1. Terminology

1.1 “Hire.EssentialPhoto.co.uk" (thereafter called HEP) is a trading name of PIXAPRO Limited. Company registration: 07601334 Head office: HEP, Unit 5 Sterling Park, Pedmore road, Brierley Hill, DY51TB.

1.2 "Customer" means any person (including without limitation, individuals, partnerships and bodies Corporate) who orders or purchases goods or services from HEP and to whom HEP may agree to supply Products in accordance with these terms and conditions.

1.3 "Products" means the hired items to be provided by HEP to the Customer in accordance with these terms and conditions.

1.3 "Hire Period" is the period for which the equipment is hired. Each day is calculated on a 24-hour period from the time at which the equipment is either (a) collected from our premises or (b) leaves our premises because it is being delivered to the Customer. Where equipment is delivered or collected via courier we will not charge for the rental whilst in transit.

2. Identification

2.1 “Customer” - are required to provide 2 forms of ID for their rental booking. This must include one form of photo ID i.e. a passport or driving licence, and a recent utility bill.

3. Order Acceptable

3.1 HEP reserves the right to refuse any order. Orders are only deemed to be accepted once dispatched.
3.2 All orders placed with HEP through the services provided by HEP by the Customer for Products shall constitute an offer to HEP under these terms and conditions subject to availability of the Products and to acceptance of the order by HEP’s authorised representative.
3.3 All orders are accepted, and Products supplied subject to these express terms and conditions only. No amendments to the terms and conditions will be valid unless confirmed in writing on or after the date hereof by HEP’s authorised representative.
3.4 It is agreed that these terms and conditions are accepted by the consumer in all circumstances unless on the occasion that the terms and conditions are to be amended. These amendments will only be valid if confirmed in writing by a representative of HEP.

4. Deposit

4.1 A refundable deposit will be required from the customer, and we reserve the right to vary this amount. On the occasion of not being able to refund the full deposit amount, this will not be considered an acceptable reason for none-payment of the hire charge.

4.2 “Customer” are required to pay a deposit in advance for their rental booking.

4.3 Where a deposit has been paid by the customer, this deposit will be refunded only to the same card or account from which the deposit was paid, upon the return and checking of the equipment by HEP, as soon as possible after the point of return. Equipment lost, stolen or damaged while in the customer's possession will be the entire responsibility of the customer. As per Section 9. Deposits can take up to 14 working days to return to the customer's account, subject to bank clearance.

4.3 Customer can pay for the hire through our HEP. We accept all major credit cards, like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express and PayPal.

5. Dispatch, Deliveries & Collections

5.1 Any time quoted or pre-discussed for dispatch or Delivery is to be treated as an estimate only, and the Customer acknowledges that dispatch or Delivery may be postponed because of conditions beyond HEP’s reasonable control. In no circumstances shall HEP be liable for any damages or penalty for delay in dispatch or Delivery and accordingly, time shall not be of the essence of this Agreement. No service is guaranteed and as such, HEP cannot be held accountable for loss of earnings or any inconvenience which has occurred due to the hands of the courier. HEP also will not accept any responsibility for downturn of work due to any delays beyond our control, this includes but is not limited to, unavailability of stock.

5.2 Any risk associated with the product, or any liability is automatically passed onto the customer as soon as the product arrives at the delivery location, the goods are then considered the customer responsibility.

5.3 If the Products or any of them have not been received or are received in a damaged condition, the Customer must notify HEP in writing or by email within 24 hours of the date of receipt, after this time, HEP cannot be held responsible for any loss which has occurred during delivery. If the damage is not reported within the relevant time period, the customer may be held responsible for the damage of the goods whilst in their possession.

5.4 Claims for damage which is reported within 24 hours of the delivery will be taken into consideration however, if after the investigation period it is deemed by HEP that the goods have become damaged after the delivery and the customer is unable to provide satisfactory evidence to prove otherwise then it is within our discretion to deny claims if we feel this is the necessary action to take. Any damage which is present before the package is delivered, the package should be refused the door, or the recipient should contact HEP immediately to report this as damage which has occurred during transit.

6. Pricing and VAT

6.1 All prices will be accurate at the point of sale via HEP and may differ from our website prices or alternative supplier. If you have any payment queries, please raise these BEFORE placing the order.

6.2 HEP holds the right to amend prices at any time and without prior notice

6.3 It falls within the customer responsibility to check all prices at the point of purchase.

6.4 All quoted prices are to be considered as a sub-total. Any insurance, freight costs or expenses outside of the agreed pricing are considered separate.

