Booking Terms & Conditions
Please note that in contacting us you voluntarily provide us with your personal information and consent to us using it in accordance with our Privacy Notice.
The very short version is that we generally only have information that you provide yourself and in the pictures that we take, but we may monitor the use of our website. We will use that information: so that we can provide you with our service; to comply with legal requirements; to improve our service and to build our business. We will share your images on Facebook for your guests to like, tag, share, and download and we may use some for marketing purposes. If we have donated your booking in whole or in part via any form of charitable activity, then we will require you to authorise us to use the event for promoting our business. Please let us know if you do not want us to do those things. We may need to liaise with your venue but we won’t otherwise share your information with anyone else unless you give your permission. We will only send you marketing information if you have enquired about or used our services, or with your permission which you can withdraw at any time – just send us an email.
Where we refer to “you” or “your”, we refer to the person(s) making the booking, the person(s) providing us with information, or the person(s) making payments, whichever is the most relevant if they are not the same person. In the event of any confusion, we mean all of those people both individually and collectively. “We” or “us” or “our” refers to the business known as 5MinutePhotoBooth; or where relevant, our staff.
Bookings are not considered confirmed until 14 days after your booking fee payment and you must return your Booking Information Sheet in that time. The booking fee covers us holding your booking open for up to 14 days for you to return the information sheet, the time taken in initial consultations, general admin, some initial fixed costs, any research we need to do about the venue, liaising with the venue and sending any certificates they require. The booking fee is only refundable if you cancel within 14 days. If we do not receive your information in 14 days, your booking will be cancelled, but we will not return your booking fee under these circumstances as you will already have received some of our services. With 3rd party purchases (e.g. Groupon, Planet Radio), the 14 days starts from the date of your purchase – if we do not receive your confirmation and Booking Information Sheet in that time your booking will become void and you will not be able to recover your purchase price – we cannot refund it as you bought from a 3rd party and your agreement is with them which is subject to their T&Cs as well as ours.
If we have agreed any special terms, offers or extras with you, please make sure that these are included in the welcome email sent after your booking fee is paid as otherwise they will not be included in your booking. Please note that if you change any detail of your booking such as date, venue or type of booth then any special terms, offer or extras may not apply to your revised booking and additional charges and/or a re-booking fee may apply. We will email you an information sheet for you to complete and return and it is your responsibility to ensure that we are given the correct date, venue address, postcode and contact details etc. – we cannot be held responsible for delays, mistakes or omissions due to incomplete or incorrect information.
On the Booking Information sheet we ask for your permission to use images taken at your event for Social Media and Marketing Purposes and you may of course decline either or both. We upload all suitable images to our Facebook page for your guests to tag, share, like and download and we may use some images to advertise & promote our business. In the event that you or any of your guests wish any specific images removed, please let us know and we will do so at the earliest opportunity.
The balance of the total price (including any extras or mileage charge) is due one calendar month before the event. We never take payment on the night or after the event. Not paying on time is considered a cancellation and will be subject to cancellation charges. We want our prices to be as competitive as possible so we ask for the balance, which is due not less than 1 month before the date of the event, to be paid by bank transfer. If you wish to pay the final balance by any method other than a direct bank transfer, then there will be a £10 admin fee regardless of how you wish to pay. Payments by cheque are due a week earlier to allow time for clearing. We may remind you when the time comes, but it remains your responsibility to make sure you pay on time and to let us have your template requirements not less than one month before the event.
It is your responsibility to make sure that the venue has all the necessary licences, certificates and insurances, and that you have permission for us to operate. Any fee that the venue may try to charge us to operate will be passed onto you to pay direct to the venue as we will not pay it. You also need to ensure appropriate security and crowd control.
All our Booths are intended for indoor use only and the Inflate-a-Booths must have clean/carpeted floors. Marquees may have uneven / unstable floors which may be dangerous to set up on, or restricted headroom where the Inflate-a-Booths will not fit safely. The Magic Mirror is very heavy & bulky and needs clear and easy access into the venue. Some of the electronic equipment is particularly sensitive to vibration, cold, heat, dust & humidity all of which may cause damage. If in our view there is a risk of damage due to environmental factors, we reserve to right to shut down or cancel on arrival without a refund (except for the anticipated cost of consumables) as we cannot be asked to do something that may cause damage to our equipment. It is not possible for us to check locations before we get there and the responsibility for checking the venue, access, and the spot where you want us to work lies with you.
