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Ware Shares Terms & Conditions of Borrowing

You’re nearly there! Before you can borrow Things, we need you to agree to the Ware Shares terms and conditions of borrowing:

These are important legal terms and conditions that set out the contract between you and Ware Shares and it is very important that you read them carefully.

If you feel that anything in the following is unclear, then please let us know before borrowing an item.

By borrowing an items from Ware Shares you confirm that you have read and understood the following terms and conditions and agree to be bound by them.

The terms and conditions set out the entire agreement between you and Ware Shares.

Definitions

‘Borrowing’ – The act of hiring a Thing from the Ware Shares locker for the stated fees and returning it on the stated return date.

‘Cleaning Fee’ – Any cost incurred by Ware Shares to clean a Thing that is returned by a Borrower in a state that is deemed unacceptable by Ware Shares.

‘Late Fee’ – 1.5 x the daily cost of the Thing for each day the Thing is overdue.

‘Ware Shares/us/we/our’ – The purpose-led scheme belonging to and operated by Ware Town Council hiring out Things to Members.

‘Library of Things’ – The partner with whom Ware Town Council operates the Ware Shares scheme, who’s software and Borrower Support enable the ID check, reservation of Things, payments, locker collection and return codes and communication with Borrowers via Borrower Support. Library of Things operate under exactly the same Terms and Conditions of Borrowing and adopt the same Privacy Policy as Ware Town Council under the provision of the Ware Shares Scheme. Library of Things has been operating numerous tool borrowing services across London for 10 years.

‘Member’ – Any person who has created an account via the Ware Shares website and paid a minimum of £1 to join, regardless of whether they have borrowed from Ware Shares or not.

‘Return Date’ – The date by which a Thing must be returned to the locker that the Member borrowed it from.

‘Thing’ The complete ‘Thing’ with all it’s associated parts, stocked by Ware Shares.

Joining and Membership

Only Members are permitted to borrow from Ware Shares.

To become a Member, you must:

  1. Be aged 18 or above.
  2. Give your personal details: full name, current postcode, valid phone number and a valid email address so that we can contact you.
  3. Verify your ID on our website before collecting your first reserved Thing.
  4. Connect a valid debit or credit card to your borrowing account, with sufficient funds to pay for any Things you reserve.
  5. Pay a minimum of £1 as a one-off joining fee.
  6. Tick to confirm that you have read these Terms of Borrowing and agree to be bound by them.

Borrowing

Member Responsibilities

These terms and conditions are to protect our Things and the communities they serve. Ware Shares is owned by Ware Town Council who aim to make borrowing better than buying. In practical terms, this means that every Member is required to return Things clean, complete, on time and in working order for the next Borrower – or reporting promptly when not and covering replacements and repairs when you are responsible for any loss or damage.

As a Member, you are responsible for:

  1. Bringing the Thing(s) back clean: If the Thing is returned to the Ware Shares locker in a state deemed unacceptable to Ware Shares, then Ware Share reserves the right to charge a Cleaning Fee determined by Ware Shares to cover any cost incurred. If you collect the Thing in an unacceptable state but do not report this to Ware Shares upon your collection, you risk being charged a Cleaning Fee if the Thing is found to be in an unacceptable state after your return.

  2. Bringing the Thing(s) back on time: You must return the Thing to the Ware Share locker by closing time on the stated Return Date. You are able to change the Thing’s Return Date by logging into your account on the Ware Shares website and editing the Return Date. Changing a Thing’s Return Date is only possible if:

    1. there are no reservations made by another Member starting on or before your new proposed Return Date; or
    2. the Thing is not already overdue.

    If you have any difficulties with changing the Return Date, you must contact Borrower Support before the closing time on the stated Return Date.

    You understand that returning Thing(s) after the Return date will incur a Late Fee of 1.5 x the daily cost of the Thing for each day the Thing is overdue.

    IMPORTANT: If you do not return the Thing(s) within 24 hours of your Return Date without prior agreement with our Borrower Support team, then the Thing(s) will be considered a ‘non-return’ and you will be charged the full replacement cost of the Thing(s), in addition to any late fees already charged.

    We will notify you in writing via email and send you an e-receipt for all fees charged.

