TERMS & CONDITIONS

Definition of Terms

  1. The Agent – Dickins
  2. Guest / Hirer / User – Person or Persons entering into a contract to let a property and their guests

Booking, Deposit and Cancellation

  1. Bookings will be confirmed by Dickins upon receipt of the 50% down payment of the rental, booking, cleaning fees and refundable damage deposit. The 50% balance is due 8 weeks in advance of the commencement of your booking. However, if the booking is made within 8 weeks of the start of the booking, the full rental, booking and cleaning fees and damage deposit is due. Bookings of 4 weeks or longer must be paid by electronic transfer. For extended stays of longer than 4 weeks, all subsequent bookings after the first 28 nights, need to be paid 2 weeks in advance. The cleaning fee will be applied to your final booking.
  2. Dickins reserves the right to cancel a booking where full payment is not received within four weeks of commencement of hire.
  3. Once a booking has been accepted by Dickins, it can only be changed to another property by treating the original booking as a cancellation. If you needed to completely change the dates of a booking, it may be possible, providing the originally booked property is available for the new dates, the value of the new booking is not less than the original booking and the owner is agreeable to the change. An admin charge of £40 + VAT will be payable. It is not possible to reduce the length of bookings by a few days due to changes in your plans/travel once the booking has been confirmed. If you need to extend and the home is available, that is possible.
  4. 24 hour cooling off period: Providing you book more than fourteen days before the start of your stay, you can cancel your booking within 24 hours of making it and we will refund 100% of any charges.
    Cancelling after the booking is confirmed: Once a confirmation of booking has been issued to you via email by Dickins, and you have made the down payment or full payment as detailed in point 1, you are responsible for the total price detailed. If you need to cancel, Dickins will try to relet the period for you. There is a £75 + VAT charge for this. If they are successful, you will be reimbursed with the value of the relet. If Dickins is not able to relet the period, you will be responsible for the cost in full. It’s a good idea to make sure you have travel insurance. If you need to cancel and Dickins organises more than one booking of shorter durations than your original booking, then you will also be responsible for the housekeeping changeover costs, admin fees and welcome packs. Any money repaid to you will be limited to the value of your original booking. The minimum period we will try to relet is one week. Bookings need to be paid in full before we try to relet them.
  5. Best endeavours are made to return damage deposits, less any deductions within two weeks of the end of the hire period.

The Guest/Hirers’ Obligations

  1. Any accommodation booked with Dickins is holiday or temporary accommodation for the Hirer and is NOT their main residence.
  2. All Dickins properties are strictly No Smoking, a penalty of £200 will be charged for smoking in a Dickins property.
  3. The use of the accommodation is entirely at the hirers risk and no responsibility can be accepted for injury, or loss or damage to hirers belongings. Baggage and personal belongings are at the hirers risk at all times.
  4. Where the property has been booked by a company or agent on behalf of a third party then the third party shall be disclosed to Dickins. Furthermore the hirer takes full responsibility for the actions of that third party and his/her guests. The hirer must ensure that the third party is aware of the terms and conditions of hire.
  5. Under no circumstances may more people than the maximum capacity as detailed on the property description on Dickins website, occupy a property. Owners reserve the right to refuse admittance if this condition is not observed. In addition, Dickins reserve the right to refuse or revoke (before or during the let) any bookings from parties that may be in their opinion (and at their sole discretion) be unsuitable for the property concerned.
  6. The hirer is responsible for the home and is expected to take reasonable care of it and to respect it and not to behave in a way that might damage or cause harm to either the home you are staying in or neighbouring properties. During your stay please do not leave food lying around which might attract vermin. Where a booking lasts  for 8 weeks or longer an inspection will take place after around 4 weeks. If that inspection is failed because Dickins have concerns about cleanliness and/or the way the home is being treated than a second inspection will be organized and if that is also failed then housekeepers will be organised at the hirer’s expense. Dickins will also decide at that point if future bookings need to be cancelled. Dickins decision on the matter will be final and the hirer will have no recourse against Dickins for cancelling future bookings. Any rental paid for future bookings which are cancelled will be reimbursed. If an instance of willful neglect of a home is discovered, Dickins reserves the right to terminate a booking immediately and the hirer will have no recourse against Dickins for making that decision. All equipment, utensils etc must be cleaned and put away and the property must be left clean and tidy at the end of the hire period. All locks including Chubb’s should be locked when the property is unattended and when vacated. Windows should also be closed and locked when the property is unoccupied and when you vacate. If communal bins are available near the property, please ensure that all rubbish has been removed when you vacate. If rubbish is collected by the council, then please ensure that as much rubbish as possible (including your food) has been removed on the last collection day before you vacate. Recycling must not be left in the property when you vacate.
  7. If a property is not left by hirers in the condition in which they found it, then Dickins will arrange for trades to clean/repair/replace any damage which has arisen. Costs for excess cleaning will be the entire liability of the hirer and in addition to the cleaning fee paid at booking. The costs will be charged to the hirers deposit together with an administrative fee of £15 + VAT for each trades person Dickins need to organise. If Dickins are required to visit the property during office hours and it is confirmed that the hirer has caused damaged then a fee of £40 + VAT will be charged. If an emergency visit needs to be made out of office hours then a £75 + VAT will be made to the hirers deposit.  Furthermore, £40 + VAT will be charged for each shop we need to visit to replace any damaged or broken items.
  8. All damages and breakages are the legal responsibility of the hirer and their cost shall be refundable on demand.
  9. All sets of keys should be returned to Dickins, by 11am on the leaving day. If sets of keys are missing or not returned on time, the owner reserves the right to have the locks changed and debit the cost from the hirers’ deposit. Reasonable charges will be made for lost keys. A £40 + VAT administration charge will be made if keys are left in your property and need to be retrieved.
  10. Hirers may move into a property at 4pm on the first day of hire and must vacate by 11am on the final day of hire, unless a prior arrangement has been made with Dickins. Where no prior arrangement has been made and hirers either arrive early, or stay late then Dickins reserve the right to charge extra rental.
  11. Hirers must inform Dickins of any breakages or damage caused to the property during their stay.
  12. It will be indicated on the website whether or not a home is dog friendly. This must be strictly adhered to. If dogs are allowed, you must mention that you want to bring a dog when you book. The cost for bringing a dog is £30/week and and you will be charged a larger refundable damage deposit and need to pay for any excess cleaning cleaning which is required at the end of your stay. You must keep your dog under strict control and it must not be left unattended in a home. Dogs are not permitted in the bedrooms or on any furniture. If the property has a shared or private garden, you must ensure that all dog mess is removed immediately. There is a fine of £200 for bringing an unauthorised dog to stay in a Dickins home and the dog will need to be removed immediately. Cats are not permitted in Dickins homes. If you bring an unauthorised cat into a Dickins home there will be a £200 fine and the cat will need to be removed immediately. You will be responsible for the costs of repairing any damage that your pet causes to the home you are staying in. The costs will be recoverable on demand.
  13. Hirers must respect neighbours and not cause undue noise.
  14. Hirers will permit the owner or Dickins (with or without workmen or others) at reasonable times and on reasonable notice to enter and inspect, and if necessary to repair the property or to enter the property without notice in an emergency to repair the property or adjoining premises.
  15. If hirers report a fault and Dickins call out trades-people who discover that no fault exists then the hirer will be charged for the tradesmen’s invoice. If an arrangement has been made with hirers for access to a property and then access cannot be gained, then hirers will be responsible for any tradesmen’s invoices for failure to gain access.
  16. 7 hours of central heating per day from usually 7am-9am and 5pm-9pm (in colder months) is included in the hire cost. If you use gas or electricity excessively during your stay, the owner reserves the right to recover the cost of the excessive use from you.