6.5 All prices are displayed with VAT (VAT inclusive).

7. Insurance

7.1 Insurance is not included with any HEP rental equipment. We highly recommend the customer take out their own insurance before hiring.

7.2 If hiring equipment with a total deposit value of more than £5,000 (inclusive) the customer must provide proof of adequate insurance cover before the hire commences.

8. Rental Period

8.1 All hire bookings are charged from the time they leave us or are collected from us to the time they are returned to us. Where equipment is delivered/collected via courier we will not charge for the rental whilst in transit.

8.2 We retain the right to terminate the hire at any time and recover the rental equipment.

9. Customer Responsibility

9.1 All risks revolving the goods in question is passed over to the customer as soon as the goods arrive in their possession. This is regardless of whether the goods are delivered by courier or collected.

9.2 The goods are the customer responsibility for the whole rental period and the customer/consumer agrees to be liable for any risks involved with using the hired product within the allocated period of time. Customer responsibilities include safe-keeping of the equipment including but not limited to protection against the elements of theft, vandalism or improper use. Any extended liability or insurance is to be taken out at the customer own expense like insurance.

9.3 The customer is responsible for the return of the equipment at customer own expense.

9.4 The customer will indemnify us against any and every expense, liability, financial loss, claim or proceedings whatsoever, and in respect of any death or personal injury whatsoever or damage to or loss of property whatsoever (other than the Equipment) arising out of the delivery, use, non-use, repossession, collection or return of the Equipment or any parts of it. The indemnity will be reduced in proportion to the extent that such expense, liability, financial loss, claim or proceedings or death or personal injury or damage to or loss of property is due to our proven negligence.

9.5 The customer will pay the rental rate for each day that the equipment is in the customer's possession & until the equipment has been returned to us, including any additional charges incurred.

9.6 Any items not returned from hire including but not limited to cable releases, sync leads, spare lamps, etc. will automatically be charged to the customer's invoice at the full current replacement cost.

9.7 Equipment lost, stolen or damaged while in the customer's possession will be the entire responsibility of the customer. Account customer and pay in advance customer will be invoiced at replacement cost and for non-account customer, the replacement cost will be deducted from the deposit. If there is any further balance owed above the deposit value, it will be added to the hire invoice.

9.8 It is the customer's responsibility to make sure that all the people who use the equipment are properly instructed in its safe and correct use and that they have all of the instructions supplied by us. You must ensure that the equipment is not misused, and that supervision is adequate at all times.

9.9 The customer must not sell or otherwise part control of the equipment.

10. Equipment Suitability

10.1 It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that the Equipment is suitable for the purpose for which you intend to use it and to give us sufficient information to ensure that the Equipment supplied is suitable.

10.2 The customer is responsible for ensuring that he/she is familiar with the controls and functionality of the equipment rented. HEP will assist with this as required.

11. Late Returns

11.1 Late returns are subject to an additional charge, which may include remuneration for any lost revenue.

11.2 It is the responsibility of the customer to inform HEP of any hire period extension no less than 24 hours before the end of their original hire period.

12. Cancellations

12.1 The customer must advise HEP as soon as possible if you have a cancellation.

12.1a The customer may use any means of contact to cancel their order however, it is the customer sole responsibility to check and ensure that the correspondence (email, livechat, phone call) has been received and actioned. Any correspondence not picked up in time will not be HEP’s responsibility.

12.2 Same day cancellations (before dispatching) will be subject to a cancellation charge of one day’s rental as originally booked, subject to confirmation within that period that the remainder of the rental period is not required.

12.3 If the order has already been dispatched from the main warehouse, cancellation may not at this point be possible.

12.4 All refunds in relation to the above clauses will be actioned and refunded within 14 days. If the refund is not received within the relevant cooling off period then it becomes the customer responsibility to chase this with the finance team at Hire.EssentialPhoto.co.uk . Once the refund has successfully been issued, this will be confirmed through a credit note. The credit note does not indicate an application of credit to the customer account but instead is a written confirmation of the refund which has been issued.

12.5 All cancellations can be made by any means of contact with PIXAPRO. The most effective and reliable method of cancellation is via email. All email requests are dealt with as quickly as possible within 24 hours (Monday to Friday 9.30am-5.00pm) of receiving the message. This is also the best way of keeping a record of the correspondence. For cancellations or reschedule requests, please email us over at info@essentialphoto.co.uk and have all of your booking information, including reference numbers to hand.

12.6 Hire.EssentialPhoto.co.uk does not accept any responsibility for refund delays which occur after the refund has been processed by the finance team. Different banks can have different processing times varying between 1-28 days. Once the refund has been issued, there is nothing else Hire.EssentialPhoto.co.uk can do in order to speed up how quickly the bank processes the payment, in these circumstances, contacting the bank would be the best course of action.

