Terms & Conditions of Hire

These are the terms and conditions subject to which we allow you to hire our Equipment.

A copy of these terms and conditions will be attached to any quotation.

By accepting our quotation and signing this agreement, you agree to be bound by them.

For information about how changes in Covid-19 Legislation may affect your booking,

see Addendum [bottom of the page]

We are The Prop Library Ltd, trading as ‘The Prop Library’, a company registered in England, number 13743216, of 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, England, N1 7GU (the “Owner”).

You are: Anyone who hires the Equipment from the Owner (the “Hirer”)

It is now agreed as follows:

1. Definitions

These definitions apply unless the context requires a different interpretation:

“Charges”

means the hiring fee and includes all cost related in any way to this hire agreement.

“Booking Fee”

means the sum paid by you, to us, to secure the booking and reserve the Equipment for the agreed Hire Period.

“Final Balance Payment”

means the balance of the Quotation, minus the Booking Fee already paid.

“Security Deposit”

means a sum paid by you, to us, as a bond against the possibility of loss or damage to the Equipment while in your possession and against late return of the Equipment to us.

"Equipment"

means the subject matter of this agreement as described in the Quotation.

“Hire Period”

means the period of time within which you are entitled to possession of the Equipment.

"Quotation"

means a fixed price offer, by us to you, which you have accepted, a copy of which is attached to this agreement as Schedule.

"Services"

means the hire of Equipment and any other services we provide to you under this contract.

"Site"

means the place where the Equipment is to be used by you.

2. Interpretation

In this agreement unless the context otherwise requires:

2.1. a reference to one gender shall include any or all genders and a reference to the singular may be interpreted where appropriate as a reference to the plural and vice versa.

2.2. a reference to a person includes a human individual, a corporate entity and any organisation which is managed or controlled as a unit.

2.3. a reference to a person or party includes reference to that person's successors, legal representatives, permitted assigns and any person to whom rights and obligations are transferred or pass as a result of a merger, division, reconstruction or other re-organisation involving that person.

2.4. in the context of permission, “may not” in connection with an action of yours, means “must not”.

2.5. the headings to the paragraphs and schedules (if any) to this agreement are inserted for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation.

2.6. any agreement by any party not to do or omit to do something includes an obligation not to allow some other person to do or omit to do that same thing.

2.7. all money sums mentioned in this agreement are calculated net of VAT, which will be charged when payment is due.

2.8. these terms and conditions apply to all supplies of Services by us. They prevail over any terms proposed by you.

3. The Basic Contract

3.1. This is a hire agreement. We own the Equipment and hire it to you for the Hire Period, for a Charge. You may not deal with the Equipment in any way which is contrary to our ownership of it. If you do, you will be in breach of this agreement and will also be committing a criminal offence.

3.2. The Hire Period is stated on the quotation and runs from the date of collection / delivery.

3.3. The Quotation is an invitation to hire. Neither of us is bound to a legal agreement until you accept and sign this agreement.

3.4. This agreement and the Quotation together contain the entire agreement between us and supersede all previous agreements and understandings between us. By signing, you accept the terms set out in the Quotation and the terms of this agreement.

3.5. Risk in the Equipment passes immediately to you when the Equipment leaves our possession. That means you are responsible for taking care of it. You remain responsible until the Equipment is safely back in our possession.

3.6. We strongly recommend that you arrange event equipment cover to insure against damage or loss to the Equipment, whilst it is in your care.

4. Delivery

Where the Hirer is responsible for the collection of Equipment

4.1. You are responsible for collecting the Equipment from our depot.

4.2. You may not use the Equipment at any other place than on the Site.

4.3. If you pick up Equipment from our premises then:

4.3.1 we will not be able to assist you in loading heavy Equipment;

4.3.2 the Equipment is at your risk from the moment it is picked up by you or your carrier from our storage facility;

4.3.3 you agree that you are responsible for everything that happens after you take possession of the Equipment, both on and off our premises, including damage to property of any sort, belonging to any person.

Where the Owner is responsible for the delivery of Equipment

4.4. If you ask us to deliver the Equipment, and we agree, we shall have given you a price for delivery as part of our Charge. That Charge must be paid in advance when you pay for the hire contract. Delivery will be made by us, or the agreed carrier, to your address stipulated in the Quotation. You must ensure that someone is present to accept delivery. We shall not leave the Equipment without your having signed for it.

4.5. We require confirmation, with 14 days’ notice of the Hire Period, of your requirement and readiness to take delivery on Site.

