Terms and Conditions

Section 01About us and key terms

1.1 “We”, “us”, “our” and “The Clear Idea” mean Pick Axe Limited, trading as The Clear Idea, registered in England and Wales under company number 07769732. Our registered office is 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3XX, and our VAT number is 185 3042 14. Where relevant, this includes our employees, agents and authorised representatives.

1.2 “You” and “your” mean the company, firm, organisation or person named as the client in the Quote, including its successors and personal representatives.

1.3 In these terms:

• “Units” means all units, vehicles, trailers, structures, accessories and equipment we hire to you.
• “Your Goods” means anything that belongs to you or your suppliers, including stock, displays and graphics.
• “Quote” means our written quote for the hire, including the price and payment schedule.
• “Hire Period” has the meaning in section 8.
• A “week” is seven days in a row, including weekends and bank holidays. A “day” is 9am to 5pm.
• “In writing” includes email.

Section 02Our contract with you

2.1 A Quote is not an offer. It is valid for 20 working days from its date unless it says otherwise. Working days are Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays in England.

2.2 The contract starts when you accept the Quote, whether you sign it, accept it online or confirm in writing. By accepting the Quote, you agree to these terms.

2.3 The contract is made up of the Quote and these terms. If they conflict, the Quote applies.

2.4 These terms apply instead of any other terms you try to use, for example on a purchase order, unless we agree otherwise in writing. No other conditions or warranties form part of the contract.

2.5 Visuals and mock-ups in our proposals, brochures and website, including computer-generated images, are for guidance only and do not form part of the contract.

2.6 If you are dealing as a consumer, nothing in these terms removes any rights that the law does not allow us to remove.

Section 03Availability

3.1 All Units are subject to availability on the date we receive your deposit. We only reserve Units once the deposit is paid.

3.2 We are not liable for any loss if Units are not available because of circumstances beyond our control.

Section 04Prices and payment

4.1 Our charges are as set out in the Quote. All prices exclude VAT, which you pay at the rate that applies at the time.

4.2 You must pay the deposit and all other payments by the dates in the Quote’s payment schedule, and each invoice by its due date.

4.3 You must pay in full, without any set-off, deduction, counterclaim or other withholding.

4.4 We may ask for a refundable damage deposit of 10% of the hire charges. The Quote will show if it applies. We refund it after the Units are returned and inspected, less the cost of repairing any damage that is not fair wear and tear. Repairs are done by one of our approved suppliers, and we invoice you for any cost above the deposit.

4.5 If you pay late, we may:

• charge interest on the overdue amount at 8% a year above the Bank of England base rate, plus the fixed compensation and reasonable recovery costs allowed under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998; and
• hold back delivery of the Units until we receive all payments due before the Hire Period in cleared funds.

4.6 Once any minimum hire period has ended, we may change our rates by giving you seven days’ notice in writing.

4.7 Changes to the agreed itinerary, dates or locations may cost extra. Where possible, we will confirm the extra cost in writing before we make the change.

Section 05Cancellation and ending the contract

5.1 If you cancel a hire or an event, you must tell us in writing. We charge a percentage of the total price in the Quote, based on how much notice you give. Notice is counted back from the first day of activity, including any preparation days.

5.2 We may end the contract immediately, and collect the Units at your cost, if you break any of these terms or become insolvent.

5.3 If a hire has no fixed end date, either of us can end it by giving seven days’ notice in writing. If you return the Units without giving this notice, you still pay hire charges for the seven-day notice period.

5.4 When the contract ends, you must collect Your Goods from us. After seven days, we may charge storage at our standard rates.

Section 06Permits, power and health and safety

6.1 You must get all permissions, consents and licences needed to site and use the Units, for example from the venue, landowner or local authority. You must follow any conditions attached to them.

6.2 You must provide, or arrange access to, power and any other utilities needed. Services on site must be connected and disconnected by a competent engineer, following the supplier’s terms.

6.3 Our risk assessment and method statement cover our own work: transport, delivery, set-up and take-down. You are responsible for the risk assessment for your activity, your staff and your visitors while the Units are in use.

Section 07Delivery, access and set-up

7.1 You must make sure the site and access routes are suitable for the Units. Road widths, gateways, turning circles and overhead obstructions such as arches and trees are critical. If delivery or collection is delayed, postponed or cancelled because the site or access is unsuitable, we charge the extra costs at our standard rates.