We need to be able to get to the working area of the venue no less than 1½ hours before the agreed start time, and no less than 1 hour after we finish (2½ hours & 2 hours for a Classic Booth). We need enough space to set up and work, but it also has to be clean, clear & safe and with easy and safe reach of a suitable power supply – we will not put extension leads around a room or across the floor. We must not obstruct Fire Exits and have to be within easy reach of an access point / loading area as some of our equipment is bulky and/or heavy. You need to tell us before booking if there are any possible obstructions, restrictions or other problems such as, but not limited to: stairs/steps, steep ramps, narrow walkways/doorways, long distances, gravel drives, uneven floors, grass paths, or parking / loading restrictions and an additional fee may apply in these cases if we accept the booking. We allow a set time to unload and set up but if it takes longer, especially if there are access restrictions or we have to clean in the working area or re-arrange (furniture in) the room, then this may result in a reduced running time and we will not return items when we finish.
As we have a duty of care to our staff there may be circumstances where we might need to cancel your booking without a refund when we arrive as we must not put them at risk. The size and weight of some of the items means that we need to use a lift of sufficient size if we are to operate on any level other than the one we unload at. If it is not possible to use a lift, we may substitute an open setting if available. If there are problems getting into or using the working area, or there is potential for injury, it may be necessary to cancel at that point and no refund would be due. We should not be asked to operate near loud music or disco speakers as we are unable to be heard providing guidance to your guests and may suffer hearing damage. If you do not tell us about any health or safety issues before booking then we may cancel at any time (including at the event) without giving a refund.
Please remember that if you have any other entertainment booked, their needs for space and access have to be considered too. We would not want to compromise your event by being crowded together or having restricted space in which to set up or work safely.
Cancellations, changes and charges. Cancellations and date changes always represent a lost booking to us even if we can accommodate your new date as we are very unlikely to take a new booking for your original date as it draws near, and we may well have already turned away other bookings for your original date. We are always doing extra work in the background long before your event and what you see on the night is only the end result of our preparation (training, maintenance, replacements, admin, overheads, custom items, software licenses, templates, booking & paying staff etc) so we are adding to our costs as time goes by and long before your event. If we can accommodate a change of date then we will consider it a cancellation and re-booking so we will ask you for a £50 re-booking fee if your event is less than three months away, or £25 if your event is more than three months away. If we are fully booked for your new date then we consider it a cancellation.
If you are thinking of changing your event date, then we can tell you if we have it available when you ask but we cannot hold dates as someone else may come along and make a definite booking for that date.
If you wish to cancel, then you must do so by email or post which must be acknowledged to be considered valid as we cannot provide records of ‘phone calls. The booking fee is non refundable after 14 days. If you cancel more than 3 calendar months before the event then there is no cancellation charge, but you lose your booking fee. If you cancel more than 2 (but less than 3) months before the event, then you will pay 25% of the total fee. If you cancel more than 1 (but less than 2) months before the event, then you will pay 50% of the total fee. If you cancel less than one month before the booked event, then you pay the full fee (less the expected costs of consumables on the night). These cancellation fees are to pay for the work we have done and expenses we’ve already had. If you have booked via a 3rd party, then your entire fee is lost as you have purchased through someone else. Please note that if you have changed date, venue, or type of Booth, then any discount or special deal we have offered may not apply to the new arrangements and an additional charge may be made.
Covid-19 update 19/07/2021 – As from today Weddings and events may go ahead without restrictions, therefore any changes, postponements or cancellations for bookings after today will be on our normal terms as above.
Covid-19: If you are changing the date because your event falls while the Government has completely prohibited events during the Covid-19 pandemic, then we will not charge a re-scheduling fee for the first two changes, but a mileage fee may be charged if your new venue is out of our free delivery area. We need to know as soon as you have changed the date and never less than one month before the due date or we will consider it a cancellation. If we can’t make it on your new date, then you may transfer the booking to another person for an event within 18 months of the original first date without any extra charge. If you need to make more than two changes, then we will ask for a re-scheduling fee from the third change onwards. This exception does not apply outside of the specific period set by the government completely prohibiting events or for any other reason.
If you are postponing an event because there may be Covid-19 restrictions on your intended event date but it is some time away, then our normal re-booking fee will apply which is £50 if it is less than three months away, or £25 if it is more than three months away which will be added to your final bill. If it turns out that we could not have provided you with any service on your date because events are completely prohibited, then we will not charge you a re-booking fee for the first two date changes.
If you are thinking of changing your event date, then we can tell you if we have it available when you ask but we cannot hold dates as someone else may come along and make a definite booking for that date. During the Covid-19 pandemic all of our customers are changing dates and sometimes several times, so dates have to be given to the first person to say that they definitely want a particular date. It is not fair to say ‘no’ to someone because another person says they ‘might’ want a particular date, but then changes their mind.