    The Thing(s) remains at all time the property of Ware Town Council, under the Ware Shares scheme and dishonestly retaining a Thing or any part of it is theft, which is a criminal offence.

  3. Bringing the Thing(s) back with all it’s parts: You understand that if you do not report to Ware Shares any parts missing on collection, or return all included parts of a Thing, you will be charged the replacement cost for each missing part.

  4. Reporting any damage: You must report any damage immediately via our Borrower Support so that we can notify the Technician and manage affected subsequent borrows. We will not charge you for ‘reasonable use’ wear and tear, if reported honestly and immediately. Where the Thing has been used inappropriately or unreasonably damaged, Ware Shares will charge you for the repair or replacement of the Thing at our discretion following inspection.

    You understand that Ware Town Council, under the Ware Shares scheme, are not responsible for any manufacturer’s defects.

  5. Cancellations: If you no longer need to borrow a Thing or cannot fulfill a reservation, you must cancel it before 9.00am the day before your reservation starts to receive a full refund. Cancellations after this deadline will not be refunded.
  6. Keeping the Thing(s) safe: The Thing is your responsibility to keep safe from the opening of it’s door at collection to the secure closure of it’s door on return. If you lose the Thing or it’s stolen from you or it’s locker during your reservation, we will consider it a ‘non-return’ and charge you for the full replacement cost.
  7. Checking the Thing: It is a Member’s responsibility to visually check the completeness and safety of a Thing and report any damage or missing parts upon collection, or you will be held responsible and incur repair or replacement charges. For example, check you have all parts, check the wires and plug for any visible damage before use and don’t use any items outside or near water if not intended for those uses.
  8. Using the Thing(s) safely: You are responsible for using any Thing(s) you borrow safely and properly and for the job it is designed to do, including by taking appropriate safety precautions outlined in the how-to guides and for wearing any personal protective equipment (PPE) recommended – sourcing your own if not provided. You must stop using a Thing immediately if it becomes unsafe. The provision of how-to guides by Ware Shares is for information only and Members remain fully responsible at all times for using the Thing(s) safely and properly and for the job it is designed for, whether or not that is set out or referred to in a how-to guide.
  9. Member Insurance: You understand that you as a Member are solely responsible for using the Thing(s) you borrow safely and in accordance with these Terms & Conditions. Ware Town Council, under the Ware Shares banner, do not insure you personally, nor your property, therefore please check your building, contents and any personal insurance policies to check you are covered should an accident or damage occur when using the Thing(s) you borrow. Please note, that if anyone else uses the Thing(s) you have borrowed, it is unlikely that your insurance will cover that person for any damage to their person or their property. For example, if you are hosting an event where other people will be actually using a Thing, you will need to arrange your own public liability insurance.

  10. Heavy Use: You understand that you must not borrow the Thing(s) for intensive, ongoing or heavy professional use, where you or anyone else is charging a fee for such use carried out using the Thing (for example, intensive, ongoing or heavy paid construction or maintenance work). Such use would not be covered under our Public Liability Insurance, as stated under Ware Shares Responsibilities Clause 2. If you are found to be using the Thing(s) for these purposes, your membership will be terminated.

    We do however allow a Thing to be used for a paid activity, provided that activity is not of an intensive, ongoing or heavy nature: examples of such permitted activities include (but are not limited to) a musician or community group selling tickets for a gig using our Speaker and PA system; or a community group selling tickets for a film night or other event using our Projector. If you have any doubt about what is or is not a permitted use of a Thing for a paid activity, then please ask our Borrower Support.

    Note: Members using the Things for paid activities are excluded from our Concession memberships and any other membership discounts.

    Ware Town Council, as operators of the Ware Shares scheme will have no liability of any kind with respect to economic loss of any kind (including without limitation loss of income) suffered by a Borrower or anyone else resulting from the planned or actual use of a Thing for a paid activity (including without limitation as a result of a defect, whether temporary or permanent, with a Thing or any unavailability of a Thing). The same terms are also applicable to Library of Things as our partner operators.

