Introduction

This website is owned and operated by the Federation of Master Builders (Limited by Guarantee), registered in England No. 368163, Registered Office Address: David Croft House, 25 Ely Place, London EC1N 6TD. Telephone number: 020 7025 2900. Email: [email protected]. Our VAT number is 673053834.

The National Warranty of Registered Builders (FMB) Ltd and FMB Insurance Services Ltd are wholly owned subsidiary companies of the Federation of Master Builders.

Please read these terms and conditions (TCs) carefully. They cancel and replace any previous versions. By using this website you agree to be bound by these TCs.

Definitions

The following definitions apply in these TCs:

"App" - the Find a Builder App

"Content" - any content uploaded to our website or the App by you in connection with the Service

"Customer" - a person who uses Find A Builder to find a local FMB Member

"Member" - Builders who are members of the FMB

"Service" - The Find A Builder service or the Dispute Resolution service (as applicable)

"User" / "you" - a person who uses our Service including Members (except where the context requires otherwise)

Changes to the terms and conditions

We may change these terms and conditions by posting the revised version on our website for a reasonable period before they become effective. Please check our website from time to time. You will be bound by the revised agreement if you continue to use our Service following the effective date shown.

Use of service

  • You are not eligible for, and must not use, our Service if you are under 18 years of age.
  • The extent of our Find A Builder service is to enable Customers to search for Members by location / trade and/or any other criteria which we consider appropriate. We may change such criteria at any time.
  • When deciding whether to accept a Member, we rely on certain information from and about the prospective Member. While we take reasonable care with this process, and while Members are subject to the Dispute Resolution Procedure and agree to our code of conduct, we cannot provide any guarantee concerning, and are not responsible for, the communications, behaviour, suitability of, quality of work or other acts or omissions by or on behalf of any Member. These are matters outside our reasonable control.
  • FOR CUSTOMERS:
  • It is entirely the Customer’s responsibility to carefully evaluate and select a suitable Member (including as to insurance cover, guarantees, qualifications and references) and to negotiate terms for any work to be undertaken.
  • We do not act as the Customer’s general contractor, agent, lawyer or adviser. Customers use our Find A Builder service at their own risk.
  • We offer no guarantee that any or any particular Member will agree to undertake any particular work for a Customer.
  • We offer no guarantee that any or any particular Member will contact a Customer if the Customer emails the Member through the email a member facility.
  • If you use the Find A Builder service to post a job we will share details of the job and the first part of your postcode with Members to enable them to bid for the job.
  • We will share your full contact information with the first three Members who bid for a job - to enable them to contact you direct.
  • We may share your details with further Members until the job is accepted or you withdraw your job request.

If you are a Member you agree:

  • that you will automatically be included on Find A Builder unless you ask to be removed (excluding Industry Partners);
  • that we have no control over the availability or frequency of work via Find A Builder and make no guarantee that work will be obtained via the Service;

You (ie all Users) agree that you will not:

  • In connection with the Service breach any applicable law, regulation or code of conduct or infringe any rights of others;
  • publish or send any Content which is or becomes false or misleading, or is sexually explicit, sexually suggestive, vulgar, indecent, obscene, racist, xenophobic, abusive, unlawful, deceitful, invasive of another’s privacy, confidential, offensive, harmful, violent, threatening, harassing, stalking, defamatory, or which encourage or assist any of the foregoing, or which we otherwise consider is inappropriate;
  • disclose or make accessible to any third party any password(s), activation code(s) or similar information or use them for any purpose other than authentication for the Service.
  • publish or send any Content which involves any personal data of another person (ie information enabling someone to be identified or contacted eg name, address, email address, photo etc) unless that person is 18 years or over and you have obtained that person’s explicit written consent;
  • publish or send any Content which links to any third party websites which are illegal or contain inappropriate content;
  • use the Find A Builder service for any purpose other than for the genuine purpose of finding a Member for building work;
  • use the Service for third party marketing, junk mail, spam and pyramid or similar or fraudulent schemes;
  • do anything which may have the effect of disrupting the Service including worms, viruses, software bombs or mass mailings; or
  • attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service or equipment used to provide the Service.

We are not responsible for Content including Find A Builder feedback posted on our Service. We cannot guarantee that Content is accurate or reliable. It is not practical for us to vet or monitor Content.

We reserve the right to recommend our Dispute Resolution Procedure to parties in the case of a dispute, including disputes arising from feedback. However, we do not guarantee that it will achieve satisfaction for either party.

