Terms & conditions

1. Who I am and what these terms cover

I am John Taylor, trading as Ards Tech Fix, based in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. Ards Tech Fix is a Protoworks service. These terms cover software troubleshooting, setup and occasional IT support for home and business customers, delivered remotely or onsite.

Before a booking is confirmed, I will provide the agreed scope, price or charging basis, payment arrangements, timing and my business contact details, including a geographical address, in a form you can keep, such as email. A booking is agreed when you and I confirm those details and these terms. Sending an enquiry alone does not book work or create a charge.

Any agreed changes will be confirmed in writing. Information about the service that you rely on when booking forms part of our agreement. Nothing in these terms removes your statutory rights.

2. Agreeing the work

I will agree the problems to investigate, the devices or accounts involved and whether the work will be remote or onsite. Fixed-price packages cover the inclusions and exclusions on the relevant package page when you book. Larger software or automation projects need a separate written scope and quote, including any deliverables and ownership arrangements.

An estimate of time is not a fixed-price quote. If a job needs more time, a different approach or work outside the agreed scope, I will explain the options and obtain your approval before adding charges. I will tell you if I think further work is unlikely to be economical.

3. Prices and payment

The current fixed-price packages are New PC Setup (£95), Email & Microsoft 365 Setup (£75) and Cloud Backup Setup (£65). Each includes a local onsite visit within the service area when needed. Hardware, software, licences and subscription charges are separate and must be agreed before purchase.

General and business support costs £50 per hour, with a one-hour minimum and 15-minute increments after the first hour. Agreed diagnostic work is chargeable even where a fault cannot be resolved; this is not a no-fix, no-fee service. This does not affect your rights if my service is faulty.

Business support blocks cost £200 for up to four hours or £375 for up to 7.5 hours. Extra time requires your approval and is charged at the standard hourly rate. The consumer cancellation rules below take priority over minimum charges and block prices where they apply.

I will confirm the total payable, including any applicable taxes and agreed extra costs, before you commit. I will issue an invoice on completion of the agreed work. You can pay immediately on completion; otherwise, payment is due within seven calendar days of receiving the invoice, unless we agree different payment terms in writing before work starts. I will confirm the available payment methods before work starts and show the payment details and due date on the invoice. Upfront payment is only required if separately agreed in writing before work starts. No deposit, credit account or recurring subscription is created simply by making an enquiry.

4. Visits, travel and availability

The local service area covers Newtownards, Bangor, Comber and Dundonald. Remote and local onsite hourly work use the same rate, with no separate local callout fee.

For business visits outside this area, mileage is 55p per mile for the journey from Newtownards and back, including travel between locations where applicable. Travel between employee or business locations counts towards booked support time. Longer journeys or significant travel may need a separate quote. Mileage, parking, tolls and any other travel charges will be agreed before the visit.

Please provide safe access and have the relevant devices, internet connection, licences and account holder available. If either of us cannot keep an appointment, we should let the other know promptly so we can agree what happens next.

5. Your devices, accounts and remote access

You must own the devices and accounts involved or have permission to authorise the work. For business bookings, the owner or nominated contact approves the work and any extra costs. Employees may help during a session but should refer additional work to that contact.

Please enter passwords and approve multi-factor authentication yourself wherever possible. Do not send passwords or recovery codes through the contact form. I will not bypass account ownership checks or install unlicensed software.

Remote access will only be used with your permission for the agreed work. I will explain any remote support software needed. You can end a session at any time; I will not retain unattended access unless we separately agree it. If access is withdrawn, we will agree whether the remaining work can continue another way.

6. Backups and your data

Please keep a current backup of important files before troubleshooting or setup, and tell me if you do not have one. I will discuss material risks before work such as a reset, reinstall or data migration and agree how to proceed. Asking you to maintain a backup does not remove my duty to use reasonable care and skill. Responsibility for loss or damage is addressed in section 10, including the separate provisions for consumers and business customers.

Business customers are responsible for ensuring that critical business data is independently backed up before work starts. The backup should be current, recoverable and separate from the device or system being worked on. Please tell me before work starts if this is not in place, so we can agree whether to postpone the work or arrange a backup first. This responsibility does not remove any backup or data-recovery obligations I expressly accept in our written scope of work.

Cloud Backup Setup configures a supported service using your own account. The first upload may continue after the visit. A basic test restore is performed where sufficient backup data is available. Setup does not include ongoing monitoring or a guarantee that every file can be recovered. You remain responsible for maintaining the subscription, checking backup status and keeping account access secure unless ongoing help is separately agreed.