13. Equipment Check & Liability

13.1 All equipment is serviced regularly and is tested prior to each hire to ensure that the item functions according to its specifications. Every effort is made, therefore, to ensure that the equipment is supplied in working order. HEP cannot be held liable, however, for the failure of equipment or consequential or sub-consequential loss therefrom.

13.2 It is strongly recommended that the customer tests that the equipment functions properly for its intended use at time of receipt and prior to commencing an important assignment or overseas travel.

13.3 Any breakdown or unsatisfactory working of equipment must be immediately notified to us. Under no circumstances must you repair or attempt to repair the equipment unless authorised by us. The equipment must be returned to our premises for examination. You must notify us immediately if the equipment is involved in an accident resulting in damage to the equipment or other property, or injury to any person.

13.4 If the Equipment is defective due to manufacturing error, you must notify us immediately. If the defect has not been caused by anything you have done or failed to do and nothing can be done to rectify the situation with that existing equipment we will (at our option) arrange collection of the goods and the redelivery of a replacement of the same or similar specifications as soon as reasonably possible. Should a replacement not be possible HEP will credit the customer for the hire charges of the defective equipment.

14. Damaged, Missing & Stolen Equipment

14.1 The customer must report any shortage of equipment to us within 1 hour of receiving the equipment.

14.2 Any failure of equipment should be reported immediately in accordance with 10.4.

14.3 The customer is responsible for the equipment whilst in their care, including any breakages, as per Section 9.

14.4 Dependent on the severity of the damage or supply of replacement parts and thus the length of repair, a penalty charge may well be incurred due to a loss of hire of the equipment to other customer.

14.5 Any rental equipment that is stolen must be reported to the police and HEP within 24 hours, and a crime reference number provided as well as details of the theft. Equipment lost, stolen or damaged while in the customer's possession will be the entire responsibility of the customer, as per Section 9.

14.6 We understand that the equipment may over time pick up the odd minor scratch or mark, however, any marks to lens glass and obvious neglect of use will be treated as damage and charged.

15. Our Right of Access

15.1 You authorise us to enter any land or premises where we reasonably believe any Equipment to be, at reasonable times and after reasonable notice. In order to make necessary inspection of it, or to test, replace or repossess it.

16. Identification Marks

16.1 The customer will not remove, deface or cover up our nameplate or mark on the equipment indicating that it is our property.

16. Unreturned Items

16.1 The customer is responsible for returning all rented equipment to HEP complete. Any unreturned items will automatically be charged to the customer as per Section 9.

16.2 Spare, failed or damaged consumables including but not limited to bulbs, flash tubes and batteries must be returned with the equipment. Failure to return these will result in the value of the unreturned items added to the hire invoice.

18. General Conditions

18.1 Acceptance of the equipment by the customer or his agent signifies the total acceptance of these terms and conditions for hire and excludes any terms and conditions you may have put forward except where we have agreed to any amendments or other conditions in writing.

18.2 All goods are advertised subject to availability.

18.3 HEP Hire Equipment remains the property of PIXAPRO at all times and must not be pledged, loaned, deposited or sold to a third party.

18.4 Any waiver or variation by HEP of one or more of the above conditions does not in any way prejudice its right under any other condition or conditions.

18.5 HEP reserves the right to change both the prices and the Equipment available for hire without prior notice.

19. Limit of our Liability

19.1 We will not be liable for any loss or indirect loss including but not limited to loss of business profits, savings you expect to make, wasted money, wages, fees or expenses due to late delivery, non-delivery, unsuitability, breakdown or stoppage of the equipment or any part of it.

19.2 HEP’s liability in connection with the hire of the equipment shall be limited to the sum paid for the hire.

19.3 All our times which state or quote for delivery or collection are approximate.

19.4 We will not be liable for any delays caused by any circumstances beyond our control.

20. Additional Disclaimer
20.1 By hiring equipment through HEP for PIXAPRO branded goods, you also agree to the terms and conditions of HEP and understand that although the two platforms are associated, they are not the same. PIXAPRO product sold on Essentialphoto.co.uk and hire from HEP both operate separately and by hiring PIXAPRO goods, it is understood that PIXAPRO cannot be held responsible for any losses or errors caused due to the HEP website at the point of ordering.

20.2 HEP acts as a lending agent only and are not in any way responsible for selling PIXAPRO branded equipment at full price. PIXAPRO’s involvement with HEP is associated with hiring purchases only and any regular purchases will be dealt with as normal through the Essentialphoto.co.uk website or an official supplier of PIXAPRO goods.