If you are cancelling your booking because it is prohibited on the event date, then you may be entitled to some refund of your otherwise non-refundable Booking Fee. We are allowed to make reasonable charges from any fees paid before considering any refund and we cannot refund any money you paid to someone else (e.g. a voucher payment). We can only consider a refund if your event is prohibited and we cannot provide you with any service at all and not just because of reduced numbers as we can still do our job. If you ask us to consider a refund then we will calculate our costs as follows: Time spent from the first time you contact us (e.g on phone calls, travelling, face to face meetings, admin, preparation, research, email drafting etc.) at £20 per hour in 5 minute increments with a 10 minute minimum per session; emails, Facebook and text messages at a minimum of £2 for each message received or sent, or at the rate for the time taken to prepare long or complicated messages; other costs (such as fuel, parking or special items) at cost and/or for the time taken to make, research or buy the item.
We can’t provide any type of enclosed booth when ‘Social Distancing’ is advised. We can’t supply any physical props while there is still a recommendation for frequent hand washing as we can’t sanitise them between guests, but you may of course supply your own. It may not be possible to have guests write in the guest book on the night so we will prepare it for you at the end of the evening and you can have the guests write in it later.
If at any time anyone attending your event fails to follow the current guidelines regarding Covid-19 such as social distancing, overall numbers, wearing of masks etc., then we will immediately stop and pack away as carrying on could cause a danger to ourselves or you and your guests. We will not refund any part of your fee in these circumstances.
We reserve the right to make additional charges where dates, venue or booth have been changed for whatever reason and any of the costs of providing our service increases significantly. Such costs might be related to fuel, consumables, Government restrictions or staffing needs but there may also be other reasons.
If we cancel at any time then the most you can get back is the amount that you have paid. If we have to cancel on the night because of (potentially) dangerous working or setting up conditions, then no refund is due as we cannot be asked to put our equipment or staff in danger. Please note that our availability may change between our first conversations and the time we confirm your booking. There may be other unforeseen circumstances where we would need to cancel your booking but we will give you as much notice as possible. If we are unable to provide our service because of road closure, motoring accidents, government restrictions including but not limited to quarantine, or other similar issues then we will offer you a new date subject to availability.
If we are late starting because we have been delayed by breakdown or technical issues, then we can extend our operating time to make up for it, or at our discretion refund you on a pro-rata basis. If we are late starting because of difficulties getting to or into the venue, your event starts late, the previous event over runs, the power supply is not suitable, insufficient room or similar reasons, then no refund or extension of time will be due even if we are unable to operate at all.
Parking restrictions can be a problem, so we need to be able to park our van nearby if there isn’t a car park at the venue. We may ask you to pay the fee if there is one.
We reserve the right to refuse admission to the Booth if we feel it appropriate. For safety reasons food & drink must not be brought into the Booth area. Should anyone at your event (including yourself, your guests / participants, venue staff etc.), invited or otherwise behave inappropriately, (which includes but is not limited to: verbal or physical aggression, insulting or threatening behaviour, damaging equipment or props, abuse, theft, endangering other people, creating a nuisance) then we will stop working and may restart when and only if safe to do so but reserve the right to cease operation entirely. No refund or extension of time will be due in such cases. You also agree to be liable for the full cost of repair or replacement and any consequential losses of any items stolen or damaged deliberately or accidentally.
Children must be supervised when near any Photo Booth and an adult must remain responsible for them, their actions, and the consequences of those actions. Children under 14 years must have a parent/guardian present with them when using a Photo Booth for both safety and data protection reasons. Please note that our Booths are intended for adult use and with the exception of the Magic Mirror, will not record images of those under 1.2m (4 foot). Should any person hold up / support / use a chair or stool, or otherwise raise the height of anyone (child or adult), then that person carries full responsibility for their action and consequences. We cannot accept responsibility for children using the Photo Booth.
We reserve the right to make changes in the equipment supplied or its specifications at any time as sometimes equipment may fail or be broken either at your event or before though we will try to give you as much notice as possible. If booking one of our Inflate-a-Booths, please make sure that there is enough space and height for safe inflation and operation. The Classic Booth requires extra space for safe assembly, clear and level access from the point of unloading, and extra time to set up. The Magic Mirror Booth is very heavy and does not go up/down stairs so we need clear, smooth & level access from where we unload to where we are to work and we cannot get through narrow doorways or tight turning spaces. If a lift is to be used, then a standard 6 person lift will not be large enough for The Classic Oval Booth as it needs a minimum depth of 1.75m from the doors to the opposite side for the heavy duty trolley. If in our view it is not appropriate or safe to activate or install the Inflate-a-Booth, Classic Booth, Magic Mirror, or any other booth, then we do our best to use whatever we have available but no refund will be due. Please note this may only be a handheld camera as we don’t carry a second booth with us. If the printer fails, then we will encourage your guests to continue to use the booth and supply you with the appropriate sets of prints at a later date. Where the equipment is customer activated, we cannot be held responsible for any failures caused by guests.
