Payment Terms
Account customers – We offer regular customers 30-day account facilities, subject to status. Invoices and statements are emailed in PDF format. Payment is due the end of the following month by bank transfer only. An account will be suspended if payment is ten days late.
Regular customers without an account – Payment is due on the day, pay the technician cash or card. Invoices are emailed in PDF format.
New customers without an account – Payment is due when the technician arrives and prior to any work being carried out. In recent years a growing number of customers refuse payment after the work is carried out. A £10.00 deposit including VAT is required by card. We like to check the identity of the person we are dealing with. This is refundable by giving a minimum 24 hours notice. If for any reason we are unable to undertake the work a full refund will be given.
Customers own parts
Where a customer supplies their own parts. As an example, a main deal dealer garage supplies a new windscreen and asks us to fit the glass to a vehicle. Smile Windscreens Limited accepts no liability in the event the glass breaks during the fitting process or becomes defective at any point in the future. This also includes side and rear windows and trims. Accident repair customers where we remove and refit and existing glass, this process is undertaken entirely at the customers’ own risk. With the advent of plastic tailgates on many later vehicles, we do not accept any liability for damage to these items while removing existing glass. These are not designed for replacement glass; they are there solely as a cost cutting measure by vehicle manufacturers. They provide no verifiable, tested method to undertake this work.
After market items
Aftermarket items attached to a windscreen or any other item we are working on. We would request that customers remove these items before work commences. These items could include but not limited to dash cams and associated cables, tacho sensors, operators’ licences, phone holders etc. We will remove these items where necessary, but Smile Windscreens Limited accepts no liability in the event of damage. It is the customers responsibility to re-attach these items.
Windscreen replacement ADAS systems
If we are replacing a windscreen that has an ADAS camera. This is a safety system for lane departure warning and can include road sign recognition. This should be calibrated after installation to ensure the system is functioning correctly. Smile Windscreens Limited can undertake this process at the time of fitting; there is an extra charge. Should the customer decline this service Smile Windscreens Limited accepts no liability for the safety of the vehicle. There may be no fault warnings on the vehicle, but this does not mean the vehicle safety systems are still operating correctly. We suggest you check with your insurance company or the vehicle manufacturer for further information.
Warranty
Glass replacements – We provide a 12-month warrant on windscreen replacements, rear screens, and side windows that we supply and fit. Where a customer supplies their own parts, our warranty only covers the fitting and not those parts provided by the customer.
About Windscreen Repairs
Windscreen repairs are not an exact science, and we are therefore unable to provide any guarantee of the outcome. Many variables will affect our ability to complete an effective windscreen repair.
The size and location of the damage. We would not normally repair a stone chip if the damage were within the driver’s direct vision, repairs are not invisible, the driver will still be able to see the damage. Stone chips near the edge of the windscreen become more problematic to repair, damage in the black band is problematic as we rely on placing a mirror behind the damage on the inside of the windscreen enabling us to see what’s happening during the repair process. The closer the damage is to the edge of the glass is also more difficult as the glass is more brittle at the edge of the windscreen.
Contamination caused by water and dirt will mean the visual result will be reduced. If there is any sign of whiteness in or around the area of damage this would indicate water contamination and a repair would make the damage look worse.
On occasions the windscreen may already have cracked and there is a chance this damage will spread during the repair process, we have no way of predicting the outcome of a windscreen repair.
We only make a charge if the repair is successful. Our repairs carry a three-month warranty, if the repair fails an MOT test the cost of the repair will be refunded against the cost of a new windscreen, no cash refunds.
We will normally request a photograph of the damage, this will help us decide if we are able to undertake the repair, or if in our opinion a new windscreen is required.