7.2 If the ground is soft or unsuitable, you must supply and lay timbers or suitable temporary foundations for loading, unloading and for the Units to stand on. You must also provide any ground protection the landowner requires.

7.3 If our driver needs help to manoeuvre on site, you must provide it. You are responsible for any damage caused outside the driver’s line of sight.

7.4 You are responsible for loading and unloading on site. During this, any driver we supply works under your control, and you are responsible for any damage caused, unless it results from the driver’s negligence.

7.5 We allow up to 90 minutes from arrival near the site for loading and unloading. If our vehicle or driver is kept on site longer, we may charge extra.

7.6 You must transport any loose items that cannot travel inside the Units, unless we have agreed to provide a support vehicle.

7.7 The Units are treated as delivered in good order and to your satisfaction unless you tell us in writing about any fault or defect within 7 days of delivery. We will fix notified faults that affect the proper use of the Units as soon as possible.

7.8 We do not promise that the Units are suitable for any particular purpose. To the fullest extent the law allows, all terms implied by law about fitness, quality or suitability are excluded.

Section 08Hire Period

8.1 The Hire Period starts on the earlier of the day the Units are made available for production or branding work, and the day they leave our premises.

8.2 Subject to section 5, the Hire Period ends on the day the Units are back with us, clean and in good working order (fair wear and tear excepted), with all branding and any interior concept removed. Please allow time for this when you book.

Section 09Use and care of the Units

9.1 You must keep the Units in the same condition as on delivery, use them in a proper and workmanlike way, and return them clean and in good working order (fair wear and tear excepted).

9.2 You must surface-clean the Units on every day of the hire. We clean the Units between hires and hand them over in a fit and serviceable condition.

9.3 You must not alter or modify the Units, or fix anything to their inside or outside walls, without our written consent.

9.4 You must not remove any equipment or accessories from the Units. If the keys are not returned with the Units, we charge for replacements.

9.5 You must lock away any loose equipment we provide whenever the Units are unattended or outside the event’s public opening hours.

9.6 In severe weather, you must take precautions to avoid frost, wind, hail or storm damage.

9.7 If a Unit breaks down or is damaged, tell us as soon as possible. We will send an engineer or authorise a local repair. With our written consent, you may arrange a local engineer to replace a faulty part at your own cost. You must then return the old part to us, labelled as faulty and with the Unit details.

9.8 You must pay for repairs caused by misuse, neglect or vandalism, including any indirect or consequential loss we suffer. If we need to send an engineer for a problem caused by incorrect use, lack of fuel or anything not related to the Units, we charge our call-out rate plus transport and other costs.

9.9 You must give us, our agents and anyone we authorise reasonable access to the Units at all times to inspect, test, repair or replace them.

9.10 The Units always remain our property. You must not sell, assign, pledge, charge, sub-hire or lend the Units or any part of them, or deal with them in any other way.

Section 10Graphics and branding

10.1 If we design and apply graphics, the Quote includes removing them after the activity.

10.2 If the graphics include demountable branding panels, we can store them between events at extra cost. Storage includes removal from the Unit, a post-event inspection and report, and placing into storage. It is charged at a weekly or monthly rate. Taking panels out of storage and transporting them to your next event, or to you, is charged separately.

10.3 If panels are returned to you or destroyed, we charge for handling, packaging and transport. We will send you an estimate to approve before we start.

10.4 You must pay any storage fees in full before we release graphics to you or anyone else.

10.5 If you supply your own graphics, you must remove them, including any glue residue. If this is not done to our satisfaction, we will charge for it.

10.6 If fitting or removing graphics supplied or applied by you damages a Unit, we will tell you the repair cost and charge it to you.

Section 11Your Goods

11.1 You may have Your Goods delivered to our premises by appointment. We charge storage and handling fees based on their size, type and arrival time.

11.2 If Your Goods would overload a Unit beyond its design weight, we will ask you to choose which items go in the Unit. We deliver the rest separately, at a cost agreed with you.

11.3 You must keep Your Goods fully insured at all times, including in transit, and follow the conditions of your insurance.

11.4 You must tell us about any high-value goods installed in the Units and their value. You carry all risk of loss of or damage to Your Goods in the Units, and we are not liable for it.

11.5 We are not liable for loss of or damage to Your Goods stored at our premises if it is caused by anything beyond our reasonable control.

Section 12Risk, loss and damage

12.1 Risk in the Units passes to you when they leave our physical possession or control. It passes back to us only when they are back in our physical possession.

