Legal.

Terms & Conditions of Hire

These Conditions of Hire ("Conditions") apply to all hire agreements between Lev3l Products Ltd ("the Supplier", "we", "us") and any customer ("the Hirer", "you"). By placing a hire order with us, verbally or in writing, you agree to these Conditions, to the exclusion of any other terms you may propose.

1. Definitions

• Supplier: Lev3l Products Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (Company Reg. No. 9976485), with its registered office at Westhey Manor Barns, Higham Rd, Barton-Le-Clay, Bedfordshire, MK45 4RB.

• Hirer: Any individual, company, or firm hiring Equipment from the Supplier.

• Equipment: Any scaffolding, access, event, safety components, accessories, or other products offered for hire by the Supplier.

• List Price: The current prices detailed in the Supplier's official price list for sale of Equipment.

2. Terms of Payment

2.1. We may offer a discretionary credit account, subject to our sole discretion, approval, and periodical reviews. We may raise or lower your credit limit at any time without prior notice.

2.2. For approved credit accounts (confirmed in writing), payment is due 30 days from the date of each invoice.

2.3. If any sums remain unpaid after their due date, all outstanding charges become immediately due. Invoices will be provided at regular intervals during the hire period.

2.4. We reserve the right to suspend or cancel further supplies from any existing or new orders until all outstanding debts are settled.

2.5. We reserve the right to withdraw credit facilities at any time without reason.

2.6. If you do not have an approved credit account, a minimum hire charge (typically 4 weeks hire unless otherwise agreed in writing by a Director) and a deposit (calculated based on our List Prices) are required as cleared funds before the hire period begins. This deposit will be held until all Equipment is returned in good order and all outstanding payments are received.

3. Authority & Acceptance

3.1. The person making the contract warrants they have the Hirer's authority to do so and indemnifies us against any losses or costs if this is not the case.

3.2. Upon delivery, if you or your representative sign the Delivery Note, it is conclusive proof of receipt of the Equipment. We will not accept variations to these Conditions unless agreed in writing.

3.3. If you or your representative are not present at delivery, we will dispatch a Hire Delivery Note. Unless any alleged discrepancy is reported to us by letter or email within two working days of delivery, the Hire Delivery Note is conclusive proof of the Equipment delivered.

4. Delivery & Collection Charges

4.1. If we organise delivery or collection, you agree to pay our standard transport rates. Any negotiated rates must be agreed in writing by a Director. Charges may include costs for wasted journeys or transport time.

4.2. If Equipment is collected by you, you must thoroughly check the Equipment once loaded and sign the Delivery Note before leaving our premises. If the Delivery Note is not signed, acceptance is deemed given unless stated otherwise.

4.3. While we make every reasonable effort to keep to delivery or collection dates, these are estimates only, and we accept no liability for failure to meet them. We do not accept returns on Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays, or outside normal office hours.

4.4. If you cancel a contract, we can recover all costs incurred in preparing the order, including consequential loss of hire income and a restocking fee. If you postpone delivery, we reserve the right to charge hire from the original contract date.

5. Hirer’s Responsibility for Equipment

5.1. From the commencement of hire until the Equipment is returned to our possession, you accept full responsibility for its care, safeguarding, and maintaining it in your possession and control.

5.2. You agree to pay all costs incurred by us in rectifying the condition of any Equipment, including for damage and uncleanliness. Additionally, you will pay us a charge for the financial losses incurred while such rectification is carried out.

5.3. You must notify us immediately, and confirm in writing, upon the loss of any Equipment, however it occurs. You are liable for hire charges for the lost Equipment up to and including the date we receive notification of loss.

5.4. For Equipment lost through theft, you must also report the loss to the police as soon as reasonably practical and advise us of the crime report number. You remain fully responsible for the cost of replacement of any stolen items.

5.5. We reserve the right to continue to apply hire charges until all sums due under clauses 5.1-5.4 are fully recovered.

6. Return & Collection of Equipment

6.1. At the end of the hire period, you are responsible for returning the Equipment to our depot in an undamaged, clean, and sound condition, free of dirt, contamination, surface damage, or discolouration (unless previously agreed in writing).

6.2. You must give at least 48 hours' notice of your intention to end the hire period and obtain an off-hire reference from us. Hire charges will cease from the agreed off-hire date, provided Equipment is returned within the notice period. Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays are not considered working days for this purpose.