Our normal operating/ free delivery area is covered by 20 mile radius from Bournemouth Rail Station and & 10 miles from Junction 5 of the M27 (excluding IoW), beyond that we charge £1 per mile from Bournemouth Rail Station, or £2/mile from Junction 5 of the M27 as measured on Google Earth. Any mileage charge is due not less than one month before the event date. We will refuse or cancel bookings if the distance is too far or the venue unsuitable – Note that we will not check the venue beforehand. Please check with us before booking as refunds will not be made if there is a problem with the venue that you didn’t tell us about before booking.
No refunds will be due if we are unable to fulfil any booking (or part thereof) made as a result of a Charity event such as an auction, raffle, or promotion, or any other situation where we have donated or discounted our services as these are always subject to availability.
Any bookings made through third parties / vouchers (such as Groupon, Planet Radio, Wave105 etc.) will be subject to that supplier’s refund policy (usually 14 days from payment). You must check availability well within that time to qualify for a refund which must come from that supplier and will be subject to their Terms & Conditions as well as ours. You also need to email your voucher details within as soon as possible so that we can send you a Booking Information Sheet – which you must complete and return within 14 days of paying for your voucher. These offers are always very specific & limited so any changes to the date, venue, or Booth type, running time etc. that were not included in the original offer may have an extra charge. Any changes to third party voucher bookings after their cancellation period that we are can’t meet will be considered a last minute cancellation regardless of when it happens, and no refund will be due as we cannot refund money that you paid to someone else. Any extra charges for extra time, mileage or other services are due for payment to us no less than 1 month before the event.
If you pay for a session (or voucher) for longer than you actually need or can use, then no refund is due for any unused time.
There may be circumstances beyond our control that prevent us fulfilling your booking either completely or in part. These include but are not limited to:
Acts of God or nature, flood, drought, earthquake or other natural disaster, epidemic, pandemic, contagion, sickness, illness, personal accident,
terrorist attack, civil war, civil commotion or riots, war, threat of or preparation for war, armed conflict, imposition of sanction, embargo, breaking off of diplomatic relations,
nuclear, chemical or biological contamination or suspicion of contamination, sonic boom,
any law or any action taken by a government or public authority, including without limitation imposing an export or import restrictions, quota or prohibition, restriction on movement or congregation,
collapse of buildings, fire, explosion or accident,
any labour or trades dispute, strikes, industrial action or lockouts,
non-performance by suppliers, sub-contractors or staff,
interruption or failure of utility service,
motor vehicle breakdown or accident, road closure or blockage,
drunkenness, aggression, violence or any form of abuse,
any event, action, incident or requirement that it becomes physically or commercially impossible to provide our service or changes it to one that is radically different to what we agreed.
Wherever possible we will do what we can to prevent or mitigate the effect of these incidents. We may alternatively offer our service to you or allow you to pass on our service to a third party for another mutually acceptable date and location. If neither of these options are possible, then our agreement shall be considered as cancelled at the time the circumstances occurred.
Our full Privacy Notice forms part of these T&Cs and can be found <HERE>.
The very short version is that we generally only have information that you provide yourself and in the pictures that we take, but we may monitor the use of our website. We will use that information: so that we can provide you with our service; to comply with legal requirements; to improve our service and to build our business. We will share your images on Facebook for your guests to like, tag, share, and download and we may use some for marketing purposes. If we have donated your booking in whole or in part via any form of charitable activity, then we will require you to authorise us to use the event for promoting our business. Please let us know if you do not want us to do those things. We may need to liaise with your venue but we won’t otherwise share your information with anyone else unless you give your permission. We will only send you marketing information if you have enquired about or used our services, or with your permission which you can withdraw at any time – just send us an email.
In accordance with ADR Directive 2013 and as supplemented by the Regulation on Consumer ODR 2013, we publish this email address Ron@5MinutePhotoBooth.co.uk and the link to the EU Online Dispute Resolution Platform: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/
These Terms and Conditions are the entire agreement that you have with us and our liability is always limited to the amount that you have paid direct to us.
Finally, if you are still reading this, and we have agreed a date and venue with you, and you accept these terms and conditions, now and as may be reasonably amended, then click on the “Buy Now” button to pay your booking fee.
E.&O.E.
Click the “Buy Now” button to pay your booking fee and to accept our terms and conditions including the handling of your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice.