Terms and Conditions

Upon booking our services you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by our terms and conditions, which together with our privacy policy and copyright govern ‘Venues Covered’ relationship with you in relation to your booking and this web site. The term 'Venues Covered', ‘us’, ‘we’ or 'our' refers to the owner of the website and hire items and provider of services. The term ‘you’, 'your' and 'hirer' refers to the user, viewer or client of our website and services.

General

These are our general terms and conditions which apply at all times. Additional terms and conditions may also be imposed on a case by case basis which will appear on your booking forms.

Where specified, setup and collection by Venues Covered will be included. Your quotation will define the date and duration period, and where necessary the setup and collection estimated duration.

Before booking it is the hirers responsibility to run through plans with the venue staff to ensure they agree with the products and services to be used. Please pay careful attention to the following during your discussion:

• Location of equipment in relation to fire exits – Within configurable rooms sometimes it may be acceptable to cover fire exits depending on the number of guests and the number of accessible fire doors. Please ensure you have authorisation of a senior member of staff if you wish to cover any exit. We can provide a room plan to assist the decision if necessary. We cannot cover fire exits without permission from the venue.
• Location of equipment in relation to dividing walls – when rooms are reconfigured during the day, sometimes it is necessary to relocate equipment during the hire period. This must be made clear to Venues Covered before the booking is agreed. Venues Covered does not permit anyone to move static equipment without prior permission.
• Setup/Collection times - It is the duty of the hirer to ensure there is sufficient time allocated at the venue to allow setup and collection at a mutually agreed time. If we are unable to access the goods for collection at the agreed time then additional travel and hire charges may apply for the extended hire period.
• Dual location of chair covers – Some hotels are not willing to relocate chairs between the ceremony and function room. In this case it is necessary to setup chair covers in both locations and this must be made clear to Venues Covered so we can quote for the additional covers. We do not attend for the entire function, therefore we cannot move chairs unless agreed and included on your booking form.
• Type of chairs and sizes of tables (For chair covers and table linen) – chairs must be suitable for chair cover fitting, i.e. 4 discrete legs and no arms. Our covers fit most conference style chairs, but please send an image if unsure. For table linen hire, please ensure you check the table size prior to ordering linen. We fully launder your linen prior to the event and therefore do not carry different sizes as spare.

For most items (excluding chair covers and linen) Venues Covered must pack down and collect. The hirer or venue staff must not move, dismantle or pack down static equipment. All static hire items (such as wall/ceiling drapes, backdrops, LED uplighting, LOVE letters) MUST NOT be moved once installed by Venues Covered. They are specialist items which may suffer damage if not handled by trained staff at Venues Covered. If the item requires relocating during the hire period this must be agreed prior to the booking and will incur an additional charge to cover transport and staff.

We are more than happy for venue staff, or the hirer, to remove chair covers and table linen immediately after the event to assist room turnarounds. All we ask is that they are handled carefully and placed in bags ready for collection at the agreed time.

Quotations

Quotations are valid for 28 days and are based on the information given to us at the time of quotation and are subject to change. On occasions we provide a ‘cost estimate’ (or ‘guide price’) and this must be taken strictly as a guide and is subject to change upon gathering more information. All verbal discussions regarding price must be treated as a ‘cost estimate’. Once we have gathered all the information required for the quotation we can send a formalised quotation.

Our products and services are subject to availability and are not reserved until the final booking is made between the hirer and Venues Covered. A booking if final once both parties have agreed AND the booking form has been signed AND the booking fee payment has been cleared.

Booking Fees

A non refundable booking fee is required upon booking to reserve our products and (/or) services for your date. This booking fee covers initial ‘committed costs’ (see ‘Cancelations and Changes’ section). This will be deducted from your final invoice.

Please be aware that until we receive your completed booking form and cleared booking fee we cannot reserve your date.. Please ensure you book early – we work on a fair first-come-first-served policy. Important: By paying your booking fee, you have agreed to all of our terms and conditions.

The Booking Fee is used to cover the cost of overheads, 'initial services' that we provide to you, and items that we purchase up-front for your event. These 'initial services' include, but not limited to consultation and admin time. Costs of these services are proportioned on a time basis to cover our staff costs and general overheads, which include: Advertising, Exhibiting, Insurance, Website Fees etc. See 'Cancellations and Changes' section below for more details.

The Booking Fee amount depends on the products and (/or) services that you require. Some services will require a much higher booking fee, especially if they are custom made, bought in especially for your event, hired from third parties or require additional surveying upfront. The booking fee amount will be shown in your quotation.

Cancellations and Changes

If you cancel our products/services for whatever reason it will result in the forfeit of any ‘committed costs’ from your booking fee or payments.

‘Committed costs’ are the cost of services that we provide to you, and items or third party services that we purchase prior to the event. Our services include, but are not limited to: consultation, planning and admin time. Costs of these services are proportioned on a time basis to cover our staff costs and general overheads. General overheads include: advertising, exhibiting, insurance, website fees, storage, bank fees, phone line rental etc. We may also have to make purchases for your event well in advance, or incur transport costs to visit sites to take measurements or discuss plans with the venue. Please appreciate there is a lot of work, effort and cost on our part from the moment we take your booking. The closer a cancellation is to the event, the less we can refund.

Calculating exact ‘committed costs’ on a case by case basis is complicated. For the purposes of being transparent with our ‘committed costs’ for refund purposes, we have set out the following:

• General Admin (emails, phone calls, etc.): £20/hour
• Design and consultation services (Room plans, sourcing items, meeting clients and venue staff, etc.): £25/hour
• Transport costs (Pre meetings, venue scoping, measuring, etc.): £0.45 per mile travelled + £20/hour travel time
• Purchase of items (items and samples): Cost price + delivery charges
• Third party services: Cost price.

