Terms of Service

1. Agreement to these terms

These terms form the agreement between you and PUMA Solutions whenever you book work with us. They apply when you accept a quote by telephone, by email, by text message or in person, and by accepting a quote you accept these terms.

Where you hold a signed commercial services agreement with us, that agreement governs and these terms fill any gap it leaves rather than overriding it. Where a written estimate for a specific job contains a term that conflicts with these, the written estimate governs for that job.

No individual crew member has authority to vary these terms on site. If something needs to change, it is changed in writing by the office.

2. Definitions

• "We", "us", "our" — PUMA Solutions.
• "You" — the person or business booking the work, whether or not you own the property.
• "Material" — anything we are engaged to remove.
• "Excluded material" — the categories listed in section 11 which we are not permitted to carry.
• "Flat rate" — a published per-item price for a listed residential item.
• "Estimate" — a written figure for hourly or non-standard work, based on the information available when it was given.
• "Service area" — the communities listed on our service areas page, and such other locations as we agree in writing.

3. Services covered

These terms apply to residential junk removal, commercial waste management, you-pack trailer haul-away, property cleanouts and janitorial placements. Sections 4 to 6 apply to every service; sections 7 to 10 add terms specific to particular services and prevail over the general terms where they differ.

4. Quotes, estimates and how prices are set

4.1 Flat rates

Published flat rates apply within the service area and include collection of the item from wherever it sits in the property, loading, transport, disposal and sales tax. They are not subject to fuel surcharges, environmental levies, administrative fees or any other addition beyond the two surcharges below.

The only surcharges that exist are: $50 where a bed frame includes both a headboard and a footboard, and $50 where an appliance requires elaborate plumbing disconnection rather than a simple isolator valve. Both are disclosed before booking wherever the described job makes them foreseeable. If a surcharge only becomes apparent on arrival, the crew will tell you before loading and you may decline that item without charge.

4.2 Multi-item discount

Where more than one item from the flat-rate list is removed on a single visit, $50 is deducted from the rate of every item, not merely the second and subsequent items. The discount applies per visit. Splitting the same items across two visits forfeits it, and we will point this out rather than let it happen quietly.

4.3 Estimates for hourly and non-standard work

Cleanouts, commercial work and anything not on the flat-rate list are quoted as written estimates following a walkthrough, in person or by video call. An estimate states the assumed crew hours, trailer count and expected disposal band, and it states the assumptions it rests on so that you can see what would change the figure.

An estimate is not a fixed price. It is, however, a commitment about process: if the work is going to exceed the estimate, we stop and speak to you before that happens. You may then authorise the additional work, reduce the scope, or end the job and pay for what has been done. We do not present a revised figure for the first time on an invoice.

4.4 Validity

Quotes and estimates are valid for 30 days. After that we will normally honour them anyway, but disposal facility fees and scrap prices move, and we reserve the right to requote. If we do requote, we will explain what changed.

5. Booking, scheduling and access

5.1 Arrival windows

We book arrival windows rather than exact times, because a job earlier in the day can run long and because we would rather give you an honest window than a precise time we cannot keep. Where a window is going to be missed we will contact you as soon as we know, not after it has passed.

5.2 Somebody must be present

A person aged eighteen or over must be present at the start of the visit to confirm the item list and, for residential work, to settle payment. For a straightforward single-item pickup this involves you for under ten minutes. Where you cannot attend, you may nominate somebody in advance in writing, and we will take that person's confirmation of the item list as your own.

5.3 Access and site conditions

You are responsible for providing safe and lawful access to the property and to the material, and for confirming that you are entitled to dispose of it. That includes clearing and, in winter, salting the route the crew must walk; ensuring driveway or street space is available for the vehicle or trailer; and booking any service elevator or loading bay a building requires.

Trailers are placed only on firm, reasonably level ground. Our crew will decline a placement they judge unsuitable and will say so at the time rather than afterwards. Where you direct a placement over that objection, section 16.3 applies.

5.4 Pets, children and other occupants

Doors stand open throughout a collection. Please secure pets in a closed room and keep children clear of the carry route. We are not liable for an animal that leaves the property through a door we were using in the ordinary course of the work.

6. Payment

Residential work is payable in full on completion, by cash or card. Card payments are taken on a terminal at the property; we cannot take card details over the telephone.

Commercial accounts are invoiced on agreed terms, in the absence of which payment is due within 30 days of invoice. Larger multi-day cleanouts are invoiced in stages against milestones agreed in the written estimate, so that nothing arrives as a single alarming figure at the end.

Overdue commercial invoices may attract interest at the lesser of 1.5% per month or the maximum rate permitted by Minnesota law, together with reasonable costs of collection. We will contact you before applying either.

Disposal charges on trailer jobs are passed through at the receiving facility's published rate plus a 10% surcharge. The facility's own figures accompany the invoice so the arithmetic is checkable.