6.3. Off-hire counting procedures take place after return to our yard. Equipment must be returned in the original dimensions hired. Any discrepancies, including cuts, shortages, painted, or damaged Equipment, will be charged to you at the current market replacement or new sale rate.

6.4. If we agree to collect the Equipment, you will pay our carriage charge. Counting procedures for collected Equipment will only take place upon return to our depot. If we are unable to collect the Equipment for any reason, you will still pay the carriage charge, and hire charges will continue until the Equipment is recovered and counted in at our depot.

6.5. Once Equipment is counted in, we will notify you. Any disputes with this count must be notified to us in writing within 5 working days.

6.6. You are responsible for loading the Equipment onto our vehicles and/or any third-party vehicles, including providing necessary machinery/manpower and ground conditions. You must not overload vehicles and must load in accordance with all statutory provisions (e.g., Road Traffic Act). You will indemnify the vehicle driver and us for any fines and legal costs incurred due to a breach of this condition.

6.7. At our request, you must inform us in writing within one working day of the location of all Equipment currently on hire. You must permit us and our authorised persons to enter the premises where the Equipment is situated to inspect it. We may charge the value of the Equipment if we doubt your continuing possession and control of it.

7. Insurance & Responsibility for Loss/Damage

7.1. You agree to pay us the full new list sale rate for any Equipment that is lost, stolen, or damaged beyond economic repair, without any deduction for usage, wear and tear, or age. You should insure the goods on this basis.

7.2. All monies received by you from an insurance company or any other source for loss, theft, or damage of Equipment must be held in trust for us (to the extent that payment is due to us under this condition) and paid to us on demand.

7.3. You must pay these monies promptly, and no later than 10 working days from receipt, even if a written request is not issued by us.

7.4. Our loss in the event of damage or loss to the Equipment is payable in full on demand and is not conditional on your prior recovery of any sums from insurance or other sources. Any monies received by you from insurance or other sources for loss, theft, or damage will be held by you on trust for us and paid to us on demand.

8. Recovery of Equipment

8.1. You will take all reasonable and realistic steps to ensure the safe and proper return of lost or stolen Equipment. If lost or stolen Equipment is subsequently recovered, you must immediately return it to us. We will then credit you with the value of the Equipment, minus appropriate hire charges from the date we received written notification of loss until the Equipment was returned to us.

9. Maintenance & Damage

9.1. It is your responsibility to monitor the state, condition, and location of Equipment on hire and ensure it remains safe, clean, and in good workable order at all times. You must notify us immediately in writing if any damage or unsatisfactory working of any Equipment is noticed.

9.2. All Equipment will be inspected upon its return to our premises. If we deem any Equipment to be damaged, contaminated, unfit for re-hire, or unusable, you will be charged for its replacement at our current List Price. Before issuing such charges, we will provide 5 working days' notice, during which you will have a reasonable opportunity to inspect the damage.

10. Safety

10.1. We will provide appropriate instructional material where reasonably practicable. You must ensure this material is passed to operatives using the Equipment and that they are competent in its erection and/or use through adequate training. Equipment must not be used for any purpose for which it is not designed. We are not responsible for any damage or injury caused by user negligence. You must satisfy yourself that the Equipment is in sound and workable order at the time of original hire and indemnify us against any claims arising from such damage, however caused.

11. Variation on Prices & Period of Hire

11.1. Any quotation is an invitation to treat, open for acceptance for 28 days (or less if stated, e.g., for items subject to market fluctuations). We reserve the right to increase prices at any time without prior notification. After acceptance, we may increase any price, including for Equipment already on hire, with 28 days' written notice to you, and may correct any obvious errors in quotations.

11.2. The date of collection or delivery is the effective start date of hire charges. All Equipment hired is subject to a minimum hire period, as specified in our price list (if not stated, 4 weeks is assumed).

11.3. Hire charges are calculated weekly, with fractions of a week charged daily (1/7th of the weekly charge), except where a specific minimum hire period applies per item. The date of dispatch and collection are counted as whole days.