We reserve the right to reject, suspend, alter, remove or delete Content or to disclose to the relevant authorities any Content if it breaches our terms and conditions or is necessary to protect us or others or if we are required to do so by law or appropriate authority. If so, you must not attempt to re-publish or re-send the relevant Content.

You must notify us immediately if you become aware of any inappropriate Content or inappropriate behaviour by any User. You can do this by emailing [email protected] with the subject title 'Report Abuse'.

Any content which we ourselves make available in connection with the Service is intended for very general guidance but we cannot guarantee that it is accurate or up to date. Before acting on such information, you must make your own appropriate enquiries including as to its accuracy and suitability for your purposes and take appropriate professional or other advice. You rely on such information at your own risk.

Your account is for your personal use only and is non-transferable. You must not authorise or permit any other person to use your account. You must take reasonable care to protect and keep confidential your password and other account or identity information. You must notify us immediately of any apparent breach of security such as loss, theft, misuse or unauthorised disclosure or use of a password. In such case you should also immediately amend your password via our Service. You are responsible for third parties who use your account or identity (unless and to the extent that we are at fault).

You must ensure that all contact information (eg email and postal addresses) which you provide us is accurate and not misleading and that you will update it so that it remains so. We are not responsible for any loss or damage arising from incorrect contact information.

You must comply with any guidelines or requirements on our website (for example, any file-size or other technical requirements in relation to the publication or sending of Content on or via our Service). You must promptly comply with any reasonable request or instruction by us in connection with the Service.

We reserve the right to irretrievably delete any Content at any time.

Cancellation of registration

We may at any time (giving notice by email to the extent reasonably practicable) cancel your registration for or use of our Service with or without cause. We are not responsible for loss or damage resulting from cancellation of your registration for or of use of our Service. If we have given notice of cancellation in accordance with these TCs, you must not attempt to re-register for or use our Service.

Functioning of our service

You may access the Find A Builder Service via our website or the App.  When using the App you agree to be bound by the End User Licence Agreement (EULA).

You will need reliable internet access. Some features will require broadband access for the best quality of service. We cannot and do not accept any responsibility for your hardware or software or for the costs of accessing our Service.

We will do our best to maintain the operation of our Service and to rectify faults if they occur but cannot guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted or error-free.

We may have to suspend the Service for repair, maintenance, improvement or other technical reason.

Supplier directory

The listings in the Supplier Directory are independent of the FMB and do not constitute endorsement or recommendation from the FMB.

Third party websites

We may link to third party websites which may be of interest to you. We do not recommend or endorse those sites or the products or services which they offer nor are we legally responsible for them as they are outside our reasonable control. You use such third party sites at your own risk.

Intellectual property rights

All trade marks, logos, graphics, images, photographs, animation, videos, text and software used on the website, the App or in connection with the Service are our intellectual property or that of our partners or Users. You may display, reproduce or otherwise use such content insofar as necessary to view it within our site for genuine purposes. You may not otherwise retrieve, display, modify, copy, print, sell, download, hire or reverse engineer (unless permitted by applicable law) or use such content without our specific prior written consent.

If you publish any Content on our Service, you grant us a worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to copy, alter, adapt, translate, display, sublicence, assign and create derivative works from that Content in any media. You waive your moral rights in relation to such content to the extent legally permitted.

Liability

Nothing in this agreement in any way limits or excludes our liability for negligence causing death or personal injury or for fraudulent misrepresentation or for anything which may not legally be excluded or limited.

You must give us a reasonable opportunity to remedy any matter for which we are potentially liable before you incur any costs remedying the matter yourself.

If you are a consumer (ie not acting in the course of a business), we shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused by us or our employees or agents in circumstances where:

  • there is no breach of a legal duty of care owed to you by us or by any of our employees or agents;
  • such loss or damage is not a reasonably foreseeable result of any such breach;
  • such loss or damage is caused by you, for example by not complying with this agreement; or
  • such loss or damage relates to a business.

If you are a business, our liability of any kind (including our own negligence) with respect to our Service for any one event or series of related events is limited to the sum of £1,250

If you are a business, in no event (including our own negligence) will we be liable for any:

  • economic losses (including, without limit, loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings);
  • loss of goodwill or reputation;
  • special, indirect or consequential losses; or
  • damage to or loss of data (even if we have been advised of the possibility of such losses).

If you are a consumer (ie not acting in the course of a business), you will liable for any loss or damage we suffer arising from your breach of this agreement or misuse of our Service.

If you are a business, you will indemnify us against all claims and liabilities directly or indirectly related to your breach of this agreement or misuse of our Service.