7. Additional terms: you pack, we haul

• The trailer remains our property at all times. You are responsible for it from delivery until collection.
• The standard booking period is a long weekend. Extended holds are available by prior agreement and at a rate confirmed before delivery.
• Do not move or tow the trailer. If it needs repositioning, call us.
• Do not load above the sides, and do not load material that would make the trailer unsafe or unlawful to tow. We may refuse to collect an unsafely loaded trailer until it is corrected, and a wasted collection attempt is chargeable.
• Excluded material must not be placed in the trailer. Where it is found, we will set it aside and it remains your responsibility; sorting time on hourly jobs is chargeable.
• You are responsible for damage to the trailer beyond fair wear and tear while it is in your possession.
• Trailers cancelled after placement are charged the full trailer fee.

8. Additional terms: property cleanouts

• Labour is $150 per hour for a two-person crew, with a two-hour minimum. Time is billed on actuals — if we finish in five hours rather than seven, you are billed for five.
• Trailer hire and disposal are additional and are charged at the rates in section 7 and on our pricing page.
• You warrant that you are entitled to dispose of everything on the removal list. Where you are acting as a landlord, executor or agent, you warrant that you hold the authority to instruct us.
• Anything not on the agreed removal list stays where it is. Where a keep-list is used, we work to it literally.
• We photograph the property before and after the work as a matter of course, and retain those photographs under the schedule in our privacy policy.
• Where a property involves biohazard material — animal waste, extensive mould, contaminated bedding — that requires a licensed remediation contractor. We will tell you honestly rather than take the booking.

9. Additional terms: janitorial placements

• Placed personnel work to the scope of work agreed before the first shift. Material changes to that scope are agreed with the office, not with the individual on site.
• Unless otherwise agreed, placed personnel use your existing supplies and equipment. We can supply consumables and equipment instead, quoted in advance.
• Placed personnel remain engaged through us. You may not solicit or directly engage an individual introduced by us for twelve months following their last shift without our written agreement.
• If a placement is not up to standard, tell your success manager and we will replace the person. We would rather hear it on day one than at the end of a booking.
• Very short bookings carry a proportionally higher rate, because the placement and briefing effort is the same regardless of duration.

10. Additional terms: commercial accounts

• Commercial pricing is quoted by container size, collection frequency and material type, following a review of actual fill rates rather than inherited assumptions.
• Where we place work with a vetted regional contractor, we remain responsible to you for that work. You deal with your success manager, not with the contractor.
• Container contents must not include excluded material. Contamination charges levied by a receiving facility are passed through at cost, with the facility's documentation.
• Either party may terminate a rolling commercial arrangement on 60 days' written notice unless a signed agreement provides otherwise. We do not use automatic renewal clauses. If you want to stop, you tell us and it stops.
• Rate changes are notified at least 60 days in advance, in writing, with the reason stated.

11. Excluded and prohibited material

We are not permitted to collect, carry or dispose of the following, whatever the circumstances:

• Paints, stains, solvents, adhesives and thinners
• Motor oil, fuel, antifreeze and other automotive fluids
• Pesticides, herbicides, fertilisers and pool chemicals
• Asbestos-containing material of any kind
• Medical sharps, pharmaceuticals and biohazard material
• Propane tanks, fuel cans, compressed gas cylinders and fire extinguishers
• Ammunition, explosives and firearms
• Radioactive material
• Any material whose transport or disposal would breach federal, state or local law

Your county household hazardous waste facility accepts most of these from residents, frequently free of charge, and we will point you to the nearest one. If you are unsure whether an item qualifies, call and describe it before collection day — we would far rather answer the question than leave you with a half-finished job.

Where excluded material is discovered in a load, we will set it aside and notify you. It remains your responsibility. Any facility charge, fine or clean-up cost arising from excluded material you provided is recoverable from you.

12. Title to removed material

Title to material passes to us when it is loaded, and we may dispose of, recycle, donate or scrap it as we see fit. This is what allows us to route material to recovery rather than landfill.

It also means the process is irreversible: once an item is loaded and the visit is complete, we cannot retrieve it for you. If you are undecided about an item, leave it out of the load. A crew member who senses hesitation will ask, but the decision is yours to make before it goes on the trailer.

You warrant that you own the material or are authorised to dispose of it, and that it is free of any lien, security interest or third-party claim.

13. Valuables and personal items

Cleanouts periodically turn up documents, photographs, jewellery and cash — particularly estate work. Our crews set anything of that character aside and notify you rather than exercising judgement about it, and this is a standing instruction rather than a courtesy.

Nonetheless, you should remove anything of value, and anything of sentimental or evidentiary importance, before work begins. Check under and behind drawers, beneath cushions, and inside furniture that is being removed. We are not liable for an item disposed of that was inside or beneath something on the agreed removal list.

14. Cancellation, rescheduling and failed access

• More than 24 hours before the window: cancel or reschedule at no charge, by telephone, email or text.
• Within 24 hours: a call-out fee equal to the two-hour minimum ($300) may apply, at our discretion. We rarely apply it for genuine emergencies and we will tell you if we intend to.
• Failed access: where a crew attends and cannot gain access, or nobody aged eighteen or over is present, the same call-out fee may apply.
• Trailers: cancelled after placement, the full trailer fee is charged.
• Cancellation by us: where we cancel — weather, vehicle failure, crew illness — you owe nothing and we will offer the earliest alternative window available. We will not charge you for our own failure to attend.

