.
• To interfere with the operation or security of the website.
• To attempt unauthorised access to our systems or data.
• To scrape or harvest information in a way that disrupts the website.
• To impersonate another person without authority.
• To abuse, threaten or harass people contacted through the website.

We may restrict access where we reasonably believe the website is being deliberately misused.

Our liability

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so.

Nothing in these terms affects any statutory rights that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted.

The information and free tools provided by SubsidenceUK.co.uk are intended to help users understand property issues and consider appropriate next steps. They are not intended to replace an inspection where one is reasonably required.

To the extent permitted by law, we are not responsible for losses arising solely because a user treats general website information or an automated tool result as a definitive structural diagnosis.

We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of independent structural engineers, surveyors, contractors or other third parties.

We do not exclude responsibility for loss or damage caused by our own negligence where liability cannot lawfully be excluded.

Your legal rights

These Terms and Conditions are not intended to remove or reduce rights that you have under applicable consumer protection law.

If applicable law gives you rights that cannot legally be excluded, restricted or waived, those rights continue to apply regardless of anything stated in these Terms and Conditions.

Privacy

Our collection and use of personal information is explained separately in our Privacy Policy .

In particular, we will not pass your personal details, property information, photographs or enquiry to a specialist or other business without your express permission, except where disclosure is required by law or where technical processing by a service provider is necessary as explained in our Privacy Policy.

Changes to these Terms and Conditions

We may update these Terms and Conditions when our website, services or legal requirements change.

The latest version will be published on SubsidenceUK.co.uk.

Changes will apply from the date the updated terms are published, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

If part of these terms is unenforceable

If a court or other competent authority decides that any part of these Terms and Conditions is unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply so far as legally possible.

Governing law

These Terms and Conditions and your use of SubsidenceUK.co.uk are governed by the applicable laws of the United Kingdom.

If you are a consumer, nothing in these terms is intended to deprive you of any mandatory legal protections or rights concerning where legal proceedings may be brought.

Contact us

SubsidenceUK.co.uk is operated by:

Prudent Plus Limited
ICO Registration Reference: ZB208127
Email:

If you have a question about these Terms and Conditions or about the operation of SubsidenceUK.co.uk, please contact us.