The Volte Lending and Lender Policy

Overview


This policy outlines what requirements Lenders on The Volte need to abide by to ensure they can:


  • Provide an appropriate level of service to Borrowers and Purchasers on The Volte Marketplace (the Marketplace)
  • The level of service required to retain their access to the Marketplace
  • Mandatory requirements to operate a Lending Account on the Marketplace
  • Activities that Lenders on the Marketplace are prohibited or restricted from actioning

As a Member, you may create Listings. A member who creates Listings and accepts rentals and orders via The Volte are classified as a Lender. 


As a Lender, The Volte offers you the right to use The Volte Marketplace in accordance with all Terms and Policies linked on the website.  This allows you to share your Listings with our vibrant community of Borrowers - and earn money doing it.  


The Volte reserves the right to terminate your right to use The Volte Marketplace at any time if you are found to be in breach of any of the Terms and Policies linked on the website.  This includes; but is not limited to:  Operating Off-Platform, offering a low acceptance rate of orders that the Marketplace provides to you and providing low quality services to Borrowers.


Item Listings


To create a Listing, you will be asked a variety of questions about the Item to be listed, including, but not limited to, your location, designer, size, occasion, colour, recommended retail price, any existing defects, description and availability of the Item and rental pricing and related rules (for instance dry cleaning responsibility) and financial terms. Listings will be made publicly available via the Site and Services. Other Members will be able to rent your Items via the Site and Services based upon the information provided in your Listing. You understand and agree that once a Borrower requests a rental of your Item, you may not request the Borrower to pay a higher price than in the rental request.


You acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for any and all Listings you post. Accordingly, you represent and warrant that any Listing you post and the rental of an Item in a Listing you post (i) will not breach any agreements you have entered into with any third parties and (ii) will (a) be in compliance with all applicable laws, Tax requirements, and rules and regulations that may apply to any Item included in a Listing you post, and (b) not conflict with the rights of third parties. Please note that The Volte assumes no responsibility for a Lender’s compliance with any agreements with or duties to third parties, applicable laws, rules and regulations. The Volte reserves the right, at any time and without prior notice, to remove or disable access to any Listing for any reason, including Listings that The Volte, in its sole discretion, considers to be objectionable for any reason, in violation of these Terms or The Volte’s then-current Policies (at www.thevolte.com), or otherwise harmful to the Site or Services.


If you are a Lender, you understand and agree that The Volte does not act as an insurer or as your contracting agent. If a Borrower requests a rental of your Item and rents your Item, any agreement you enter into with such Borrower is between you and the Borrower and The Volte is not a party thereto. Not withstanding the foregoing, The Volte serves as the limited authorised payment collection agent of the Lender for the purpose of accepting, on behalf of the Lender, payments from Borrowers of such amounts stipulated by the Lender. The optional The Volte Lender Insurance shall operate seperately to this. 


If you are a Lender, The Volte makes certain tools available to you to help you to make informed decisions about which Borrowers you choose to confirm for renting your Items. You acknowledge and agree that, as a Lender, you are responsible for your own acts and omissions. Please see Lender Tips (at www.thevolte.com) for further information.


The Volte recommends that Lenders obtain appropriate insurance for their Items. Please review any insurance policy that you may have for your Items carefully, and in particular please make sure that you are familiar with and understand any exclusions to, and any deductibles that may apply for, such insurance policy, including, but not limited to, whether or not your insurance policy will cover the actions or inactions of Borrowers while renting your Items.The Volte offers optional insurance for Lenders in defined circumstances. The Volte Lender Insurance Policy is available here to be read linked here.


Lenders are responsible for the cleaning of their item before each hire. 


The Volte may accept lenders to list handbags through an application process, whereby lenders will be verified, at The Volte's discretion. Shoes and jewellery are not permitted, any such listings will be removed. Other accessories may be listed, however The Volte reserves the right to remove these at any time.


Off-Platform Activities


The following activities are examples of Off-Platform activity that will result in your The Volte Lender or Lending account being terminated.


  • Taking people or borrowers off The Volte Marketplace for new, partial or future bookings
  • Contacting potential borrowers prior to booking on the Marketplace to move the booking off the Marketplace
  • Asking guests to fill out forms, or call, email, or otherwise contact you via a non-The Volte communications service prior to accepting booking requests
  • Cancelling existing full or partial bookings and having Borrowers rebook off of The Volte
  • Asking or encouraging Borrowers to book outside of The Volte for repeat or future bookings
  • Including links or embedding buttons that take Borrowers off The Volte to another website.
  • Asking Borrowers for contact information prior to booking confirmation.  All Borrower communications prior to confirmation must be on The Volte.
  • Soliciting customers for their personal details prior to Order Acceptance using The Volte messaging system.

Order Acceptance Rate


The Order Acceptance Rate is determined by the number of Orders you accept, versus the number of Orders you decline.  For example, if The Volte sends you 10 orders in a Calendar month, but you only accept four, your Order Acceptance rate would be 40%.


Lenders are required to maintain an Order Acceptance rate of 50% or higher.  Continued high Decline Rates will result in termination of your The Volte Lending account.


