TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF HIRE
This is an Agreement between the Hirer (“You”) and the Company (“Us” or “The Company”), identified on the Rental Agreement, to rent the motor vehicle (“The Vehicle’’) described on the Rental Agreement including all its accessories, tools, tyres and equipment as well as any replacement vehicle. (The “Hirer” means “You” who is the person/s and/or the company named on the Rental Agreement as The Hirer and/or any person/s and/or any company who provides us with a Credit Card Letter of Authority, or a verbal or written order).
You acknowledge the Vehicle is delivered to You in good operating condition with the seal of the odometer unbroken. You agree to return the Vehicle in the same condition (except for ordinary wear and tear not including windscreen or tyre damage) together with its tools, tyres, accessories and equipment on the date, time and place specified on the Rental Agreement or sooner, if demanded by the Company.
The Company may take possession of the Vehicle without prior demand to You and at Your expense if there has been a breach of any terms or conditions of this Agreement or if the Vehicle is illegally parked, used in violation of the law or is apparently abandoned. If the seal of the odometer is broken, or otherwise tampered with, You will be responsible for not only an extra charge based on 500 klms per day at 50c per kilometre, but also for any cost of repairing or replacing the odometer. NOTE: If there is to be any extension of the period of hire beyond that stated on The Rental Agreement You must apply to the Company before the current due date/time has expired and it must agree to such an extension. If an extension is not granted then the vehicle must be returned as demanded by the Company. Authorisation for a rental extension will only be granted based on availability of the vehicle. Authorisation for a rental extension will only be granted when full payment is made in full for all extended period. Un-authorised/un-notified hire extensions are subject to a daily penalty fee being charged which is equal to and in addition to the daily hire rate noted on the Rental Agreement. Penalty charges apply until the return of the vehicle and keys.
1. Persons who must not drive the Vehicle
(a) A person who is not identified in writing on The Rental Agreement as either the Hirer, Joint Hirer or Authorised Driver. Company nominated drivers by prior arrangement only and in writing on the Rental Agreement;
(b) A person who is not licensed to drive the hired class of vehicle;
(c) A person whose blood alcohol concentration exceeds the lawful percentage whilst driving the Vehicle;
(d) A person who is driving the Vehicle whilst under the influence of a drug;
(e) A person who has given or for whom YOU have given a false name, age, address or driver’s licence details;
(f) A person whose driver’s licence has been cancelled, endorsed or suspended within the last three years;
(g) A person who uses or intends to use the Vehicle for an illegal purpose;
(h) A person who is aged under 21 years of age;
(i) A person who holds a Provisional Driving Licence (unless authorised in writing by US on the RA).
2. Circumstances where the Vehicle must not be Used
(a) Any area outside the stated Area of Use shown on The Rental Agreement;
(b) On any unsealed road unless authorised by the company in writing on The Rental Agreement. No off-road use allowed in any vehicle at any time.
(c) The carriage of any persons for hire or the carriage of any inflammable, explosive or corrosive materials;
(d) Pushing or towing any vehicle, trailer, boat or other object unless the Company has authorised such use in writing;
(e) The carriage of any greater load and/or persons and/or for a purpose for which the Vehicle was designed and constructed;
(f) The carriage of any animal in the Vehicle unless authorised in writing;
(g) The use of the Vehicle for racing, pacemaking, reliability trials, speed trials, hill climbing or being tested in preparation for those activities;
(h) The use of the Vehicle in a dangerous manner;
(i) The use of the Vehicle in contravention of any legislation or regulation controlling vehicular traffic;
(j) If we, the Company, or our representative have directed You or any authorised driver not to drive the vehicle;
(k) Above the snow line, being either the entrance to National Parks in which snow falls or areas in which snow chains are required to be fitted (by the relevant authority).