12.2 If the Units are lost, stolen or damaged beyond economic repair during the Hire Period, you must pay us their new-for-old replacement cost.

12.3 If the Units are returned damaged, unclean or faulty, you must pay the full cost of repair and cleaning, and hire charges continue until the work is finished. This does not apply to fair wear and tear, an inherent fault in the Units, or anything covered by an Insurance Waiver you have paid for (section 13.4).

Section 13Insurance

13.1 You must keep the Units comprehensively insured for their full replacement value against all risks, including fire, flood, theft and accident. The insurance must be on terms we are satisfied with and include consequential loss cover of up to 8 weeks for the time the Units are out of action.

13.2 You must also hold your own employer’s liability and public liability insurance for the whole Hire Period. You must show us your insurance certificates if we ask.

13.3 When we transport the Units, we insure them for UK road risks only. Cover outside the UK costs extra. Our road risk cover does not include equipment supplied by third parties, which you must insure.

13.4 If the Units are sited at a ticketed (secure) event, you can choose our Insurance Waiver instead of insuring the Units under section 13.1. It costs 10% of the hire charges and is only valid if paid at least 48 hours before the Units are deployed. It covers accidental loss of or damage to the Units during the Hire Period. It does not cover Your Goods, or damage caused by misuse, neglect or breaking these terms.

13.5 You must indemnify us against all losses, lost profits, damages, costs, claims and other liabilities we suffer because of your breach of contract, negligence or other wrongful act or omission, or breach of statutory duty.

Section 14Our liability

14.1 Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else the law does not allow us to limit.

14.2 We are not liable to you or anyone else for loss of profit, loss of use of the Units or any other asset or facility, loss of production or productivity, loss of contracts, any other financial or economic loss, or any indirect or consequential loss.

14.3 Our total liability to you under or in connection with the contract will not be more than the hire charges paid under it. If a loss is covered by insurance you must hold under these terms, our liability is reduced by the amount covered.

Section 15Events outside our control

15.1 Neither of us is liable for delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond our reasonable control, such as extreme weather, fire, flood, road closures, strikes, failure of a supplier or government action. This does not apply to your payment obligations.

15.2 If such an event stops your activity going ahead, we will try to move the hire to new dates. If you cancel instead, the cancellation charges in section 5 apply.

15.3 If such an event stops either of us performing for more than 8 weeks, the other may end the contract by giving 14 days’ notice in writing.

Section 16Our staff

16.1 If you, your agents or your associates employ any of our employees, directly or indirectly, during the Hire Period or within 6 months after it, we will charge a fee equal to 25% of that person’s annual pay, excluding expenses.

Section 17Intellectual property, confidentiality and marketing

17.1 Unless we agree otherwise in writing, all intellectual property in our Units, designs, concepts, drawings and mock-ups stays with us. You keep all rights in your brand, logos and content, and you allow us to use them to deliver the hire. You confirm that you have the rights to any content, images or music you give us or use in the Units.

17.2 Each of us will keep the other’s confidential information private for two years from the date of the contract. We may each share it with our employees and advisers who need it to perform the contract, or where the law requires it.

17.3 We may use photos and video of the Units at your activation, including your name and logo, in our marketing and case studies, in line with your brand guidelines. If you do not want this, tell us in writing before the Hire Period starts.

Section 18Data protection

18.1 We use personal data, such as the names and contact details of your team, only to manage the hire and our relationship with you. We handle it in line with UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our Privacy Policy explains more.

Section 19General

19.1 The Quote and these terms are the whole agreement between us about the hire. They replace any earlier discussions or proposals, and you confirm you have not relied on any statement that is not set out in them.

19.2 We may update these terms from time to time. The version on our website on the date you accept a Quote applies to that contract. Any other change to the contract must be agreed in writing.

19.3 You may not transfer the contract to anyone else without our written consent. We may use subcontractors for parts of the service, and we remain responsible for their work.

19.4 Notices must be in writing and sent to the other party’s registered office or main place of business, or by email to the address used for the contract. A notice sent by email is treated as received one working day after it is sent.

19.5 If we do not enforce a right straight away, we can still enforce it later. If a court decides that any part of these terms is invalid, the rest still applies.

19.6 Only you and we can enforce these terms. No one else has rights under them.

Section 20Law and jurisdiction

20.1 These terms and the contract are governed by the law of England and Wales. We both agree that the courts of England and Wales have non-exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute or claim arising from them.