Leighton Hire Centre Ltd - Terms and Conditions of Hire

1 Definitions
Contract – the document or documents that set out these conditions and all other details about your agreement with us.
We, us – Leighton Hire Centre Ltd.
You – the person, firm, company or other organisation hiring or buying the goods from us.
Goods – the hired items referred to in the contract.
These conditions override any terms and conditions you may have put forward, unless we have agreed to any other conditions in writing.
These conditions do not affect your rights as a person dealing as a consumer, not for business purposes.
The contract will be governed by English Law.

2 Our charges
a Charges for hiring goods
You must pay the hire charges shown in the contract. Hire charges will start at the time shown on the contract and will continue until:
we have given you a collection or off-hire number; or you have returned the goods to us whichever is earlier, unless the goods are stolen, damaged or returned uncleaned.
Hire charges are due all the time you have the goods including Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
b Payment terms
If we have agreed, in writing, to let you have a monthly account, you must pay all our invoices for hire charges in accordance with agreed account credit terms.
goods bought by the last day of the month following the month the goods were delivered and our Terms of Sale (copies of which are available on request) will apply to the contract.
A monthly account is given at our discretion and may be withdrawn, reduced and/or reviewed at any time.
If we have not given you a monthly account you must:
pay a deposit against the safe return of the goods which we will refund when you no longer owe us money or any dispute between us has been settled whichever is later.
pay on receipt of our invoices for hire charges.
pay for goods which you buy when you place the order or when the goods are delivered if this has been agreed.
You will be charged for consumables (e.g. drill bits, blades, sandpaper, goggles, masks etc.) when you hire the goods. We will refund the charge for any consumables returned (within 30 days) in a reusable condition. For some items (e.g. sandpaper, goggles, masks etc.) this means unbroken packaging.
c Interest and other charges
If you do not pay any amount when it is due, we will add interest to the amount that is overdue. We will add interest each day at a rate equal to 4% above Lloyds Bank base rate at the time. Charging interest will not affect any other rights we may have.
You must also pay any of our reasonable expenses in recovering money or goods from you.

3 Delivering and collection charges
You must pay us any agreed charges for delivering and collecting the goods. If we quote carriage charges, these only cover the time needed to load or unload our vehicle at the address you have specified. You must pay extra for any further time you cause us to spend, including if we try to follow your instructions for delivering or collecting the goods but cannot do so because of your acts or your failure to do something.

4 Maximum hire period (if you are not a company or corporation)
If you are not a company or corporation, the contract will end within 3 months of the beginning of the period of hire. If you have not already done so you must return the goods to us on the day before the end of the 3-month period. If you fail to do this we may charge you for any financial loss we suffer as a result.

5 When the contract starts
The contract comes into effect when you have placed an order and agreed to keep these conditions, and we have accepted your order.

6 Safety instructions for hired goods
You must make sure that everyone who uses the goods is properly instructed on how to use them safely and correctly, and that they have all the instructions we have supplied.
You must make sure that the goods are not misused.

7 Your responsibility when hiring goods
a You must unload and load the goods at the address specified by you. You must also load and unload the goods at our premises when you, or your agent, collect or return the goods. If we supply any person to help you, you must give him or her clear instructions when necessary.
b You become responsible for the goods when you, or your agent, receive them. If the goods are delivered to you, this will be when your responsibility starts. Your responsibilities include protecting the goods and keeping them safe from the weather, theft, vandalism or improper use. At the end of the hire period you must return the goods unless you have made arrangements for us to collect them. Your responsibility does not end until the goods have been returned or collected and we are able to give you a receipt for them. You must not sell or in any way give up control of the goods.
d You will be responsible for any death, injury, loss or damage caused by the goods being misused while they are hired to you, unless the death or personal injury has been caused by our negligence.

8 Electrical goods
If any part of the goods is electrical, it should be used with the original plugs or sockets fitted to it. If you need to fit other suitable plugs or sockets to the goods, this must be carried out by a competent person who must also return the goods to their original condition. You must make sure you have a suitable supply of electricity for the goods. Never use electrical goods that are not earthed correctly unless the goods are double insulated. You must keep to all regulations which apply, including the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, while you are responsible for the goods.