I will treat information seen during support as confidential and access it only as needed for the agreed work, or where required by law. If business work requires me to process personal data on your behalf, we will agree the necessary data-processing terms before that processing starts.

7. Service limits and third-party providers

This is occasional support, not a managed IT contract. It does not include 24/7 support, guaranteed response times, continuous monitoring, unlimited employee support, server administration, managed cybersecurity, network infrastructure management or an ongoing helpdesk. Ongoing account or device management requires a separate agreement.

Microsoft, backup providers and other suppliers control their own products, availability and account recovery decisions. Your subscriptions and licences remain subject to their terms. I cannot guarantee their availability or that every fault can be repaired, but I remain responsible for carrying out my own work with reasonable care and skill.

8. Cancelling or stopping work

You can ask to cancel or reschedule by email or phone. If you are a consumer booking remotely or away from my business premises, you normally have 14 days after the day the contract is made to cancel without giving a reason. A consumer is someone acting wholly or mainly outside their trade or business. I will provide the applicable cancellation information and a model cancellation form with your booking confirmation; you can also cancel with any clear statement.

If you want work to start during that period, I will ask for your express request in a form you can keep. If you then cancel, you pay only a proportionate amount for the service supplied, based on the agreed total price and only where the legal requirements for charging have been met. Your cancellation right ends on full completion only if you requested early performance and acknowledged beforehand that completion would end that right.

Where a statutory cancellation refund is due, I will return it within 14 days of being told you are cancelling, using the original payment method unless you agree otherwise, without a refund fee. If required cancellation information or your express early-start request was missing, you will not be charged for work supplied during the cancellation period where the law prohibits it. Failure to provide cancellation information may extend your cancellation period.

Outside a statutory cooling-off period, including business bookings, you can still stop the work. You pay for authorised work already supplied and unavoidable third-party costs agreed in advance, with no double recovery. Any charge for a partly completed fixed-price job will reflect the work supplied and will not exceed its agreed price. I will explain the calculation and refund any excess advance payment. There is no automatic cancellation penalty.

I may pause or stop if work would be unsafe, unlawful or cannot continue without necessary access or information. I will explain why, discuss alternatives where possible and refund advance payments for services I do not supply.

9. If something is wrong

I will carry out the agreed service with reasonable care and skill, within the agreed time or a reasonable time if none is agreed. Please contact me if you believe the work has not met our agreement so I can investigate and put it right.

For consumers, where the law entitles you to repeat performance, I will provide it at no extra cost, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience. If that is impossible or not provided as required, you may be entitled to a price reduction, which can be a full refund. These rights are not limited to a short warranty period or lost because you did not report a problem immediately.

A new fault, later change or unrelated problem may need a separate booking. I will explain any proposed charge before doing that work. If a complaint cannot be resolved, I will provide information about a relevant alternative dispute resolution provider and whether I am willing or obliged to use it.

10. Responsibility and governing law

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited. This applies to all customers and takes priority over the limits below.

For consumers, I am responsible for foreseeable loss or damage caused by my breach of our agreement or failure to use reasonable care and skill. The business liability cap and loss exclusions below do not apply to consumers or reduce their statutory rights.

For business customers, subject to the exceptions above and to the extent permitted by law, my total aggregate liability arising under or in connection with our agreement, including liability for breach of contract or negligence, is limited to the total fees paid or payable by you for the booking or service giving rise to the claim.

For business customers, subject to the same exceptions and to the extent permitted by law, I will not be liable for indirect or consequential losses, loss of profit, or loss of business data. The exclusions of loss of profit and loss of business data apply whether the loss is direct or indirect. The exclusion of loss of business data does not apply where that loss results from my breach of backup or data-recovery obligations expressly included in our written scope of work; the business liability cap remains subject to the exceptions above.

These business limitations apply only so far as they satisfy any applicable legal requirement of reasonableness, including under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. They do not remove my duty to carry out the agreed work with reasonable care and skill. Please raise any critical systems, data risks or need for a different liability limit before booking so we can discuss whether suitable terms can be agreed.

These terms are governed by the law of Northern Ireland. A consumer keeps any mandatory protections and rights to bring proceedings in the courts available under the law where they live. For business customers, disputes are subject to the courts of Northern Ireland.

This is version 1.0, dated 15 September 2026. The version supplied with your booking applies to that booking. Later website updates do not change an existing agreement unless we both agree.

Questions, cancellations or complaints

Contact John Taylor at [email protected] or +44 2891 621976. Please include your name and enough details to identify the booking. You can use the postal address supplied with your booking confirmation too.

See the privacy & cookie policy for how your personal information is handled.