As stated in the about us section, we are a very small group of individuals who noticed a need in learning institutions and wanted to do something about it. We rely on the goodwill of others to donate machines to us, and the goodwill of those who borrow from us to both treat the machines well and with care, and return them after use so they can be re-issued to others in need. In this case the 'we' means the group of people calling themselves The Laptop Loaner and operating in line with charitable principles, altough we are not yet big enough to be a registered charity.

You are the person who borrows the laptop from us for your own use. In these terms you are often called the 'loanee' or 'borrower' but they mean you, the person who signed up to the terms and conditions, and accepts responsibility for the laptop whilst it is leant to you.

I understand that I (the borrower) am responsible for the safe and timely return to the Laptop Loaner of this borrowed laptop. I acknowledge that I have read and understand the terms of use listed below. If damage is incurred to the laptop or its power supply, I understand that I am responsible for covering the cost of replacing/reapairing the machine. I also understand that intentional vandalism will result in being charged up to the full replacement cost of the laptop. 

Laptops are provided and checked over for integrity and safety by the Laptop Loaner. If you have a problem with with the laptop while you have it email us and let us know and we will try to help you - but we cannot offer full time technical support with either the hardware or any software you have installed. If your laptop breaks or stops for any reason, we may not be able to replace it and you may have to wait a significant amount of time before a replacement becomes available as we are dependent on donations to supply our stock. We can make no guarantee of a replacment being available at all, but ask that you return the broken machine to us to see if it can be economically repaired. However, this may result in total, irrecoverable loss of data so do not store personal or important data on the machine. We strongly recommend use of a cloud storage service.

You are responsible for ensuring the laptop is not damaged, lost or stolen while it is charged to you. You will be asked to replace the laptop if it is stolen, at your own cost, with a like for like spec machine.

The laptop is intended for long-term borrowing to support you in your studies. Usually we loan for a maximum period of one year, and we can agree shorter loan periods than this. After a year is up we will expect the laptop to be returned to us ready to be refreshed for the next user. You can apply to loan a laptop for a further year, but you need to aprise us of your wish to do so not less than 30 days prior to the end of the loan agreement. 

There is no way to make advance reservations for loaner laptops. Laptops are lent on a first-come, first served basis. You will have no say in the specification of the laptop you loan. It will be the next one that is ready to go out from our stock of donated machines. Borrowers may not borrow more than 1 laptop at a time.

You are permitted to install software on the laptop using the software centre in Peppermint OS. If you choose to install free or paid for content or apps we are not responsible for the compatibility or functioning of that app or others on the machine. When you return the laptop to us, the hdd will be wiped so any data and purchases you have made will be lost. We are not responsible for this data.

Do not save data to the hard drive or desktop. Anything saved on the hard drive or desktop will be lost when the machine is returned. Save data often to a flash drive or email your data to yourself, or use a cloud storage service.

You must not use the laptop for any commercial or criminal activity. It is supplied to support your studies and your education.

Failure to adhere to any of these terms will result in the laptop loan agreement being terminated without notice, whereupon you will need to ensure the computer's return to the Laptop Loaner, and you will not be permitted to loan another machine from us again in the future.

These terms and conditions may be varied at any time by the Laptop Loaner without prior notice to the borrower, although we will always endeavour to tell you about any changes with enough notice for your actions.

Failure to return a laptop at the end of the loan period will be deemed as theft and reported to the relevent authorities which may result in a criminal prosecution.