New DIY Website

[gary]

Hi,

It's called

The idea is that people register their own tools and equipment etc that they own onto the site and offer them for hire to other people in their local area at a reasonable hire fee. People can search the site using their post code which enables them to find items they would like to hire within their local area. It's neighbours hiring out their tools and equipment to other neighbours. This saves people money on hire charges and earns a bit of money for the owners.

Please take a look and pass on to me any comments.

Hopefully it will help people with their DIY projects.

Gary

[George]

Jesus! I wouldn't want to hire my best DeWalt Router out.

Would the hirer pay for damaging it? I think not.

[meow2222]

Wouldnt liability be a nightmare issue? Sounds like something I'd steer clear of.

NT

[Mark]

I tested it with these test search words (one at a time): Bosch, ladder, saw, drill with the distance set at 50miles.

Nothing found!

Perhaps you need to get it on Steve Wright's show Radio 2, 2.00-5.00 as Website of the Day

Good luck with it.

mark

[gary]

It's early days yet for this site and there is a limited number of items registered which is why your searches are showing no results. As more items are registered this will get better. I also understand peoples anxieties and worries about this site but it's you're choice on what you are happy to hire out to people. Set the deposit payable to the value of the item just like a hire shop, any damage comes out of the deposit. Even eBay isn't 100% foolproof.

Hopefully as I said the site will help people save money and earn a bit of money for themselves and that tool you need to do a job may be sitting in your neighbours garage.

Gary

[EricP]

Certainly a nice idea to get access to tools avoiding the daft charges of hire shops.

Best of luck

[Andy Hall]

What happens if the user breaks the tool and claims that it was in poor repair to begin with?

What happens if they injure themselves and claim likewise?

[dg]

The possibility of injury claims against the hirer - (who would most likely have no insurance for this type of hiring, and so would have to look for other capital to pay off any claims - ie their house) is too much to contemplate. A chainsaw is a common tool which people want to hire, but don't know how to use.

And by the looks of required deposits, seems a good place for someone to pick up some cheap goods for selling on.

I worry about lending my tools to people I do know, let alone those I don't.

A good idea in theory or for 30 years ago, but not so in practical terms and todays society.

dg

[John Rumm]

FYI The link to the example agreement on the lenders guide page is broken...

[gary]

Link now fixed - thanks for pointing that out.

Quote: >>What happens if the user breaks the tool and claims that it was in poor repair to begin with?

As advised fill out the user agreement and owner and hirer sign it. The user agreement says that both parties agree the item is in good condition and fit for purpose.

Quote: >>And by the looks of required deposits, seems a good place for someone to pick up some cheap goods for selling on.

You decide the deposit, it's down to the owner to put in the amount of deposit, make the deposit reflect what the tool is worth.

[Andy Hall]

I don't think that that holds up.

Tool breaks.

Owner says that hirer broke the tool Hirer says that owner lied, wasn't in good condition

Who defines fitness for purpose?

What happens in the case of injury?

[gary]

The hirer should have checked the tool before he signed the agreement. The agreement is exactly that - that BOTH parties agree the condition of the tool and sign a statement to that fact. If the agreement is signed beforehand the hirer can't accused the owner that he lied about the condition of the tool because he has signed an agreement stating that the tool was in good condition. It's the same as when using a hire shop. If you don't agree the tool is in good condition don't hire it.

If someone is injured it'll be because safety guidelines were not followed or the tool was faulty. If the tool was faulty then if the agreement has been signed you can pursue the owner. If the injury was due to incorrect operation then it's the hirer's fault. This is standard hire shop stuff.

If you're worried you may injure yourself using a piece of equipment don't hire it or get the owner to operate it on your behalf, he'll probably live local to you as that's the idea of the site, hiring from local people.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Clause 4 of your conditions is automatically struck out by the Unfair Contract Terms Act, as it attempts to limit liability for injury or death. If you wanted to retain it, you would have to add an exclusion for injury or death, or include a comment to the effect "to the maximum extent permitted by law". Otherwise the whole clause is struck out.

I rather suspect some of the other terms would fall foul of UCTA or other acts too. You really need to get this checked over by a legal expert.

[gary]

Good advice - thanks Andrew. I will look into getting the agreement properly checked out. Any pointers to companies that may be able to do this?

[George]

This is all bunkem because if there is no legal contracts involved then its a case of joe blogs knocking the stuffing out of bill blogs to compensate for screwing his hedge trimmer. :-)

[dg]

With personal injury claim, it will be decided on balance of probabilities and what is the most likely or reasonable thing to have occured.

If the hiree injures himself using the tool then the hirer will have to defend against a claim that proper safety instructions were not given.

If the hiree is injured by a faulty tool, then the hirer will have to defend against a claim that the tool was not properly maintained and serviced.

If the hiree breaks the tool, then the hirer will have to prove it was not defective to start with, or was used incorrectly.

In either case the hirer is unlikely to have full and regular service records, and unlikely to be able to prove that proper safety instructions were given.

This will be seen as a professional business hire agreement and will be treated as such in any claim against either party.

In a world were a woman can claim substantial compensation for not being warned that coffee in a cup was hot, then people need to be wary about claims. It is most unlikely that a typical householder will have insurance cover against a business based hire agreement like this one

dg

[Andy Hall]

The hire shop also has liability insurance. Sorry. What you are doing won't fly. You can't limit liability for injury in a contract.

This all seems like a lovely idea until the first tools are broken and the first trips to A&E occur.

The ambulance chasing compensation firms will be rubbing their hands with glee.

[meow2222]

It all seems a bit naive. I just hope for your sake that youre not caught up in the legal action that is likely to follow.

NT

[Daljit]

My god - such negativity! Imagine the responses if he had posted the idea for eBay on this group! Good luck to the guy is what i say.

I don't have any tools worth lending, but will check out next time i'm looking to hire.

Daljit

[Bill]

In message , Daljit writes

Lots of negativity, but then lots of potential problems.

The main worry I would have would be the safety aspect, if you hire from a hire shop then you have a reasonable expectation that the equipment has been maintained to a good standard. If a private loan then you have no guarantee and great problems if something goes wrong and you or someone near you gets injured, whose insurance covers the incident. If a hire company then it would be theirs but if it's via this web site then I would find it unlikely that the owners insurance would cover him for hiring out his kit. Probably a good idea for any one doing this to check first.