Terms of use

Hire Counter is run by [Company legal name] Ltd (company number [company number]), registered office [registered office address] (“we”, “us”). These terms apply when you use hirecounter.com and when you book equipment through it (“you”).

Hire firms that list on Hire Counter agree to our separate supplier terms.

Hire Counter is an online marketplace. Independent hire firms list their machines and tools; you search, compare and book them.

We are not the hire firm. When a booking is confirmed, the contract to hire the equipment is between you and the hire firm, on the hire firm’s hire conditions, which are shown before you send a request. We run the marketplace, take payment on the hire firm’s behalf, hold your deposit, and help if something goes wrong. [Legal review: confirm the payment-collection agent model and wording.]

• Give accurate information when you search, book or contact us.
• Don’t misuse the site — for example by scraping it, interfering with how it works, or using it to contact hire firms to avoid booking through us.
• We may change, suspend or withdraw parts of the site, and we don’t promise it will always be available.

• A request is an offer to hire a machine for the dates, delivery option and price shown. Sending it doesn’t charge your card.
• The hire firm checks the machine is available and accepts or declines. Availability isn’t guaranteed until they accept.
• The booking is confirmed — and the hire contract is formed — when the hire firm accepts and we send you confirmation.
• If the hire firm doesn’t answer within [the response window], the request expires and nothing is charged.

The total shown before you send a request is the total you pay. It is made up of the hire for your dates, delivery and collection if you choose it, the damage waiver, and VAT, each shown as its own line. There is no booking fee; our commission is paid by the hire firm.

Day rates on machine cards are shown excluding VAT, as the trade quotes them. Totals include VAT.

We charge your card for the total when the hire firm confirms your booking — never before. Payments are processed by Stripe. You’ll receive one invoice for the hire, with VAT shown.

Each listing shows a refundable deposit. When your booking is confirmed we place a hold for the deposit on your card. It is an authorisation, not a charge, and it is kept separate from the hire payment.

We release the hold when the machine is returned and the return photos show it in the condition it went out in, allowing for fair wear and tear.

If the machine is returned damaged, dirty beyond normal site use, short of fuel, late, or not at all, part or all of the deposit may be taken to cover the cost, in line with the hire firm’s conditions and the photo record. We’ll show you the evidence and the amount first.

[Legal/payments review: card holds lapse after a few days, so longer hires need a re-authorisation or alternative — confirm the mechanism and describe it here.]

Every hire includes a damage waiver, shown as its own line in your total. It limits what you pay if the machine is accidentally damaged during the hire. What it covers, any excess, and what it doesn’t cover are shown before you book. [To confirm: waiver terms, excess and exclusions — typically loss, theft, deliberate damage, misuse and negligence.]

The damage waiver is not insurance, and it doesn’t cover your liability to other people or their property. You should hold your own public liability insurance.

• Make sure whoever operates the equipment is competent and properly trained for it, and follows the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Use the equipment safely and lawfully, including under the Health and Safety at Work Act, PUWER, LOLER where it applies, and CDM on construction sites.
• Make sure the site is safe and accessible for delivery and collection, and tell the hire firm about ground conditions or access limits.
• Keep the equipment secure, don’t lend or sub-hire it, and don’t take it anywhere other than the site address you gave.
• Stop using it and tell the hire firm straight away if it’s damaged or breaks down. Faults not caused by misuse are the hire firm’s to repair or replace.
• Return it on time, in the condition you received it, allowing for fair wear and tear.

Photos of the equipment are taken at handover and at return, with the time they were taken. They are the record of the machine’s condition, and you, the hire firm and we can all see them. They are used to settle any question about damage and to release your deposit.

You can withdraw a request at any time before it’s confirmed, free of charge.

Once a booking is confirmed, the cancellation terms shown at checkout apply. [To set: cancellation windows and charges, and what happens if the hire firm cancels.]

If you are a consumer rather than a business, you may also have statutory rights to cancel. [Legal review: confirm whether the 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 applies to date-specific equipment hire, and set out the position here.]

Contact the hire firm first — their details are on your booking. If you can’t sort it out, email hello@hirecounter.com. We’ll review the booking, the photo record and what both sides tell us, and help reach a fair outcome.

We will run the marketplace with reasonable care and skill. The hire firm is responsible for the equipment and for performing the hire.

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that can’t be limited by law. If you are a consumer, nothing affects your statutory rights.

If you are a business, we are not liable for loss of profit, revenue, business or goodwill, or for indirect or consequential loss, and our total liability for any booking is limited to [the amount you paid for that booking].

We may suspend or stop your use of Hire Counter if you break these terms, misuse the site, or we suspect fraud. We’ll tell you why unless the law or a security reason prevents it.

We may update these terms. The version that applies to a booking is the one in force when you sent the request. The date of the last change is shown at the top of this page.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and disputes go to the courts of England and Wales. If you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring proceedings in your local courts.