Vintage Hire

Thanks for choosing Monkey Business and our partner, Elegant Vintage Hire, to meet your catering needs. We hope your event will be blessed with wonderful memories of sharing the food you love with the people you love.  

Please read these terms and conditions prior to finalising your booking of Elegant Vintage Hire items, as we would like for you to be well informed of your obligations and our service.

The ‘Hire Company’ is Monkey Business Catering
The ‘Client’ refers to any individual, firm, or corporation hiring equipment or appointing services from the ‘Hire Company’.
The ‘Equipment’ refers to all crockery, cutlery, glassware and associated serving ware supplied to the client.
The ‘Event Date’ is the day of the event supplied by the ‘Client’ to the ‘Hire Company’.
The ‘Hire Period’ is the total time the ‘Client’ will have in their possession the ‘Equipment’ for hire, as agreed with the ‘Hire Company’. 

Deposit 

Hire of equipment for a specified event date will not be secured and confirmed until: 

1. Booking form is completed and returned
2. 50% non-refundable booking fee has been paid
3. Credit card authorisation is completed and returned 

Until the booking fee has been received, the hire company reserves the right to liaise with other clients for the same event date and equipment. Please check before paying the booking fee to ensure the desired event date is still available.

By paying the booking fee and returning the signed booking form, the client understands and agrees to the Terms & Conditions of hire. 

Quotations 

All quotations expire within 14 calendar days. The hire company reserves the right to adjust prices on any piece of equipment once the original quote has expired. A quotation does not “hold” the equipment until the non-refundable booking fee has been paid. 

Final Payment 

The final balance of the invoice is due 3 days prior to the event. These funds may be transferred via direct deposit or credit card. By making full payment the client understands and agrees to the terms and conditions of the hire company.

Equipment will not be released to the client until full payment has been received. The final balance must be cleared in the hire company’s account prior to collection/delivery. The cost of hire includes any bonds, however, credit card details will be kept on file as security and will be charged (as per the credit card authorisation form) if breakages occur or payment delayed.​ 

Numbers may be reduced by 10% only once the booking fee has been paid and up until 14 days out from the agreed date of collection/delivery. Reductions greater than 10% after the booking fee has been paid will result in 50% of the price of the reduced stock being charged. 

Hire Period 

This will be a 2–night, 3–day window (e.g. delivery of equipment day prior to event, day of event, collection of equipment day after event, or as negotiated). 

Collection/ Delivery 

The hire company will deliver the hire items with any catering supplied, or as outlined in the above section (Hire Period). If the hire company is not supplying catering or staff, the equipment hire fee will incur a 25% surcharge. This is to ensure we can maximise our service to you by covering the washing up, collection and repacking of the equipment.   

Setup and Styling 

On delivery, assistance will be given to unpack the boxes if required, however, laying of tables and buffet setup of the china is not included in the costing.

If clients require table laying, an additional 10% setup fee will be charged. Tables and table clothes MUST be ready prior to the agreed–on arrival of china, if setup is required. 

Please refer to promotional pictures for a visual of table layouts.  

Packaging and Cleaning  

If the hire company is not supplying catering or staff, the 25% surcharge will cover the washing and re-packaging of the china.  

 In these cases you are required to collect items, dispose of food waste (scrape those plates!) and leave in safe area as per prior agreement, these will be collected and washed by Monkey Business Catering.

Crockery and glassware are extremely fragile and should be handled with care.

You do not need to wash up! No equipment is to go through the dishwasher!  

Liability and Breakages 

Our high tea equipment and tableware is used on a regular basis and the majority is vintage. Therefore, reasonable signs of wear and tear are to be expected. If items are broken or lost during your hire period, you are liable to cover the cost of their replacement as per the Breakages Schedule below.

Breakages Schedule 

Item	Price per item
Table Clothes (mixed sizes)	$30.00
Background drape	$200.00
Platters (large)	$70.00
Platters (medium)	$40.00
Champagne Saucer	$7.00
Dessert Bowls	$7.00
Silver servers – Cake	$10.00
Silver servers – Spoons	$20.00
Silver servers – Cake knife	$10.00
Urn – 10L	$250.00
Urn – 30L	$395.00
Sugar Bowls	$25
Tier Plates & stands – 2 levels	$90.00
Tea Cup	$15.00
Saucer	$10.00
Teaspoon	$5.00
Knife	$10.00
Fork	$10.00
Spoon	$10.00
Cake Fork	$5.00
Teapot	$80.00
Bowls	$5.00
Side Plate	$10.00
Glassware	$5.00
Jugs	$25

Each piece is carefully inspected prior to packing. However, the client will be required to inspect the equipment within 5 hours of receipt to ensure all requested items have been provided and that each piece is free of damage, and make contact with the hire company if there are any issues.

