Question 1

What is Rentek?

Accepted Answer

A smart cabinet of lockers installed in your building. You rent tech and home essentials by the hour through the app, whenever you need them. Nothing to book ahead, nothing to store at home, and nothing to carry further than the lobby.

Question 2

What do I need to get started?

Accepted Answer

The Rentek app, an account and a payment method. There is no membership, no deposit and no paperwork.

Question 3

Is there a Rentek in my building?

Accepted Answer

Open the app and it will show you the machines you can use. If your building does not have one yet you can register your interest — the more residents ask, the sooner we approach the building.

Question 4

What can I rent?

Accepted Answer

It depends on your building. Before a machine is installed we survey residents to find out what they actually need, then stock accordingly and keep adjusting over time. Live availability is always in the app.

Question 5

How do I rent something?

Accepted Answer

Choose the product in the app and authorise payment. That places a small hold on your card rather than charging you. Then go to the machine, open the rental screen and unlock the box. Take the product out, close the box behind you, and your rental is running.

Question 6

How long do I have to open the box?

Accepted Answer

Five minutes from the moment you authorise payment. If the box has not been opened by then the authorisation is cancelled and you are not charged anything — just start again from the app.

Question 7

The box did not open, or it shut too quickly.

Accepted Answer

Tap unlock again on the same screen. You can retry as many times as you need inside the five-minute window. If it still will not open, get in touch from the Help Center and we will sort it out.

Question 8

Do I have to be standing at the machine?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The unlock only works when you are near the machine. It is what stops a box being opened while you are somewhere else.

Question 9

Can I rent more than one thing at a time?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each product is its own rental, in its own box, with its own running cost, and they all appear together in the app.

Question 10

How do I return a product?

Accepted Answer

Go back to the machine, open the rental in the app and tap Return. The same unlock screen appears and the box opens. Put the product back, close the box, and we work out your usage and take payment there and then.

Question 11

How do I know what I am being charged?

Accepted Answer

Your cost updates live for as long as the rental is running. Check it any time from the My Rentals screen, or from the Active Rental section on the app's home screen. On iPhone, if you allow Live Activities, it also shows on your Lock Screen without unlocking your phone.

Question 12

Does it need to be clean when I return it?

Accepted Answer

Give it a quick wipe if it needs one. Everything goes straight back into circulation for your neighbours, so a product should reach the next resident the way you would want to find it.

Question 13

Can I return it to a different machine?

Accepted Answer

Return it to the machine you took it from. If that is genuinely not possible, contact us before the rental runs on and we will tell you what to do.

Question 14

Can I tell you how it went?

Accepted Answer

Please do. A receipt appears as soon as the rental closes, and you can leave a rating and a comment on that same screen. It is the fastest way to tell us a product needs attention.

Question 15

How do I pay?

Accepted Answer

Apple Pay and all major cards. You pick the method when you authorise the rental, and that is the method we charge when you return the product.

Question 16

Why is there a hold on my card?

Accepted Answer

Authorising a rental places a small temporary hold — it is not a charge. It confirms the card is good before a locker opens. If you never open the box, the authorisation is cancelled and the hold is released.

Question 17

When am I actually charged?

Accepted Answer

When you return the product and close the box. We calculate the exact time you used it and charge for that, not for a rounded-up block.

Question 18

How is the price worked out?

Accepted Answer

By the hour, per product. The rate is shown in the app before you authorise anything, so you always see it first. No membership fee and no minimum rental.

Question 19

Can I get a receipt?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A receipt appears the moment the rental closes, and every past rental stays in your history in the app.

Question 20

Where can I find a Rentek?

Accepted Answer

In the lobby or a common area of buildings we have partnered with. The app shows which machines you can use and what is available in each one right now.

Question 21

When can I use a Rentek?

Accepted Answer

Any time. The machines run around the clock, which is most of the point — the need for a drill or a projector rarely arrives during office hours.

Question 22

A locker or the screen looks broken.

Accepted Answer

Tell us from the Help Center and we will get someone out. Include your building and, if you can see it, which locker — it saves us a trip to find out.

Question 23

It was already damaged when I opened the box.

Accepted Answer

Report it before you use it, from the rental screen or the Help Center. That puts it on record straight away so it is not attributed to you, and it stops the next resident finding the same problem.

Question 24

What if I damage something?

Accepted Answer

Tell us as soon as you can. Products are insured and ordinary wear is expected and accounted for. Anything beyond that we will talk through with you rather than spring on you.

Question 25

What if I lose it, or cannot return it?

Accepted Answer

Contact us straight away. A rental keeps running until the product is back in a locker, so telling us early is always better — and cheaper — than waiting.

Question 26

What data do you hold about me?

Accepted Answer

Your account details, your rental history and your payment records. What we collect, why, and the rights you have over it are set out in full in our Privacy Policy.

Question 27

Do you store my card details?

Accepted Answer

No. Card details are held by our payment provider. We never see or store your full card number.

Question 28

How do I delete my account?

Accepted Answer

Ask us from the Help Center and we will take care of it. Deleting your account removes your profile; we keep the rental and payment records the law requires us to keep, and nothing more.

Renting from a Rentek, explained.

Getting started

Renting a product

Returning it

Payments & pricing

Machines & lockers

Damage, loss & liability

Account & privacy