Terms & conditions

This document forms a contract between Abberly Property Ltd and its customer, providing an agreement to hire equipment to the Customer or act as restoration contractor within their property.

Interpretation

1. ‘Contract’ means agreement for the Supplier to provide equipment hire and/or restoration services to the Customer.
2. ‘Customer’ means the person, firm, company or other organisation.
3. ‘Hire Goods’ means any machine, article, tool, and/or device together with accessories specified in the contract which are hired to the Customer.
4. ‘Products’ means the products sold to the Customer by the Supplier.
5. ‘Hire Period’ means the period commencing when the Customer received the Hire Goods on hire (including Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays) and ending upon the return of the Hire Goods to the Supplier.
6. ‘Liability’ means liability for any and all damages, claims, proceedings, actions, awards, expenses, costs and any other losses and/or liabilities.
7. ‘Supplier’ means Abberly Property Ltd (also trading as Dehumidifier-Rental) and will include its employees, agents and duly authorised representatives.
8. ‘Services’ means the services and/or work to be performed by the supplier for the Customer in conjunction with the hire of Hire Goods and including any delivery and/or collection service for the Hire Goods.
9. ‘Force Majeure’ means any event outside a party’s reasonable control including but not limited to acts of God, war, flood, fire, labour disputes, strikes, sub-contractors, lock-outs, riots, civil commotion, malicious damage, explosion, terrorism, governmental actions and any other similar events.

Payment

10. The price of Hire Goods and/or Services will be agreed verbally, then in writing, typically by email, before or soon after work/hire commences. Any changes in prices will be confirmed in writing by the Supplier.
11. Invoices are emailed to the Customer for payment which is required within 14 days of invoice. On-line banking is preferred but cheque is also acceptable.
12. If the Customer fails to make any payment in full on the due date the Supplier may charge the Customer interest (both before and after judgement/decree) on the amount unpaid at the rate implied by law under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (where applicable) or at the rate of 2.5% per month, whichever is higher. Where the supplier is entitled to claim compensation for debt recovery costs from the Customer, the Supplier may also exercise its statutory right to claim compensation charges ranging from £40 to £100, depending on the amount overdue, under the same Act, as amended and supplemented by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002.
13. The Customer shall pay all sums due to the Supplier under this agreement without any set-off, deduction, counterclaim and/or any other withholding monies.

Risk and Ownership

14. Risk in the Hire Goods and any Products will pass immediately to the Customer when the Hire Goods leave the physical possession or control of the Supplier.
15. Risk in the Hire Goods will not pass back to the Supplier until the Hire Goods are back in the physical possession of the Supplier. This shall apply even if the Rental Period has ceased.
16. Ownership of the Hire Goods remains at all times with the Supplier. The Customer has no right, title or interest in the Hire Goods.  Ownership of any Products remains with the Supplier until all monies payable to the Supplier by the Customer for the Products have been paid in full.
17. The Customer must not deal with the ownership or any interest in the Hire Goods. This includes but is not limited to selling, assigning, mortgaging, pledging, charging, securing, hiring, withholding, exerting any right to withhold, disposing or and/or lending.

Delivery, Collection and Services

18. Where the Supplier provides Services the persons performing the Services are servants of the Customer and once the Customer instructs such person they are under the direction and control of the Customer. The Customer shall be solely responsible for any instruction, guidance and/or advice given by the Customer to any such person and for any damage which occurs as a result of such persons following the Customer’s instructions, guidance and/or advice except to the extent that the persons performing the Services are negligent.
19. The Customer will allow and/or procure sufficient access to and from the relevant site and procure sufficient unloading space, facilities, equipment and access to utilities for the Supplier’s employees, sub-contractors and/or agents to allow them to carry out the Services. The Customer will ensure that the site where the Services are to be performed is, where necessary, cleared and prepared before the Services are due to commence.
20. If any Services are delayed, postponed and/or are cancelled due to the Customer failing to comply with its obligations the Customer will be liable to pay the Supplier’s additional standard charges from time to time except where the Customer is acting as a consumer and the delay is due to a Force Majeure event.

Care of Hire Goods

The Customer shall:

21. Not remove any labels from and/or interfere with the Hire Goods, their mechanisms or any other parts and shall take reasonable care of the Hire Goods and only use them for their proper purpose in a safe and correct manner in accordance with any operating and/or safety instructions provided.
22. Notify the Supplier immediately after any breakdown, loss and/or damage.
23. Take adequate and proper measures to protect the Hire Goods from theft, damage and/or other risks.
24. Permit the Supplier at all reasonable times and upon reasonable notice to inspect the Hire Goods including procuring access to any property where Hire Goods are situated.
25. To keep the Hire Goods at all times in its possession and control and not to remove them from the country where the Customer is located.
26. Not continue to use Hire Goods where they have been damaged and will notify the Supplier immediately if the Hire Goods are involved in an accident resulting in damage to the Hire Goods, other property and/or injury to any person.
27. Return the Hire Goods in good working order and condition (fair wear and tear excepted) and in a clean condition.