English Law

These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law and any disputes will be decided only by the courts of the United Kingdom.

General

Headings used in this agreement are for information and not binding. This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and us in connection with our Service. Any failure by either party to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this agreement does not mean this is a "waiver" (ie that it can’t be enforced later). If any part of this agreement is ineffective or unenforceable for any reason, then it will be replaced with a provision which as far as possible achieves the same thing and the rest of the agreement shall continue to apply. A person who is not a party to this agreement shall have no rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this agreement except insofar as expressly stated otherwise.

Complaints

If you have any complaints, please contact us via the contact details on the website.

Join the FMB promotions

1. Terms and conditions Member Referral Scheme

The Federation of Master Builders (“The FMB”) is the promoter.

The Member Referral Scheme (“Offer”) refers to a promotion to save 25% off an FMB membership subscription when a new member is referred by an existing member.

  1. To qualify for the offer, an existing FMB member will refer a prospective member, who must have their application approved, and their membership activated for the existing member to qualify for the Offer.
  2. The Offer is 25% off the standard membership fee of £770.54 (including VAT).
  3. The Offer will apply to existing members only.
  4. The Offer discount will be applied to the renewal subscription.
  5. All applications are subject to The FMB’s standard membership requirements and vetting and inspection processes. Submission of an application does not guarantee acceptance into membership.
  6. Should the applicant withdraw an application after The FMB have received it or any information arises from the vetting process that mean the membership application is unable to be processed, the Offer discount will not be applied to the referring member’s subscription.
  7. The FMB will not be able to share any details of rejected referred applications with the referring member.
  8. The FMB cannot be held responsible for any lost or misdirected applications.
  9. This Offer is not valid in conjunction with any other offers available to existing FMB members.
  10. The FMB reserves the right to cancel or amend this Offer and these Terms and Conditions without notice.
  11. The Terms and Conditions are governed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
  12. The Promoter is The Federation of Master Builders Limited, its registered office is Star House, Star Hill, Rochester. Kent.  ME1 1UX.

2. Terms and conditions 25% off / three months free in your first year of FMB membership

The Federation of Master Builders (“The FMB”) is the promoter.

The 25% off your first year of FMB membership (“Offer”) refers to a promotion for new FMB members to save 25% off (which equates to three months free) their first year of FMB membership subscription. The Offer may also be referred to as three months free in your first year of FMB membership subscription.

  1. The Offer is 25% off (which equates to three months) the standard membership fee of £770.54 (including VAT) for the first year of membership.
  2. The Offer is only available by invitation of the FMB OR for users who targetted as part of a designated Google / Meta ads campaign. It does not apply to existing members of the FMB.
  3. To qualify for the Offer new applicants will need to have started an FMB membership application between 00:01 hours on 1 September 2024 and midnight on 15 December 2024.
  4. This Offer is not valid in conjunction with any other FMB membership offers available.
  5. All applications are subject to The FMB’s standard membership requirements and vetting and independent inspection processes. Submission of an application does not guarantee acceptance into membership.
  6. The FMB reserves the right to cancel or amend this Offer and these Terms and Conditions without notice.
  7. The Terms and Conditions are governed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
  8. The Promoter is The Federation of Master Builders Limited, its registered office is Star House, Star Hill, Rochester, Kent ME1 1UX.

3. Terms and conditions Join the FMB 2024 offer

The Federation of Master Builders (“FMB”) is the promoter.

The ‘Pay no upfront joining fee’ offer ("Offer") refers to a promotion to pay NO upfront application fee when applying to join the FMB in 2024.

  1. The offer is to pay no upfront application fee, normally £171.00 (including VAT), when you apply to join the FMB.
  2. Upon successfully joining the FMB, an inspection fee of £10.92 per month (+VAT) will be applied in the first year of membership when paying on a monthly basis by direct debit. Where payments are made on an annual basis, a one-off inspection fee of £131.04 (+VAT) will be applied when the first membership payment is made.  
  3. The offer is available from 00:01 hours on 1 January 2024 until midnight on 15 December 2024.
  4. All applications are subject to the FMB’s standard membership requirements and vetting and inspection processes. Submission of an application does not guarantee acceptance into membership.
  5. The FMB reserves the right to cancel or amend this offer and these Terms and Conditions without notice.
  6. The Terms and Conditions are governed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
  7. The Promoter is The Federation of Master Builders Limited, its registered office is Star House, Star Hill, Rochester. Kent ME1 1UX.

2 September 2024