Aquarium Service Business Help

[Samuel]

Hi all,

I'm starting a maintenance business for freshwater systems and I'm wanting to write up a terms of service form (this is on top of my public liability insurance) to cover myself that extra bit. Loose examples I could include will be things along the lines of:
1. As the customer, you understand you must take care of your fish outside my scheduled maintenance times
2. I will not be responsible for equipment failure such as heater, filter or tank failure however am happy to help rectify any issues
3. I will only schedule in service times when a household member will be present for the duration of service

Any tips, examples or templates that you know of/think of will help me out greatly.
Thanks for your help!
Sam 

[KBOzzie59]

3. I will only schedule in service times when a household member will be present for the duration of service  

to

 3. I will only schedule in service times when an adult household member will be present for the duration of service

[Flumpweesel]

replace "I" in all the above with the business name. 

Number 2 feels to vague  - maybe something like 

2 *Business name* is not responsible for the failure of any equipment owned by the customer 

2a sourcing of equipment is the customers responsibility if you wish *business name* to source or recommend equipment this is a private agreement and *business name* will not be liable for them. 

 

maybe go online and see what other maintenance companies use they will probably have T&C's on their websites 

[Tihshho]

You might want to talk to a lawyer on this to get the verbiage 100% right as well as to have them represent you in case of an incident. It's one thing to offer small scale support, but if something goes wrong you need to be prepared for it. 

Another safe way around this is to go through and get a business together with an LLC. This would mean the business hold liability not you personally. LLC's exist to limit liability, so I would start there before looking at getting your Customer Service Agreement together as well as drafting any waivers. Keep in mind, issues involving health or quality of stocking isn't the only issue that you're up against. When it comes to tanks that you don't know the history of, you're dealing with a glass box with silicon seals that are unknown to you. If you're maintaining a tank and crack the glass or a seal goes out, who do you think the owner is going to point fingers at? 

[nabokovfan87]

Found this, this morning.
 

 

[Brian]

Talk to your insurance agent.  Home and vehicle.  I am assuming your home or at least part of it will be used to store equipment for the business.  The vehicle will also need to be insured as a vehicle used for business.