Terms & Conditions of Hire
These terms and conditions form an integral part of your hire contract with The Top Box hereinafter referred to as the “Company”. The Company address is Cynefin, Parsonage Road, Takeley, Essex, CM22 6RA.
Definitions
The “Hirer” is the person whose name & address appears at the top of the hire contract/invoice of which these terms and conditions form a part. The Hirer must be at least 18 years old and provide proof of identity at the collection of goods. The Hirer accepts full legal liability for all the equipment listed on the hire contract(s) irrespective of whether the equipment is for the Hirer’s personal use, or that of another member of his/her party, booking under the same contract booking number.
“Equipment” includes roof bars/racks, fittings, bike racks, roof boxes, keys & any other item(s) hired by the Hirer from the Company. The hire period is the date from which the equipment is collected/received by the Hirer from the Company or its agents, until the date that the Hirer is due to return the equipment. Both these dates are clearly stated on the hire contract/invoice.
Conditions of Hire
1. Identification
You may be required to bring a satisfactory form of identification, e.g. driving licence, passport etc. when collecting any items for hire. The Company reserves the right not to hand over any equipment if the Hirer cannot properly identify themselves. In these circumstances no refund will be given.
2. Liability
The Hirer accepts full personal liability for the equipment from the time the Hirer receives it from a member of the Company’s staff or agents, until it is returned to the Company at the end of the hire period.
The Company reserves the right to charge the Hirer the full replacement cost of such equipment in the event that it becomes damaged, lost or stolen during the period of hire, or until it has been returned to the Company. A crack in any part of the roof box will render it unrepairable for reasons of safety. There will be no exceptions to this.
The Hirer shall not remove any labels from and interfere with the equipment, their working mechanisms or any part of them and shall take reasonable care of the equipment whilst on hire.
The Hirer will take adequate and proper measurers to protect the equipment from theft, damage and or risks such as adverse weather.
The Company accepts that in the case of fair, wear and tear to the equipment then the Hirer will not be charged for the replacement cost.
The Company reserves the right to refuse to hire equipment to any client with whom it does not wish to enter into a contractual relationship.
The Company reserves the right to cancel a contract at any time & without notice, whereupon it will refund to the Hirer any monies paid.
Following the security deposit refund, no further liability will exist between the Hirer & the Company.
The replacement costs are as follows:-
Roof Boxes:
Roof Bars & Foot Packs:
Cycle Racks:
Keys:
Damage:
3. Security Deposit
The Company will charge each Hirer £100 security deposit for any items hired from the Company, as a refundable security deposit. A security deposit will need to be paid 14 days prior to the agreed hire start period. This payment will be included within the invoice the customer will receive for the equipment they intend to hire. The Company also reserves the right to demand a deposit from any Hirer at any time up to and including the Hirer collecting the equipment from The Company. The amount of such deposit is to be at the absolute discretion of the Company.
The Hirer understands that the payable £100 security deposit does not limit or replace their responsibilities as stated above. The Company will undertake to reasonably highlight any damage prior to the hire commencing noting this on the hire sheet as appropriate. The Hirer is welcome to inspect the equipment at the point of hire.
4. Collecting Equipment
The Hirer will sign a 'Condition of Hire' agreement at the time of the equipment being installed/collected, By signing this, the Hirer acknowledges they and the Company have inspected the equipment & confirms it is the equipment ordered & in satisfactory working order and condition. The Company will note any damages previously sustained to the equipment within this agreement.
5. Amendments
The Company will allow the Hirer to change the details once free of charge after you have completed your booking, subject to the equipment still being available. The Company will not accept any changes within 7 days of the agreed collection date. All amendments must be in writing and sent by post or e-mailed to info@thetop-box.com to the Company. Any subsequent amendments will be charged at £5 per amendment.
6. Payments
The hire period charges are payable in full 14 days before the agreed hire period, unless alternative arrangements have been made in writing by post to the company or by email at info@thetop-box.com.
7. Cancellations & Cancellation Fees
If the booking was made by telephone or via the Company website booking enquiries form, the Hirer may, assuming that the hire period has not commenced, cancel the contract up to 10 days after the contract was made and will receive a full refund of monies paid, provided that the cancellation is in writing and sent by post to the Company head office address or e-mailed to info@thetop-box.com to the Company.
The following charges will apply: –
8. Product Alternatives
It is possible that the equipment which you have pre-booked may have been lost or damaged by a previous Hirer. In this event, the Company will endeavour to provide the Hirer with equipment of at least the same quality & value as that ordered by the Hirer although this cannot be guaranteed. Should the Hirer not wish to take the alternative equipment offered, he/she will be entitled to a full refund in respect of the missing equipment. However, The Company accepts no further liability in the event that the Company cannot provide an alternative a full refund will be offered.
