Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction and Terms

1.1 These Terms and Conditions (Terms) should be read in conjunction with the Privacy Policy.

1.2 The website called www.theborrowers.co.uk has been created to:

provide advertising space for its customers who have an item or items, land, property, a skill or service which they wish to rent out to, or share with, other people;
allow non-paying users to browse and search the website;
provide information and news relating to recycling, re-using and the environment

1.3 By using the website www.theborrowers.co.uk, called “Website” you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1.4 The terms “Us”, “Our”, “We” and “The Company” refer to The Borrowers Ltd of the registered address Riverside House, Riverside Business Park, Wylds Road, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 4BH. The Company includes any associated companies and all its employees, officers, Directors, partners, shareholders, affiliates, agents, service providers, suppliers and successors.

1.5 The term “User” or “Users” refers to any person visiting, browsing, registering, searching, reading, interacting with or advertising on the Website.

1.6 The terms “You” and “Your” refer to all Users of the website www.theborrowers.co.uk

1.7 The term “Item” or “Items” or "Belongings" refers to all objects or property or skills/services advertised on the Website included in any or all four of the categories “Land and Garden”, “Property”, “Possessions” and "Skills and Services".

1.8 The term “Lender” or “Lenders” refers to someone who places a rental advert on the Website. The term “Borrower” or “Borrowers” refers to someone who responds to a rental advert and rents or proposes to rent an Item from a Lender.

1.9 We have the right to make changes to these Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy at any time and you should check these Terms on a regular basis. If you continue to use the Website after the changes have been made it will be regarded that you accept the amended Terms. If you do not agree to be bound by the Terms or changes to the Terms, you must cease to use the Website. A refund will not be given if you do not agree to the Terms, unless under exceptional circumstances.

2. Using the Website

2.1 This Website is a means of bringing Lenders of Items and Borrowers together by way of advertising those Items for rent. The sale of goods and products on the site is strictly prohibited.

2.2 Your use of any information or materials on this Website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any Items or information available through this Website meet your specific requirements.

2.3 Unauthorised use of this Website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence.

2.4 The Company does not act as an agent or representative of anyone who advertises on the Website and does not undertake introductions, valuations, recommendations or negotiations between any party.

2.5 By placing an advert on the Website You confirm that You are the legal owner of the Item or that the legal owner has given You express permission to advertise the Item.

2.6 You must be at least 18 years old to advertise on, communicate through and borrow/share Items advertised on this Website.

2.7 To advertise on the Website, or to contact a Lender, or save an advert to your favourites, You must first register your details with the Company and be bound by these Terms.

2.8 You agree that the content of Your advert and any message sent via the Website is true, accurate and not misleading, unlawful, offensive or libellous, that you have an appropriate licence or qualifications if applicable and will act lawfully when using the Website and renting out your Items.

2.9 When placing an advert in the Skills and Services section, you agree that you are either an individual, a sole trader, or a partnership or limited company with no more than 4 employees. You also agree that you are not selling products but are offering a genuine service or a skill. The service or skill must not be of a sexual, criminal, racial, violent, religious-intolerant, harassing, intimidating, threatening, hazardous, libellous, unlawful, confidential, hate-provoking, political, offensive or inappropriate nature.

2.10 You agree not to send messages or upload material containing details of a sexual, criminal, racial, violent, religious-intolerant, harassing, intimidating, threatening, hazardous, libellous, unlawful, confidential, hate-provoking, political, offensive or inappropriate nature. You also agree not to allow anyone else to use your Borrowers account to send, distribute or upload such material. Any such material will be deleted from the Website and Your account may be closed and all details removed without notice, recourse or refund. In such circumstances, we may be obliged to contact the relevant authorities to report the matter.

2.11 You agree, that if your advert or message contains opinions, these are your own and genuinely held by you and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Company. We reserve the right to remove opinions that we deem to be illegal or defamatory and in such case may close Your Borrowers account without notice, recourse or refund.

2.12 All trade marks reproduced in this website which are not the property of, or licensed to, the operator are acknowledged on the website.

2.13 You agree that you will not upload any logo or image to which you do not own the copyright. The Company shall not be responsible or liable for any breach of copyright performed by You. It is therefore important that you ensure that you are not acting unlawfully when uploading advertising material.

2.14 Payment for advertising shall be at the agreed cost for the agreed period of time, as displayed on the Website and shall be taken online at the time of registration. The time period shall be by calendar month, eg from the 27th of the month to midnight of the 26th of the month of expiry which could be one, three, six or twelve months later. Adverts placed in the Skills and Services section are automatically listed for twelve months.

