THE ROCK FACTORY – Hire Agreement (includes Terms & Conditions as well as Privacy Policy)

Once you click on the “accept” button on a quote or confirm your decision to proceed with a hire in writing, verbally or when any payment for a hire is received; you will be considered to have entered into an agreement with The Rock Factory. This agreement will be between The Rock Factory and the Hirer or the Hirer’s representative. The agreement includes agreeing to our terms and conditions as well our privacy policy.

Our Terms & Conditions are shown first. To read our Privacy Policy – please scroll to the bottom of the page.

These Terms & Conditions apply to hiring event equipment and services from The Rock Factory. The words “you”, “the Client”, or “the lessee” refer to the person or organization (the hirer or the hirer’s representative) who hires equipment or services from us, while “we”, “us”, “the lessor”, or “The Rock Factory” refer to The Rock Factory. We reserve the right to modify the agreement, terms and conditions  or privacy policy without prior notice and will present the most up-to-date version on our website.

Both these Terms & Conditions and our Privacy Policy at the bottom of this document are posted on our website.

Terms & Conditions – Bookings, Payment & Deposits:

We will need your full contact details before we will hire to you. The details we may ask for are:

• First and Last name,
• phone number (preferably a mobile number),
• email address, and
• We may ask for your postal address.
• We may ask for photo ID and proof of address on pickup of DIY hires.

Even if you and the rock factory have already entered into an agreement to proceed; To reserve the event equipment on the day of your event you must make a minimum 50% deposit to us. You can make payment of deposit in the following ways:

• Into our bank account – the number is shown on the bottom of the quote or the invoice,
• EFTPOS,
• Credit card, or
• Cash

If paying into our bank account, please use an appropriate reference such as your name or the quote or invoice number as a reference. It is best to email us confirmation that you have paid us. We will send you a confirmation once we receive payment in our account + we have matched it to you, and the payment is reconciled in Xero. Most of our bookkeeping in Xero occurs weekly on Wednesday. If you don’t receive confirmation straight away, you will likely receive it on the coming Wednesday.

If you pay online from our Xero invoice page using the available payment services, you will be provided with an email confirmation of your payment as soon as the transaction is processed.

Please also note that equipment is not officially booked on your hire until at least 50% deposit payment is received. We reserve the right to hire it out to someone else if a deposit has not been received. We may waive this rule if we have hired to you in the past and know you are good for it. Even if you have not paid the deposit and you booked with us, we still have the right to claim 50% as a cancellation if it is cancelled last minute – see the tiered cancellation terms below.

The Rock Factory works on a strict payment-in-advance policy for equipment hire or service. Full payment is recommended a week before the event and required 3 days before delivery, as we will likely need to prepare in advance for your setup. Failure to make full payment by the event start time will result in either the delay of delivery until full payment is made or cancellation of the booking at our discretion. We recommend that the final payment be made the week before the event to ensure the bank clears the payment well in advance of the your required delivery. The Rock Factory reserves the right to delay or withhold delivery until full payment is made. If we do not receive full payment on the day of required delivery, we reserve the right to cancel the booking, and if this happens, then the deposit is retained and is non-refundable. We will use this money to recover expenses for example of crew, transport hire, equipment hire ins and any time spent preparing documentation or prepping and packing vehicles.

Established Clients with a history of transactions with us (that is we have been working together more than a year and on more than five events a year) may apply for an exemption to the payment in advance rule. To do so, you must have an established purchase order system (for example, if you are a school or a council institute). With established clients who apply for this rule exemption, we can work on your billing cycle, whether it is within 7 days of the invoice or the 20^th of the Month. Again we can still charge our tiered cancellation fee as per standard terms, even if you have an exemption to paying in advance.

For DIY hires, dry hire pickups or unattended hires, please bring your driver’s licence or passport and your credit card. We will keep these details on file until all the equipment has been returned to us in its original condition.

Weather problems – our bookings and income cannot be weather dependent; The terms and conditions for cancellations and postponements are as below. We encourage you to take out Insurance for your events to cover unforeseen circumstances.

We no longer accept cheques due to cheques being unreliable as a payment medium.

Terms & Conditions – Cancellations (for hires UNDER $500+GST):

• When you “dry hire”  or “DIY hire” items (i.e. you are picking up from us or coming to our premises for a service), you can cancel up to 2 days (48 hours) before the pickup or service, and a credit can be held for your next event or a full refund will be given if a deposit was paid on request. No-shows or cancellations within 2 days (48 hours) forfeits your deposit to cover the costs of prepping the gear and waiting for you.
• For delivered items and services within 20km of Auckland CBD;
  • If cancellation is up to 72 hours before we arrive on-site to deliver, no charge and any deposit can be used as a credit for future events, and on request a refund of the deposit is offered.
  • Cancellation less than 72 hours before we arrive on-site, 50% of full charge (i.e. the deposit is retained).
• For delivered items and services outside of 20km from Auckland CBD;
  • If cancellation is up to 72 hours before we arrive on-site to set up, no charge and any deposit can be used as a credit for future events, and on request a refund of the deposit is offered.
  • If cancelling between 48 and 72 hours before delivery, then 50% of the charge will be kept (i.e., the deposit is retained).
  • Cancellation within 48 hours of delivery incurs a 100% charge as we will have already prepped, packed into van or truck, hired driver or vehicle, and those charges need to be covered.

