Hire
A standard hire of our Prop Box is for 4 (four) days. Please discuss any
extra time required when booking. A small surcharge may be charged.
Booking Procedure and Payment
Before booking, you are more than welcome to come into our shop to
view and choose the items for your prop box. If not, we can select items
for your box ourselves. Once the final items are chosen, we will determine the hire cost and damage deposit amount.
A non-refundable deposit of 50% of the final total is due when booking to secure your items. Full payment is required 1 (one) month before your event as well as a damage deposit. If booking closer than 1 (one) month, full payment and damage deposit is required at the time of booking. If payment has not been received 7 (seven) days before collection date we will assume the hire is no longer required and cancel the booking.
We reserve the right to substitute an item within the box due to breakages, delayed returns, losses, etc, as a result of previous clients orders. Any necessary substitutions will be communicated to you as soon as possible.
Damage Deposit
We require a damage deposit of £150 on all orders. This amount may
increase depending on what exactly is taken and the value of those items. The deposit will be refunded to you once the items have been returned safely and checked for damages. The damage deposit can be paid via cash or card.
If any items are damaged or lost upon return then a replacement fee will
be charged. The amount of the replacement fee for each item will be listed for you to check before collection of your prop box. Any pre-existing damage will be noted. If a lost item is found not damaged within 1 (one) week of the hire return date, the replacement fee will be refunded.
The damage deposit does not represent the true value of the items. If the damage deposit amount does not cover the full replacement/repair of items then an invoice for the outstanding amount will be given. The hirer will have 14 days in which to pay this invoice.
Checking/Signing
Upon collection of the prop box it is the customer’s responsibility to
check all items are present before signing for collection. Please bring to
our attention any problems at this time. Once signed for the Prop Box and all its contents it becomes the responsibility of the hirer until returned safely to Cotswold Costumes. Any discrepancies in your order must be notified within 24 hours of collection.
We strongly recommend taking out event insurance, so you are covered if anything should happen to your hired items.
Returns
The prop box must be returned to us on/by the agreed date. Failure to do this will incur a late fee of £50 per day.
Your prop box will be packaged carefully by us for your event so please
ensure the items are packed with care and attention when returned to us. No cleaning of the items required before return. We will clean and sanitise all the items after every use.
There will be no refunds for un-used items.
Prop Box Care
Many of the items within your Prop Box are vintage pieces that will show signs of age and usage. The Prop Box can be used inside or outside, but is not to be used in adverse weather conditions such a heavy rain. We accept some fair ‘wear and tear’ of our items, but if the items are damaged due to the weather or a lack of care and attention then the replacement fee will be charged.
Changing Your Order
You can change the items within the box up to 14 (fourteen) days before collection date. Significant changes to your order may alter the quote you were originally given. Once your invoice has been fully paid we cannot refund for any unwanted items.
If the date of your event is changed, we will allow one change of collection date within 6 (six) months of original date, subject to availability.
Cancellation
All cancellations must be given in writing.
You can cancel your order anytime up to 2 (two) months before the agreed collection date (your non-refundable deposit will not be returned).
If cancellation takes place inside the 1 (one) month of agreed collection
date and full payment has been made then no money will be refunded.
Covid-19
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic we have altered some of our practices to allow us to handle everything safely.
For cleaning and washing we are following all Covid guidelines as they are made available to us. Upon return you do not need to handle cleaning yourself. All costumes/accessories/props are quarantined for 72 hours after returning to our store. They are then washed as per our normal washing processes. All that can be, are machine washed. Those that cannot, are either sent to dry cleaners, steamed, or are disinfected.
All items used in the costume box will have been cleaned thoroughly and not handled by anyone else but the staff member packing the box. We will endeavour to pack the costume box as early as possible leaving the items untouched.
We understand that due to Covid many events may be postponed at the last minute. With this in mind we have become more flexible with postponements/changes. We will allow you to postpone collection as many times as necessary, subject to availability. We ask you to notify us of postponement as soon as possible. If payment has already been made, then we will simply move the dates the costume box is required for. If payment has not been paid, we are happy for the payment to be made a week before the new collection/delivery date.
If cancellation is required due to government guidelines/lockdown then a full refund will be given. If cancellation is due to other personal reasons then we will revert to our original cancellation policy (see above).