Terms and Conditions

You must sign our Membership Agreement your Membership is valid and you can then borrow items.  Please see a copy of this agreement below. 

You will also need to agree to our Liability Waiver each time you borrow an item. 

Members’ agreement

The library of things is here for you and your DIY and other practical needs.  Only Members can borrow things from SLOTH.  By sharing things, we offer an affordable and sustainable way for everyone to be able to use a wide range of items. The terms below are to make sure that the library is fair for all our members.  If we find you are not respecting this Members' Agreement, we may decide to end your membership. 

Definitions:

• Library (or ‘SLOTH’, ‘us’, ‘we’, ‘our’) – the organisation lending out things 
• Member – any person with a SLOTH account, whether they have borrowed or not
• Thing (or ‘item’) – any piece of equipment stocked by SLOTH
• Borrowing – the act of picking up a thing from SLOTH and returning it as agreed.

Joining the library

To become a member of SLOTH you must:

1. Be aged 18 or over 
2. Give your personal details for use in our membership records so we can contact you:
• full name & current address
• contact details (phone number and email address if you have one)
3. Have your identity and residence confirmed by us
4. Pay for an annual membership fee.
5. Agree to this Members Agreement.

When you collect your first thing(s), please bring a valid photo ID (e.g. driving licence or passport) and a proof of address from the last three months (e.g. bills, bank statements, council letters). 

If you have a problem with any of these please let us know and we can discuss other options.

Reserving things

1. Things must be reserved and renewed through your account, online by you or with help from the SLOTH team.  Reservations  become effective only after we confirm them.
2. If you no longer need to borrow a thing or cannot complete your reservation, you agree to cancel it to make it available to other members.
3. Any payments owed for previous borrowings must be paid before borrowing further things.

Borrowing things

1. Things can be collected during normal opening hours, which are shown on our website. 
2. Things are usually borrowed for one week and must be returned on or before the return date.  
3. You may renew a thing before its due date unless it has been reserved by someone else. 
4. You must agree to our liability waiver:  We may be able to assist in explaining the operation of things you want to borrow.  However, by borrowing a thing you agree that you know how to use it properly. You are responsible for using the thing for its intended purpose, familiarising yourself with its use, taking appropriate precautions and wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) where necessary.
5. Only you, the Member, are authorised to use our things.  You will need to present a valid ID every time you collect things or the loan may be refused.  No other person is allowed to use things checked out to you unless we give our express permission.  If anyone else uses them, they are not insured by us for any damage to their or other peoples’ persons or property so they may be personally liable.
6. If a thing breaks, becomes unsafe or is malfunctioning, you agree to stop using it. We want our things to be used lots, but they will eventually break down.  We won’t hold you responsible (unless there has been clear misuse or lack of care), but please notify us of the issue as soon as you can and on return at the latest.
7. If a thing you borrow turns out to be faulty and unusable we will refund the borrowing fee.
8. You agree to keep things safe and to store them securely.  If a thing is lost or stolen, you may be charged the full cost of a replacement.
9. You agree not to use things for professional work where you are charging a fee to others.  You will not be insured for this activity, and your membership may be ended.
10. Some things need consumable parts (sanders have pads, jigsaws have blades, etc). They are not guaranteed to come with the item.  Things listed on our website pages may list other items YOU MAY NEED alongside the thing.  We aim to provide items to get you started but you may have to buy extra blades, sandpaper, PPE etc.  We can often provide these at cost.

Returning things

1. Things must be returned by close of business on the return date.  They may only be returned during our opening hours.  If you have a problem returning the thing, please contact us immediately.  Other people are relying on you to return the things so please be considerate. 
2. If borrowed things are not returned on time, you may incur a late fee.  If you have problems returning things on time, please talk to us.  Current late fees are shown on our website and are capped at the replacement cost of the thing.  If you do not return the thing, it may eventually be considered a ‘non return’ and you may be charged the full replacement cost.
3. Late fees must be paid in full before borrowing further things.
4. All borrowed things are to be returned in the same (or better) condition as they were issued, barring normal wear and tear.  All borrowed things must be returned clean of dust, soil, plaster, etc. or we may charge a cleaning fee.  You agree to accept our assessment of the condition of returned things and any fair charge for damage and/or loss of things. 
5. Fees must be paid in full before borrowing additional things.  Fees will be no more than the cost price of the thing if bought new.  We will use appropriate steps to retrieve unpaid fees and costs, including legal action, and will charge you with the cost of any such action. However, we may forgive fees due to special circumstances.