Terms & Conditions

The following Terms & Conditions apply to all rental and purchase orders made through the Order Penguin Platform, whether on the web or mobile apps. Both Vendors and Customers are expected to adhere to these Terms & Conditions.

1. DEFINITIONS

The following terms used on the Order Penguin Platform are defined as follows:

Requested Start Date: The date the customer wants the rental period to begin. The Requested Start Date must be a working day. The Actual Start Date may vary based on the delivery of the items to the customer.
Required By Date: The customer may request the items to be delivered to them before the planned start of the rental period. The Required By Date must be a working day and cannot be more than two workdays before the Requested Start Date.
Requested End Date: The date the customer expects to be finished with the rental items.
Actual Start Date: The latest of the Requested Start Date or the Delivery Date.
Delivery Date: The date the rental item arrives at the shipping address or the customer picks up the item from a vendor facility.
Call-Off: To request to stop accruing rental charges. Customer can call off the entire order or individual items. By calling off an item, the customer is indicating that they are finished using the rental item and are taking steps to return the item to the vendor.
Call-Off Date: The date the customer calls-off an item or an order.
Return Ship Date: The date the customer ships a called-off item back to the vendor.
Return Pick-Up Date: The date the customer requests the vendor to pick up any called-off items (if the vendor offers such service). The Return Pick-Up Date must be a working day.
Call-Off Grace Period: The period between the Call-Off Date and the Return Ship / Pick-Up Date for the order or each individual item. Customer must submit return shipment information or request a pickup (if vendor provides a pick-up option) along with the call-off request. Customer will not be charged for the grace period. The grace period may not exceed two business days.
Return Date: The date when the items are returned to the vendor and are received (checked in) by the vendor facility.
Actual End Date: The earlier of the Call-Off Date and the Return Date, provided the items are returned within the grace period. Vendor will adjust the Actual End Date based on when the items are returned to the vendor facility.
Order Date: The date the order is placed on the Order Penguin platform.

2. OPERATING PROCEDURES

2.1 Buy / Consumable Items

2.1.1. Vendors are not required to accept returns for sales items.

2.1.2. If the vendor agrees to accept returns, customers may return unopened / unused buy items to the vendor. If the item is considered re-sellable by the vendor (per their discretion), the item will be removed from the order’s invoice. If the invoice has already been paid, the customer will be refunded for the item.

2.2 Communication

2.2.1. All order-, catalog-, and payment-related communication must be communicated over the Order Penguin Platform, to ensure proper records are kept.

2.2.2. Vendor reviews should be made in good faith. Vendors may contact Order Penguin to request the removal of reviews that they believe were not left in good faith, however, Order Penguin is under no obligation to remove these reviews.
2.2.3. Vendors who receive consistently higher reviews than other vendors may be “boosted” in the Order Penguin system (e.g., through preferential catalog placement on the site).
2.2.4. If a customer cannot find an item of interest on a vendor catalog, they may reach out to the vendor through Order Penguin to request the item be added to the catalog, however, the vendor is under no obligation to add the item.

2.3 Order Tracking

2.3.1. Orders must be “acknowledged” by the selected vendor within two hours of being “placed” during the vendor's reported working hours or else those may be passed to a new vendor.
2.3.2. A Return Ship Date or Return Pick-Up Date cannot be more than two work days after a Call-Off Date. If the Return Ship Date or Return Pick-Up Date is more than two work days after the Call-Off Date, the Call-Off Date will be updated to two work days prior to the Return Ship Date or Return Pick-Up Date (exception: 2.3.3).
2.3.3. If an item is marked as ready for pick-up, and the vendor driver does not arrive at the scheduled time, the customer will not be charged extra rental days, as long as the item is ready for pick-up when the driver does arrive.
2.3.4. An order will be marked as complete once all buy items are delivered to the customer and all rental items are returned to the vendor (or marked as lost).
2.3.5. All items in an order must have the same Requested Start Date (Actual Start Dates may vary based on shipping times). Items that do not have the same Requested Start Date must be placed in a different order.
2.3.6. An item may be called-off as soon as a customer is done using the item in order to trigger the end of the rental period. However, the customer must then return the item in a timely manner (2.3.2).
2.3.7. If an item cannot be delivered due to an incorrect shipping address being entered by the customer, the customer will be charged a “Failed Delivery” fee for a delivered order or additional shipping charges for a shipped order. The Actual Start Date will be updated to reflect the delay.
2.3.8. Customers may add items to an order until the order is “Shipped”. Once an order is “Shipped”, additional items must be added to a new order.

2.3.9. If items are added to an order after the order is "Acknowledged" but before the order is "Shipped", the order will need to be re-"Acknowledged" but the vendor, and shipping may be delayed.
2.3.10. Customers may remove items from an order or cancel an order until the item is “Shipped” by the vendor.
2.3.11. If a customer removes items from an order or cancels an order before the order is marked as “Acknowledged”, there is no penalty.
2.3.12. If a vendor acknowledges an order (thus indicating their intent to fulfill the order) but is not able to fulfill the order, they may be “dinged” in the Order Penguin system (e.g., given less preferential catalog placement).
2.3.13. If the vendor feels their inability to fulfill the order was based on an honest mistake or situation beyond their control, they may submit an explanation to Order Penguin to avoid being “dinged”.
2.3.14. If either a vendor or a customer incorrectly changes the status of an order, they may be “dinged” in the Order Penguin system.
2.3.15. If the vendor or customer feels the incorrect status update was based on an honest mistake or situation beyond their control, they may submit an explanation to Order Penguin to avoid being “dinged”.

