Terms & Conditions

Conditions of Hire

  1. The Hirer undertakes to accept full responsibility for loss or damage to the Plant from whatever cause this may arise, fair wear and tear excepted, and shall also fully and completely indemnify the Owner in respect of all claims by any person whatsoever for injury to person or property caused by or in connection with or arising out of the use of the Plant and in respect of all costs and charges in connection therewith, whether arising under statue or common law. The Hirer will be responsible to the Owner for full replacement cost of items lost or stolen and for full repair costs of items damaged.
  1. The Hirer should cover by insurance, including third party liability, the indemnity given to the owner in Clause 1. The Hirer shall produce on demand to the Owner a copy of the policy or policies. The Hirer shall hold on trust for the Owner all policy proceeds in or towards satisfaction of the Hirer’s obligations under paragraph 1 above. If the Plant is involved in any accident resulting in injury to persons or damage to property immediate notice must be given to the Owner by telephone and confirmed in writing. The Hirer shall not admit any liability or compromise any claim relating to the Plant without written consent of the Owner.

  1. The Hirer shall notify the Owner immediately of any loss or damage to the plant.

  1. The minimum hire period is one week.

  1. The Owner accepts no liability nor responsibility for any consequential loss or damage due to or arising from the breakdown or stoppage of the Plant through any cause whatsoever, or through non-arrival arising from accident or breakdown during loading, unloading or transport of the Plant.
  1. The Hirer must satisfy himself that the Plant is in good working order and that the Plant is not damaged in any way before singing the delivery/indemnity note. If the Plant has been accepted at the point of delivery by the Hirer, the Plant is also deemed to be in good working order and wholly free from damage at the time of delivery. Any shortages of Plant must be notified to the Owner within 24 hours of the commencement of the hire and confirmed in writing within 72 hours. If the Hirer fails to do this hire charges will continue and the Hirer will be responsible for the cost of replacing shortage.
  1. The Hirer shall be responsible for compliance with all laws and regulations applicable to the Plant and to the work being performed.
  1. The Hirer shall take all reasonable steps to keep himself acquainted with the state and condition of the Plant. If the Plant be continued at work in use in an unsafe and unsatisfactory state the Hirer shall be solely responsible for any damage, loss or accidents whether directly or indirectly arising therefrom.
  1. The Plant shall be deemed to be on hire immediately it leaves our depot and ceases when the Plant is returned to our depot or we have written request for collection.
  1. The Hirer shall be responsible for unloading and loading of all Plant at point of delivery or collection.
  1. The Hirer shall not sub-let of lend the Plant or any part thereof to any third party without first receiving written permission of the Owner.
  1. The Hirer shall be responsible for the safe-keeping of hired Plant until the Plant is returned to/or collected by Rope & Marine Services Ltd.
  1. The Hirer shall not re-hire, sell, mortgage, charge, pledge, part with possession of or otherwise deal with the Plant except as provided by Clause 10 and shall protect the same against distress, execution or seizure and shall indemnify the owner against all losses, damage, costs, charges and expenses that may be occasioned by any failure to observe and perform this condition.
  1. If the Hirer make default in punctual payment of any sums due to the Owner for hire of Plant or other charges or shall fail to observe and perform the terms and conditions of this contract of if the Hirer shall suffer any distress or execution to be levied against him or make or propose to make any arrangement with his creditors or being a company, shall go into liquidation or shall do or shall cause to be done or permit or suffer any act or thing whereby the Owner’s rights in the Plant may be prejudiced or put in jeopardy, this agreement shall forthwith be terminated (without any notice or other act on the part of the owner and notwithstanding that the owner may have waived some previous default or matter of same or a like nature), and it shall thereupon be lawful for the Owner to retake possession of the said Plant and for that purpose enter into or upon any premises where the same may be and the termination of the hiring under this condition shall not affect the right of the Owner to recover from the Hirer any monies due to the owner under the contract or damages for breach thereof.
  1. Advice, if the Owner or any of the Owner’s employees give any advice, it is provided strictly on the basis that it is for guidance only, and without responsibility being accepted. The onus is on the Hirer to verify the accuracy and / or appropriateness of such Advice and to accept or reject accordingly. If any such Advice is given it is given on the basis that no legal liability shall attach to the Owner or any of the Owner’s employees. The Hirer shall fully and completely indemnify the Owner and the Owner’s employees against all claims by any person whatsoever for injury to person or loss or damage property howsoever caused including all costs and charges in connection therewith and arising from the giving of such Advice whether arising under statute or common law or from the negligence or breach of duty or other wrongful act of omission of the Owner or any of the Owner’s employees.
  1. Safe use of Plant, the Hirer confirms that it has the necessary knowledge and experience to operate and use the Plant. The Hirer will not misuse the Plant. The Hirer will not allow any person to use the Plant who is not properly instructed in its use and will ensure that all applicable health and safety rules and regulations are observed. Where the Plant comprises electrical equipment it must be connected to the correct power supply by a qualified electrician.
  1. Invalidation, should any of these terms and conditions be held to be invalid such invalidation will not affect the validity of the remaining terms and conditions.
  1. General conditions of business / payment terms.
    1. For approved accounts, business is conducted on a net monthly account basis. The Owner shall be entitled to charge interest at the rate of 2% per month from the due date to the date of settlement should the Hirer fail to settle any invoice. Should the Hirer fail to settle any invoice by the due date, other than for a valid reason, then all other invoices become payable immediately by the Hirer.
    2. No relief of charges during holiday periods.
    3. All deliveries and collections made by the owners, will be charged extra on a mileage or time basis.
    4. All prices quoted are subject to V.A.T. the at the appropriate rate.
  1. Definitions.
    1. The ‘Owner’ means Rope & Marine Services Ltd and includes its successors or assigns.
    2. The ‘Hirer’ is the company, firm, person, corporation or public authority taking the Owner’s plant on hire and includes their successors and personal representatives and employees.
    3. ‘Plant’ covers all classes of plant, machinery, equipment and accessories which the Owner agrees to hire to the Hirer.
    4. ‘Advice’ means any designs, drawings or specifications in relation to the Plant or any information or advice as to the planning supervision or control of the Hirer’s operations or installation of the Plant