These are not negotiable, and by paying your booking fee you have agreed to all of our terms and conditions

Cancelling before the balancing payment (detailed on your booking form - normally 2 Months before the event): We have a significant level of committed costs and can only refund if your paid amount exceeds the calculated committed costs. The refund will be the funds received amount minus the ‘committed costs’.

Cancelling after the balancing payment: We have a significant level of committed costs and would be unable to back-fill the booking at short notice. Therefore we are unable to offer a refund.

Payments

Venues Covered is not a VAT registered company therefore we do not collect VAT. All charges (such as delivery) will appear in the quotation and booking forms. The total cost shown is the final amount due.

Payment below £50 will be accepted using cash, all other payments must be made using Bank Transfer (BACS). We make no additional charge for these payment methods (but please check with your bank/building society for charges they may apply). A BACS payment is classed as ‘received’ once the payment has cleared into our account.

For BACS payment please use your name as the transfer reference number.

Your balancing payment is generally due 2 months before your hire date. Some bookings may require balancing payments prior to 2 months to cover committed costs, but this will be made clear in your booking forms. For bookings where there is less than 2 months between the time of booking and the hire date, the full amount is required upfront. For late payments we reserve the right to cancel your hire agreement and make your date available for another booking. Your final balance due date will be shown on your booking form and it is your responsibility to ensure payments are made on time.

Care of Items, Damages, Shortages and Liability

We offer a very fair view on general wear and tear of hire items (see below), but when an item has been lost or damaged beyond reasonable use, the hirer is responsible for either replacing the item or covering the cost of repair.

All items (unless specified) are on a hire basis and remain the property of Venues Covered at all times. We are in our right to protect our goods and recover them during a hire period if we believe they are at danger of becoming damaged or misused.

You (the hirer) are fully responsible for items during the hire period and we recommend that you take out adequate insurance to cover loss or damages. The hire period starts when either a) Venues Covered delivers items to the chosen destination (and sets up when necessary), or, b) In the event of a dry-hire, The hirer collects items from Venues Covered. The hire period ends when either 1) Venues Covered collects the items, or, 2) In the event of a dry-hire, The hirer returns items to Venues Covered.

For high value items, a ‘damage deposit’ may be requested to cover loss or damages to items. This will be refunded if goods are not lost or damaged. If goods are lost or damaged, the ‘damage deposit’ will be used to help cover the cost of repair or replacement and therefore will not be refunded. All additional charges in excess of the damage deposit will be invoiced to the hirer. If no damage deposit has been requested, we reserve the right to invoice you for the cost of any loss or damage we incur during your hire period.

All damages or loss values depend on the items and are available upon request. The value depends on a number of factors such as the market value of the item, cost of manufacture, the age, the condition and the cost of repair. All repairs or replacements must be authorised by Venues Covered due to the specialist nature of some items.

All static hire items (such as wall/ceiling drapes, backdrops, LED uplighting, LOVE letters) MUST NOT be moved once installed by Venues Covered. They are specialist items which may suffer damage if not handled by trained staff at Venues Covered. If the item requires relocating during the hire period this must be agreed prior to the booking and will incur an additional charge to cover transport and staff.

A ‘loss’ is classed as not available on the agreed date and time of collection.

Venues Covered work on the following definition for ‘general wear and tear’ and ‘damaged’:

Chair Covers and Table Linen:

General Wear and Tear:

• Food or drink stains which are non-permanent when laundered
• Slight marks from shoes on the legs
• Very slight tears which have occurred accidentally
• All other marks which are non-permanent when laundered

Damaged:

• Rips or tears which have occurred from neglect or vandalism
• Permanent staining such as tanning agents or make-up
• Permanent shoe marks caused by standing on chairs covers or table cloths
• Burns

Note: Chair covers can only be used outside upon prior agreement with Venues Covered and providing the ground is dry and solid

Glassware, centrepieces and tableware:

General Wear and Tear:

• Markings from handling
• Candle wax drips from normal use which can be removed

Damaged:

• Chips, cracks, scratches and dents
• Deliberate damage from candle wax
• Breakages

Wall and Ceiling Drapes

General Wear and Tear:

• Very light marks which are non permanent and fit within an area of 10cm x 10cm. Total number of marks not to exceed 5.

Additional Laundering: (additional laundering/servicing charge):

Note: the additional charges will be assessed upon collection. Charges will cover any additional laundering/servicing required so will be treated on a case-by-case basis.

• Food or drink stains which are non-permanent when laundered
• Slight marks from shoes
• Very slight tears which have occurred accidentally
• All other marks which are non-permanent when laundered

Damaged:

• Rips or tears which have occurred from neglect or vandalism
• Permanent staining such as tanning agents or make-up
• Burns
• Damage caused by moving equipment from its intended location

All other items

All other items, including all electrical items, must not suffer any damage. All damages will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and the charges to the hirer will cover the cost of a professional repair and additional safety testing that is required.

Damage caused by moving equipment from its intended location is also chargeable.

Venues Covered will inform the hirer within 14 days of any damages or losses incurred. An invoice will be sent outlining amount and type of damage with associated chargeable costs. Invoices are to be paid within 14 days.

Venues Covered are not responsible for any injury or damage to persons or property caused by items hired, unless our goods are proven to be faulty. We have public liability insurance and we will pass any claims onto the insurance for assessment.

Website Usage terms and Conditions

The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:

• The content of the pages of this website (including text and images) is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
• You agree to the copyright notification found in the 'copyright' page
• We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information and materials found on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
• 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 products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
• Links to other websites are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).