Terms and conditions

General

Once the customer confirms their booking with Hot Chocolate Hire, they are denoting that they have read, agreed and understood these terms and conditions. No alterations to these terms and conditions can be made unless agreed by Hot Chocolate Hire in writing. The hire of the cart is for the period of time specified on the customer’s booking confirmation.

All goods for hire remain the property of Hot Chocolate Hire.

Personal information

Any personal information provided by the customer will only be used for contact purposes in relation with the services provided. These personal details and contact information will not be shared with any third parties.

Insurance

Hot Chocolate Hire has public liability insurance (up to 10 million pounds) and a copy of our insurance policy can be provided to the customer or their venue upon request.

The cart can be hired with or without cookies or sweets. Hot Chocolate Hire does not allow the customer to add their own food items to those provided by Hot Chocolate Hire, due to insurance and product traceability purposes.

Securing a booking

Enquiries can be made via social media, the form on our website or by requesting a call back. Upon receipt of the customer’s enquiry, Hot Chocolate Hire will confirm availability for the date and a booking form will be sent to them.

The date will be provisionally held for 1 day and confirmed once Hot Chocolate Hire have received the full payment.

By confirming the booking and paying the invoice to Hot Chocolate Hire, the customer is denoting that they have read, agreed and understood these terms and conditions.

Payment

Full payment is required in order to confirm the booking

If full payment is not received, Hot Chocolate Hire reserves the right to cancel the customer’s booking.

Damage/breakage deposit

Hot Chocolate Hire supplies carts that are one of a kind, lovingly made and professionally painted, therefore Hot Chocolate Hire will require a refundable damage/breakage deposit of £450 with the final balance for each booking. This will be refunded in full within 3 working days of the event, subject to there being no damage or loss to our carts, glassware or accessories.

Customers are not permitted to place drinks on the cart under any circumstances, as this may result in staining and water damage. Any damage to the cart (including stains or water damage caused by drinks or glasses) will result in part or all of the £250 breakage deposit being kept by Hot Chocolate Hire depending on the degree of damage caused. The same also applies to missing or damaged items which will be charged at the full replacement value – substitute replacements will not be accepted.

Should any damages occur and the amount exceed the £250 damage deposit, (this would be in the event of damage to the cart itself), the customer will be invoiced for the additional cost of repair. In the event of this occurring, payment is to be made within 7 days of receipt of the invoice. Damages will be charged at the appropriate cost to replace the item and proof of these costs will be provided by Hot Chocolate Hire.

Cancellations

Should the customer wish to cancel their order with Hot Chocolate Hire, then it must be done in writing and Hot Chocolate Hire must acknowledge receipt of this. Please note, that from the full cost of the booking £250 it is non refundable as detailed above.

For bookings that are cancelled 3-4 weeks prior to the event date, the customer will be charged 50% of the total order value. Bookings that are cancelled within two weeks of the event date will be charged at the full order value.

Hot Chocolate Hire reserve the right to delay, cancel or alter any booking where forced to do so by circumstances beyond their control. If for any unforeseen reason Hot Chocolate Hire is forced to cancel the order, then the customer will be notified by email and all deposits and payments made will be refunded in full.

In the event of extreme weather conditions that deem Hot Chocolate Hire unable to travel to the venue, Hot Chocolate Hire reserves the right to cancel the booking at short notice, or even on the day of the event. In this instance, the customer will receive a full refund immediately.

Booking amendments

Should the customer need to change the booking/order for any reason, Hot Chocolate Hire requires notification before the final invoice is paid (4 weeks prior to the booking). Any alterations will be subject to availability.

‘Last minute’ bookings

Hot Chocolate Hire will do their utmost to cater for bookings which are required less than two weeks before the event date. Last minute bookings are subject to availability and Hot Chocolate Hire requires full payment to confirm the booking.

Delivery

The customer will be notified of any delivery fees in advance of the booking. Free delivery is included within a 10 mile radius of our premises in London. Hot Chocolate Hire reserve the right to decline their services if the travel is too far. Any additional mileage will be charged at £2 per mile for the outbound and return journey.

It is the customers responsibility to ensure adequate parking facilities are available at the venue for loading/unloading of the cart and accessories. Contact details for the customer’s venue will need to be supplied to Hot Chocolate Hire in case of any access queries/issues.

Set up

The cart will be set up and dismantled by a member of staff from Hot Chocolate Hire. It is a fixed unit and once assembled and in place it must not be moved. It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure that under no circumstances is the cart or any other hired item to be moved during or after the event. All glassware, tongs, scoops etc. are owned by Hot Chocolate Hire and must remain on the cart at all times. If the customer attempts to move the cart, it may collapse and the customer will be liable to pay for any damage and/or injury caused.

It is the customers responsibility to seek permission from the venue and to ensure there is sufficient space for the cart at the venue.

The dimensions of the cart are:

Depth – 65cm

Length – 124cm

Total height once assembled – 200cm

Decorations

All decorations including bunting, lighting and banners are supplied by Hot Chocolate Hire and customers are not permitted to add their own decorations. Decoration to the cart is provided by Hot Chocolate Hire and matched as closely as possible to the customer’s chosen colour scheme. If a particular theme/colour/personalised decoration is required, Hot Chocolate Hire will endeavour to source this for the customer which may incur an additional cost. If an additional cost does apply, this will be confirmed on the customer’s invoice prior to booking.

Safety Information

Customers should ensure that young children are supervised at all times to avoid the risk of suffocation, choking from plastic sweet wrappers, hard boiled sweets or plastic bags. Hot Chocolate Hire can not be held responsible for safety issues which occur from the use of our equipment or consumption of our confectionary at the event.

Allergies

Please be advised that some foods may contain or have traces of nuts or nut oils. Hot Chocolate Hire cannot guarantee that the food items supplied have not come into contact with or been produced in an environment that does not contain nuts. Hot Chocolate Hire can not be held responsible for any reactions resulting from food allergies. If any guests at the event do have allergies, it is the customer’s responsibility to advise them to use the cart at their own discretion. Food items which contain allergens will be clearly labelled and detailed on display but it is your responsibility to ask us their content once you’ve booked our service.

Hygiene is a high priority for Hot Chocolate Hire, therefore all of the food items are handled wearing hygiene gloves. In the event of handling food items containing nuts, new gloves will be used to limit the possibility of cross contamination.

All food items remaining at the end of the event can be packaged and taken home by the customer. Hot Chocolate Hire do not re-use any stock and no refund will be made for any unused food items.

Complaints

In the unlikely event that the customer is unhappy with any part of Hot Chocolate Hire’s service, the customer must inform Hot Chocolate Hire within 5 working days of the event taking place. Hot Chocolate Hire reserve the right to refuse compensation for any complaint received after this 5 working day period.

Photography

Unless the customer asks us not to, Hot Chocolate Hire reserves the right to take photographs of the hired equipment for promotional purposes. Hot Chocolate Hire reserve the right to use images taken of the cart however they please.

Reviews and Testimonials

Hot Chocolate Hire endeavour to provide a professional service for the customer’s event. If the customer has been pleased with Hot Chocolate Hire service and products, they would very much appreciate a short testimonial/review for their website and/or Facebook page.