Terms and Conditions | thevintageteaservice

Terms and Conditions
of Hire

Please make sure you read through these Terms and Conditions carefully, if you have any questions, please contact me.

Thank you in advance for following the Terms and Conditions of Hire.

HIRING THE GOODS

The prices listed are for one days hire, which covers 4 days, 3 nights (e.g delivery, your event, collection).
All items remain the property of The Vintage Tea Service at all times.
A non-refundable deposit of 50% is required when placing an order. This will secure the booking. You can cancel your order at anytime. Cancellation must be made by email. The email address is: info@thevintageteaservice.com
If you cancel via email up to day 15 before your event, you will receive a refund of any additional payments made on your account. This does not include the non-refundable deposit.
If you cancel 14 days or less to the event, you will lose any additional payments made.
The remaining balance is to be paid at the latest 14 days prior to delivery. If the final payment is not received by day 14 or less and no cancellation email is received prior to day 14, it will be automatically assumed that you are no longer requiring the items that you previously had wished to hire from The Vintage Tea Service.
It is the person(s) hiring the china and accessories from The Vintage Tea Service to know when the final date for payment is. I will send one reminder email or text message regarding the final payment date.
I accept payment through bank transfer, through the Hire Shop, to include credit/debit cards. Cash is not accepted.
It is the responsibility of the client(s) to read through the price quotes and invoices and agree with the amounts and costs supplied in these financial documents
I will contact you prior to the date of delivery just to re-confirm and finalise arrangements.
The minimum order is £20 and I can cater for up to 90 guests, where a knife is required, otherwise up to 510 teacups, saucers and tea plates.
If you decide you would like additional items after booking, please let me know and we will try to accommodate where possible.
Due to the nature of vintage items, there may be signs of wear, such as to gilt, but there will be no chips or cracks to the china.
ALL hire items are STRICTLY HAND WASH ONLY. I would prefer you NOT TO WASH any of the china due to its fragile nature, I prefer to do this myself. The client must agree also, NOT to put any items in a dishwasher. It is expected that the person hiring the goods makes sure that any residual food is scraped from the china and wiped from cutlery and serving wares and that teapots are emptied.
When re-packing the china and the accessories after your event, please pack using the materials provided. With regards to teapots, please separate the lid from the actual pot.
On the most part, I will always be able to offer matching trios, but due to the vintage nature of the china, I cannot guarantee large quantities of one style or one particular colour.
I only offer a delivery and collection service. I do not allow pick-up and return by the client(s)
The Vintage Tea Service will accept no responsibility in the event of any injury or damages caused by the hire equipment.
All items hired from The Vintage Tea Service remain the responsibility of the person hiring the goods, including if left at other premises (eg hotels), until return or collection. This includes loss or breakages by a third party.
A printed inventory of hired items will be signed by the client (the person hiring the products or by a manager at a venue, hotel etc) and The Vintage Tea Service at the point of delivery and collection.
If on return it is found that there is either damage and or loss to the china and accessories, I will email you to confirm this
A damage deposit is a requirement of hire (refundable security deposit). This payment is required by separate payment, if being invoiced, this will be added to the second and final invoice. The damage deposit will be refunded when all items have been returned and checked. The deposit is £50 for up to 24 persons and £100 for orders of 24 and above. For orders of £200 or more the deposit will be 50% of the total hire charge. You (as the person hiring the goods) will be liable for any loss, breakages, cracks or chips of any crockery or goods. The security deposit can be in the form of bank transfer or paid through an invoice or through the Hire Shop. If something is missing, damaged or broken the following charges will apply -

Cups and Saucers £6 each
Tea Plates £4 each
8" Plate - £8.00 each
Sugar Bowls and Milk/Cream Jugs £3 each
Cake Plates £15 each
2 Tier Cake Stands £20 each
3 Tier Cake Stands £35 each
Coffee £50.00 each
Teapot£50 each
Champagne Flutes/Coupes £7 each
Missing cutlery : Knife £2 each Cake fork £2 each Ornate Cake Fork £4 each Teaspoon £2 each Sugar Tongs £1.00 each

If the breakages/missing items value exceeds the security deposit, the client agrees to fund the difference.

*Please do not place any items in a dishwasher or microwave* PLEASE refer to the Breakage and Damage policy. Click this link to view full details.

DELIVERY and COLLECTION

Delivery for orders within WA6 are FREE
Orders outside WA6 are charged at 0.45p per mil
I DO NOT allow clients to collect and bring back hired goods. I only offer a delivery and collection service.

PACKING UP THE CHINA AND ACCESSORIES AFTER THE EVENT

The client hiring has the full responsibility for the overall care of the china and accessories during the hire period and whilst in their care. As the name of The Vintage Tea Service suggests, the china is at least 40 years old and in many cases irreplaceable The expectation from The Vintage Tea Service is that the china and accessories are packed up in the following way ready for collection:

China:

All china MUST have a layer of bubble wrap between each item. This does not mean items can be laid side by side and a layer of bubble wrap over the top.
Each item is to be placed in the transportation boxes in an appropriate way, so as to reduce the possibility of damage or complete loss.
When the china and accessories arrive they are packed in the correct number of boxes, so as not to damage the china and not to over-load the transport boxes. Please can you make sure ALL the transport boxes are used. This will ensure safe transportation of the china and accessories and will not result in your refundable deposit being reduced because of damage and or breakage during transportation. If the china needs to be re-packed a charge of £20.00 will be applied against the refundable security deposit.
If you are unsure how to pack the china and accessories, please ask, I can either show you or I will send a handout showing how it should be completed. This point is not to be seen as patronising, please do not take it to be.
If the china is NOT packed and there is damage during transportation back to The Vintage Tea Service, the person hiring is responsible. The refundable security deposit for the items damaged or completely broken will be deducted to the value highlighted from the above list.