2.4 Payment & Pricing

2.4.1. Once an order is marked as complete, an invoice will be automatically generated for the order and emailed to the customer’s payer. If the invoice is not paid by the indicated due date (as set by the customer’s payment term), a late fee will be charged for every day the payment is late.
2.4.2. All payments for all the completed orders must be made to Order Penguin Inc.
2.4.3. If the customer uses a credit card to make the payment, then an additional service fee of 2.9% will be added to the invoice.
2.4.4. Any disputes regarding the invoice must be raised as soon as possible so that they can be resolved before the invoice due date. If a dispute is raised after the invoice due date has passed, a late fee will still be charged for every day between the due date and the date the dispute was raised. These disputes must be raised with Order Penguin, not with the vendor.
2.4.5. Only official discounts loaded by vendors into the Order Penguin system will be honored by Order Penguin.
2.4.6. Catalog prices may change at any time and with no warning. Ongoing rentals will be charged at the rates in place when the rental begins (even if the rental is extended beyond the original end date).
2.4.7. If a payment cannot be processed due to insufficient funds or another error on the customer’s side, the customer will be notified immediately, and a late fee will be charged for every day between the invoice due date and the delivery of a processable payment.
2.4.8. Order Penguin does not price match.

2.5 Rental Dates

2.5.1. “Rental days” are measured by calendar days, not by 24-hour periods, e.g., rentals that start Monday at 9AM and Monday at 3PM will both be charged the full daily rate for Monday. Similarly, items returned at 6AM on Monday or 6PM on Monday will be charged the full daily rate for Monday. Customers who plan to return items at the “start” of the following day should Call-Off the item before midnight the day before.
2.5.2. Weekend days are not charged.
2.5.3. The following US Federal Holidays are not charged: New Years Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Christmas Day.
2.5.4. “Billing Logic” is described as follows: all rental items have a daily rate, a weekly rate, and a monthly rate. Items will be charged the least costly rate for the scheduled time period. For example, if an item’s daily / weekly / monthly rates are $30 / $80 / $300, the cost of a one-day rental is $30 and the cost of a two-day rental is $60 dollars. According to the daily rate, the cost of a three-day rental should be $90, however, because the weekly rate is only $80, a three-day rental will be charged the lesser weekly rate. If this same item is rented for a week and a day (Monday – Monday), those six days according to the daily rate would be $180, according to the weekly rate would be $160, and according to a combination (1 week + 1 day) would be $110. In this case, the item would be charged the lowest amount: 1 week + 1 day.

2.6 Rental Items

2.6.1. Order Penguin is not responsible for the loss or damage of any rental items.
2.6.2. An item will be considered damaged if, upon return, the vendor inspects the item and determines it to be in worse condition than before the rental, excluding normal wear and tear (per the vendor’s discretion). The customer will be charged a damage fee equivalent to the cost for replacement parts plus estimated labor costs of the repair. If an item is too damaged to repair, the customer will be charged the “Buy Rate” of the item. However, if the customer takes and uploads to Order Penguin a photo of the rental item prior to return shipping or pick-up, and the item appears undamaged, the item will be considered “damaged in transit” and the customer will not be charged a damage fee.
2.6.3. An item will be considered lost if: (a) an item is marked as delivered by the vendor but never received by the customer, (b) the item is marked by the customer as ready for pick up, but is not present when the vendor arrives to pick it up, or (c) return shipment tracking information is not provided within two work days of a call-off. If an item is lost, the customer will be charged the “Buy Rate” of the item. If the vendor has proof that an item was delivered (through driver photos on Order Penguin or through a tracking number on Order Penguin), but the customer never receives the item, the customer will be held responsible for the replacement fee. However, if the vendor does not have proof that the item was delivered, then the customer will not be held responsible. If after an item is marked as lost due to a failed pick-up, but the customer schedules a new driver pick-up (this time successfully) or provides shipment tracking information, the item will no longer be marked as lost the and customer will not be charged to replace the item. However, the rental Actual End Date will be moved to two work days prior to the pick-up / shipment, and the customer will be charged for the extended rental.
2.6.4. If at any time, a customer marks an item as ready for pick up, but when the vendor driver arrives, the item is not available for pick-up, the customer will be charged a “Failed Pick-up Fee” equivalent to the cost of gas and the driver’s time.
2.6.5. If an item never returns to the vendor facility, but there is proof that it was picked up by the vendor (photos were uploaded by the driver to Order Penguin) or mailed (a tracking number was supplied in Order Penguin), the item will be considered lost in transit, and the customer will not be charged to replace it.
2.6.6. If a rental item is delivered in a non-functional state (e.g., out of charge, missing required components), thus delaying the customers use of product, the customer may petition to have the Actual Start Date of the rental changed to reflect when the item is ready for use (this may be a set time, such as 24 hours for a lack of charge, or a variable time, such as however many days it takes additional parts to arrive).
2.6.7. Some items are listed in the Order Penguin Catalog as having “Required Items” that should accompany them in the order. A customer is allowed to opt out of ordering the Required Items. However, if the base item is non-functional due to not having a certain Required Item, the customer will still be charged for the full rental period. If an item is unusable upon delivery due to the lack of a missing accompanying item that was not listed as a Required Item by the vendor, the rental period will not begin until the required item is delivered (the customer will still be charged for both items for the remaining duration of the rental).
2.6.8. If a customer returns an item to the vendor that does not belong to the vendor, the customer may request the item back, but the vendor is under no obligation to return the item or may charge shipping charges to return the item.
2.6.9. If a vendor lists an item as an acceptable replacement to a different item (whether available or not available on their catalog), but upon receipt of the item, the customer is not able to use the item for the intended purpose, the customer may request a refund. The payment of a refund is up to the vendor’s discretion.