Terms & Conditions – Cancellations (for hires OVER $500+GST):

• During our off-peak season (1 May to 30th September), Cancellations within 1 week of delivery are considered late cancellations and will result in loss of your deposit. Cancellations made before this: we will hold the money as a credit for your next hire or we will refund it upon request.
• During our peak season (1st October to 30th April), Cancellations within 3 weeks of delivery are considered late cancellations and will result in a loss of your deposit or monies as per the wording in italics below this paragraph. Cancellations made before this: we will hold the money as a credit for your next hire, or we will refund it upon request.

Further rules for peak season: cancellations made within 3 weeks of a hire or event (late cancellation), the following fees will apply (including any 50% deposit made), to allow us to recover preparation and pre-production costs.

• If you cancel within 3 to 2 weeks of the event or hire, 50% of the total is due, or your deposit becomes the cancellation fee and is not refundable.
• Cancellation within 2 weeks to 1 week of the event or hire will incur between 50% and 100% of the total invoice because we cannot allocate the production, gear hired, and crew to any other event within that time frame. If we do manage to reassign the gear, techs and crew to another job, we may waive some of the fees; otherwise, the techs and crew MUST be paid, and you must pay for gear that has not been able to be assigned to other jobs due to late cancellation. 
• Cancellation in less than a week from the event or hire date, within the week of delivery, or if we have begun setup, then 100% of the total is due. More details on last-minute postponements and cancellations have their own section below.

Terms & Conditions – Postponements:

To reschedule an event, sufficient notice must be given. Sufficient notice is at least 1-weeks notice. With sufficient notice, you may be entitled to use your deposit towards a timely rescheduled event at our discretion. Any rescheduled event is subject to availability at the time of notification of postponement. If there is a postponement of the event due to unforeseen circumstances such as rain, we will do our best to provide you with the hire on your new date; however, we reserve the right to decline service if we cannot make the new date. Deposit and payment will transfer to the new date if we can make the new date; however, our terms will remain as per the cancellation policies above if we cannot make the new date. It is, therefore, best practice to organise a rain date with us in advance if you plan to have one.

Also note that in the case of a yearly event, the postponement date must be within the year of the original event and cannot count toward the next year’s event. We must be available on the postponement date, and if it is inconvenient for us (e.g. we are already booked on that date), then we have the right to say no to the new date – so please communicate with us about your new date as soon as possible, so we can make sure your chosen new date works in with our availability. We recommend that events have a planned postponement date in advance so that we can pencil it into our calendar and be prepared for it to possibly happen on that date instead.

Note: You may still incur the crew/personnel costs from the original date as they often cannot find new work within 2 weeks of an event.

Terms and Conditions – Last Minute Postponement, Rain Dates and Cancellations (less than a week’s notice).

If the rain date is organized reasonably in advance as a postponement date, then you can use the money paid on the new date as long as we have availability of gear, crew and transport on the new date.

PLEASE NOTE: You may still incur the crew/personnel costs from the original date as they cannot find new work with less than a week’s notice.

We believe the following is fair treatment for our booked gear, services and staff + crew:

a) The event or hire postponed – Crew costs are to be covered on the original date (crew often can’t find replacement jobs when it is cancelled within a week of the event).

b) The event or hire on the new Postponement date costs the same as the previous event’s quote unless there are extra costs, which will be quoted if they exist.

c) The event or hire is cancelled altogether (no new postponement date) – at least the 50% booking deposit becomes the cancellation fee, as per cancellation terms for bookings over $500+GST above. If it is within 3 weeks of the event, we may use any monies paid to us to recover costs we cannot recover due to the cancellation, and the rest will be left as a credit for future bookings. We will let you know how much is left, and what is left over after our expenses can be refunded at your request.

Terms & Conditions – Loss or Damage:

Whilst equipment is in the lessee’s possession, the lessee is expected to take all reasonable care and precautions with the equipment. Loss or damage of any hired equipment whilst in the care of the lessee will result in incurring further charges as outlined below:

In the event of loss, damage or theft, the lessee, at the discretion of The Rock Factory, shall:

a) at the lessee’s expense, repair the equipment to our satisfaction,

1. b) at the lessee’s expense, replace the equipment with similar or like, or
2. c) make full payment to recover costs of replacement.

We reserve the right to keep the details of your credit card and driver’s licence is as a security on your hire. At your request, we will discard these details once the equipment has been returned to us in original condition – see our privacy policy.

