Hire agreement forms

Micky_d

Hi, I started by hiring out pieces of industrial plant and didn't grasp the cost and implications that I had to incur to cover not only myself but the people using the equipment.

With your letters, I believe that they are heavy, tall and powered in some way. You will have to provide insurance to cover the storage of your items when not on hire, any damage incurred when on route to the venue, any damage caused to the venue from you items (such as scratches to floors or equipment or damage to their electrics caused by your items).

Then there is injury to people at the venue, wedding parties are known for drunken people and lots of kids who run around unsupervised. If they touch the electrics or spill drinks on them you will also need to be covered. Your public liability will cover part of this but you will also need to consider efficacy. If someone is injured due to your faulty/ unprotected wiring or cut them self on a sharp edge or anything similar, PLI will not cover this as the injury will not be classed as an accident but as a result of your failure to take adequate care.
(I'm sorry to get a bit heavy but these things all add up and you don't want to find that you are in small claims court and your insurance will not cover you)
If you ask customers to provide their own insurance, they will be put off by the additional costs. I found that customers wanted to order the items but were put off when asked to provide their own insurance or pay extra to take out additional cover with us.

On the plus side :j (at last a plus side) there are several printers out there who do provide templates for Hire sheets but they are basic. I bought Serif Page plus software (aroung £35) and I designed my own. I managed to get a competitors copy and added extra boxes to cover what I needed. I also put on a disclaimer (which they had to sign) telling them that once the items had been delivered to site and they were given the safety instructions of how to use the items safely, they were then liable for any damage/ injuries and the replacement cost of the items.

Hire of any kind is a minefield. I hope my experiences will help a little. Good luck!:eek:

sugarwalsh

Micky D, thank you so much, all experience is really useful to us.

I will look into all the things you have mentioned and make sure we are more than covered. I like the idea of getting them to sign to say they are responsible, at the end of the day we all have to take some responsibility at some point!

I am quickly realising how much of a nightmare it can be!