11.4. No allowance will be made for holiday periods, inclement weather, or any reason beyond our control (e.g., strikes, transport delays, government interference). We may, at our sole discretion, and subject to availability, add, subtract, or substitute Equipment without creating a modifying agreement under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

12. Termination

12.1. If you breach this or any other contract with us, cease business, stop payments, enter into insolvency, or suffer any distress or execution, or have an unsatisfied judgment against you for 14 days or more, or commit any act of bankruptcy, or have a winding-up order proposed or made against you, or dishonour any cheque, you will be deemed to have repudiated this contract. We may then immediately repossess the Equipment and recover any monies due, as well as damages for repudiation, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies.

12.2. Should the Equipment not be available for collection, we reserve the right to collect items up to the value of the outstanding balance. We will use our discretion on valuation and will try to collect like-for-like items where possible.

13. Outstanding Accounts and Payment

13.1. We reserve the right to charge compound interest daily on all sums outstanding after the due date at a rate of 9% per month. This is without prejudice to our right to terminate the hire for non-payment. Interest will continue to accrue after termination until all overdue amounts are received.

13.2. All quoted prices are deemed to be our List Prices unless agreed otherwise in writing. Any agreed prices differing from List Price are conditional on compliance with payment terms; full charges may be substituted if terms are breached.

13.3. If a dispute arises regarding a specific invoice item, you are not entitled to withhold payment for sums beyond those specifically relating to the disputed item(s).

13.4. A counterclaim against us will only be accepted for deduction from payment if we have agreed to it in writing. No amount due to an associate or parent company of the Hirer will be accepted as a counterclaim in this contract.

14. Owners' Rights

14.1. If you hire Equipment intending to re-hire it to a third party, or if it is re-hired for any reason following initial hire from us, you are deemed to retain control of the Equipment, regardless of whether it remains in your physical possession.

14.2. You are solely responsible for payment of all hire charges and charges for damage or loss of Equipment. It is your sole responsibility to return the Equipment to us. We will not deal directly with any third party in this context.

15. Hirer’s Indemnity

15.1. You will indemnify us against any loss, damage, claims, proceedings, costs, or expenses arising from any injury or death of any person or damage to property caused by the use or misuse of the Equipment by any person (other than that caused by us), or arising out of this contract. You must maintain appropriate insurance policies covering your liabilities under this condition.

15.2. If we are required to supply information to any official body regarding the Equipment, you will cover our reasonable expenses for doing so.

16. Title

16.1. The Equipment, notwithstanding its loss or theft and any payment from you to us, will at all times remain our property. The value of any Equipment subsequently returned to us by you will be credited to you, and all hire charges for this Equipment will be reinstated up to and including the time it is returned.

16.2. If we sell our hire stock marked with our security paint ("the Paint"), it is your responsibility to remove all visible traces of the Paint. The sale of any such hire stock is subject to Paint removal. Title to the sold Equipment will not pass to you until we are satisfied that all visible traces of the Paint have been removed, regardless of whether payment has been made.

16.3. You agree to remove all visible traces of our Paint within 90 days of our invoice for the goods. This period may be extended only if agreed by a Director in writing at the time of our invoice; post-dated requests will not be considered. Title to the goods remains with us until this condition is satisfied.

16.4. You acknowledge that these conditions protect our hire stock. If you require a period longer than 90 days to remove our security paint, you must seek written permission from a Director.

17. Identification of Equipment

17.1. All components must be returned in the exact dimensions supplied. Only Equipment provided by us and identified as such will be accepted at the end of the hire period.

17.2. If there is a discrepancy between the dimensions supplied and those returned, you agree to pay us the cost difference at our current List Price.

18. Value Added Tax (VAT)

18.1. Unless specifically stated otherwise, all prices and rates in quotations, contracts, invoices, certificates, and correspondence are exclusive of VAT. VAT will be added at the rates laid down by law from time to time. We are entitled to adjust VAT rates and amounts retrospectively or otherwise to comply with HM Customs and Excise rulings.

19. Law & Jurisdiction

19.1. This Agreement is governed by and construed in accordance with English law. Both parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts for any dispute arising under or in connection with this Agreement. Each party waives any right to object to an action being brought in the English Courts or to claim such action has been brought in an inconvenient forum. It is intended that every clause in these conditions is legally binding and enforceable, and no clause is intended to be an agreement to agree.

19.2. A person who is not a party to this Contract has no rights under this Contract (Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999).

20. Mediation

20.1. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to require any party to a dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract to enter into Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) via formal mediation within 21 days of notice.

20.2. If an agreement is not reached through formal mediation, we reserve the right to request additional mediation meetings before initiating legal proceedings.