Rental Agreement
1. Your contract with us
By making an online booking you are accepting the conditions set out in this rental agreement. You will also be asked to sign a copy of this rental agreement when you collect your rental vehicle.
Your booking will remain provisional until you receive a booking confirmation from us by email, telephone, fax or in writing.
Please read this agreement carefully. If there is anything you do not understand or
do not agree with, please ask any member of staff at the place you rented the
vehicle from or by contacting us.
2. Rental Period
You
will have the vehicle for the rental period shown in the agreement. We may
agree to extend this rental period but the rental period may never be more than
30 days.
If you
do not bring the vehicle back on time you are breaking the conditions of this
agreement. We can charge you for every day or part day you have the vehicle
after you should have returned it to us. Until we get the vehicle back we will
charge you the daily rate published at the place you have rented the vehicle
from.
3. Your responsibilities
- You must look after the vehicle and the keys to the vehicle. You must always
lock the vehicle when you are not using it, and use any security device
fitted to or supplied with the vehicle. You must always protect the
vehicle against bad weather which can cause damage. You must make sure
that you use the correct fuel.
- You are responsible for any damage to the vehicle caused by hitting low-level
objects, such as bridges or low branches.
- You must not sell, rent or dispose of the vehicle or any of its parts. You
must not give anyone legal rights over the vehicle.
- You must not let anyone work on the vehicle without our permission. If we do
give you permission we will only give you a refund if you have a receipt
for the work.
- You must let us know as soon as you become aware of a fault in the vehicle.
- You must bring the vehicle back to the place we agreed, during the opening
hours displayed at that place. One of our staff must see the vehicle to
check that it is in good condition. If we have agreed that you may return
the vehicle outside business hours, you will remain responsible for the
vehicle and its condition until it is reinspected by a member of staff.
- You will have to pay for reasonable costs for repair if:
- we have to pay extra costs to return the vehicle to its condition when the pre-rental
inspection was carried out (for example, if extra valeting time or special
material or equipment is needed to restore the vehicle to its pre-rental
condition); or
- you have damaged the inside of the vehicle.
- Before you bring back the vehicle you must check that you have not left any personal
belongings in the vehicle.
4. Our responsibilities
We have maintained the vehicle to at least the manufacturer's recommended
standard. We assure you that the vehicle is roadworthy and suitable for renting
at the start of the rental period.
Also
if you are not renting the vehicle for business purposes we are responsible for
loss caused by
- the
vehicle not matching our description of it;
- the
vehicle not being of the quality that you would be entitled to expect from
a rental vehicle;
- the
vehicle not being fit to drive; or
- us
not having the legal right to rent out the vehicle.
We are
responsible if someone is injured or dies as a result of our negligence, act or
failure to act. We are also responsible for losses you suffer as a result of us
breaking this agreement if the losses are a foreseeable consequence of us
breaking the agreement. Losses are foreseeable where they could be contemplated
by you and us at the time the vehicle is rented. We are not responsible for
indirect losses which happen as a side effect of the main loss or damage and
which are not foreseeable by you and us (such as loss of profits or loss of
opportunity).
5. Property
We are only responsible for loss or damage to property left in the vehicle if the loss
or damage results from our negligence or a breach of contract.
6. Conditions for using the vehicle
The vehicle must only be driven by you and any other driver named on your
rental agreement, or by anyone else we authorise in writing. Anyone driving
the vehicle must have a full valid driving licence.
You or any other authorised driver must not:
- use the vehicle for hire or reward;
- use the vehicle for any illegal purpose;
- use the vehicle for racing, pace making, testing the vehicle's reliability and speed or teaching someone to drive;
- use the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
- drive the vehicle outside England, Scotland and Wales, unless we have given you written permission;
- load the vehicle beyond the manufacturers maximum weight recommendations and make sure that the load is secured safely;
- if the vehicle is a commercial vehicle use it for a purpose for which you need an operator's licence if you do not have one.
7. Towing
You or any other authorised user must not use the vehicle for towing unless we have given you written
permission.
8.Charges
We work out our charges using our current price list as published here and at our place
of business.
You will pay the following charges:
- The rental and any other charges we work out according to this agreement.
- Any charge for loss or damage resulting from you not keeping to condition 3.
- A refuelling service charge if you have used, and not replaced, the quantity
of fuel that we supplied at the start of the original rental. The charge will
be based on the rates printed on your rental agreement or at the place you
rented the vehicle from (or both).
- All fines and court costs for parking, traffic or other offences (including any
costs which arise if the vehicle is clamped). You must pay the appropriate
authority any fines and costs if and when the authority demands this payment.
If you do not, you will be responsible to pay our reasonable administration
charges which arise when we deal with these matters.