3. Charges and obligations of the Hirer/Joint Hirer/Authorised Driver
By entering into this Agreement You are responsible for the following charges and You agree to pay on demand-
(a) All rental charges and fees as set out and specified on the Rental Agreement and in these Terms & Conditions of Hire;
(b) All charges claimed by the Company in respect of parking and/or any other traffic violations incurred during the period of hire or until such later time as the Vehicle is returned to the Company and a $30 processing fee per infringement regardless of reason or fault. By driving on a toll road in our vehicle, you are accepting the risk of a $30 admin fee if we are issued with a Toll Infringement Notice on your behalf regardless of reason or fault. At our discretion we may decide to pay the fine or violation fee and then on-charge that same amount plus the processing fee to the credit card or account associated with the hire;
(c) All loss or damage to the Vehicle or The Company (including the loss of use of that Vehicle), legal expenses, assessment fees, towing and recovery, consequential third party damage, storage and company service charges where:-
(i) Any term or condition of this Agreement has been breached;
(ii) The Vehicle is involved in a single vehicle incident (unless at the commencement of the hire, the Company waives such loss and notes such on the Rental Agreement) the Single Vehicle Incident Liability amount ($1650) shown on the Rental Agreement (which amount will apply in addition to the Top or Standard Liability Charge noted on The Rental Agreement). A Single Vehicle Incident is defined as any incident where the Vehicle suffers loss or damage as a result of an impact with any object whether animate or inanimate (except another vehicle which can be fully identified and details of which have been provided by You or on Your behalf to the Company) where no other motor vehicle is involved eg. rollover, collision with animal. Or/and, another vehicle is involved but at the time of the incident the hire vehicle was moving in reverse and the other vehicle was stationary or at the time of the incident the other vehicle was parked;
(iii) You have left the Vehicle unlocked or left the keys in the Vehicle;
(iv) You have failed to keep the key secure and under Your personal control, You handed the keys to an unauthorised person;
(v) The underbody of the Vehicle is damaged regardless of cause except where there is a collision with another vehicle;
(vi) The Vehicle is totally or partially immersed in water regardless of the cause;
(vii) The interior of the Vehicle is damaged regardless of the cause except where there is a collision with another vehicle;
(viii) The tyres of the Vehicle are damaged other than by normal wear and tear;
(ix) The Vehicle or any third party property is damaged by driving the Vehicle under or into an object lower than the height of the Vehicle;
(x) You have failed to maintain all fluid and fuel levels of the Vehicle or failed to immediately rectify or report to the Company any defect in the Vehicle of which You have become or ought to have become aware;
(xi) The Vehicle is damaged by loading or unloading, normal wear and tear excepted;
(xii) You have failed to secure properly any load/equipment including any trailer/towed item which leads to loss/damage caused by any part of the load, towed item or equipment;
(xiii) You use the Vehicle as an articulated vehicle unless agreed to by the Company in writing;
(xiv) The exterior of the motor vehicle is damaged regardless of cause (e.g. Hail storm or vandalism) except where there has been a collision with another vehicle.
(xv) Damage or loss to tyres caused by use on construction sites, mines or unsealed roads;
(xvi) Damage or loss caused to any part of the pantech or box section of a truck;
(xvii) Damage or loss to the tailgate lifter and associated equipment or any property during usage of those items;
(xviii) Damage or loss the vehicle deliberately caused by You or by You using the vehicle in a dangerous or wreckless manner;
(xix) Damage or loss to the vehicle whilst being transported, trucked, ferried or towed without Our prior authority or whilst the vehicle is taken off the mainland or across any waterway whatsoever including Bass Straight to Tasmania;
(xx) The cost of towing, retrieval or salvage of the vehicle in or from a remote or sparsely populated area and/or if used outside the Area of Use noted on the Rental Agreement.
