Fair terms, in plain English.
These are the rules that govern every quote, repair, installation and emergency call-out BC Home Service performs in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. No fine print designed to trip you up — the same terms our technicians read before they knock on your door.
Flat-rate quotes, signed
The price on your written quote is the price on your invoice. The only exception is a concealed condition nobody could see — and even that needs your written approval first.
Diagnostic fee credited
The $89–$129 diagnosis is waived the moment you approve the repair it identified. You never pay twice for the same hour.
2-year workmanship warranty
Every install and repair carries a written workmanship warranty on top of manufacturer parts coverage we register for you.
24/7 emergency, no surcharge games
Nights, weekends, holidays — the emergency rate you are quoted on the phone is the rate on the invoice. No overtime surprises.
What these terms cover
These terms govern the relationship between you, the homeowner or authorized property representative, and BC Home Service, a licensed home-services contractor operating in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, British Columbia. They apply to plumbing, heating, cooling, heat pump, boiler, water heater, and window & door work we quote, repair, install or service, whether the engagement starts by phone, web form, chat or emergency call.
Using this website is also covered — reading guides is free and unrestricted, but submitting a quote form, using the cost calculator or leaving a review means you accept these terms for that interaction. If any part of these terms conflicts with BC consumer protection law, the law wins and the rest of the terms keep their force. These terms are governed by the laws of British Columbia; disputes belong in BC courts unless we agree otherwise in writing.
Quotes & flat-rate pricing
Every price we give is flat-rate: a single written number covering labour, standard materials, equipment, removal and disposal unless the quote says otherwise. We quote ranges before an on-site diagnosis when a problem could have several causes — “capacitor replacement $180–$240, compressor replacement $2,600–$3,400” — and you get the exact number after the technician sees the equipment, before any work starts.
The diagnostic visit costs $89–$129, covers up to an hour of licensed troubleshooting, and ends with a written quote for the fix. Approve the fix on the spot and the diagnostic fee is credited in full to the repair — you only pay it if you walk away, and even then the written quote stays valid for 30 days.
One exception exists, and it is narrow: concealed conditions. If opening a wall reveals rot, unpermitted wiring, asbestos-containing material or structural issues that no reasonable inspection could have predicted, we stop work, document the condition with photos, quote the change as a written change order, and wait for your signature. Nothing extra is ever billed without it. Asbestos discovered during any job stops work immediately under WorkSafeBC rules — a certified abatement contractor must clear the area before we continue, and we will help you arrange it.
Published prices on this website — in cost guides and the calculator — are honest ranges based on jobs we have actually invoiced across Metro Vancouver, not a promise for your specific home. Your individual quote depends on equipment tier, access, code requirements and the condition of what we are connecting to; only the signed written quote binds us.
Payment & financing
Payment is due on completion for repairs and service calls unless we agree staged payments in writing. Installations may be structured deposit / progress / completion — deposit never exceeds 10% or $350, whichever is lower, exactly as BC consumer protection law requires for residential contracts. We accept cash, debit and major credit cards; financing through our partners is available on qualifying installations with the terms the lender discloses before you sign — the credit decision is theirs, not ours.
There are no overtime charges for emergencies booked at the emergency rate, no fuel surcharges within our service cities, and no “shop supplies” line items. If a fee exists, it is printed on the quote before you approve it.
Appointments & site access
We quote arrival windows, not fictional exact times, because a 2 PM furnace diagnostic in Kitsilano can turn into a heat exchanger replacement that runs long. Emergency dispatch across our seventeen service cities runs 30–80 minutes depending on distance and traffic; non-emergency appointments are typically same-day or next-day.
You are responsible for safe access: an adult on site (or a lockbox arrangement we confirm in advance), pets secured, a clear path to the equipment, and parking we can legally use. If a technician arrives within the confirmed window and cannot work — no access, aggressive pet, blocked equipment — the trip charge is the diagnostic fee without the diagnosis. We would rather tell you now than bill you later.
Permits & code compliance
Gas work (furnaces, boilers, water heaters, gas lines), heat pump changes and plumbing alterations that BC codes require to be permitted are done under permit in our name with Technical Safety BC or the municipality, as the law requires of licensed contractors. Permit fees appear in your written quote — never as a surprise invoice line — and the permit number appears on your final invoice.
Equipment we install is sized and selected to the BC Building Code and the Municipal Climate & Step Code requirements in force when the permit is filed. If an inspector requires a correction, we return and fix it at our cost. That is what the permit is for.
Warranties
Two warranties protect every job. The workmanship warranty — two years on installations, one year on repairs — is ours, in writing, on your invoice: if our work fails, we return and make it right at no charge. The manufacturer warranty covers parts and equipment; we register it for you at install and hand you the confirmation.
Warranties cover defects in our work and in the equipment supplied. They do not cover damage from freezing an unheated home, third-party work on the same system, filters nobody changed, or a heat pump sized to code that a subsequent renovation made wrong. We will always tell you honestly which side of that line a claim falls on — the review section of this site would catch us if we did not.
Our 100% satisfaction promise is real but bounded: if the described work is performed to code and you are nonetheless unsatisfied, tell us within 30 days and we return to make it right. It is not a mechanism to void invoices for work properly completed.
Rebates & government programs
We are a registered installer under CleanBC, FortisBC and participating municipal programs. We supply the invoices, commissioning documents and installation evidence rebate administrators require — and the eligibility requirements, deadlines and final decision belong to the program, not to us. Rebate amounts quoted on this site are the programs’ published values at the date of the guide; programs change terms and budgets on their own schedule, and your application is subject to the rules in force when you submit it.
We never submit an application on your behalf without your signature on it, and rebate money flows to you, not through us.
Cancellations & rescheduling
Cancel or reschedule more than 48 hours before a booked appointment and it costs nothing. Inside 48 hours, we recover only costs already committed — equipment ordered to your specification, permits filed, crane or lift booked — each shown to you at invoice cost. After work begins, cancellation follows the written-change-order process: you pay for work properly performed plus committed costs, nothing more.
Emergency call-outs cancelled after a technician is dispatched are billed the trip charge, because the truck, the licensed technician and the slot were real whether the pipe unfroze itself or not.
Emergency service
Our emergency line is answered 24/7/365 by a person who can dispatch. Emergency work is triaged for safety first: active water gets stopped, gas risks get referred to FortisBC at 1-800-663-9911, and flooding mitigation starts before repair pricing. Emergency rates are quoted on the phone before dispatch and honoured on the invoice — holidays included, because a burst pipe on December 26 does not care what day it is.
Liability limits
We carry $2M general liability coverage and WorkSafeBC coverage, and we will show you the certificates before any job begins. Our liability for any claim arising from our work is limited to the value of the work performed or the cost of repair and replacement, whichever the law permits — and we are not liable for consequential losses (hotel bills, spoiled contents, missed work) unless BC law removes that limit, which for residential consumers it sometimes does. We are also not liable for pre-existing conditions we documented and flagged before starting, or for third parties you hired to work on the same systems.
This paragraph is the standard contractor limitation, not a shield for negligence — nothing in these terms limits anything the law refuses to limit.
Terms questions homeowners actually ask
Questions about your data or your job?
A real person answers our line every day of the year — no phone trees, no offshore call centres, no scripts about your privacy.