Accidents happen at events, this is why there is a security deposit applied to all hires. It takes away issues when the china and accessories are returned into the care of The Vintage Tea Service. IF DAMAGE is caused during the transportation of the china and accessories the REFUNDABLE SECURITY DEPOSIT WILL BE DEDUCTED to account for the damage and or loss of any china and accessories.

CUTLERY

The cutlery is stored in boxes either for: teaspoons, cake forks and knives. If possible please repack the same way. It helps with the process of ticking off the inventory on the return to The Vintage Tea Service. Sugar tongs can be put in any of the cutlery boxes

STAYING IN CONTACT·

It is important that you check your email regularly the closer to the event, I will contact regarding the delivery of the package you have booked. The initial email will be sent via my website messaging service, I use this because I am able to see if a client has viewed the message(s) that has been sent. I do keep a screen shot of the message(s) as proof that contact has been made, in the case of a dispute on contact with a client. I will attempt one phone call, if a client isn’t responding to emails (if the client has provided a number). After this, it will be assumed the event is not going ahead. If this is the case, please refer to the section on Cancellation.

All final invoices and bank transfers for the outstanding balance need to be paid at the very latest 14 days before the event takes place. If the event is cancelled or the outstanding balance is not paid, You (the customer) will lose any payments made. Please refer to point 3 above to cancel your event.

WEDDINGS

A security deposit for the china and accessories is charged based on the number of guests. Guest numbers up to 30 the security fee is £150, 31-40 £200. Any number above 41 the security deposit is £200 for guest numbers up to 60; above 61 the security deposit will be £400. Guest numbers from 80-100 - £500. You (as the hirer) are liable for any loss, breakages, cracks or chips of any crockery or goods. The deposit must be in the form of bank transfer/or through your credit/debit card together with your final payment and will be refunded by bank transfer, usually within 72hrs of return. If something is missing, damaged or broken see the charges above.

THE BRIDAL PACKAGE OFFER

To benefit from this complimentary offer, the wedding should have 50+ guests attending the main reception where The Vintage Tea Service is providing the china.

CORPORATE EVENTS

Please read the general terms and conditions above. In addition to these, some aspects are different for corporate events

Cancellation of the Event

If the event is cancelled, 50% of total hire fee for china and accessories is non-refundable.

Refundable Security Deposit

The refundable security deposit will be returned within 4 days of the china and accessories returning into the possession of The Vintage Tea Service.

The Damage Security deposit will be set according to the number of items being hired and the possible risk. This is up to the discretion of The Vintage Tea Service. This security deposit is a pre-requisite of hire. If this is not accepted, the hire will be cancelled.

Payment

All corporate events will be expected to pay the full balance of their hire to also include the delivery & collection charge, possible set-up fees and the refundable security deposit by the stated date on the Price Quote.

Charity/Not For Profit Organisations

The Vintage Tea Service is always delighted to support charitable and not for profit organisations through the offer of a discount. Below are the terms and conditions applied to bookings with a discount.

The discount applied is at the discretion of The Vintage Tea Service and is not for negotiation.
Once the number of guests has been set, there will be no opportunity for the charity/organisation to reduce numbers and therefore reduce the final balance. It is the responsibility of the charity/organisation to find people to fill the vacant places at the event.
Numbers can be increased, meaning the hiring of more china, and accessories. However, the discount will not be applied to these additional items.
The Refundable Security Deposit, Delivery and Collection fee, set-up and pack-up services are not included in the discount offered; these are additional fees.
Payment (both the non-refundable deposit (50%) and the final balance can only be made through bank transfer. In addition, the delivery and collection fee and the refundable security deposit have to be paid by bank transfer.
The Vintage Tea Service does not provide any free items for events.
The general terms and conditions of non-charity/not for profit organisations, private clients apply to charity and not for profit organisations, with the exceptions listed in this section of the Terms and Conditions

When an individual(s)/charity/not for profit organisation/business hire from The Vintage Tea Service, they are entering into an agreement with The Vintage Tea Service. It is the responsibility of the person(s) hiring the goods from The Vintage Tea Service to read the above Terms and Conditions. By the fact that the Terms and Conditions are available to read at anytime, means that people hiring from The Vintage Tea Service are responsible for acquainting themselves with the contents and automatically agreeing to them and being bound by them. The agreement between the person(s) or in the case of the charity/not for profit organisation/business - the organisation themselves of hiring from The Vintage Tea Service ends on return of the security deposit to cover loss and damage of items hired.

Terms and Conditions will be updated to reflect any changes in the hiring out of vintage china and accessories. The newest Terms and Conditions always apply regardless.

April 2025

Mother's Day T&C's

Bridal Tea Offer