15. Insurance

We carry commercial general liability insurance and maintain workers' compensation coverage for our employees. Certificates of insurance are available to commercial clients and property managers on request, and we will name an additional insured where a building requires it, given reasonable notice.

Vetted regional contractors are required to maintain their own coverage as a condition of receiving work from us.

16. Liability

16.1 What we accept responsibility for

We take reasonable care in and around your property. Where our crew negligently damages your property, we will put it right — by repair, by replacement, or by payment, at our reasonable election after inspection.

16.2 What we do not accept responsibility for

• Pre-existing damage, wear or defects, including marks revealed by removing an item that had been concealing them.
• Damage arising from structural defects, or from a floor, stair or railing not sound enough to bear normal working loads.
• Damage that is an unavoidable consequence of removing an item along the only route available. Where that risk exists we will point it out before starting, and proceeding is your decision.
• Loss of an item that was inside or beneath something on the agreed removal list.
• Indirect or consequential loss, including lost profits, lost rent, missed showings and delay costs.

16.3 Work carried out against our advice

Where you direct us to proceed after we have advised against it — a marginal doorway, an unsuitable trailer placement, a route the crew has flagged as risky — we will do as you ask, but we do not accept liability for damage arising from that specific direction. The crew will note the conversation at the time.

16.4 Limit

Except in respect of death or personal injury caused by our negligence, and except where liability cannot lawfully be limited, our total liability for any single job is limited to the greater of the amount you paid for that job or $10,000.

17. Making a damage claim

The procedure is deliberately short.

1. Tell us within seven days of the visit, by telephone or email. Earlier is better; damage is much easier to attribute while the job is fresh.
2. Send photographs of the damage, and of the surrounding area for context.
3. Do not repair it yet unless leaving it would cause further damage. We may want to inspect, and an already-repaired item is difficult to assess.
4. We respond within five business days with a decision or, where we need to inspect, a date to attend.
5. If we accept the claim, we agree the remedy with you and complete it promptly. If we decline it, we will tell you why in writing.

Claims made after seven days will still be considered, but we may be unable to verify them, and we would rather say that now than appear to promise otherwise.

18. Warranties and disclaimers

We warrant that our services will be performed with reasonable skill and care by suitably experienced personnel. We make no other warranty, express or implied, and specifically we do not warrant that any particular item will be recycled rather than landfilled — that depends on the material, its condition and whether a processor exists within economic reach, all of which we describe honestly in our published guides.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits any right you hold under applicable consumer protection law.

19. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify us against claims, penalties, fines and costs arising from: excluded material you provided; material you were not entitled to dispose of; access you directed us to use that you were not entitled to grant; or your breach of these terms. This does not apply to anything caused by our own negligence.

20. Events outside our control

Neither party is liable for failure to perform caused by events beyond reasonable control, including severe weather, road closures, natural disaster, fire, industrial action, epidemic, failure of a disposal facility to accept material, or governmental action. In the Northland this most often means snow. Where such an event prevents attendance we will contact you, reschedule at the earliest opportunity, and charge nothing for the missed visit.

21. Complaints and dispute resolution

Raise a complaint with your success manager or by calling (218) 461-1436. We aim to acknowledge within one business day and to resolve within five.

If we cannot resolve it between us, both parties agree to attempt mediation in Duluth, Minnesota, with costs shared equally, before either commences proceedings. This does not prevent either party from seeking urgent injunctive relief, and it does not prevent you from bringing a claim in small claims court.

22. Governing law and venue

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota, without regard to conflict of laws principles. The state and federal courts serving St. Louis County, Minnesota have jurisdiction, save that we may bring proceedings for unpaid invoices in the jurisdiction where the service was performed.

23. General

• Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder continues in force and the offending provision is read down to the minimum extent necessary.
• Entire agreement. These terms, together with any written estimate or signed commercial agreement, form the whole agreement between us on their subject matter.
• No waiver. Not enforcing a term on one occasion does not waive it.
• Assignment. You may not assign this agreement without our written consent. We may assign it to a successor of our business, on notice to you.
• Third parties. Nobody other than you and us acquires rights under these terms.
• Notices. Notices to us go to [email protected]. Notices to you go to the email address or telephone number you provided when booking.

24. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The revision date at the top of the page reflects the current version. The terms that apply to your job are the terms in force on the day you accepted the quote, not the terms in force when you happen to read this page later. Changes are never applied retrospectively to work already booked.

Commercial clients on a rolling arrangement receive at least 60 days' written notice of any material change.

25. Contact

• Telephone: (218) 461-1436, Monday to Saturday, 07:00 – 19:00
• Email: [email protected]
• Post: PUMA Solutions, Duluth, Minnesota