Equipment returns

If you’re renting equipment from us and your circumstances have changed or the equipment no longer suits your needs, you may be able to return it to us.

If you have a contract on Rent–Try–Buy or Loyalty, you are able to return the equipment after the 12-month agreement expires ^. If you are on an Easy Own or Lease-to-Keep contract, you cannot return the equipment.

^ If you don’t exercise any of your end-of-term options, you can continue renting month-to-month for as long as you need to. You can still return the equipment at any time.

Customers renting equipment under a 12-month Rent–Try–Buy or Loyalty agreement can upgrade their equipment at any time.

If you decide to upgrade the equipment, we can arrange the transportation of the equipment back to us at your cost.

You’ll also be responsible for the cost for us to clean and service the equipment so it can be certified and remarketed.

We’ll then ask you to sign a new 12-month rental agreement covering the upgraded equipment, which will then be delivered to you.

If the Certified Used or clearance equipment we deliver to a customer does not match the advertised specifications or is damaged in transit, the customer must advise us in writing within seven business days of the delivery date.

We’ll then arrange and pay for the incorrect or damaged equipment to be returned to us.

If the customer does not notify SilverChef within seven days, we’ll deem that the correct equipment has been accepted by the customer in good condition.

Read more about equipment deliveries

If a customer wants to return equipment because they’ve changed their mind, they can ask SilverChef to cancel the equipment order.

If we agree (in writing) to cancel the order, the customer will be responsible for transporting the equipment back to us and will be charged a re-stocking fee of 15% of the equipment’s invoice value.

If your Certified Used or clearance equipment develops a covered fault (as determined by SilverChef) within the three-month warranty period, we’ll organise a free repair, replacement, or refund.

If we replace the equipment or refund you, we’ll organise and pay for the faulty equipment to be returned to us.

Read more about equipment warranties

Whether a customer needs to give us notice of their intention to return the equipment depends on the reason the equipment is being returned to us.

If there is a change in the customer's circumstances or equipment no longer suits their needs, they'll need to give 4 weeks notice. We'll send the customer a 'return letter'; the notice period will start on the day we receive their reply to our letter.

For an equipment upgrade or change of mind/cancellation, there is no notice period.

Notice period is not applicable for wrong or damaged-in-transit equipment, or for a warranty claim or faulty equipment.

If you’re responsible for organising and/or paying for the return of the equipment to us, we’ll send you a ‘return letter’ that outlines the steps you need to take.

After you’ve acknowledged receipt of the letter, we’ll send you a return label/s to affix to the equipment.

You’ll then need to arrange for the equipment to be transported to the address of the SilverChef warehouse on the label (Brisbane, Melbourne, or Perth). (This is assuming you don’t return the equipment yourself, using your own transportation.)

We recommend you get at least a few quotes and choose a sensitive-freight haulage firm or courier to minimise the risk of damage during transit (otherwise, you may be liable for the cost of repairing or replacing the equipment if it’s damaged).

If SilverChef is responsible for organising and paying for the return of the equipment, we’ll send you a return letter.

After you’ve acknowledged receipt of the letter, we’ll send you a return label/s to affix to the equipment. We’ll take care of everything from that point onwards.

If you have any questions, please call us on 1800 337 153.

When equipment is returned to us, and even if it has been cleaned well on the outside, it invariably has dust, dirt, and grime on the inside that customers can’t easily clean.

Similarly, the equipment almost always has worn-out or broken components that need to be repaired or replaced.

Because we certify and remarket this equipment, we must pay to get it professionally cleaned and serviced inside and out.

We do this to restore it as much as possible to its original condition and to meet Australian health and safety standards.

It means that, when customers get ‘Certified Used’ equipment from SilverChef, they can be assured it’s in the best possible condition.

If you’re a Rent–Try–Buy or Loyalty customer and you return the equipment before the 12-month agreement expires, you’ll have to pay not just the return costs (e.g. transportation, cleaning and servicing) but also all the unpaid rental payments up to the end of the agreement term.

Please note that we require four weeks’ notice of your intention to return the equipment early.

If you’re responsible for paying for the equipment’s return, here are some ways you can minimise the cost:

• transportation — if arranging the transport yourself, get a minimum of three quotes
• cleaning — clean the equipment as well as you can (we don't expect you to dismantle the equipment in order to clean the inside of it)
• servicing — do preventative maintenance and get the equipment serviced by a qualified contractor at the recommended intervals
• accessories — ensure any accessories included with the equipment are also returned.

If you have more than one piece of equipment on your contract, we’ll refund your security bond once you’ve purchased or returned all of that equipment.

If you purchase the equipment

If you decide to purchase the last piece/s of equipment on your contract, we’ll reconcile your contract and send you a ‘payout quote’.

Once you’ve paid for the equipment, including any arrears (i.e. unpaid rent), we’ll refund your security bond to you within 2–4 weeks.

(If a customer has another contract with SilverChef and that contract is in arrears, the bond will be instead be transferred to that contract.)

If you return the equipment

After you’ve returned the last piece/s of equipment on your contract, we’ll reconcile your contract and send you a ‘return statement’.

The statement will show the balance of your contract — your security bond minus the equipment-processing costs (e.g. cleaning and servicing) and any arrears (i.e. unpaid rent) or freight charges that may apply.

If your bond doesn’t cover these costs, the statement will show you the amount owing to us.

If your bond more than covers these costs, we’ll refund the balance owed to you within 2–4 weeks.