Conditions of Sale

  1. Quotations and acceptance of order
    1. The following conditions are the only terms on which we are willing to sell goods; by ordering the goods, the subject of any contract the Buyer agrees that its own conditions (if any) shall not apply to the contract.
    2. The contract for the sale of the goods shall comprise the Buyer’s written order and our written acknowledgement of order. Any quotation by us is subject to our confirmation on receipt of order.
    3. Once the contract is made is cannot be cancelled, deferred or altered by the Buyer, except with our agreement in writing.
  2. Price
    1. We reserve the right to charge for packaging and carriage costs incurred in accordance with the terms of our quotation or acknowledgment of order.
    2. The quoted prices are based on our costs of production at the date of the contract. In the event of any increase in our production costs taking effect between the date of contract and the date of delivery, we reserve the right to alter the price to reflect such an increase.
  3. Delivery
    1. Any time or date quoted for delivery or performance is given as an estimate only and we shall not be liable for any loss or damage howsoever arising by reason of failure on our part to deliver at or on such stated time or date.
  4. Payment
    1. All goods ordered shall be paid for no later than the end of the month following the month of delivery and time of payment shall be the essence of any contract. In the case of goods sold by instalment each instalment shall be paid separately and accordingly the provisions of this clause shall apply to each instalment.
    2. If, for any reason whatsoever a payment is not made by the date it is due (“the due date”) the Buyer shall be liable to pay interest on the amount unpaid at the rate of 2% for each month of part of a month from the due date until payment is received by us.
  5. Warranties – Quality
    1. The goods are warranted to accord with the specification agreed with the Buyer in writing, or, if there is no such specification, to be within normal limits of industrial quality. All other warranties or conditions as to quality or description (statutory or otherwise) are excluded.
    2. All information and details contained in our specifications, catalogues, photographs and technical literature have been carefully prepared to avoid errors but their accuracy is not guaranteed and we shall not be liable for any inaccuracies or omissions; specifications are subject to change by us without notice.
    3. Immediate written notice of any defect in the goods must be given to us and any rectification must be carried out by us.
    4. Any recommendation or suggestion relating to the use of the goods made by us is given in good faith but it is for the buyer to satisfy itself of the suitability of the goods for its own particular purpose and it shall be deemed so to have done.
    5. Accordingly, unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, we give no warranty as to the fitness of the goods for any particular purpose even though that purpose may be specified in the buyer’s order and any implied warranty or condition (statutory or otherwise) is excluded.
    6. Our liability for breach of any warranties (or for any other claim based on any other defects in the goods) shall not exceed replacement of the goods shown to be defective or, at our option, reimbursement of the price received by us for the goods.
  6. Property and Risk
    1. Property in the goods shall pass on the happening of whichever of the following events shall last occur, namely, payment in full of the whole of the purchase price for the goods, payment in full of every other sum whatsoever which is due from the buyer to us whether under this contract or otherwise and the satisfaction of all the conditions of this contract.
    2. Until the happening of the last such event the buyer shall if the goods are in its possession keep the goods as a bailee and shall store them in such a way that they are identifiable as our property and are separate from all other goods in the Buyer’s possession.
    3. The Buyer shall be entitled to sell the goods before the happening of the last of the events mentioned in 6.1 above only on condition that it shall sell them as our Agent.
    4. At any time before the happening of the last of the events mentioned in 6.1 we may by notice in writing to the Buyer determine the Buyer’s right to sell the goods and the Buyer shall if the goods are in its possession thereupon return the goods to us and shall in any event cease to be in possession of the goods with our consent. At any time after the giving of such a notice we may enter any premises where the goods are or reasonably believed to be and may remove the goods.
    5. Notwithstanding for foregoing, the goods are at the entire risk of the Buyer from the time of delivery.
  7. Notification of Damage to or non-Delivery of the goods
    The Buyer must advise us and the Carrier in writing (otherwise than by a qualified signature on the Carrier’s delivery note) within the following time limits:
    1. Partial loss, damage or non-delivery of any separate part of a consignment – within two days of date of delivery
    2. Non-delivery of whole consignment – within fourteen days of date of invoice. No claim will be entertained unless the Buyer complies with the above provisions.
  8. Patents and Designs
    Where we manufacture and supply goods to the Buyer’s design or specification the Buyer agrees to indemnify us in respect of any loss or damage suffered by as a result of any infringement of any letters patent, design, copyright, trade mark or other title right of any third party in respect of such goods.
  9. Health & Safety
    The Buyer undertakes to take all steps necessary to ensure that the goods when properly used will be safe and without risk to health. The buyer shall indemnify us against any liability whether civil or criminal which we may be under in respect of any illness or injury caused by the goods or their use.
  10. Proper Law
    This contract shall be governed by English law and, in respect of any dispute arising out of or in connection with or in relation to it, the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