(xxi) Damage or loss is caused by the use of a trailer of any type or any towed item that was not supplied and attached to the vehicle by Us. Damage or loss caused by a trailer supplied by us but removed by You or at Your request by any person other than US then not reattached by Us. Or any/all Damage or Loss caused by Your reversing of any towed object. Any trailer or towed item not supplied and/or attached by Us will be totally Your responsibility. Any Loss and/or Damage caused to Our vehicle or any other property or vehicle by Your towed item is totally Your responsibility. Only a trailer supplied and attached by Us has the benefit of Our Cover. Any Loss and/or Damage caused by Our trailer attached to any other vehicle is totally Your finical responsibility. Any Loss and/or Damage caused by You or any person acting under Your instruction or knowledge who incorrectly attaches any towed item including Our supplied trailer to any vehicle or who tampers with, removes or modifies any equipment is totally Your own financial responsibly. Loss and/or Damage to any load carried in the trailer is not covered by Us. It is Your responsibility to ensure Your load remains dry in wet weather and to ensure the rear loading doors are secure at all times. On hires of more than 200 klms it is Your responsibility to check and ensure wheel bearings and tyres are safe and in good order. It is Your responsibly to secure the trailer and any goods inside it. If Our trailer is stolen whilst on Hire to You, You are totally financially responsible to replace it with a like trailer of equal value.
(xxii) Cleaning Fees Apply- Min $50 to max being the cost of, plus a service fee for the removal from the vehicle and cleaning of: hair &/or odour or mess caused by an animal; or the cleaning up of, but not limited to, mud, dust, odour, mess or stains caused by vomit, alcohol, paint, urine/faeces, cigarette smoke, burns, mess, chocolate, ice cream, spilt drinks etc.
(xxiii) All costs associated with removal and/or repair/replacement of the vehicles CD player If You put a ‘Burnt’ CD into Our vehicles CD player and it becomes stuck or causes damage or gets stuck.
(xxiv) Any refueling cost. The Vehicle must be returned to us with a full tank of fuel. If the Vehicle is returned with less than a full tank of fuel You will be charged a refueling rate which will include a service component. The agreed refueling rate will be noted on the Rental Agreement. If the incorrect fuel is put into the vehicle You are responsible for all costs associated with any loss and/or damage.
(xxv) A Cancellation fee. Cancellations within 48 hours (72 hours for buses/trucks) of the booking will forfeit any deposit paid or if no deposit was paid 15% of the booking value is charged to Your account or the Credit Card or Credit Card Letter of Authority You directed Us to use. We will hold Your reserved vehicle for 2 hours after the booking time noted by Us or until we close, whichever comes first. Should You be delayed You must advise us or we may release Your vehicle after 2 hours to another reservation. We have a no refunds policy for early return of pre-paid rentals.
Note- The Company will charge You interest at the rate of 18% per annum calculated on a daily basis on all outstanding accounts or charges payable in accordance with this Agreement, such interest to be computed from the end of the rental period You agree to pay us our costs of recovering or attempting to recover from You any outstanding charges, including any mercantile agents costs, and legal costs on a full indemnity basis. We shall be entitled to list Your payment default with the Credit Reference Association of Australia and/or any other relevant Credit Reference Organisations, which You acknowledge may affect Your credit rating;
If You have paid for the hire by use of a Credit Card or a Credit Card Letter of Authority or if You have directed the Company to bill charges to some other person, corporation, firm or organisation who or which fails to make payment when called upon by the Company, You hereby irrevocably accept that You are liable and will immediately pay the full amount due to the Company on demand.
You also irrevocably authorise the Company to charge all charges to the Credit Card provided on The Rental Agreement or on a Credit Card Letter of Authority. NOTE: The Hirer/Joint Hirer and/or Authorised Driver are jointly and severally liable for compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and all/any Charges and financial obligations. Should the credit card associated with the hire become charged to its ‘account limit’ and we are unable to process any amount due on the Hire in one single transaction, You authorize Us to charge that same Credit Card in smaller installments of lesser and varied amounts, daily or weekly until Your account has been paid in full. You agree that Your Credit Card company is authorised to allow installments as outlined above, until Your account is paid in full.
4. Damage and/or Loss Cover
Provided that You and/or the Authorised Driver/s act within the terms and conditions of this Agreement, You and/or the Authorised Driver/s will receive the benefit of the Company’s Loss and/or Damage Cover in respect of damage to the Vehicle and/or damage to any third party property other than damage to any property (including any motor vehicle) owned by You (including any friend, relative, associate or passenger) in Your physical or legal control. This cover is also subject to:
(a) You paying the COLLISION DAMAGE/LOSS LIABILITY FEE(S)noted on the Rental Agreement;
(b) You and/or the Authorised Driver not having breached any terms and conditions of this Agreement;
(c) You and/or the Authorised Driver not being covered under any other policy of insurance;
(d) You providing such information and assistance as may be requested by the Company or anyone acting on behalf of the Company.
