General Terms and Conditions of Rental (Terms and Conditions).
Master Rentals
A: Condition of the vehicle, repairs, fuel
1. The lessee undertakes to treat the vehicle appropriately and with due care, to observe all the regulations and technical rules which apply to its use, especially to check regularly that the engine oil level is sufficient and to observe when vehicle services are due and to check regularly that the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition and to properly lock the vehicle.
2. If, during the term of the rental period, it becomes necessary to repair the odometer (milometer counter) or to carry out a repair to ensure that the vehicle is operational or roadworthy or a compulsory vehicle service becomes necessary, the lessee may have this work carried out by an authorized repair workshop up to an estimated repair cost of £100.
3. The vehicle shall be handed over to the lessee with a full tank of fuel. Correspondingly, the lessee must return the vehicle at the end of the lease with a full tank of fuel. If the vehicle is not returned fully tanked, the lesser shall charge the lessee the cost of filling the vehicle plus a service charge in accordance with the rates applicable at the time of rental. The rates as applicable from time to time are available at the rental office.
4. With rentals having a term of more than 27 days the lessee must bear the cost of procuring replenishment liquids (particularly engine oil, windscreen cleaner as well as antifreeze) up to an amount of 8% of the respective months (net) rental fee in the event that said liquids need to be replenished during the rental period.
5. If commercial vehicles with a permitted gross vehicle weight of 7.49 t or more are fitted with an AdBlueÆ tank, the lessee shall hand over the commercial vehicle of 7.49 t or more with a full tank of AdBlueÆ. The lessee must return the vehicle at the end of the lease with a full tank of AdBlueÆ. If the vehicle is not returned with a full tank of AdBlueÆ, the lesser shall charge the lessee the cost of filling the vehicle plus a service charge in accordance with the price list applicable at the time of rental. The applicable price list is displayed in the rental office.
6. When renting commercial vehicles with an AdBlueÆ tank, the lessee must ensure that the AdBlueÆ tank is always sufficiently filled. The lessee and his vicarious agents shall be fully liable for breaches of the above obligation committed during the rental period; the lessee shall indemnify the lesser against all claims, in particular against any penalty and warning fines, asserted by the authorities or other third parties against the lesser because of any failure to fill the AdBlueÆ tank.
B: Reservations, bookings made at prepaid rates
1. Reservations for Travel abroad are binding only for price-groups, not for vehicle types. If the lessee has not collected the vehicle by no later than one hour after the agreed time there shall no longer be a binding reservation.
2. The following applies to bookings made at prepaid rates: A booking can be changed before the rental begins in return for an alteration charge of £20. Any prepayment already made towards the rental shall not be refunded; nor shall any differential amount be refunded. Likewise, a booking can be cancelled before the rental begins. In the event of cancellation, the prepayment shall not be refunded if the prepayment does not exceed the rental charge of three rental days (including any extras and charges.). The portion of the prepayment that exceeds the rental charge of three rental days including any extras and charges shall be refunded within ten working days of the cancellation. Cancellations can be made online or in writing and must be addressed to: Master Rentals Rental office Stockport. In the event that the booked vehicle is not collected or not collected at the agreed time the rental charge already paid shall be withheld in full.
C: Documents to be produced when collecting the vehicle, authorized drivers, permitted drivers, travel abroad
1. When the vehicle is handed over the lessee must produce a domestically valid driving license necessary for driving the vehicle, a valid means of payment as well as a personal identification card or passport. In the case of bookings made at the prepaid rates, the means of payment used at the time of booking must be presented. If the lessee is unable to produce said documents when the vehicle is handed over, the lesser will cancel the rental contract; in any such cases the lessee shall have no claim for non- performance. Furthermore, restrictions regarding age (an additional charge shall be charged for drivers under the age of 23) and/or length of time for which a driving license must have been held apply to certain vehicle categories. A list of the age and driving license provisions can be inspected prior to reservation on Master Rentals website, at the Rental Office or can be asked for by telephone.
2. The vehicle may be driven and used only by the lessee (in the case of corporate customers, with their consent, also by the lessee’s employees), or by the first drivers named in the rental contract. If the vehicle is to be driven by persons other than the above-named persons an additional charge shall be charged for each additional driver. The charges as applicable from time to time can be inspected on Master rentals website or at the Master Rentals rental office. When the vehicle is collected any additional drivers must be present and their driving licenses must be presented.
3. Corporate customers must check independently whether the authorized driver is in possession of a drivers license which is still valid on the territory of the UK (United Kingdom). They must use all means available to them to do this and must make the necessary enquiries.
