Problems of the HAULIER and CARRIER.
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A Well informed Discussion on the Essential Points of a Contract for Hire.
OCCASIONALLY I receive an inquiry concerning the mental terms of a contract for the hire of a motor vehicle. These contracts usu'ally refer to fairly long-date hiring, where payment Is made per day, week or month, with a maximum mileage in each ease, any excess being charged for at so much per mile.
Legal Aid Advisable.
As a general rule the aid of a solicitor experienced in this class of work is advisable when drawing up a simple form of contract, and in doing so the points given below are those which should be borne in mind, tLese lellne taken from an agreement which has been found to be satisfactory in use.
In the usual preamble the names of the parties and the date are given, the haulier being referred to as the contractor and the other party the hirer. The first thing to agree upon is the extent of the provision to be made by the contractor. In the majority of cases this will be met by saying that he shall provide the driver and all things necessary for the efficient running of the vehicle. In some cases, of course, this is varied, because sometimes a customer—the hirer, I should call him—agrees to purchase petrol, and in others he arranges to have his own driver to take care of the vehicle. Such contracts as that, however, are more usually referred to under the title of maintenance contracts.
Terms of Agreement.
I cannot do better than repoduce this clause in full, from the model agreement which lies before me. It reads:— " The hirer shall pay to the contractor a minimum sum Cl
for a maximum mileage miles per four weeks of 48 hours per week. excess mileage to be charged at the rate of per mile. The number of hours worked by the driver shall be deemed to have commenced from the time of booking on, and to finish et the time of booking off at the contractor's garage. Any overtime, road or other out-of-pocket expenses incurred for the hirer's convenience, shall be paid 1.): the hirer.
"The motorvan shall be garaged at the hirer's/ contractor's' premises, and the mileage shall be deemed to have commenced and finished at the hirer's/cntractor's premises.
" The motorvan shall be at the hirer's service daily excepting Sundays and statutory holidays.
"Contractor's accounts shall be rendered monthly . and be payable on or before the 14th day of each month immediately following that in which the hiring was performed."
Where the words hirer's/contractor's appear in the form of agreement the reader should understand that one or other of the two words is to be cancelled according to the definite conditions associated with the specific contract. of Any
When Modification is Necessary.
The next clause is almost as important, for it makes reference to the possibility that the contractor may have the need for altering the terms of the agreement, ;mil it provides that such alteration shall be possible wi bout infringing the terms of the contract. It points out that the foregoing charges were based upon the of fuel, oil and the wages paid to the drivers at the time the contract was made out, and it states that adjustment in the price to be paid by the hirer shall be made whenever these items increase or decrease. It is, moreover, agreed that in the event of additional taxation being imposed on the contractor in respect of carrying out of the agreement, such addition shall be payable by the hirer.
Provision is made for recording the mileage actually covered by the van while in service. As a rule the device utilized in the checking takes the shape of an odometer or mileometer, but, as these instruments occasionally become out of action, provision should be made in the agreement for the procedure in the event of inefficiency in the working of the recorder taking place. In this particular form of contract it is agreed that, in the event of the instrument becoming inoperative, the mileage should be estimated on the basis of that covered in the corresponding days in the four preceding weeks unless, in the contractor's opinion, there be any reason for debiting the hirer with more, Or less.
4 Provision for Maintenance. \
The need for occasional attention to the mechanism of the chassis is recognized in a clause which gives the contractor the right to withhold a vehicle from service, regularly on one working day in every 24, to enable him to examine the vehicle and, if necessary, to make adjustments, or fit any new parts which he may consider desirable.
In the event of the necessity of retaining the vehicle for a longer period than that specified, the contractor agrees to supply the hirer with another vehicle of similar capacity to take the place of the one hired. I should like to take this opportunity for drawing particular attention to this clause of the agreement. It bears out a caution which I have frequently conveyed through these columns, to the effect that contractors, in drawing up the estimate of establishment charges, should bear in mind the fact that they may be called upon, at some time or other, to supply a spare vehicle to replace that which they let on hire.
The contractor, in this particular agreement, takes care to cover himself against misuse of the vehicle on the part of the hirer by inserting here a claim that, in cases where a breakdown results from overloading, the hirer shall bear the cost of the replacement as well as that of the repairs. This discussion will be completed in a subsequent article. S.T.R.