-If cover is provided then the Company or anyone acting on behalf of the Company may bring, defend or settle any legal proceedings in its sole discretion and the Company shall have the sole conduct of any proceedings. Any such proceedings shall be brought or defended in Your name or the name of the Authorised Driver. Failure to pay any Liability Fee upon demand will void Your Cover in which case You agree to accept full financial responsibility for all/any Damage and/or Loss to all/any vehicles and property.
5. General Provisions
(a) If there is any incident involving loss or damage to the Vehicle or involving the Vehicle while rented under this Agreement, You and/or the Authorised Driver shall promptly report such incident to the Company within 24 hours as well as delivering to the Company immediately upon receipt by You and/or the Authorised Driver, every summons, complaint or paper in relation to such incident involving such loss or damage. You and/or the Authorised Driver must also report all incidents to the police or other proper authority;
(b) You and/or the Authorised Driver irrevocably release and hold harmless the Company (and its agents and employees) from all claims for loss or damage to Your personal property, or that of any other person’s property left in the vehicle, or which is received, handled or stored by the Company at any time before, during or after the rental period, whether due to the Company’s negligence or otherwise;
(c) You and/or the Authorised Driver acknowledge that the Company relies on the truth of Your/the Authorised Driver’s representations in this Agreement;
(d) You and/or the Authorised Driver will not refuse or fail to take any blood analysis or breath test requested by the police;
(e) Except as provided by law, no driver or passengers in the Vehicle shall be or deemed to be the agent, servant or employee of the Company in any manner for any purpose whatsoever;
(f) The Company gives no express warranty in relation to the motor vehicle or accessories. Certain conditions and warranties are implied by statute, whether Commonwealth or State, which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified, such as those under the Trade Practices Act 1974. Where the Company is permitted to limit its liability under those statutes for breach of an implied condition or warranty the Company limits its liability to replacement, repair or resupply of the Vehicle or accessories. All other warranties, conditions and other obligations which may be otherwise implied are expressly excluded in their entirety. The Company is not liable to You and/or the Authorised Driver for any indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages relating to this Agreement;
(g) Baby/Booster Seats. To ensure the child restraint gives Your child the highest possible level of protection and because we are not accredited Safety Restraint Fitters we insist that You fit the child restraint prior to its use. We give no express or implied warranty as to the condition of the equipment, its merchantability or fitness for its particular purpose and You accept responsibility for its fitting to the vehicle or its use. You must fully inspect the restraint before its use and decide its fitness for your intended use and therefore accept full responsibility for the performance and fitting of the child restraint. If You decide the item is unfit You must refuse its use. If stolen from You or if You fail to return the seat(s) upon demand it will result in a $200 replacement charge each.
(h) Moving Trolley. You acknowledge and accept full responsibility for the trolley provided by Us and for its use and agree that You will return it with the vehicle in good order (allowing for normal wear and tear). You accept all responsibility and liability for any loss or damage that You or anyone may suffer caused by the trolley or by its use for any reason. We give no express or implied warranty as to the condition of the equipment, its merchantability or fitness for its particular purpose and insist that You conducted a full inspection before use and make Your own decision as to its ability to perform any task and therefore You accept responsibility if the trolley should fail or break during use. You acknowledge that the hire charges will continue daily until the trolley is returned. If stolen from You or if You fail to return the trolley upon demand it will result in a $200 replacement charge each.
(i) No right of the Company under this Agreement can be waived except by writing of an authorised officer of the Company;
(j) Words used in this Agreement to denote any gender shall include all genders, singular words including the plural, and noted on The Rental Agreement;
(k) Notwithstanding any other provision in this Agreement, a goods and services tax (GST) or any similar tax, stamp duty or any other tax, duty, surcharge, levy or fee (“charges’’) imposed by Local, State or Federal Government that is charged and collected by the Company is imposed anywhere in Australia and has application to any supply or use made under or in connection with this Agreement or in relation to the use or the likely use of any roads, facilities or other infrastructure by You and/or the Authorised Driver or in relation to the provision of rental or other services to You or the Authorised Driver.
