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CROSSHIRE: CHRISTMAS MISSIVES Big Fred came in the other day muttering that it must be nearly Christmas as Mr Patel at the corner emporium had just put the Creme Eggs on display. Rocket Raymond was equally jovial on his return from deliveries, moaning that everyone was asking what goodies would be arriving on site before the holiday began! Of course, the real sign that our industry’s annual festive dip in profits is nearing is the arrival in the post of those missives from our clients, announcing they will be shutting down their sites for the duration and will not accept charges - or responsibility - for equipment retained by them, or put off-hire by fax ten minutes before close of play on Christmas Eve. Now, we have to accept that a portion, but by no means all, of our clients will not be working and there is a great advantage in allowing kit to remain on site ready for use (and charge) immediately on return to work in the New Year. Some of the large hire groups have realised that it is worth encouraging such retention to maintain revenue. As with most things in our industry, the devil is in the detail and those letters need close examination of their wording to see whether we are not risking more than the loss of a couple of weeks’ hire charges. Most of us hire under either HAE or CPA terms, and the rights that are established by both case precedent and years of experience should not be put at risk by ignoring these seasonal communications, some of which are quite draconian in their intention to accept no liability for our kit over the holiday period. There is no harm in agreeing not to charge for equipment that is retained but out of use: that is a commercial decision. But ignoring a letter that says the customer will not accept any responsibility for loss or damage and the like runs the risk of having the entire contract declared void if an expensive dispute arises. We always respond by saying that we will agree to suspend hire charges for the period, but that all other terms of the contract remain in place so that, if there is a problem, we are protected. We also politely point out that, despite his nickname, Rocket Raymond is not jet propelled and if an off-hire instruction is received unreasonably late before the holiday starts, the customer cannot use that notification to absolve himself from providing safe custody until his site is open again. The terms published by both Associations mentioned above will take care of this seasonal problem if we are careful with our response to any attempt to short-change us. Any communication that effectively alters the terms of the original contract must be responded to, otherwise the hirer might seek to claim that his letter was the ‘last document received’ and varied the contract in his favour. With regard to the outright crooks who say they will not use the kit they retain, but carry on using it for some of the holiday period anyway, I would refer readers to my comments earlier this year (see EHN July) about that underused, but very effective device, the hour meter! We, and I suspect most of you, know which of our customers will try it on. I have told all my staff to make those particular miscreants aware that, as they visit sites to dispense seasonal goodies, the opportunity must be taken to record hour meter readings. Talking of goodies, I have it from a reliable source that, although there is no such thing as a free lunch, all of you are eligible for a free breakfast at the Executive Hire Show at the end of January if you turn up at the appropriate time. Now that’s a worthwhile seasonal present from the organisers, which is too good to miss! A Merry Christmas and a profitable New Year to you all. Executive Hire News › Archives › December 2006 › Crosshire › Christmas missives
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