- The reasonable cost of repairing any extra damage which was not noted on
our damage control diagram when you collect the rental vehicle at the start
of the rental agreement, whether you were at fault or not (depending on 4).
And the reasonable cost of replacing the vehicle if it is stolen, depending
on any insurance you have (as set out in 9, if and when we demand this payment.
- A loss-of-income charge, when we demand it, if we cannot rent out the vehicle
because it needs to be repaired, it is a write-off (can't be repaired) or it
has been stolen and we are waiting to receive full payment of the vehicle's
value.
We will only charge you for loss of income if we can't get back the losses under
the Damage Protection Programme. We will charge you at the published daily rate
and we will never charge you for more than 30 days' rental charges. We will
always do everything we can to make sure the vehicle is repaired or we get
payment as soon as possible.
- Any charges arising from Customs and Excise seizing the vehicle, together with a
loss-of-income charge while we cannot rent out the vehicle, if and when we
demand this payment.
- Any published rates for collecting and delivering the vehicle.
- Interest which we will add every day to any amount you do not pay us on time,
at the rate of 4% a year above the base lending rate of Barclays Bank from time
to time.
- Value added tax and all other taxes on any of the charges listed above, as
appropriate.
You are responsible for all charges, even if you have asked someone else to be
responsible for them.
You can get details of our Damage Protection Programme from the office you rented
the vehicle from.
9. Our insurance and damage protection programme
If we arrange separate
insurance, we will give you separate information on the insurance cover and any
restrictions which may apply. Otherwise, the conditions of our insurance and
damage protection programme will apply. By putting your initials in the appropriate
box on your rental agreement you are accepting the conditions of our insurance
and damage protection programme.
- We have a legal responsibility to have third party insurance. This provides
cover for claims made if you injure or kill anybody, or damage their property
(cover for damage to property is limited to £250,000).
- We will provide cover for loss or damage to the vehicle if you have ticked
the box marked 'Collision and
loss damage waiver' on your rental agreement. If you accept this you will still
have to pay an amount up to the 'responsibility amount' every time you damage
the vehicle.
- We will provide cover for theft and damage to the vehicle caused during an
attempted theft if you have ticked the box marked 'Theft waiver' on your rental
agreement. If you accept this you still have to pay an amount up to the 'responsibility
amount' if the vehicle
is stolen. The responsibility amount you have to pay in each case is shown on
your rental agreement.
- We will provide personal accident insurance, personal belongings insurance
and goods in transit insurance if you initialled the appropriate boxes on your
rental agreement.
You can get details of our insurance and damage protection programme (including the main exclusions) from
the office you rented the vehicle from.
10.
Your
own insurance
If we fill in the appropriate box on your rental agreement you may arrange
your own insurance for the full duration of the rental as long as you can prove
that this insurance is valid and have signed the confirmation on your rental
agreement. We have to agree to the amount of cover you arrange, the type of
policy and the insurer you have chosen.
We must be satisfied with
the cover and policy conditions, and you must not change them. We may ask your
insurers to record our name as owners of the vehicle. If the vehicle is damaged
or stolen you will let us negotiate with the insurers about whether the vehicle
can be repaired or what compensation is due to us. You are financially
responsible for settling the full claim and paying all costs if the policy you
have arranged fails and the vehicle is damaged, lost or stolen or a claim is
made by any other party.
11. What
to do if you have an accident
If you have an accident you
must not admit responsibility. You should get the names and addresses of
everyone involved, including witnesses. You should also:
- make the vehicle secure;
- tell the police straight
away if anyone is injured or there is a disagreement over who is
responsible; and
- call our nearest office
straight away.
You must then fill in our
accident report form and send it to our address shown on our contact
page.
12.
Data
Protection
You agree that we may use
any information you have given us to carry out our own market research. If you
break the agreement we can give this information to credit reference agencies,
the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), debt collectors and any
other relevant' organisation. We can also give this information to the British
Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), who can pass it on to any of
its members for any purpose shown in the Data Protection Act 1998.
13.
Ending
the agreement
- If you are a consumer we
will end this agreement straight away if we find out that your belongings have
been taken away from you to pay off your debts, or a receiving order has been
made against you. We may end this agreement if you do not meet the main requirements
of this agreement.
- If you are a company, we will end this agreement straight away if:
- you go into liquidation;
- you call a meeting of
creditors;
- we find out that your
goods have been taken a-way from you until you pay off your debts; or
- you do not meet any of the
conditions of this agreement.
- If we end this agreement
it will not affect our right to receive any money we are owed under the
conditions of this agreement. We can also claim reasonable costs from you if you
do not meet the main requirements of this agreement. We can repossess the
vehicle (and charge you a reasonable amount) without using unreasonable force
or causing damage.
14. Governing law
This agreement is governed
by the laws of the country in which it is signed. Any dispute may be settled in
the counts of that country.