(l) The Company may in addition to the rate, price or any other amount or consideration quoted or expressed as payable elsewhere in this Agreement, recover from You and/or the Authorised Driver an additional amount on account of the charge. Any additional amount on account of the charge shall be calculated without any deduction or set-off of any other amount and is payable to the Company upon demand.
(m) You and/or the Authorised Driver acknowledge that Your interest in the Vehicle is as a bailee of the Company only and that You agree not to part with possession, dispose of, encumber or assign any right or interest in the Vehicle and not create any lien on the Vehicle for repairs;
(n) You and/or the Authorised Driver agree to indemnify the Company from and against any or all claims, demands, actions, liabilities, losses, costs and expenses (including, but not limited to legal costs on an indemnity basis) incurred by the Company as a consequence of the failure for whatever reason of the due and punctual performance of Your obligations under this Agreement;
(o) You acknowledge that the Company has not in any way represented itself to You as an entity carrying on the business of insurance;
(p) You and/or the Authorised Driver must not at any time admit liability for any claim, loss or demand and agree that if such admission is made by You and/or the Authorised Driver then that is a breach of this Agreement;
(q) Final charges will be determined after a final inspection by the Company which will be made as soon as practicable after return to, or recovery by Us, of the vehicle.
(r) No After Hours Returns. We do not allow any after hours, out of hours vehicle return to our Hunter Street Depot at any time. You can only return Your vehicle when we are open for business. You remain responsible for the vehicle which remains on hire to You along with all/any assessors supplied until both the vehicle and the keys are returned to Us during business hours. No vehicle is to be dropped or parked at or near Our depot out of business hours.
(s) Load Carried & Water Damaged Goods. You are responsible for any load carried in any vehicle You hire from Us. You are responsible for securing any load or goods carried in any vehicle. Any loss and/or Damage caused to any vehicle or property by Your load in any way, is totally Your responsibility and is NOT coved by Us. You are responsible to ensure that any goods, load or property transported in a Pantech Box remains dry in wet weather. We attempt to keep our Pantechs sealed against water and we hose them regularly to check for leaks however the previous hirer could have damaged the pantech and not reported it to Us and so water can and does seep into joints, pop rivet holes, rear doors and floor joints. If it look like rain You must inspect the pantech and we insist that You, cover, wrap and seal Your load in wet weather. We give no express or implied warranty as to the condition of the Pantech, its ability to keep out water and You accept full responsibility for any loss and/or Damage caused by water in the pantech box.
(t) Roadside Assistance: Our vehicles are all locally owned and serviced every 10,000 klms by our own A grade mechanics and meticulously checked by us before each hire however even the most ‘loved and cared for’ vehicle could fail, so should you be inconvenienced we apologise. Staff are not contactable after hours however all our vehicles are covered by NRMA Roadside Assistance, 24/7, Australia wide. Your vehicle is unlikely to fail because we take all possible care however if it does NRMA will try to repair the vehicle on the spot. If not possible a tow will be arranged to the nearest NRMA repairer. You will be transported with the vehicle if possible or alternate transport to the nearest facilities will be arranged if available at Your location but we can’t guarantee either. If you travel out of the Newcastle area or into a regional or isolated area you accept that you will be beyond our reach and subject the available resources at Your location. A replacement vehicle is subject to availability and is not available if you have travelled out of Newcastle therefore you would have to wait for repairs to be completed or make other arrangements to complete your journey. We offer to hire you the vehicle having disclosed the conditions regarding breakdown/accident assistance and you hire the vehicle having accepted them. The cost of any consumables or services supplied to you such as fuel or locksmith services that are not related to vehicle failure are at your own expense i.e. if you run out of fuel, battery is flat due to lights left on, keys locked in the vehicle or lost, vehicle is bogged etc.
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Newcastle Car & Truck Rental May 2011