Breakdown

28. Allowance will be made in relation to the Rental to the Customer for any non use of the Hire Goods due to breakdown caused by the development of an inherent fault and/or fair wear and tear on condition that the Customer informs the Supplier as practicable of the breakdown.
29. The Customer shall be responsible for all expenses, loss (including loss of Rental) and/or damage suffered by the Supplier arising from any breakdown of the Hire Goods due to the Customer’s negligence, misdirection and/or misuse of the Hire Goods.

Loss or Damage to the Hire Goods

30. If the Hire Goods are returned in a damaged, unclean and/or defective state except where due to fair wear and tear and/or and inherent fault in the Hire Goods, the Customer shall be liable to pay the Supplier for the cost of any repair and/or cleaning required to return the Hire Goods to a condition fit for re-hire and to pay the Rental until such repairs and/or cleaning have been completed.
31. The Customer will pay to the Supplier the replacement cost of any Hire Goods which are lost, stolen and/or damaged beyond economic repair during the Hire Period less the amount paid to the Supplier under any policy of insurance taken out in accordance with these conditions.
32. The Customer shall pay the Rental for the Hire Goods up to and including the date it notifies the Supplier that the Hire Goods have been lost, stolen and/or damaged beyond economic repair. From that date until the Supplier has replaced such Hire Goods the Customer shall pay, as a genuine pre-estimate of lost rental, a sum as liquidated damages being equal to two thirds of the Rental that would have applied for such Hire Goods for that period.  The Supplier shall use its reasonable commercial endeavours to purchase replacements for such Hire Goods as quickly as possible using the monies paid under clause 31 above.

Termination / Default

33. The Supplier operates on the basis of one week fixed, with rolling one day hire thereafter, with daily charge after the first week being added on a pro-rata basis.
34. After the first week of hire, the agreement is severable by either party on same day notice.
35. In the event of default through breach of agreement, Supplier concerns over potential non-payment or any other reason, the Supplier may withhold the performance of any Services and cease any Hire Goods in progress.
36. Upon termination of the agreement, the Customer shall immediately organise with the Supplier return of Hire Goods and pay to the Supplier all monies payable for Rentals, Charges, Products, Services and/or any other sums payable under the agreement.

Limitations of Liability

37. If the Supplier is found to be liable in respect of any loss or damage to the Customer’s property the extent of the Supplier’s Liability will be limited to the retail cost of replacement of the damaged property.
38. Any defective Hire Goods must be returned to the Supplier for inspection if requested by the Supplier before the Supplier will have any Liability for defective Hire Goods.
39. The Supplier shall have no Liability to the Customer if, without just cause, any monies due in respect of the Hire Goods and/or the Services have not been paid in full by the due date for payment.
40. The Customer shall give the Supplier a reasonable opportunity to remedy any matter for which the Supplier is liable before the Customer incurs any costs and/or expenses in remedying the matter itself. If the Customer does not do so the supplier shall have no Liability to the Customer.
41. The Supplier shall have no liability to the Customer for any: consequential losses (including damage to goodwill) or loss of profits; economic and/or other similar losses; special damages and indirect losses; and/or business interruption, loss of business, contracts and/or opportunity.
42. The Supplier’s total Liability to the Customer under and/or arising in relation to any Contract shall not exceed 5 times the amount of the Rental and charges for Services (if any) under that Contract or the sum of £1,000 whichever is the higher. To the extent that any Liability of the Supplier to the Customer would be met by any insurance of the Supplier then the Liability of the Supplier shall be extended to the extent that such Liability is met by such insurance.
43. Each of the limitations and/or exclusions in this Contract shall be deemed to be repeated and apply as a separate provision for each of: Liability for breach of contract; Liability in tort/delict (including negligence); and Liability for breach of statutory and/or common law duty.
44. Nothing in this Contract shall exclude or limit the Liability of the Supplier for death or personal injury due to the Supplier’s negligence nor exclude or limit any other type of Liability which it is not permitted to exclude or limit as a matter of law.

General

45. The Customer shall be liable for the acts and/or omissions of its employees, agents, servants and/or subcontractors as though they were its own acts and/or omissions under this Contract.
46. If any provision of this Contract is held by any competent authority to be unenforceable in whole or in part the validity of the other provisions of this Contract and the remainder of the affected provision shall be unaffected and shall remain in full force and effect.