9 Maintaining hired goods, breakdown procedures and reporting accidents
You must make sure the goods remain safe, clean and in working order. If the goods breakdown or are not working properly you must report this to us immediately. You must not repair the goods unless you are authorised to by us. You must return the goods for us to examine them unless we have agreed otherwise. You must tell us immediately if the goods are involved in any accident resulting in damage to the goods or to other property, or injury to any person. You must take all necessary steps to make the goods safe and to protect them against theft or damage.

10 Where hired goods are placed
The hired goods must not be moved from any site agreed by us unless you have our written permission.

11 Time for delivery or collection
a All the times we quote for delivering or collecting the goods are approximate.
b We will not be liable for any damages whether direct or indirect resulting from any delay in delivering or collecting the goods caused by circumstances beyond our control.

11ALimits of our liability
a We do not limit or exclude our liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence.
b If goods breakdown or stop working properly, so long as this has not been caused by your misuse or neglect we will repair or replace the goods or refund some or all of the hire charges as appropriate but we will not be liable for any damages whether direct or indirect which you may claim as a result of the goods breaking down or not working properly.
c If you hire the goods for use in a business:
we will not be liable for any indirect loss, loss of business, profits, savings you expected to make, wages, fees or expenses caused by late delivery, non-delivery, unsuitability, breakdown or failure to work properly of the goods or any part of them.

you will indemnify us against all loss, damages, costs on an indemnity basis and expenses awarded against or incurred by us in connection with or paid or agreed to be paid by us in settlement of any claim by any third party arising from the supply or use of the goods. This indemnity will be reduced in proportion to the extent that such loss, damage, costs and expenses are due to our negligence.

12 Lost, stolen, damaged or unclean hired goods
a You are responsible for looking after the goods and returning them to us clean and in good working order.
b You must pay us our reasonable costs of repairing or cleaning the goods if you return them damaged or unclean.
c You must pay to us the cost on a new for old basis of replacing any hired goods which are lost or stolen or damaged beyond economic repair (that is if the repair would cost more than the equipment is worth). You should insure the goods for the replacement (new for old) cost. If you receive any money as settlement of any claim relating to the damage to or loss or theft of the goods, you must hold that money separately in trust for us and pay it to us when we ask you to. You must not negotiate any claim without our permission.
d Hire charges continue until you pay us the cost of cleaning, repairing or replacing the goods.

13 Ending the contract
We may end this contract if:
you do not pay our invoices on time; or
you break this contract; or
you become bankrupt; or
as a company, you start to be wound up or a receiver or an administrator is appointed over all or part of your assets; or
you enter into any agreement with your creditors or a voluntary arrangement.
If we end the contract in any of these circumstances, it will end immediately and we may repossess any or all of the goods. If we end the contract, it will not affect our right to recover any money you owe us under this contract or damages we claim as a result of you breaking this contract.

14 Our right of access
We may enter any land or premises where we reasonably believe the goods are. We may do this at reasonable times and after giving reasonable notice. We can only have this access if we need to inspect, test, repair, service, replace or repossess the goods.

15 Ownership of and responsibility for the goods you buy
a If you buy goods from us, our Terms of Sale will apply and you will become responsible for loss or damage as soon as the goods are delivered to you.
b We own the goods until you have paid all sums due to us whether in respect of this contract or otherwise. Until we have received payment you will hold the goods on our behalf and you must return them to us if we ask you to. We may enter any land or premises of yours, other than your home, to recover our goods.

16 General terms
a If any term in this contract cannot be enforced, this will not affect the remaining terms.
b If on any occasion you break this contract and we do not enforce our rights we shall still be entitled to subsequently enforce our rights if you break the contract on another occasion.
c If the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 Part II applies to this contract the Scheme under that Act will apply and take precedence in the event of conflict between the Scheme and these Terms.
Terms and Conditions of Sale are available on request.

All goods will remain on hire until you call the office to off hire and or arrange
collection of the goods. We do not accept on or off hires by email.