Complaints Procedure

1. Our approach

A complaint is treated as information about the service rather than as an inconvenience. Most are resolved at the first stage, on the same day, because the facts of a chauffeur journey are usually straightforward and the record is easy to check.

We do not ask you to prove your case before we look into it. We ask for enough detail to identify the journey and then check our own records, including the booking confirmation, the dispatch log and the account of the chauffeur involved.

Nobody is penalised for complaining. Raising a complaint does not affect your ability to book with us again, and it does not affect the terms you are offered.

2. How to raise a complaint

Complaints go to the client service desk, on WhatsApp at +44 7775 554848 or through the contact page, marked for the attention of the client service manager.

Please include the journey reference, the date and time of travel, the route, the name of the person who travelled and a description of what happened. If you have a photograph, a receipt or a message thread that is relevant, send it with the complaint.

We ask that complaints are raised within twenty-eight days of the journey where possible. We will still consider a complaint made later, but memories and vehicle records are less reliable with time and we may be able to do less about it.

3. Stage one: the client service desk

We acknowledge every complaint within one working day and tell you who is dealing with it. Most matters are answered in full within five working days, and if the complaint is straightforward we will usually resolve it well inside that.

Where the complaint concerns a charge, we will set out the calculation in full, including waiting time measured against the actual landing time on airport work, and correct the invoice where the charge should not have been made.

Where more time is needed, for example because a chauffeur is on a multi-day booking or a vehicle needs inspection, we will tell you why and give a revised date. We will not let a complaint sit without an update for more than ten working days.

4. Stage two: review

If you are not satisfied with the stage one response, ask for the matter to be reviewed by a director. Say briefly what remains unresolved so that the review addresses the right point, and enclose our earlier response.

The review is carried out by someone who was not involved in the original decision, wherever the size of the business allows, and looks again at the records and the reasoning. We aim to complete it within ten working days.

The stage two outcome is our final position. It will state what we found, what we accept, what we do not accept and what we are offering, along with the reasons behind each.

5. What we can put right

• —Correcting or cancelling a charge applied incorrectly, including waiting time and additional stops.
• —Refunding all or part of a fare where the service fell short of what was agreed.
• —A credit against a future journey where you would prefer that to a refund.
• —Changing an operating practice, a route plan or a briefing where the complaint has identified a genuine weakness.
• —Retraining or, where warranted, removing a chauffeur from work for a client.
• —A clear written explanation and an apology where that is what the situation calls for.

6. Complaints about conduct or safety

Complaints alleging discrimination, harassment, unsafe driving or any form of abuse are escalated immediately to a director and are not held at stage one. Where the allegation is serious, the chauffeur concerned will not be allocated further work with the complainant while the matter is investigated.

Where an allegation indicates a possible criminal offence or a safeguarding concern, we will report it to the police or the relevant local authority, and we will cooperate fully with any investigation. Our Safeguarding Policy sets out how those concerns are handled.

Matters affecting our private hire operator licence are reported to the authority that issued it, as our licence conditions require.

7. If you remain dissatisfied

Where our final response does not resolve matters, you may raise the complaint with the local authority that licenses the operator and the driver concerned. Private hire work is regulated locally rather than nationally, so the relevant authority depends on where the vehicle and driver are licensed. The client service desk will confirm which authority applies to a particular journey on request, and Citizens Advice can give independent guidance on consumer rights.

Complaints about how we have handled personal data can be taken to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. Complaints alleging discrimination can be discussed with the Equality Advisory and Support Service.

You retain the right to pursue a claim through the courts. Nothing in this procedure limits the statutory rights available to consumers under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

8. Records and learning

Every complaint is logged with the date received, the journey reference, the nature of the issue, the outcome and any action taken. The log is reviewed by the directors so that patterns are visible rather than lost in individual cases.

Complaint records are retained in line with our Privacy Policy, generally for six years where they relate to a charge or an insurance matter, and are kept separately from marketing data.

Where a complaint leads to a change in how we operate, it is recorded against the complaint so that we can see which improvements came from client feedback.