Established

Rope & Marine Services Ltd was established post WW2 by the founder Alan Edwards in 1948 with a business partner, he bought out his partner in 1957 to become sole owner. Alan Edwards served in the RAF in WW2, he trained in Canada and then served in North Africa and Europe flying Spitfires, he was shot down in October 1943 and crash landed when over Northern France, luckily the aircraft did not catch fire, he sustained severe injuries and spent some 3 months in a German run hospital and then remained a P.O.W. until the end of the war, a number of escape attempts failed, his P.O.W. camp was eventually overrun by the Russians and he made his own way back to Allied lines.


RAMS Past

Rope & Marine Services Ltd was first located at Free Trade Wharf, situated on the river Thames, the site has long since been redeveloped into luxury riverside apartments, adjacent to the eastern entrance to the Limehouse link tunnel. The company was originally formed to supply steel wire ropes and fibre ropes to the marine industry, the Thames being a hive of activity at that time with many large and small jetty operations, lighterage and dredging companies. The Port of London Authority London Docks & Tilbury Docks were major customers over the years and remained so until containerisation killed off the requirement for stevedoring and conventional cargo handling.

 

Construction & pipelaying sectors gradually replaced the reliance on the marine trades and demand from these sectors required the company to diversify and extend its range of products and services and supply associated lifting equipment and accessories, i.e. chains, shackles, slings, manual & powered hoists, repairs & testing, engineering and fabrication works were also undertaken in the field of lifting and handling equipment.

 

Relocation

The company relocated to its present site in Yorkshire road E14 in the late 1960’s, over the years further land was acquired allowing the company to expand the premises to the considerable island site it is today fronting, Yorkshire Road, Salmon Lane, Raby Street & Chaseley Street, land opposite the main works was also acquired and developed into a large secure car park compound. 

 

Rope & Marine Services have been suppliers to every major London based construction project down the years, the Thames Barrier, the Jubilee Line extension, the O2 Dome, Wembley, 2012 Olympics, Crossrail, London Gateway, to name but a few. The company nowadays has a very diverse range of customers through to train operators, utilities, construction & civil engineering, theatre & entertainment industries, aerospace, lifts & escalators industry, lighterage, waste management, abseil cleaning etc.


Progress

Reacting to demand over the years, we have built up a large fleet of equipment for the rental market, lifting & jacking equipment, associated equipment and bespoke equipment designed and manufactured in house, hire proves to be an ever increasing proportion of our business.

 

The company is still family owned, by the Edwards family, and celebrated its 70th year in 2018.