Your Birth Friend Terms & Conditions
1. Booking, Cancellation and Rescheduling
a. All appointments (sling surgery, in-person, online consultations and workshops) must be booked in advance and paid for in full at the time of booking.
b. Appointments can be rescheduled up to 24 hours in advance without penalty.
c. If you no longer require your appointment, you may cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, minus a £3 admin charge. For workshops this is 72 hours.
d. If you are unable to attend at short notice (i.e. less than 24 hours in advance) you are not eligible for a refund but you are able to rearrange your appointment or switch from in-person to online. Your rearranged appointment should be within 3 months of the original appointment.
e. If you are late for your in-person sling surgery appointment it may be necessary to reschedule. I will endeavour to fit you in however please be aware that if the session is full you may need to return another day or switch to an online appointment.
f. No shows without prior communication will forfeit any right to refund or reschedule.
g. Acceptable methods of contact are phone call, text message, Whatsapp message or email (other kinds of messages and social media comments may be missed so please do not use these if your message is important).
2. Safe Use of Slings
a. Your child’s safety is your responsibility. Your Birth Friend cannot be held responsible for any accident that results in injury whilst the sling is in your care.
b. I suggest that you practice using the sling with a doll or pillow so that you can get used to the adjusting methods.
c. If you feel any pain while carrying your child, change the carrying position or remove the sling.
d. It is the borrower’s responsibility to check over the sling and accessories before every use. Check all buckles, hems and seams ensuring that there are no tears, breaks, cracks or holes. If any damage is discovered, please stop using the sling and contact me immediately.
e. Included in the rental cost is on-going support via telephone and email/message and one 15 minute video call.
3. Care of Slings
a. Under no circumstances is it permitted to smoke or vape whilst wearing or holding the sling, or to use or store the sling in a smoky environment.
b. Do not wash the sling. Washing can shorten the life of the sling and risks damaging it (e.g. buckles may get broken). I wash all slings between hires. If you feel it is necessary to wash the sling, please contact me for advice and washing instructions.
c. I cannot guarantee that there are no marks or hairs on the slings I lend. Please keep the slings away from any animals to limit this possibility.
d. Please inform me if you have an allergy and I can take extra precautions before you borrow the sling.
e. Food and posset marks are expected when carrying children, but please keep the sling away from anything that may stain permanently (oil, paint, pens, suncream, hair or make-up products etc) or anything that might damage the sling (scissors, Velcro, keys in your bag, fire etc). You will be charged for the cost of damage beyond normal wear and tear.
4. Ownership of Slings
a. All slings, instructions and accessories remain the property of Your Birth Friend at all times and all loans and reservations are subject to availability and are at my discretion.
5. Payment and Deposit (including non-return of slings)
a. Payment by debit or credit card is preferred, either online or contactless payment.
b. I do not ordinarily take a cash deposit for slings, however I do require card details from a valid debit or credit card.
c. Card details are stored securely in Wix when you book via the Wix booking system or pay an invoice.
d. If you cannot provide card details you will be charged a deposit of £50 per sling.
e. If I do not hear from you within 28 days from the end of your loan, I will consider the sling lost and charge your card the full retail value of the sling. I will endeavour to contact you by phone, email and text message during this period.
f. Your card will be charged for the replacement of any lost accessories, such as accessory straps and infant inserts.
g. Charges for items damaged beyond normal wear and tear will be judged on a case by case basis.
h. You will be informed in writing (by email) 24 hours before your card is charged.
6. Length and Cost of Hire
a. The initial hire period is between one and four weeks.
b. Providing there is no waiting list, you may renew your hire for up to 3 months. If you wish to keep your sling longer you should return it so I can check for any damage and start a new hire.
c. If there is a waiting list for a particular sling, the maximum hire length is 4 weeks.
d. The standard weekly hire cost is £10 for buckle, half buckle and meh dai carriers. The standard weekly hire cost is £15 for woven wraps and ring slings. Stretchy wrap hire is £5 per week. Luxury carriers such as Artipoppes are £25 per week hire cost.
7. Returning a Sling
a. Slings must be returned on or before the final date of hire, to the same location you hired from, or at an agreed location locally.
b. If agreed in advance, it is possible to drop the sling off in person at Samantha’s house in Keele. It must be dropped off at an agreed date and time, on or before the date it is due back.
c. If you decide to return a sling early, there is no entitlement to a refund for the unused hire period. However you are able to swap for another sling if you have at least a full week of the hire period remaining.
8. Late Returns
a. You must contact me before the end of the loan period if you think that you will not be able to return the sling on time.
b. For any days overdue that had not been agreed by me in advance, you will be charged a £3 per day late fee. These fees will be charged to your card.
9. Hire of Covers and Clothing
a. Hires of covers and clothing are subject to the same terms as those for slings (prices may vary).
10. Data Protection
It is necessary to collect and process personal information for the running of Your Birth Friend. In line with the General Data Protection Regulation (2018), the points below set out what data I hold, how it is used and the rights of individuals that I hold personal information about.
a. In order to hire from Your Birth Friend I collect various personal data to facilitate the running of sling surgery sessions, other events and appointments and the hire of slings.
b. Data collected
- At the time of booking, hire or during the sling surgery session, your contact details will be required to be taken.
- I take the following personal data: full name of hirer, postal address, email address, telephone number, credit or debit card details in lieu of deposit and payment method.
- When booking online you will be asked to answer questions about yourself and your child so that I can best meet your requirements.
- Online enquiries and sling reservations require your email address, plus contact number for reservations.
c. How I store your data
- Data collected on booking is stored in Wix and a copy emailed to us.
- The data required to facilitate the hire is stored in Wix and Google Drive.
- Credit or debit card details are stored using Wix and Stripe. This allows cards to be charged in line with our Terms and Conditions but actual card details are not visible to us.
- Backups of certain data eg. list of Members are stored on Google Drive.
- Any scan/photo of proof of address will be deleted once viewed and is not stored.
d. How I use your data
- I use the data supplied in the booking questionnaire to ensure I have suitable slings available for you.
- I use contact details only in relation to hire, purchase or reservation of slings, preparation for an appointment/consultation or in response to enquiries.
e. Your rights to the data I hold
- Individuals have the following rights with regards to data held about them:
- To withdraw consent for our use of personal data held.
- To amend or delete the data.
- To request a copy of the data. I am required to respond to this within 30 days.
f. Personal data will never be passed onto any third parties without the express consent of the individual. You will not be added to my mailing list without you requesting this.
Updated by Samantha Marie Allen T/A Your Birth Friend January 2026