2.15 The advert will be displayed on the Website for the agreed period of time, until You either “hide” or delete the advert or until such time that the advertising period expires. We will contact you a week before the advert is due to expire to remind you of the expiry date and, unless you renew it, at midnight on the expiry date your advert will be removed from the Website. We will not delete the advert from your account until one calendar month later, unless we hear from you or unless you renew your advert.

If you wish to advertise beyond the expiry date, you do not have to wait until the final day. You can do so at any time by logging into your account, selecting “Extend expiry date” and paying for further advertising at the appropriate rate. This will run on consecutively from the original expiry date.

2.16 Refunds will not be given if you “hide” your advert for any period of time, nor if you delete your advert or your account before the expiry date, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

2.17 Any news articles, “Did You Know” features, FAQ’s or any other written material on the Website is there as useful information and should not be treated as legal advice, guidance or recommendation. Whilst the Company will do its utmost to be as accurate as possible, no warranty or representation is given that the information and materials contained on it are complete or free from errors or inaccuracies and the Company will not be responsible or liable for any loss, damage or expenses which may result from the use of the written material.

2.18 The Company reserves the right to remove any advert from the website which it feels is inappropriate or offensive.

2.19 The Company reserves the right to promote any advert placed on www.theborrowers.co.uk on social networking websites and in newsletters and other promotional material. The Company does not guarantee that you will find a Borrower for your advertised Item and we do not offer a refund in such circumstances.

2.20 By using the Website you agree not to distribute viruses or any other technologies that may harm both the Website and the property of other Users.

2.21 The Company will control access to the Website and reserves the right to amend the services, prices, site design and any other technical or commercial aspects of the site from time to time.

2.22 The Company will make every effort to ensure that the Website is available to visitors and registrants at all times. Downtime will be kept to a minimum but may be necessary from time to time to undertake maintenance work on the Website, however we do not accept any financial liability for any interruption in service or temporary loss of the Website.

2.23 Links from the Website to third party sites are provided for convenience only. The Company is not responsible for the content, accuracy or availability of the details provided on any third party site.

2.24 If you wish to make a complaint about any material contained on the Website or report any known misconduct of the Users of the Website or of inappropriate or offensive email messages you receive, you should contact us by emailing support@theborrowers.co.uk and provide as much information as possible. If the complaint relates to anything of a sexual, criminal, racial, violent, religious-intolerant, harassing, intimidating, threatening, hazardous, libelous, unlawful, confidential, hate-provoking, political, offensive or inappropriate nature, we may be obliged to pass on your report to the relevant authorities.

3. Liability

3.1 The Company does not guarantee the existence, quality, safety or legality of the Items advertised on the Website and is not responsible or liable for the bodily or financial harm that may be caused by any Item advertised on the Website. The details advertised should be viewed as a guide only and should not form the basis of any contract.

3.2 The Company shall not be responsible or liable for the misuse, damage or theft of any Item advertised on the Website and will not enter into a legal dispute which may arise between parties.

3.3 The Company does not confirm that the identity of the people who advertise on the Website is genuine. You should take your own cautionary measures to ensure that the people you are dealing with are valid and honest and you should take care not to reveal confidential or sensitive information to someone you do not know or have not met before. If you have any concerns you should cease contact with them.

3.4 Template contracts are provided free of charge as a guide to anyone who places a non-trade advert on the Website. There are no copyright restrictions to the contracts but they may not be completely suitable for your needs so they can be amended according to the Item you are renting out. However the Company is not responsible or liable for the template contracts or amended template contracts and will not enter into a legal dispute which may arise between parties as a result of the contracts being issued and signed.

3.5 All monies received from the renting of Items is the responsibility of the individual or business concerned. The Company does not collect or refund rental income and is not responsible or liable for any tax implications in relation to rental income. You should take your own appropriate financial advice and advise HM Revenue and Customs of the income you earn as a result of renting out Items.

3.6 The Company does not advocate the renting out of any dangerous machinery, equipment or services, or heavy duty electrical or mechanical items or any other Item which could cause harm.

3.7 The Company does not take any responsibility for any harm that may arise from renting out of any Items advertised on the Website and will not be responsible or liable for any injuries, loss or death which may occur.

4. Termination and Refunds

4.1 If any part of these Terms and Conditions is breached, the Company reserves the right to cancel this agreement immediately without course for a refund and without incurring any liability to the Company.