  11. Number of Things available to borrow: In order for Ware Shares to serve a community, unless directly agreed with Borrower Support, we limit the number of Things any Borrower can borrow at once to a maximum of 4, or to the collective replacement value of £1,000.
  12. Payment: Members will be charged the stated rates for borrowing Thing(s) and subsequent charges. The debit or credit card linked to your account is charged when you reserve the Thing(s) or charges are communicated. If you don’t have enough funds to pay any fees you owe, we will work with you to try and find a solution. If we cannot find a resolution, Ware Town Council, under the Ware Shares scheme, may take legal action, including charging administrative and legal fees.

PLEASE TAKE SPECIAL CARE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING CAPITALISED UNDERLINED WORDS IN BOLD TEXT, WHICH ARE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT: AS A MEMBER, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS WARE SHARES AND BY ASSOCIATION WARE TOWN COUNCIL, IT’S OFFICERS, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES and LIBRARY OF THINGS PARTNERS, FOR ANY AND ALL LIABILITY , LOSS, CLAIMS AND DEMANDS, ACTIONS OR CAUSES OF ACTION FOR THE DEATH OR INJURY TO ANY PERSON AND FOR ANY PROPRTY DAMAGE SUFFERED OR INCURRED BY ANY PERSON, WHICH ARISES IN ANY WAY FROM THE USE OF THE THING(S) YOU ARE BORROWING.

If we discover that you are not respecting the rules and responsibilities of borrowing, we reserve the right to terminate your membership at any time.

You understand that legal action may be taken against you if you do not comply with these terms and conditions.

Ware Shares Responsibilities

Ware Town Council, under the Ware Shares scheme, in providing brand new Things or fully refurbished Things that have passed a PAT test, are responsible for:

  1. Taking reasonable action to ensure the quality and safety if it’s Things, including:

    1. Sourcing brand new Things, or fully refurbished Things that have passed a PAT test
    2. Carrying out annual PAT tests on all electrical Things.
  2. Providing Public Liability Insurance for hiring Things to Members. This insurance is in place to cover an event where Ware Town Council, under the banner of Ware Shares, is found legally liable for injury to a Member or damage to their property due to borrowing Thing(s). It does not cover an event, even if legal liability is proven, where a Member lends or rents Thing(s) to other people or uses the Thing(s) for intensive, ongoing or heavy professional use.
  3. Handling any issues and complaints relating to borrowing, via the Library of Things Borrower Support, in a timely manner, including making a direct refund to a Member’s payment method if for any reason the Member has been overcharged for the Thing(s) borrowed. This refund takes up to 10 days to reach the Member’s bank account from the time of discovery.
  4. Storing all Member data as securely as reasonably possible, handling data sensitively and ensuring data is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation and other data protection laws. See the Ware Shares Privacy Policy for more information on how we do this. Our Library of Things partners also need to store Member data in order to carry out their role under the Ware Shares scheme and operate under the same Privacy Policy as part of the Ware Shares scheme.
  5. The Library of Things Borrower Support, on behalf of the Ware Shares Scheme, reserves the right to reject a reservation when deemed to be against Member responsibilities, the Ware Shares mission and/or values, and will clearly communicate the reasons for doing so. This includes if you have previously breached these terms and conditions or if employees or agents of the scheme have reason to suspect that you have or will do so.

Communicating with you

As a Member of Ware Shares, you will receive some communications from the us either directly from Ware Shares or via the Library of Things Borrower Support, including:

  1. Reservation and collection receipts each time you reserve and borrow
  2. A welcome email with information on how borrowing works
  3. SMS messages reminding you of the collection and return dates for the Thing you are borrowing
  4. Occasional service updates
  5. Personalised promotions and offers
  6. Newsletters
  7. From time to time, the Library of Things Borrower Support Team may pass on specific issues or complaints to the Ware Shares Technician to deal with at a local level if they feel it would benefit the Borrower and resolve an issue more quickly.

If you want to disable borrowing receipts, you can do so by contacting Borrower Support.

If you want to disable our updates and newsletters at any time, you can do so by clicking ‘unsubscribe’ at the bottom of a communication email.

If you no longer want to be a Member of Ware Shares, email us at wareshares@waretowncouncil.gov.uk and we will organise the deletion of all of your personal data held by Ware Shares and Library of Things within 5 working days.