Force Majeure

•     The owner and the agent do not accept liability or pay compensation for any loss, damage or expense where our obligations are prevented or affected by reason of Force Majeure.

Force Majeure means any event which we or the owner providing the service could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid such as war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, epidemic, pandemic, industrial action, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, flood, adverse weather conditions, closure of airports or ports, technical problems with transport, governmental action and all other similar events.

Non-availability of Property

•     If for any reason beyond the Owner’s control, the property is unavailable on the day when the hire period is due to begin (e.g. due to flooding, fire damage etc.) or the property becomes unsuitable for holiday letting during a booking as decided by Dickins, hirers will receive a refund of rent and charges already paid, less rent due for the period when the property was occupied.  The Agent will make every effort to find a suitable alternative property but the hirers shall have no further claim against the Owners or Agent if they cannot do so.  Please also refer to Force Majeure

Liability

•     The Agent accepts no liability for any act, neglect or default on the part of the Owners or any other person not employed by them or under their control, nor for any accident, damage, loss, injury, expense or inconvenience to either person or property which the hirers, or any other person, may suffer or incur arising from, or in any way connected with, the hire period.  The Owners accept no liability for loss or damage to the hirers’ possessions on the Owners’ land or property.  Please also refer to Force Majeure

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

•     The validity, construction and performance of this Agreement shall be governed by Scots’ Law.  The hirer and the owner submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Scottish courts.

Breach of Contract

•     If the hirer breaches any of the above terms and conditions the Owners or Agent reserve the right to re-enter the property and terminate the hire period, without prejudice to the other rights and remedies of the owners.

Complaints

    1. In the first instance the following steps should be taken:•     Contact Dickins•     The complaint will be documented and investigated•     Appropriate actions will be taken to try and ensure a satisfactory resolution for all inclusive parties.
    2. In no circumstances can compensation be made for complaints raised after the hire period has ended if the hirer failed to advise the Agent during his/her occupancy.
    3. Complaints which are not reported immediately will not be entertained subsequently, and no correspondence will be entered into in respect of complaints made on departure or after your return home. In the event of a dispute arising between the property owner and hirer that cannot be resolved by agreement, both parties shall agree to appoint an Arbiter who shall be mutually chosen. In the event of the parties failing to agree upon a single Arbiter, an Arbiter shall be appointed by the Sheriff of Lothian and Borders at Edinburgh on the application of either party. The decision of the said Arbiter shall be final and binding on the Parties hereto.