4. The lessee shall be liable for the actions of the driver as if they were the lessee's own actions.
5. The vehicle may be used only on public roads, but not for driving school practice. The vehicle may not be used for motor sport purposes, in particular driving events where the important thing is to achieve maximum speeds, or for any associated practice drives, for vehicle tests or for safety driving training, for the commercial transportation of persons, for renting to subleases, for committing criminal offences, even if said offences are punishable only under the law of the place where the offence is committed, for transporting easily inflammable, toxic or other hazardous substances.
6. The lessee is obliged to properly secure any goods carried.
7. Depending on the category of vehicle, rental vehicles may not be used abroad in certain countries. A list of the countries in which the respective categories of vehicle may not be used in which the respective categories of vehicle may not be used, can be inspected prior to reservation on Master Rentals website and at the Master Rentals service points or can be asked for by telephone. In addition, the countries in which the rental vehicle concerned may not be used are listed in the rental agreement form.
8. Any violation or non-performance of a provision under sub-clauses 1, 3,5 or 7 above shall entitle Master Rentals to terminate the rental agreement without notice or to rescind the rental agreement. In any such event the lessee shall have no right to damages. This shall be without prejudice to any claim to damages that accrues to Master Rentals due to the breach of one of the provisions under sub-clauses 1, 3, 5 or 7 above.
D: Rental charge
1. If the vehicle is not returned to the same rental office from which it was rented, the lessee shall be required to pay the cost of returning the vehicle or a one-way charge, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
2. The rental charge comprises a basic rental charge, charges for extra services and any location surcharges. The charges for extra services are particularly one-way charges, the costs of filling the vehicle and of fuel, service charges, accessories/extras such as e.g. child seat, snow chains, navigation system etc., delivery and collection costs. Special prices and price discounts apply only if payment is made when due.
3. For deliveries and collections, the delivery and collection charges agreed for this shall be charged plus the cost of filling the vehicle and of fuel in accordance with the price list applicable at the time of rental. The applicable price list is displayed in the rental office.
E: Due date, payment terms, security (deposit), termination without notice because of default of payment
1. The rental charge (plus any other charges agreed such as, e.g. exemptions from liability, delivery charges, airport charges etc.) plus value added tax in the statutory amount applicable from time to time must, as a matter of principle, be paid in full for the agreed rental period, i.e. if the vehicle is collected late or returned early there shall be no refund. The rental charge shall be due at the beginning of the rental period, or in the case of bookings made at the prepaid rates already at the time of concluding the booking. In the case of foreign bookings at the prepaid rates Master Rentals, as a matter of principle, only acts as a collection agent when collecting the rental charge that is due at the time the booking is concluded. If the agreed rental period exceeds a period of 28 days the rental charge shall be payable at intervals of 28 days and at the beginning of each interval.
2. As security (a deposit) for the performance of his duties, the lessee shall be obliged to pay a sum of money at the beginning of the rental period, which sum shall be three times the agreed rental charge (plus other charges agreed such as, e.g. insurance waivers, delivery charges, airport charges) plus value added tax in the statutory amount applicable from time to time, but at least EUR 150. The lesser is entitled to require the provision of greater security of up to EUR 4,000 for vehicles in the executive or luxury category. However, if the agreed rental period exceeds a period of 28 days, the security shall be a maximum of three times the agreed rental charge for a period of 28 days (plus other charges agreed such as, e.g. exemptions from liability, delivery charges, airport charges) plus value added tax in the statutory amount applicable from time to time. The lesser is not obliged to invest the security separately from its assets. The security shall not bear interest. The lesser can enforce its right to payment of security even a considerable time after commencement of the rental agreement.
3. Unless otherwise agreed, the rental charge, all other agreed charges and the security (deposit) shall be charged to the lessee's credit card.
4. Instead of debiting the Customers credit card, the lesser can, by making a so-called merchant request in its favor, have a sum in the amount of the deposit frozen under the credit facility granted to the Customer by his credit card institution for his credit card.
5. If the lessee is in default of payment of the rental fee the lesser shall, even without prior warning, be entitled to terminate the lease agreement without notice. If the agreed rental period exceeds a period of 28 days and if the lessee is in default of either the whole or a not inconsiderable part of payment of the rental fee for the interval concerned, the lessor shall, even without prior warning, be entitled to terminate the lease agreement without notice because of default of payment.
F: Insurance
1. The Insurance cover for the rented vehicle extends to a third party liability insurance with a maximum amount of cover for personal injuries and damage to property of £50 million. The maximum amount of cover per injured person is £8 million and is limited to Europe.
2. The insurance does not cover use of vehicles for the transportation of hazardous substances requiring a permit, as defined in Paragraph 7 of the Statutory Instrument on the Transportation of Hazardous Goods by Road.
3. The excess to be paid by the lessee, per claim, shall be determined by the price lists in force, and displayed, at the time of rental.