4.6. If we are not able to deliver the Equipment within [14] days of the date of this agreement, we shall notify you by e-mail to arrange another date for delivery.

4.7. Dates given for the delivery of Services are estimates only. We shall not be liable for any loss or expenses caused directly or indirectly by any delay in the delivery.

5. Charges and Security Deposit: payment procedure

5.1. All Charges are specified in the Quotation.

5.2. All the payments may be made by bank transfer, as specified in the Quotation.

5.3. Payments may be made by PayPal, subject to a 4% surcharge to cover fees.

5.4. The Booking Fee specified in the Quotation shall be paid by you to us on signing this agreement.

5.5. The Final Balance Payment and Security Deposit shall be invoiced to you by us, and paid by you to us, no later than 4 months prior to the Hire Period.

5.6. Bookings made with less than 4 months until the Hire period must be paid for in full, including the Security Deposit, at the time of booking.

5.7. The Security Deposit will be repaid to you after you have returned the Equipment and we have had a reasonable time to assess its condition.

5.8. The Security Deposit will be returned to your bank account or card, through the same mode you have paid to us.

5.9. If we have reason to make a deduction from the Security Deposit, we will tell you the reason and the sum deducted. We shall never deduct more than our actual loss or cost of remediation, or additional hire time.

5.10. If we owe you money for repayment of the Booking Fee (or any other reason), we will credit your account as soon as reasonably practicable but, in any event, no later than 14 days from the date when we accept that repayment is due.

6. Cancellation terms: hired Equipment

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 ("the Regulations") you have a right to cancel this hire agreement. You may exercise the cancellation right under following conditions:

6.1. This contract comes into existence on the day you sign this agreement.

6.2. As required by the Regulations, details of our after-hiring service and guarantees, if any, are given along with these terms and conditions.

6.3. You may cancel this contract within 14 days of entering into it, this known as the cooling off period. That means we will not be able to hand over the possession of the Equipment for 14 days. To avoid this situation and enable you to take the Equipment immediately, the law provides that you must instruct us to deliver as soon as we can and that you accept that by doing so, you lose the benefit of the cancellation period. The simple procedure for this is attached after the end of this agreement.

6.4. Apart from your cancellation right, termination of this contract will be regulated under the terms set down in this agreement.

6.5. If you cancel this contract within 14 days, then we will refund any money you have paid to us in advance.

6.6. If you did instruct us to deliver the Equipment immediately after giving up your cancellation right, you may still cancel the contract at any time. But if you do so, then following terms shall apply:

6.6.1 you are responsible for the cost of returning the Equipment. We have no obligation to refund to you, your cost of re-packing and returning the Equipment.

6.6.2 you will owe us for work done(any) to that date and any money spent on your behalf.

6.6.3 if the Equipment you return, show any sign of damage, or loss due to your usage, then we shall be entitled to deduct the cost from your refund money.

6.6.4 to assist us in identifying your Equipment on receipt by us, we ask you to provide your telephone number for a return reference to be placed below our address / returns label.

6.7. If you require us to deliver the Equipment sooner than 14 days after the contract has been made, you must instruct us to do so in the terms attached to this agreement. If you do that, you will lose your right to cancel during the rest of the 14 days period.

6.8. If you cancel an order after the 14 days cooling off period has passed but before the Hire Period begins, we may have lost money. You agree that we may reasonably charge you according to a sliding scale a percentage of the Charges in the event of cancellation by you. If we have to collect the Equipment from the Site, the Charge for doing so will be payable in full.

6.9. Our cancellation charges are based on when you give us instruction to cancel before the Hire Period was due to commence. Due to the nature of weddings, bookings are often made a long time in advance of the Hire Period. The Booking Fee secures your chose dates but means that we will have to turn down other enquiries for the same dates. The closer a cancellation notice is given to the HIRE period, the more likely it will be that we will be unable to re-hire the Equipment and will lose money. The scale of cancellation fees are as follows:

6.9.1 Cancellation received within 14 days of booking: 0% fee and a full refund of all Charges and Security Deposit.

6.9.2 Cancellation received after 14 days of booking but no later than 6 months before the Hire Period: 25% fee and a 75% return of all Charges. The Security Deposit will be repaid in full.

6.9.3 Cancellation received after 6 months before the Hire Period but no later than 3 months before the Hire Period: 50% fee and a 50% return of all Charges. The Security Deposit will be repaid in full.

6.9.4 Cancellation received with less than 3 months before the Hire Period: 100% fee and a 0% return of all Charges. The Security Deposit will be repaid in full.

