How To's & FAQ

Videos, Infographics and everything you need to know to borrow from us!

Joining and Borrowing:

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How do I become a member?

How do I book an item?

How do I cancel a reservation?

How do I change the date of a reservation I've already made?

I cannot return the item on my return date, what should I do?

Contact us ASAP, either sending us an email or on our FB chat. Our volunteers will be waiting for the item to prep it for the next loan and late fees will automatically start accruing in your account.

What happens if I break an item?

If the item breaks then please do get in touch with us as soon as possible, we understand things happen sometimes. There’s a good chance we can repair a lot of the things in the inventory but if we can’t then we will work with you to decide if it was a fault or user error. We want to make things work for everyone.

Do I need to clean the item before I return it?

Yes, you have to return your item clean, in the same or better conditions than you got it. Otherwise, we will have to charge you a cleaning fee.

The technicalities:

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Where can I read your Terms and Conditions?

When you create an account with Borrow Don’t Buy you’ll be ask to sign our T&C and our Liability Waiver. You can download a copy of them and have a proper read (a second one, of course you read them before signing them) from here:

I find your documents (a bit) boring to read, soz... Do you have something shorter?

Can I get someone to explain the T&C to me?

Coming soon! Our super stars (and Directors) Sol and Rob will feature our video explaining everything you need to know about our T&C

What do we do with your details?

Absolutely nothing! They are stored in a secure GDPR-compliant site and your details are not sold, distributed or passed on to any other entity. We will analyse our anonymized data to make sure we are providing you with the best borrowing experience possible, that’s all.

Donations:

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Do you take donations?

Short answer is ‘Sometimes’. We’d love to say yes to everything But.. we have limited space and funds, we have a wishlist of items that we think will be great for our inventory. We cannot take donations of broken items but you’re welcome to bring them along to a repair cafe and get them working again.

I have an item I want to donate, can you come to collect it?

No sorry. We don’t have transport so we can’t offer a reliable collection service.

Payments:

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Do I have to pay to borrow items on top of the membership fee? How much do they cost?

It’s close to nothing, but unfortunately there is a price to borrow the items..we promise to always keep it as low as possible! The price range of borrowing items goes from 0.50p to £30 for a 7 days period. You can check every items’ price on our catalogue! For example, if you want to borrow a Hammer and you are: a Casual Borrower, it will cost you £1 for a week. If you are a Full Borrower you won’t have to pay anything at all!

Why do I have to pay to borrow items?

Because it costs money to organise, run and grow a library of things. We serve our community but we aren’t a funded public service, we are a social enterprise which means we trade to survive like any other business but any profits we make go right back in to making the world a better place for our members.

Do you have late fees?

Yes, we have late fees: £2 per item per day. Yes, this includes days that we are closed and yes, they are high late fees. We do not like having late fees, and we enjoy even less having to enforce them but we have them in place to encourage our members to return their items on time so that other members can enjoy a reliable and professional library of things. Borrow Don’t Buy is based on TRUST which is why we don’t charge deposits.

How can I pay for the items I want to borrow?

Well, it’s super easy, you can just pay by card! The only small issue that we have, is that we currently use Stripe to process our card payments and the minimum payment that they accept is £0.50. If you are borrowing an item that is less than £0.50 you’ll have to pay for it in cash (yes! good time to get rid of those coins) when you come to pick it up.

How can I save my card details for online payment?

About Borrow Don’t Buy:

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Where are you based?

We are based at THINQTANQ, a co-working space in the city centre (Fairbairn House, Higher Ln, PL12AN). It’s in the city centre, just across the Magistrates Court.

A brief history of Borrow Don't Buy

What are your opening times?

Tuesdays from 10 am until 6 pm and Thursdays from 10 am until 6 pm. If you need to come later then drop us an email to book an appointment.

Are you a shop? Can I pick up / drop items at a different time?

No, we are a pickup/drop off location. We have our inventory online and an awesome system for you to browse, pick and select what day you are collecting your items.
Unfortunately, you will have to return the items during our opening times to make sure that one of BDB’s team is in to checkout/checking the item.

Do you have a phone number?

Not yet, but you can contact us via email or any of our social media channels. Outside our opening hours, we will try to reply as soon as possible.

Do you deliver?

Not at the moment but it is something we’re looking in to for the future.

Do you take donations?

CONTACT US

Or send us an e-mail to hello@borrowdontbuy.co.uk