Dog Grooming Terms and Conditions

Welcome to the dog grooming terms and conditions for Radleys Pet Styling & Academy in Crownhill, Milton Keynes. These terms explain our appointment, cancellation and pricing policies, together with important information about your dog’s health, welfare, behaviour and coat condition. Please read them before booking a professional or student grooming appointment with us.

Your pet’s health and welfare

While your pet is in our care, their health and welfare will always be our primary concern. Your pet will only be groomed according to their tolerance of the grooming process.

If your pet becomes excessively anxious, distressed or unable to tolerate a particular procedure, we may adapt, pause or discontinue the groom. Where appropriate, an alternative method may be used. Charges will apply for the work completed and the time reserved.

During grooming, we may discover a pre-existing health or skin condition that you were not previously aware of. We will inform you so that you can seek appropriate veterinary advice. We do not diagnose veterinary conditions.

Although we take every reasonable precaution, grooming involves the use of sharp equipment and animals may move unexpectedly. Minor injuries can occasionally occur. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our responsibility where an injury has resulted from our failure to exercise reasonable care and skill.

In the event of an accident, illness or serious medical concern, you authorise us to obtain emergency veterinary advice or treatment when we reasonably believe it is necessary. We will make every reasonable effort to contact you first. Unless the need for treatment has arisen through our negligence, veterinary expenses will remain the owner’s responsibility.

You must tell us before the appointment about any medical conditions, allergies, injuries, recent operations, medications, behavioural concerns or previous reactions to grooming.

Grooming feedback

You will be given feedback following your pet’s groom. We are happy to explain the services performed and advise you on maintaining your pet’s coat between appointments.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the groom, please tell us as soon as possible. Where reasonably possible, minor adjustments can be made before you leave the salon.

If you notice an issue after leaving, please contact us within 48 hours. We will assess reasonable requests for adjustment, although additional charges may apply where the request differs from the grooming instructions originally agreed.

Pricing

Our advertised prices are starting prices and apply to pets:

That are professionally groomed on a regular schedule.
Whose coats are appropriately maintained between appointments.
That are reasonably cooperative and able to tolerate the grooming process.
That fall within the expected size and coat type for their breed.

The final price may be higher for:

Matted, compacted, poorly maintained or overgrown coats.
Pets requiring additional time, products or specialist handling.
Pets that are anxious, nervous, uncooperative or difficult to handle safely.
Pets that require frequent breaks.
Pets that are substantially larger or heavier than expected for their breed.
Flea infestations or other conditions requiring additional cleaning or salon treatment.

Where reasonably possible, we will discuss significant additional charges with you before proceeding.

If we cannot complete a groom because of your pet’s behaviour, aggression, health or welfare needs, you will be charged for the appointment time reserved and the work completed. This may be up to the starting price of the booked service.

All charges must be paid in full when your pet is collected.

Booking deposit

A £20 deposit is required to secure your grooming appointment. Your appointment is not confirmed until the deposit has been received.

The deposit will be deducted from the total cost of your pet’s groom, with the remaining balance payable when your pet is collected.

If you cancel or rearrange your appointment with at least 48 hours’ notice, the deposit may be transferred to a new appointment. Deposits can only be transferred once.

If you cancel with less than 48 hours’ notice, arrive too late for the appointment to proceed or fail to attend, the £20 deposit will be retained and applied towards our reasonable loss. Any additional cancellation or missed-appointment charge set out in these terms may also apply, with the deposit deducted from the total amount due.

If Radleys Pet Styling & Academy needs to cancel your appointment, you may transfer the deposit to another appointment or receive a full refund.

The deposit is specific to the appointment and pet for which it was paid and cannot be transferred to another client.

Appointment times

We operate by appointment only, and the time allocated to your pet is reserved specifically for them.

Most grooming appointments take approximately 1½ to 3 hours, although some may take longer depending on your pet’s size, coat condition, temperament and the service required.

We will advise you when your pet is ready for collection. Please do not return before being contacted unless otherwise agreed, as seeing or hearing their owner can cause some dogs to become unsettled and make it difficult to complete the groom safely.

Pets must be collected at the agreed time. Late collection may cause your pet distress and can disrupt subsequent appointments.

If you require an earlier drop-off or later collection, this must be discussed and agreed in advance.

Pets collected after the agreed collection time or after the salon’s closing time may incur a late collection fee of £15 for every 30 minutes, or part thereof. Any applicable fee must be paid when your pet is collected.

Late arrival

Please contact us as soon as possible if you are running late.

If you arrive more than 15 minutes after your appointment time, we may be unable to complete the booked service safely or without affecting later appointments. Your appointment may therefore need to be shortened, rearranged or treated as a missed appointment.

Where the appointment cannot go ahead because of your late arrival, a charge of up to 50% of the booked service may apply.

Cancellations

We require at least 48 hours’ notice if you need to cancel or rearrange an appointment. This gives us a reasonable opportunity to offer the appointment to another client.

Appointments cancelled or rearranged with less than 48 hours’ notice may incur a charge of up to 50% of the usual grooming price.

Missed appointments without notice may be charged at up to 100% of the booked grooming price.

These charges reflect the appointment time reserved and the loss we are likely to incur. If we can fill the appointment, we may reduce or waive the charge at our discretion.

Any outstanding cancellation or missed-appointment fee may need to be paid before another appointment can be booked.

Neglected and matted coats

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, your pet’s comfort and welfare must take priority over appearance.

Where a coat is significantly matted or compacted, clipping the coat short may be the only safe and humane option. We will not undertake prolonged or painful dematting solely to preserve coat length.

Gentle dematting during a routine appointment will normally be limited to a maximum of 15 minutes and will only be attempted where the matting is minimal and your pet can tolerate the process.

Removing a severely matted coat carries additional risks, including:

Skin irritation, redness or soreness.
Previously concealed wounds, bruising or skin conditions becoming visible.
Nicks, grazes or clipper irritation due to matting being tight against the skin.
Changes in behaviour or sensitivity following removal of the coat.
Sunburn or difficulty regulating body temperature after a very short clip.

We will take reasonable care to minimise these risks. However, we cannot accept responsibility for the unavoidable consequences of removing severe matting or for conditions concealed beneath a neglected coat, unless caused by our negligence.

Matted-coat removal requires additional time, labour, products and equipment maintenance and will incur an additional charge. Where reasonably possible, we will explain the proposed procedure and estimated cost before proceeding.

Aggressive or poorly socialised dogs

You must tell us before the appointment if your dog has ever bitten, attempted to bite, displayed aggression or shown significant fear during handling or grooming.

We reserve the right to refuse, pause or discontinue a groom where we reasonably believe that continuing would place your dog, another animal or a person at risk.

If previously undisclosed aggression or dangerous behaviour occurs during the appointment, grooming will stop and you will be contacted to collect your dog. You will be charged for the appointment time reserved and the work completed, which may be up to the full starting price of the booked service.

Failure to disclose known aggression or biting behaviour may result in Radleys Pet Styling & Academy declining to provide future services.

Dog owners and persons in charge of dogs have legal responsibilities under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and other applicable legislation. This includes taking reasonable steps to prevent a dog from behaving in a way that creates a risk of injury.

Vaccinations and infectious conditions

Owners are responsible for ensuring that their pets are appropriately vaccinated and protected against infectious diseases. Puppies will only be accepted for grooming after completing their initial vaccination course and once any waiting period advised by their veterinary surgeon has passed.

You must not bring your pet to the salon if they are showing signs of an infectious condition, including coughing, vomiting, diarrhoea, unusual discharge, ringworm or any unexplained skin condition.

Please contact us before the appointment if your pet:

Has recently been unwell.
Has been in contact with an animal known or suspected to have an infectious condition.
Is awaiting test results or receiving treatment for an infectious condition.

We reserve the right to refuse or rearrange an appointment where we reasonably believe that a pet may present an infection risk. Any cancellation charge will be considered according to the circumstances and the notice provided.

Although we follow appropriate cleaning and hygiene procedures, no environment visited by multiple animals can be guaranteed to be completely free from infectious organisms.

Fleas and other parasites

You must tell us before the appointment if you know or suspect that your pet has fleas, ticks, mites or another contagious parasite.

If fleas are discovered during grooming, we may use an appropriate flea shampoo or discontinue the groom, depending on the severity of the infestation and your pet’s welfare.

An additional charge may apply to cover the products, time and cleaning required to protect other animals and decontaminate the salon. Where practicable, we will contact you before carrying out additional chargeable treatment.

Ticks will only be removed where we consider it safe and appropriate to do so. We may recommend that removal or treatment is undertaken by a veterinary professional.

Salon treatments are not a substitute for veterinary-prescribed parasite prevention. You remain responsible for obtaining any necessary veterinary advice and treating your pet and home environment.

Photographs and videos

We may wish to take photographs or videos of your pet for grooming records, training evidence or promotional purposes.

Photographs required solely for internal grooming records may be retained as part of your pet’s client record where reasonably necessary.

We will obtain your separate permission before using identifiable photographs or videos for public promotional purposes, including our website, social-media pages, printed advertising or educational marketing.

Agreeing to promotional photography is optional and is not a condition of receiving grooming services. You may withdraw your permission for future use at any time by contacting us. Withdrawal will not affect material that has already been printed or lawfully published, although we will remove content under our control where reasonably practicable.

We will not publish your full name, address or other identifying information alongside an image without additional permission.

Personal information and privacy

We collect and use personal information such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, appointment history and relevant information about your pet to:

Arrange and manage appointments.
Provide grooming services safely.
Process payments and maintain business records.
Contact you about your pet or appointment.
Respond to questions, concerns and complaints.
Meet our legal, insurance and accounting obligations.

Your information will be handled in accordance with applicable UK data-protection legislation and our Privacy Notice.

We will only retain personal information for as long as it is reasonably required for the purposes for which it was collected or to meet legal, tax, insurance and record-keeping obligations.

Information may be shared with service providers where necessary to operate the business, such as our booking or payment provider. Information may also be shared with a veterinary professional in an emergency or where required by law.

We will not sell your personal information.

Appointment reminders and service-related communications are not marketing messages. Promotional emails or text messages will only be sent where we have an appropriate lawful basis to do so. You may opt out of marketing at any time without affecting your grooming services.

Further information about how we use and protect personal information, including your data-protection rights, should be provided in a separate Privacy Notice. Photographs and contact details can constitute personal data, according to ICO guidance.

Student grooming appointments

Radleys Pet Styling & Academy is a professional grooming salon and an approved training centre. Where you book a student grooming appointment, some or all of the groom may be completed by a grooming student under the supervision of an experienced tutor.

Student grooming appointments generally take longer than standard professional appointments. Completion times are estimates and may change according to the student’s training needs, your dog’s behaviour, coat condition and welfare.

To participate in the student grooming scheme:

Your dog must be suitable for a training environment.
You may be asked to maintain appointments on a 6 - 8 week schedule.
Your dog may need to be groomed to the breed standard or another recognised style appropriate to the training requirements.
The requested style must be achievable considering the dog’s coat condition, temperament and welfare.

The tutor retains responsibility for supervising the groom and may assist, alter or complete any part of it. Your dog’s welfare will take priority over training or styling objectives.

We cannot guarantee that a particular student will groom your dog or that every appointment will fulfil a specific assessment requirement.

If your dog becomes unsuitable for student grooming, we may stop the appointment or recommend transferring them to our professional grooming service. Any difference in price will be explained and agreed before a future professional appointment is booked.

Student-grooming prices are reduced to reflect the additional time involved and the training environment. Matting, difficult behaviour, salon exclusivity and other additional charges may still apply.

Uncollected pets

Pets must be collected at the time agreed with us. If you expect to be late, you must contact us as soon as possible.

Where a pet is not collected and we cannot contact the owner, we will attempt to contact the emergency person recorded on the pet’s registration form.

Late-collection and sitting fees will continue to apply as set out in these terms. The owner will also be responsible for reasonable additional expenses necessarily incurred in caring for the pet.

If a pet remains uncollected for an unreasonable period and repeated attempts to contact the owner and emergency contact have been unsuccessful, we may contact an appropriate animal-welfare organisation, veterinary professional, local authority or police for advice and assistance.

We will not dispose of, rehome or transfer ownership of a pet merely because it has been collected late. Any action taken will prioritise the animal’s welfare and comply with applicable law.

Complaints

We want every client to be satisfied with the care and service they receive.

If you have a concern about your pet’s groom, please raise it before leaving the salon whenever possible. If the issue becomes apparent later, contact us within 48 hours and provide relevant details and photographs where appropriate.

Complaints should be sent to:

Radleys Pet Styling & Academy
15 Darin Court
Crownhill
Milton Keynes
MK8 0AD

Email: info@radleyspetstyling.com
Telephone: 01908 887067

We will acknowledge your complaint and aim to provide a full response within 14 days. If further investigation is needed, we will tell you and provide a reasonable timescale.

Where a complaint is upheld, an appropriate remedy may include correcting the groom, repeating part of the service, providing a partial refund or offering another reasonable solution. The appropriate remedy will depend upon the circumstances.

You must give us a reasonable opportunity to inspect the issue and, where appropriate, put it right. Nothing in this procedure affects your statutory consumer rights.

Acceptance of terms

By booking or attending an appointment, you confirm that:

You are the pet’s owner or have the owner’s authority to make decisions concerning the pet.
The information you have provided is accurate and complete.
You will notify us if your contact details or your pet’s health, medication, behaviour or circumstances change.
You have read and accepted these terms and conditions.
You understand that promotional photography and marketing communications require separate choices and are not conditions of receiving our services.

If you have any questions about our dog grooming terms and conditions, please contact Radleys Pet Styling & Academy before booking your appointment.

Contact details:

Radleys Pet Styling & Academy
15 Darin Court, Crownhill
Milton Keynes, MK8 0AD
Telephone: 01908 887067
Email: info@radleyspetstyling.com