4.2 The User may terminate this agreement by removing their advert from the Website and keeping their account, or removing and deleting both their advert and account. No refund will be given if the advert has not expired at the time of terminating this agreement.

4.3 In accordance with the Consumer Protection Regulations 2000, cancellation rights will end after seven working days counting from the day after the day this contract was agreed. However once payment is received and the advert goes live, the service is deemed as commencing and therefore the cancellation rights end and refunds will only be given at the Company’s discretion.

4.4 No refund will be given if the Item is hired by a Borrower before the expiry date of the advert, whether the Borrower has been found through the Website or by any other means.

4.5 No refund will be made for loss of Internet service.

4.6 Under no circumstances will a refund ever exceed the value of the fee paid.

5. Security

5.1 We respect your privacy and will safeguard your personal contact details by only displaying your user name and first part of your post code in your advert. However when placing an advert in the Skills and Services section, you have the option of displaying your telephone number, email address and website address if you so choose. To make contact with another User, you must register on the Website and have your own account. This will enable both parties to communicate via the website until such time that you are happy to reveal your contact details. If you have any concerns about the person you are dealing with you should cease contact with them immediately. Personal details will not be passed to any other party, unless required to do so by law.

5.2 Your details are stored on a server based in London. Daily, weekly and monthly backup cycles are undertaken so that in the event of a hardware failure your data integrity is guaranteed. Your information is protected by a redundant parallel UPS system, close-control air conditioning, 2 megawatt substation with 11kV feed, a backup diesel generator, fire detection and gas surpression system, 2.5 metre pallisade security fence around the perimeter and a PAC security access system, together with 24/7 recorded CCTV on every rack aisle and all entrances, multiple fibre routes out of the building, multiple 10 gigabit ethernet network connections to London and Cat6 shielded cabling throughout.

5.3 The Borrowers Ltd is registered with the Data Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998 and complies with the Act with regard to the safe storage and use of your personal details.

5.4 Payment is processed using Secure Trading Ltd which means that we do not store your credit card details in any form. For more information about Secure Trading, please visit www.securetrading.com.

5.5 Unless we have set up an account for you we will not know and do not have access to your password. If you have forgotten your password and you select “Forgotten Password” link, we will send you an automated email message to the email address you have registered with the Company, containing a link to enable you to reset your password.

5.6 Checks for offensive or inappropriate adverts or messages are made on a regular basis and the Company reserves the right to remove such material and possibly close Your account without notice, recourse or refund or liability.

5.7 The Company takes every possible step to ensure the security of the Website and its content, personal details, messages and adverts. Users of the Website should ensure they have their own security protection and the Company does not accept responsibility or liability for any loss.

5.8 The distributing, by Users, of viruses, spam, chain mail or other promotions is disallowed, however the Company cannot guarantee that its Users will comply with this condition. The Company will not be responsible or liable for such actions by its Users.

5.9 Any information supplied to the Company will not be divulged to any third party without the consent of the registrant, unless required to do so by law. Registrants to the website have the opportunity to opt in and out of any marketing preferences at any time by logging into their account and amending their personal details.

5.10 Limit of Liability - the maximum liability for any loss arising due to negligence on the part of the Company will be limited to a sum equal to the value of the advertising fee received by The Borrowers Ltd.

6. Intellectual Property and Copyright

6.1 This Website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these Terms and Conditions.

6.2 The domain name and website www.theborrowers.co.uk belongs to The Borrowers Ltd. All Users of the Website acknowledge and agree that all Intellectual Property Rights in and relating to the Company's logo, trademarks, designs and title shall be retained by The Borrowers Ltd.

6.3 Permission is given to download and print any of the template contracts and adverts from the website for personal use only. No part of the Website may be copied, transferred or stored on any other website without prior written consent.

6.4 No part of the Website can be reproduced for inclusion on any other website or in any other advertising campaign unless written consent has been given by The Borrowers Ltd.

7. Force Majeure

7.1 The Company shall not be liable for any delay in or failure to perform its obligations if that delay or failure is caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including without limitation fires, strikes, insurrection, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, riots, embargos, inability to obtain supplies, refusal or revocation of licence or regulations of any civil or military authority, fire, act of god, flood, storm, industrial disputes or any network breach, breakdown in any Third Party equipment including Third Party computer hardware or software.

8. Severance

8.1 If any part of the Terms shall be deemed unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed to be severable from the Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any of the remaining provisions of the Terms.