4. If insurance cover is taken out for passengers, the amount of cover will be £20,500 in the event of invalidity, £12,800 in the event of death and £500 for medical costs. If there are two or more passengers, the sums insured increase once only by 50% and the injured person has a proportional claim.
5. All insurance cover agreed as part of the rental contract lapses, in particular, if an unauthorized driver uses the vehicle, if the driver of the vehicle does not have the required drivers license at the time of the event giving rise to the claim, or if clause I 2 of these terms and conditions applies.
G: Accidents, theft, obligation to notify
1. After an accident, theft, fire, damage by wild animals or other damage, the lessee must immediately notify the police, summon them and immediately notify the lesser of the damage. This applies also to minor damage and accidents, for which the driver is responsible without third parties being involved. Should the police refuse to record the accident, the lessee must provide the lesser with evidence of this.
2. In the event of loss or damage the lessee is obliged to notify the lesser in writing immediately, or at the latest two days after the event, of all the details, using the accident report form included with the vehicle papers, each section of which must be completed carefully and in full.
H: Lessee’s Liability
1. The lesser shall be liable in accordance with the statutory provisions in the event of intent or gross negligence by the lesser, a representative or a vicarious agent. In all other cases the lesser shall be liable only for injury to life, body or health or for the international or negligent breach of material contractual obligations. Any claim to damages due to the breach of material contractual obligations shall be limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract.
2. The lesser does not accept any liability whatsoever for property left in the rental vehicle upon its return; this limitation of liability does not apply in the event of intent or gross negligence by the lesser, a representative or vicarious agent.
I: Lessee's Liability
1. In the event of damage to the vehicle, loss of the vehicle or breach of the rental contract, the lessee shall be liable, in principle, in accordance with the general rules governing liability. In particular, the lessee must return the vehicle in the condition in which he took possession of it.
2. The lessee may choose to exclude liability for any loss or damage of the lesser arising out of accidents, by paying a separate charge = contractual exemption from liability. In that case - apart from the agreed excess - he shall be liable for loss or damage only if
- contrary to his obligation (clause G 2), he does not notify the lesser of the loss or damage, or he fails to do so in due time or fully.
- he or his agents caused the loss or damage intentionally or by gross negligence.
- he or his agents have fled the scene of an accident provided that the lessee’s legitimate interests in having the facts of the incident ascertained have been prejudiced in general, unless the violation of this obligation was not intentional or grossly negligent.
- he or his agents, contrary to the obligation under clause G, did not summon the police provided that the lessee’s legitimate interests in having the facts of the incident ascertained have been prejudiced in general, unless the violation of this obligation was not intentional or grossly negligent.
- contrary to the obligation under clause G, he or his agents did not notify the lesser of the loss or damage or, when fulfilling the obligation under clause G, gave false information about the events leading up to the accident, provided that the lessees legitimate interests in having the facts of the incident ascertained have been prejudiced in general, unless the violation of this obligation was not intentional or grossly negligent.
The contractual exemption from liability applies only for the rental period.
3. The lessee and his vicarious agents shall be liable without limitation for the breaches of any statutory provisions, particularly for traffic and administrative offences, committed by them during the rental period. This also applies to breaches of statutory provisions or other regulations by the lessee committed just as/at the time when the rental period ends, such as e.g. leaving a vehicle in payable parking lots without paying the appropriate charge, leaving the vehicle in no-parking zones or suchlike. The lessee shall indemnify the lessor against any and all penalty and warning fines, fees and other costs, levied by the authorities or other bodies from the lesser because of any such breaches. As compensation for the lessee’s administrative costs incurred in handling enquiries put to it by the prosecution authorities or other third parties in order to investigate administrative offences, criminal offences or any nuisance committed during the rental period, the lesser shall receive from the lessee a flat-rate amount of £18.50 (incl. VAT) for each such enquiry, unless the lessee proves that the lesser incurred lower costs and/or loss; the lesser shall be at liberty to assert greater damages or loss.
4. Damage to brakes, damage caused during normal operation of the vehicle, and simple fracture damage do not constitute accident damage; this applies in particular to damage caused by the slippage of any goods carried.
5. The lessee must ensure that the motorway toll is paid in full and in due time in order to use the federal motorway with a rented truck, which is liable to a toll. The lessee is expressly advised that a toll is payable in order to use the federal motorway if the permitted overall weight of the truck or vehicle combination consisting of truck and a trailer reaches or exceeds 12t. The lessee shall indemnify the lesser against all claims, fees (including any extra charges for late payment and other accessory claims), costs, penalty and warning fines, which the authorities and/or third parties impose on or assert against the lesser because the toll is not paid in due time or is not paid in full.