6.9.5 In the event of us being able to re-hire the Equipment, in part or as a whole, following your cancellation for the agreed Hire period, we will notify you of this and arrange a refund for the Equipment Charges covered under the re-hire.

6.10. If you cancel this contract in compliance with these terms, we will refund any money due to you within 14 days.

7. Equipment not as ordered

7.1. Where an item of Equipment becomes unavailable between the point of booking and the Hired Period, due to damage or loss, The Prop Library will contact you and notify you of your options. These will include replacement with an alternate item, if at all possible, or a refund for the specified item if preferred.

7.2. We shall use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that:

7.2.1 the Equipment complies with its description on the Quotation; and

7.2.2 is of satisfactory quality and/or fit for purpose;

7.3. Immediately upon taking possession of any Equipment, you should examine it and satisfy yourself that it complies with the Quotation, is of merchantable quality and has arrived in safe, clean and usable condition.

7.4. If you find any defect in the quality or quantity of the Equipment, or a failure to comply with the Quotation, you must immediately inform us of that defect. If no notice is received by us within 24 hours from the time of delivery, then we shall be entitled to assume that you have accepted the Equipment.

7.5. If you claim that the Equipment was defective, you must return it to us in the exact same condition as you received it.

7.6. In returning a defective Equipment please enclose with it a note clearly stating the fault and when it arises or arose.

8. Breakdown and repair

8.1. You must inform us immediately of any problem in the operation of the Equipment.

8.2. If we delivered the Equipment to you, you must tell us your availability for us to come to the Site to assess the problem and possibly collect it for assessment in our workshop. If you collected the Equipment from us or we sent it to you by carrier, you must pack and return it to us at your risk and cost.

8.3. If we agree that there is a fault in the Equipment, you may choose whether we should replace it or terminate the hire. In any event we will refund you, for any period in which the Equipment is not useable. We shall refund to you the cost of return to us.

8.4. We will repair or replace Equipment showing a defect in the following circumstances:

8.4.1 the defect is reported to us within 24 hours of the start of the Hire Period;

8.4.2 the defect results only from faulty design;

8.4.3 you have returned the defective Equipment or parts to us if we have so requested.

8.5. If we repair or replace Equipment, you have no additional claim against us, either under this agreement or by statute or common law, in respect of the defect or problem.

8.6. If you have been negligent in your care or use of the Equipment, you will pay us for appropriate replacement Equipment of the same quality without deduction for depreciation or use.

9. Hirer’s other obligations

You agree that you will:

9.1. not permit any other person to use the Equipment without our written consent.

9.2. not take the Equipment to any site other than the Site, and particularly not to any other country, without prior agreement.

9.3. use the Equipment only in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and to its capacity limits [provided along with the Equipment].

9.4. insure against usual business risks and in particular against loss of or damage to the Equipment.

9.5. keep the Equipment safe, properly maintained and repaired.

9.6. not take the Equipment out of the United Kingdom, without prior agreement.

9.7. allow us to come on Site at any time in normal business hours to inspect the Equipment, and, if damaged, to remove it.

9.8. return the Equipment to us in condition in which you collected it / we delivered it to you.

9.9. not attempt to repair or service the Equipment beyond routine maintenance as required in any manual or manufacturer’s instruction.

10. Loss or damage caused by third parties

10.1. You must inform us immediately if the Equipment is stolen or damaged by a third party.

10.2. You undertake to report the theft to us and to the Police, and after that to co-operate with us and with the Police so far as your help may be required.

11. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

11.1. Conditions, warranties or other terms implied by statute or common law in any country, are excluded from this agreement to the fullest extent permitted by law.

11.2. Our business is to hire equipment. We claim no expert knowledge in any subject. We disclaim any obligation or liability to you arising directly or indirectly from information you take from our website or from our counter staff.

11.3. We are not liable to any person in any circumstances If at any time:

11.3.1 the Equipment has been damaged in any way whatever;

11.3.2 the Equipment has been repaired or serviced by someone not authorised by us to provide that service;

11.3.3 the model or serial number of the Equipment has been altered, tampered with, defaced or removed.

11.4. We make no representation or warranty that the Equipment will be:

11.4.1 useful to you;

11.4.2 of satisfactory quality;

11.4.3 fit for a particular purpose;

11.5. We do not give any warranty, representation or undertaking that the use of any of the Equipment will not infringe any intellectual property or other rights of any other person.