Terms & Conditions – Insurance:

The Rock Factory does not offer insurance coverage for hired out equipment. Any loss, theft or damage is the full responsibility of the lessee. The Rock Factory does not provide any insurance coverage for you or your event. You are responsible for maintaining your own insurance(s) for your event, including but not limited to public liability and property damage insurance. Please check your contents insurance policy, as you may already be covered for equipment that is on your premises or in your possession, otherwise, you should organise temporary cover for the duration you have our equipment. You may want to ask the venue owner if the hired equipment is insured under their contents policy. If coverage is not possible, unavailable, or too expensive, then you must take full responsibility as the lessee for any loss, theft, or damage incurred. Ensure you follow set-up and operating instructions, employ security, keep the public away from the equipment and hire experienced tech support to operate the equipment.

Terms & Conditions – Noise Control & Late Returns:

If a public member complains about the sound levels at your event, you will likely get a visit from Noise Control, who will ask you to turn it down. Please comply if you are served with an ‘Excessive Noise Notice’.  Noise Control will come back, shut you down and take the gear away if you do not comply. They may also bring the Police with them. If they do take the gear away, there is a charge of $350 plus our time at $60 an hour to retrieve it from the Police.

For Late returns or gear retained in venues or on premises or by noise control, daily hire charges will continue until the equipment is returned to our warehouse, we reserve the right to bill you for anytime the gear is away with you over and above the original agreed time.

Noise Control Contact numbers for more information: Auckland Council – Duty Environmental Health Officer (09) 379 2021 x9073.

Terms & Conditions – Indemnification Clause:

The Rock Factory carries Public Liability insurance limited to our services and equipment when we are operating it.

The lessee understands that the use of our equipment may involve inherently dangerous activities. Consequently, the lessee agrees to indemnify and hold the lessor (The Rock Factory) harmless from any and all claims, actions, suits, proceeding costs, expenses, damages and liabilities, including reasonable attorney’s fees arising by reason of damage to property or injury or death to persons, in connection with or resulting from the use of said equipment including, but not limited to the delivery, possession, use, operation, or return of the equipment. The lessee hereby releases and holds harmless the lessor from injuries or damages incurred as a result of the use of said equipment unless the lessor is operating the equipment and is deemed by a court of law to be negligent in its actions. Lessor cannot be held liable for injuries due to accidents, nature or other conditions beyond our control or knowledge. Lessee also agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the lessor from any loss, damage, theft or destruction of the equipment during the hire period and any extension thereof.

Terms & Conditions – Late Returns & Penalties:

Any equipment returned after the agreed period of rental will incur further hire charges at 50% of the per day rate for each additional day it is overdue, OR at a rate of 3x day rate hire per additional week it is overdue.

THE ROCK FACTORY – PRIVACY POLICY

We collect personal information from you, including information about your:

• Name,
• contact information,
• interactions with us,
• billing or purchase information,
• transaction history with us,
• photo ID (first-time hire or pick up on behalf), and
• proof of address (first-time hire or pick up on behalf).

We collect your personal information to:

• Carry out tasks directly related to our business, and protect ourselves from theft.

Providing some information is optional. If you choose not to provide the information requested, we can choose not to hire any items to you.

Security:

We keep your information safe by storing it in a location only accessible by password and only allowing The Rock Factory representatives to access it. However, please note that no connection through the Internet and data storage facilities are entirely immune to unauthorised hacking and access, so you should use our website forms with discretion. You can protect yourself by using our website and forms only through secure networks or connections.

Sharing:

Your personal information will be kept secure and private, as detailed above. It may need to be processed by other people or third-party purposes. We will only share such information for the following purposes.

Working for The Rock Factory:

For quality and technical support purposes, select contractors and employees working for the rock factory may review your data. These contractors will access your information only to perform tasks on behalf of the rock factory and in compliance with this Privacy Policy.

Service Providers:

The Rock Factory uses trusted third-party cloud service providers to help us provide, improve, protect, and promote our Services (for example, Google Analytics uses cookies to help us understand how users interact with therockfactory.net). We will endeavour to the best of our ability to ensure these third-party providers will utilise information collected in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Legal:

We may disclose your information to third parties if we determine that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to (a) comply with the law, (b) protect any person from death or serious bodily injury, (c) prevent fraud or abuse of The Rock Factory or our employees or contractors, or (d) protect The Rock Factory’s property rights.

If we are involved in a reorganisation, merger, acquisition or sale of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that deal in the form of a client database.

Disclosure:

You have the right to ask for a copy of any personal information we hold about you, and to ask for it to be corrected if you think it is wrong. If you’d like to ask for a copy of your information, or to have it corrected, please contact us at admin@therockfactory.net or +6421358577.

Deletion:

You may ask us to delete your personal information, however Please note: (1) there might be some latency in deleting this information from our servers and back-up storage; and (2) we may need to retain this information if necessary to comply with our legal obligations (e.g. we must keep all our business records for 7 years for the IRD), resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements. To delete your details or account, contact us at admin@therockfactory.net

Revisions:

We reserve the right to modify the hire agreement, terms and conditions  or privacy policy without prior notice and will present the most up-to-date version on our website.