9. Returning Equipment Late
Please consider that late returns have consequences for both the Company and future hirers. Please avoid making an assumption that an extension is guaranteed, and contact us as soon as you realise that there is likely to be an issue. Where the Hirer does not return the equipment at the end of the agreed hire period, The Company reserves the right to charge the Hirer at the 8-10 day rate. The amount repayable will accrue up to the replacement cost of the equipment, as specified above in Section 2, together with any legal fees or associated recovery costs. For the avoidance of doubt, our expectation is that equipment will be returned in line with your contractual agreement.
10. Promotional or Special Offers
Periodic special offers and discounts offered are at the absolute discretion of the Company. Unless explicitly stated, only one promotional offer can be used per one hire period. i.e. two offers cannot be used in conjunction.
The Company reserves the right to withdraw any special offers and promotions without notice.
11. Equipment Hired
The Company will undertake the fitting of all equipment in accordance with current product guidelines. The Company will through the process of installation, provide appropriate advice, new vehicle height relevant to the items fixed to the roof of a vehicle & guidance to the Hirer on use of those items.
It is the Hirer’s responsibility to ensure any hired and fitted items remain correctly fitted to the vehicle for the duration of the hire period. Where members of the Company’s staff may assist the Hirer with fitting the Hirer’s equipment to a vehicle, this will be entirely at the Hirer’s risk and the Company accepts no liability for any damage caused either to the vehicle or third parties as a result of fitting such equipment.
12. Purchased Goods
All our prices can be assumed to be correct at the time of order; they include VAT where applicable. If the rate of VAT changes between your order date and the date we supply the product, we will adjust the rate of VAT that you pay, unless you have already paid for the product in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.
We accept all major credit cards, charge cards and debit cards through the Revolut payment system sent to the Hirer via invoice. All card holders are subject to validation checks and authorisation by their card issuer. We cannot be held responsible for the consequences of any delay in delivery, or non-delivery, resulting from any refusal by a card issuer to authorise a payment.
The fulfilment of all orders made via the website, e-email or telephone is subject to availability. We reserve the right to not to accept your order. We also reserve the right to cancel the whole or parts of an accepted order by notifying you in the situations below, without being liable for any damages or costs, other than refund of the amount received from you for the cancelled order:
A 'circumstance beyond our control' means an act or an event beyond our reasonable control, including, but not limited to, strikes, lockouts or other similar acts by a third party, civilian insurrections, riots, terrorist attacks or threats of terrorist attacks, wars or threats of war, fire, explosions, pandemics, epidemics, floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters or faults in public or private telecommunications networks.
If a 'circumstance beyond our control' occurs that affects our ability to fulfil our obligations under the Company's terms & conditions, the Company will contact the Hirer as soon as possible and the time for the fulfilment of our obligations under the terms & conditions will be extended for the duration of the event beyond the Company's control. The Hirer has the right to cancel their order if an event beyond the Company's control occurs and which prevents delivery of an item to the Hirer.
13. Delivery of Purchased Goods
Items that are purchased online, via email or over the telephone are subject to customer collection of the goods from our head office address. We currently do not offer a postal service at this time.
14. Returns of Purchased Goods
According to the consumer legislation, you are entitled to cancel your purchase for no particular reason within fourteen (14) calendar days from the Company receiving your order. In such a case, return of the product shall take place within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date you exercised your right of withdrawal.
You are entitled to open the package and examine the product to the extent required to assess whether you are satisfied with it. If the product has been handled to a greater extent than was necessary (to determine qualities and function) and is not in a substantially unchanged condition, the Company reserves the right to make deductions for depreciation from the amount to be repaid. All possible accessories must be included with the return. If you regret your purchase, we will refund the amount you have paid excluding fees for payment methods within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of approval of your return or your presentation of a delivery receipt. Please note that you, as a Customer, are responsible for the cost and risk of the return.
If you purchase a product from the Company which is found to be faulty; please phone or e-mail and we will attend to the problem without delay. Problems with products that have been sold by us and are under guarantee should be referred to us in the first instance. We can supply proof of purchase if required for guarantee claims.
Items are able to be returned to and refunded so long as the following criteria is met:
As soon as a return has been handled by us, a refund will be made to the payment method you used at the time of ordering within 14 calendar days from the time you became entitled to a refund. Refund of monies will be made to the original method of payment. The Company will confirm with you before making any monetary transfers that the account details are correct.
15. Insurance
The Company does not offer an insurance policy for the products hired. It is the Hirer’s responsibility to ensure that adequate coverage is provided via their own motor vehicle insurance policy. Roof boxes, roof boxes, bike racks etc. are generally considered as “vehicle accessories”.
16. Liability
Same as provided in these conditions & to the extent that the exclusion or restriction of liability may be prohibited by statute, the Company will not be liable for any loss, damage or injury caused, directly or indirectly by the equipment or its use. Your statutory rights are not affected.
Updated: May 2024