11.6. We shall not be liable to you for any loss or expense which is:

11.6.1 indirect or consequential loss; or

11.6.2 economic loss or other loss of turnover, profits, business or goodwill even if such loss was reasonably foreseeable or we knew you might incur it.

11.7. Except in the case of death or personal injury, our total liability, arising in any way out of this agreement, shall not exceed the sum of the contract. This applies whether your case is based on contract, tort or any other basis in law.

11.8. This paragraph (and any other paragraph which excludes or restricts the liability of Company) applies to Company’s directors, officers, employees, subcontractors, agents and affiliated companies (who may enforce this clause under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 / Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) (Scotland) Act 2017, as well as to Company itself.

12. Termination

This agreement terminates on the first to happen of the following events:

12.1. at the expiry of a fixed Hire Period set out in the Quotation, or any extension of it;

12.2. we give you notice that we are terminating the agreement because you are, or might be, in breach of this agreement, including a failure to make payment of Charges when due.

13. You indemnify us

You agree to indemnify us against all costs, claims and expense arising directly or indirectly from:

13.1. your failure to comply with the law;

13.2. your breach of this agreement;

13.3. a contractual claim arising from your use of the Equipment or the Services.

and for the purpose of this paragraph you agree that the cost of our management and technical time is properly recoverable and can reasonably be valued at £100.00 per hour without further proof.

14. Miscellaneous matters

14.1. No amendment or variation to this agreement is valid unless in writing, signed by us.

14.2. So far as any time, date or period is mentioned in this agreement, time shall be of the essence, except we shall not be liable if delivery of the Equipment by us to the Site is delayed for reasons beyond our control.

14.3. If any term or provision of this agreement is at any time held by any jurisdiction to be void, invalid or unenforceable, then it shall be treated as changed or reduced, only to the extent minimally necessary to bring it within the laws of that jurisdiction and to prevent it from being void and it shall be binding in that changed or reduced form. Subject to that, each provision shall be interpreted as severable and shall not in any way affect any other of these terms.

14.4. The rights and obligations of the parties set out in this agreement shall pass to any permitted successor in title.

14.5. Any obligation in this agreement intended to continue to have effect after termination or completion shall so continue.

14.6. No failure or delay by any party to exercise any right, power or remedy will operate as a waiver of it nor indicate any intention to reduce that or any other right in the future.

14.7. The parties agree that electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

14.8. Any communication to be served on either party by the other shall be delivered by hand or sent by first class post or recorded delivery or by e-mail.

It shall be deemed to have been delivered:

if delivered by hand: on the day of delivery;
if sent by post to the correct address: within 72 hours of posting;
if sent by e-mail to the address from which the receiving party has last sent e-mail: within 24 hours if no notice of non-receipt has been received by the sender.

14.9. In the event of a dispute between the parties to this agreement, then they undertake to attempt to settle the dispute by engaging in good faith with the other in a process of mediation before commencing arbitration or litigation.

14.10. This agreement does not give any right to any third party under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 / Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) (Scotland) Act 2017 or otherwise, except that any provision in this agreement which excludes or restricts the liability of our directors, officers, employees, subcontractors, agents and affiliated companies, may be enforced under that Act.

14.11. Unless this agreement says otherwise, neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in performance of this agreement which is caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, [including any labour dispute between a party and its employees].

14.12. The validity, construction and performance of this agreement shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales and you agree that any dispute arising from it shall be litigated only in that country.

Addendum

Changes to Covid-19 Legislation that affect your event

Should the government announce changes to legislation that means your wedding or event cannot proceed, please feel reassured that we will do all we can to help you.

Re-arrange to a later date
- We are happy to move your booking to a future date, providing your items are available. Please contact us as soon as possible, so we can discuss availability, and before you book future dates or venues.
- Should any of your booked items be unavailable, we will be happy to discuss alternatives.
Re-arrange to an unknown date
- We will be happy to hold your booking for a period of up to 12 months from the date of the original event. Extension to this is at our discretion and will be based upon further changes to the epidemic.
- Please contact us as soon as you are aware of possible new dates so that we can let you know if your booked items are available.
- Please note, that we cannot accept cancellations for postponed dates that have been booked by hirers before checking availability of their booked pieces first.
Cancellation
- We would always encourage people to postpone rather than cancel their event but we understand that isn’t always possible.
- Should the worst happen and you decide to cancel due to changes in legislation, we will refund your booking in total.
- Please note that cancellations for any other reason than changes to government legislation that preclude your event from going ahead, fall under our general cancellation policy, as above.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.