6. For trucks with a permitted overall weight of 7.5t to 11.99t the lesser does not pay road tax increased by any trailer surcharge. If a rented truck is used with a trailer, the lessee must therefore ensure that the road tax for the trailer (trailer surcharge) is paid in due time and in full. The lessee shall indemnify the lesser against all claims, taxes (including any taxes, extra charges for late payment and other accessory claims), costs, penalty and warning fines, which the authorities assert against the lesser because of a breach of the above obligation.
7. These provisions apply not only to the lessee but also to the authorized driver, whereby, however, the contractual exemption from liability does not apply to unauthorized users of the rented vehicle.
J: Return of the vehicle
1. The rental contract shall end at the agreed time and can, under the provisions of this contract, be extended with the prior consent of the lesser, provided that the lessee advises the lesser of the extension three days before the expiry of the agreed rental period.
2. The lessee is obliged to return the vehicle to the lesser at the end of the agreed rental period, at the agreed location, during normal business hours, which are displayed in a notice at the lessees offices.
3. Special rental rates apply only to the period offered. If said period is exceeded, the normal rate shall apply to the whole period.
4. In the event of any breach of the obligation to return the vehicle and there is more than one lessee, the lessees shall be jointly and severally liable. The respectively applicable rental charges shall be charged up until the date when the vehicle is returned.
5. If the lessee does not return the vehicle to the lesser after expiry of the agreed rental period, even if he is not at fault, the lesser shall be entitled to demand payment for use of the vehicle for the period exceeding the contractual term, at the rental rate previously agreed.
K: Termination
1. The parties shall be entitled to terminate the rental contracts in accordance with the statutory provisions. The lesser may terminate the rental contracts extraordinarily for cause without notice. Such cause shall be deemed to include, in particular:
- Considerable deterioration of lessees financial situation
- Dishonored bank debits / chqs
- Enforcement measures aimed against the lessee
- Lack of care of the vehicle
- Improper and illegal use
- Disregard of the regulations governing the use of motor vehicles for road haulage
- If it becomes unreasonable to expect the rental contract to be continued, e.g. owing to an excessive damage ratio
2. If there is more than one rental contract in place between the lesser and the lessee, and if the lesser is entitled to terminate one of the contracts extraordinarily for cause without notice, the lesser shall also be entitled to terminate all other rental contracts extraordinarily without notice, provided the continuation of the other rental contracts is unacceptable due to the Lessee acting in bad faith. This shall be deemed to include, in particular:
- Causing willful damage to a rental vehicle
- Culpably concealing or trying to conceal damages to rental vehicles
- Causing willful damage to the Lesser
- If the lessee is in arrears with his payments of at least one weeks rental by more than five working days from the due date
- If the lessee uses a rental vehicle for or in conjunction with criminal actions
3. If the lesser terminates a rental contract, the lessee shall be obliged to surrender the vehicles, together with all vehicle documents, all accessories and all vehicle keys, immediately to the lesser.
M: Lessee’s direct debit authorization
1. The lessee irrevocably authorizes the lesser as well as its collection agent to debit all car rental costs and all other claims in connection with the rental contract from the credit card presented at the time when the rental contract is concluded, from the credit card specified in the rental contract or from the credit card subsequently presented or additionally specified by the lesser.
N: Data protection clause
1. Master Rentals is the body responsible for the purposes of data protection law. The lessee's/driver's personal data is collected, processed and used by Master Rentals, or by a third party appointed locally by Master Rentals car hire for the rental, for the purposes of establishing, implementing or terminating the Agreement. Any use for advertising purposes shall only be for the purposes of Master Rentals Car Hire own advertising (including advertising by way of recommendations). Said data shall be transmitted to other third parties only to the extent this is necessary for fulfilling the Agreement, e.g. to the lessee's credit card company for the purposes of settlement. Any further-reaching use shall require statutory permission or consent.
2. Note. The lessee/driver can at any time object to any processing or use of his data for the purposes of advertising or market research or opinion polls. The objection must be addressed to: Master Rental Car Hire Rental Office.
O: General Provisions
1. In the event of any dispute about the interpretation of the rental contract, the German text shall be the authoritative version and German law shall apply.
2. Only undisputed claims of the lessee or of an authorized driver, or claims of the lessee or of an authorized driver, which have become final and absolute, may be set off against claims of the lesser.
3. All rights and obligations arising out of this Agreement ensure to the benefit of and against the authorized driver.
4. If and insofar as no provision is contained in this Agreement, the regulations of the Insurance Contracts Act.
P: Place of jurisdiction, written form
1. There are no verbal side agreements. Any amendments must be made in writing.
2. If the lessee is a merchant, a public-sector legal entity or a special body or fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction shall be Manchester.