The hire company will supply additional sets of china to cover any breakages or chips discovered on unpacking at the client venue. These will not be charged to the client nor used unless required. The additional amount supplied will be 5%-10% per hire. 

Failure to contact the hire company within the 5–hour window will result in the client being liable for any damage. The hire company is unable to deal with any problem such as rectifying a shortage or replacing a damaged item unless it is highlighted within the 5–hour period.  

If an item is broken, the client is required to carefully collect the broken pieces (where possible) and return to the hire company. If collecting the pieces is not possible (i.e. a shattered glass) the client should take a photo and send to the hire company for records.

If a lost item is located after being paid for, the client may return it to the hire company (in its original state) within 10 days to obtain a refund of the amount paid. 

Cancellation  

A non-refundable 50% booking fee is required to secure all bookings. This booking fee is taken from the total amount owing. When the booking fee is taken, the hire company no longer takes bookings for the items on the requested date. In the event of cancellation, the booking fee is non-refundable and retained by the hire company. Bookings cancelled within 3 days of the event date will be charged 100% of the total booking cost. Bookings cancelled between 4 and 30 days will be charged 50% of the total booking cost. 

In the unlikely event that the hire company is not able to provide the client with the agreed equipment due to unforeseen circumstances, the client will be refunded any monies paid in full.​ 

Weather and Venue Availability 

Refunds will not be issued in the event of bad weather or issues with venue availability. It is the client’s responsibility to have a backup wet weather option and to source a replacement venue. In the event that the location changes and delivery is being made, the client must provide as much notice as possible.  

Increased travel fees may be charged if the distance from the original location is significant.  

Delivery 

We are Toowoomba-based and any event location within 10km of the Monkey Business kitchen includes complimentary delivery. Delivery further afield incurs a $2.20 per kilometer fee. Keep in mind that if Monkey Business staff are not needed at your event there will also be a collection fee.  

As the vintage hire is valuable (think hundreds of dollars!), we require someone to receive the hire at the appointed time. If no-one is there as per the arrangement, the delivery person will make 3 attempts to make contact with you via the supplied site contact mobile and email details.  

They will wait for a maximum of 30 minutes before DEPARTING WITH YOUR HIRE.   

Make sure you are there to receive your hire or you may not have it for your event!!! 

Liability 

The hire company shall in no way be held responsible or accountable for any damage, injury, death or loss of income caused to the client, any third parties or properties due to the hire of equipment or provided services by the hire company. All equipment is hired and is the responsibility of the client until returned to the hire company.   

Whew, we got through it all!  

If you have any questions regarding the hiring of equipment in relation to these terms and conditions, please let us know during your quoting or booking stage.  

You can place an enquiry for a quote or booking by giving us a call or sending us an email. See our contacts page for details!

• We ask that you treat the tableware like Grandma’s special pieces, as they are very special to us. The tableware is fragile, which is why we prefer to wash it ourselves, but we ask that you take great care in unpacking and packing the items.  
• Please don’t place any items in the dishwasher.  
• Please scrape all food ready for us to collect. 

The tableware will arrive in special packaging. One of our people can help you unpack it if needed.

Keep in mind that laying tables takes time. We are able to help but it is, naturally, an additional service and has a fee attached to it. You need to leave at least 5 hours prior to your event for table laying.

No, please don’t wash anything, and specifically please do NOT place any items in the dishwasher. We ask that you scrape all food and dry off any liquids ready for us to repack.

Don’t worry. We know that breakages can happen on occasion. If it is within 2% of the total items you hired, we consider this to be the natural attrition rate. Anything more than that is considered carelessness and you will be charged for the broken items. See our breakage schedule for replacement values.

We’ve got you covered. If you report any breakages upon unpacking within 5 hours of delivery, we will get you a replacement item.

The items are vintage, not store bought, so there will be some items that happen to match, but we do not match teacups with saucers. Our themes are based on what items work well together.

Our themes are designed to be within a certain range, but if you prefer a mix of everything then the Floral Riot might be your best option.

See our ‘Additional Hire Items’ for pricing as they are add–ons to our packages! 

Please arrange a wet weather option prior to your event. We cannot accept cancellations based on the weather.

Yes, you can hire the tableware only. However, there will be a 25% surcharge to assist with covering the delivery, pick up and washing of the hire items. 

If you let us know well in advance (more than 3 days) we can accommodate your change in numbers, as long as it is within 10% of your original order. Any changes more than 10% require at least 7 days‘ notice.

We generally do not set up the tables for you, however, providing the table cloths are set up on the tables, we will help you unpack the tableware. We do offer a table setting service which is a 10% surcharge on your order.