Lost / Unreturned Items Claim


As a Lender, if your item has not been returned it is your obligation to attempt to contact the borrower regarding the return of your item.  If you have not received a reply within 24 hours, please contact our Support Team at [email protected] for assistance and escalation.


Items will be considered lost or stolen if they are not returned within 14 days after the hire period ends. If the item is classified as lost/stolen, the borrower will be charged the full replacement cost of the Item.


To process the claim, lenders must submit supporting documents for the claim within 14 days of the rental period ending. These include, but are not limited to, a copy of a police report (for stolen items), a Statutory Declaration (stating the details of the case), and proof of original purchase (receipt or bank statement) of the lost item. If the item was purchased second-hand on a marketplace, proof of payment (bank transfer receipt, PayPal, etc.) must be provided. 


The Volte has up to 30 days to resolve each claim from the date of submission of all documentation. Within this period, borrowers and lenders agree to cooperate with and assist The Volte in good faith, providing such information and taking such actions as may be reasonably requested by The Volte. Please note that The Volte does not take responsibility for the loss or damage of items rented through the platform. The Volte provides an online marketplace for lenders and borrowers to connect. Although The Volte will work diligently to ensure these reimbursements are received, we are not liable for their payment. Unpaid invoices will be passed on to a debt collection service, with collection costs recoverable from the borrower.  If an unpaid invoice is escalated to debt collection the period to resolve the claim is extended as long as necessary beyond the 30 days to facilitate recovery.  


If an item is confirmed delivered and is stolen from the property, the borrower agrees to take necessary steps to assist in the recovery of the item, including filing a police report. If the borrower is located in a high-theft area or on a busy street, they must inform the lender and request a signature upon delivery immediately after submitting the order. The borrower will be liable for the replacement of the stolen item if it is confirmed delivered to their property.  If applicable the optional Volte Lender Insurance will cover this event if it occurs.  


Lender Damage Claim


Please be aware that lenders must report any damage to [email protected].  All details for making a damage claim are outlined in the The Volte Lender Damage Claim Policy, linked here.  


Rentals and Financial Terms for Lender


If you are a Lender and a rental is requested for your Item via the Site, Application and Services, you will be required to either confirm or reject the rental request within the Rental Request Period, otherwise the rental request may be automatically cancelled. If you are unable to confirm or decide to reject a rental request within the Rental Request Period, any amounts (if any) collected by The Volte for the requested rental will be refunded to the applicable Borrower’s credit card and any pre-authorisation of such credit card (if any) will be released.


If you owe or agree to pay any amount to The Volte (whether as a result of your The Volte or actions as a Borrower or otherwise), then The Volte may (but is not obliged to) withhold the amount owing to The Volte from any payout amounts due to you as a Lender, and use the withheld amount to set-off the amount owed by you to The Volte. If The Volte does so, then your obligation to pay The Volte will be extinguished to the extent of the amount withheld by The Volte, and The Volte will cease to owe to you any obligations (including, but not limited to, any obligation to pay you) with respect to the amount withheld.


Appointment of The Volte as Limited Payment Collection Agent for Lender


Each Lender hereby appoints The Volte as the Lender’s limited payment collection agent solely for the purpose of accepting the Rental Fees from Borrowers.


Each Lender agrees that payment made by a Borrower through The Volte shall be considered the same as a payment made directly to the Lender, and the Lender will make the Item available to the Borrower in the agreed-upon manner as if the Lender has received the Rental Fees. Each Lender agrees that The Volte may, in accordance with the cancellation policy selected by the Lender and reflected in the relevant Listing, (i) permit the Borrower to cancel the rental and (ii) refund to the Borrower that portion of the Rental Fees specified in the applicable cancellation policy. Each Lender understands that as The Volte accepts payments from Borrowers as the Lender’s limited payment collection agent, The Volte’s obligation to pay the Lender is subject to and conditional upon The Volte successfully receiving the payments from Borrowers. The Volte does not guarantee payments to Lenders for amounts that have not been successfully received from Borrowers. In accepting appointment as the limited authorised agent of the Lender, The Volte assumes no liability for any acts or omissions of the Lender.


Please note that The Volte does not currently charge fees for the creation of Listings. However, you as a Lender acknowledge and agree that The Volte reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to charge you for and collect fees from you for the creation of Listings. Please note that The Volte will provide notice of any Listing fee collection via the Site, Application and Services, prior to implementing such a Listing fee feature.


Service Fees


In consideration for the use of The Volte’s online marketplace and platform, The Volte charges the Service Fees. Where applicable, Taxes (such as VAT in Europe or GST in Australia) may also be charged in respect of the Lender Fees and Borrower Fees. The Volte deducts the Lender Fees from the Rental Fees before remitting the balance to the Lender as described in these Terms. Borrower Fees are, as noted above, included in the Total Fees.


Balances will be remitted by The Volte to Lenders via (in The Volte’s sole discretion) payment methods described on the Site or via the Application, depending upon the selections the Lender makes via the Site, Application and Services. Amounts may be rounded up or down as described the “Rounding Off” section below.


More information on Services Fees can be found at [www.thevolte.com]. Except as otherwise provided herein, Service Fees are non-refundable.