Making a Booking
Q. How do I make a booking?
A. You can contact us 24 hours a day 7 days a week via email, text, mobile or phone. For urgent matters relating to existing bookings or to make a new one, we always strongly suggest calling us on 0161 797 6665.
Q. Do I need a phone number to make bookings?
A. Yes. All bookings require a phone number. We accept mobile or landline phone numbers as well as international numbers.
Q. How can I change my booking?
A. Our preferred method of altering a booking is by phone or email. However, there a number of other none urgent ways to contact us – WhatsApp for international clients or text message service and messenger, with the latter as an emergency.
Q. Can I have multiple pickups/drop offs on my journey?
A. Yes, our services are bespoke to your you. If extra pickups or drop offs are not mentioned at the time of booking there could be an extra charge to the price already quoted and we advise extra pickups/drop offs are arranged in advanced.
Q. When do I need to book my car?
A. As far in advance as is practically possible to avoid us being unable to accept your booking and remember our no cancellation guarantee policy, subject to terms and conditions.
Q. When will I receive confirmation of my booking?
A. We confirm all email bookings in writing and by return email and no booking should be deemed confirmed without written confirmation. For booking which we receive that are not electronically sent, we can confirm in writing by request.
Q. Why is the price I’ve been quoted more than advertised on the website?
A. Our quotation system is a guide based on information entered at the time and may not take into account multiple collections or drop offs.
Vehicles
Q. What type of vehicles do you have?
A. Our current fleet consists of Volvo V90 and Mercedes-Benz E Class estates, Mercedes Vito People Carrier and 1960 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud. Through our partners we are able to supply further vehicles for larger events, including coaches.
Q. Are you a taxi and will you have taxi plates and stickers on the vehicles?
A. Under current legislation all chauffeurs or executive hire services, with the one exemption to those who solely cover weddings and funerals, have to be licensed under the same licensing legislation as taxis and private hire services. All our vehicles and chauffeurs undergo the same rigorous checks as taxis and private hire services, but we have a legal exemption from the display of all signage and “taxi” plates and were the first company to get this from Bury MBC.
Legal
Q. Are you legal and insured?
A. Yes. We have always abided by all rules relating to executive chauffeur services. We have been licensed by Bury Metropolitan Council since 1993. Both our vehicles and chauffeurs are fully licensed and regulated by the council under private hire legislation. We can confirm we hold public and employer liability insurance and all our vehicles are insured fully comprehensive.
Q. Are you linked to other companies with a similar name?
A. No. We are the original Prestige Chauffeurs in the UK; at the point of our foundation no other company in the UK used that name. Sadly, we have had many issues with other companies who have chosen to copy us, from being chased by debt agencies for their bad debts to client confusion. The only way to know the real Prestige Chauffeurs Limited from the imitators is to look for the registered trademark logo. We obtained this trademark due to us being able to prove the use of our name and the global association with our company and the Prestige Chauffeurs brand.
Q. How much luggage can the vehicle carry?
A. Clients can have confidence we will have a vehicle to suit your luggage requirements. You need to advise in advance of the amount of luggage so we can quote and provide the vehicle best suited for your needs. Our estate cars carry from 3/4 suitcases and 3 hand luggage to our people carriers to 8 cases and 4 hand luggage.
Q. Are you able to provide a child or booster seat for our travel?
A. No. Child or booster seats are not provided on health and safety grounds as each child requires a specific seat for their size, weight or age. However, we require wherever possible for children and babies to be restrained correctly in accordance to UK road traffic laws. To assist and meet legal obligations we offer a free storage service where we will look after your child or booster seats until your return. For clients only using our service one way we can arrange to either collect or drop off child seats, or make arrangements for them to be collected or dropped off at our offices.
Extra Services and Charges
Q. Waiting time
A. All prices given exclude waiting time, unless hired on a fixed price or day hire rate. For example, a return trip to a restaurant may cost £80.00, but your meal overran by an hour. If your chauffeur has already set off the original charge of £80.00 would incur one hour waiting time, which would result in the charge now being £100.00 in total.
Q. Can I avoid waiting time
A. To help avoid additional charges we always recommend clients contact us as soon as they know their expected collection time is going to be delayed to avoid your chauffeur already being dispatched. For example, your collection is booked for 22:00hrs but at 19:00hrs your plans change and you don’t require collecting until midnight. Changing the return collection time then would avoid any waiting time charges, so long as the newcollection time doesn’t incur further delays once your chauffeur has arrived.
Q. My flight is delayed or my luggage is delayed. Does this affect the price?
A. Collections from UK airports incur parking fees which have nearly doubled since the pandemic. Our airport charges include drop off and collection parking charges and an hour waiting time. We check flights for delays and your chauffeur will be aware of flight delays which avoids extra charges. All clients are asked to call our office and will receive a text with their chauffeurs’ details. Once clients collect their luggage, we ask them to call our office or chauffeur who will arrange to collect clients.
Q. Do you do a “meet and greet” service for airport collections?
A. Yes. Our “meet and greet” service is ideal for corporate clients who require international visitors, clients or employees to be met inside the terminal. This service will be priced net of car parking charges and any additional waiting time which exceeds the included one hour. A chauffeur will be inside the terminal with a branded name board and where applicable the client being collected will be contacted in advance with the chauffeurs’ details.
Q. Where do I meet my Chauffeur when I land at the Airport, port or train station?
A. Your chauffeur or our office will advise clients at time of booking or on departure where their chauffeur will meet them at an airport or station on their return. If you have requested a “meet and greet” service your chauffeur will be inside the airport terminal, normally outside the WHSmith or Spar shops at Manchester Airport with a name board displaying the company name we are collecting for or your name if not a corporate transfer.
Payments and Billing
Q. How can I pay for my travel?
A. Clients can pay in advance or on completion of the requested journey by cash, card or bank transfer.
Q. Do I need to have an account with you to book a chauffeur?
A. No. Clients can book our services without holding an account and we offer various methods of payment, including bank transfer, credit or debit cards, PayPal, cash and cheque.
Q. I’m a business customer; can I get a credit account?
A. Clients, private or corporate can open an account with Prestige Chauffeurs, subject to terms and conditions.
Q. How do I obtain a VAT receipt?
A. All account holders or clients paying in advance via bank transfer, credit or debit will receive a VAT invoice automatically. Clients playing by other means will still pay VAT on their journey and should request a VAT receipt at time of booking and one will be emailed to them.
Q. What is the difference between a cash and account bookings?
A. Cash payments are made on the day of the journey. An account client will have 14 days to settle their account.
Q. Do I pay VAT on my travel charges?
A. Yes, all our work, private or corporate is subject to VAT at current UK rates.
Q. Do you operate a fixed price policy?
A. Yes, a number of our services are fixed priced, for example airport, stations or city centres, excluding any additional waiting time.
Q. Are Road Tolls, Congestion Zone and CAZ charges included in charges?
A. All our quoted prices will include these charges, with the exception if you alter the journey from the original requested transfer, if applicable.
Q. Why do you charge for car parking?
A. All UK airports charge fees to drop off and collect at their airports. These charges can add from £20.00 to an airport return, and this charge has to be included in our charges.
Q. Do you charge extra on Bank Holidays, Christmas and New Year?
A. We only charge extra to our standard prices on the following bank holidays: Christmas Eve from 17:00hrs, throughout all Christmas Day and Boxing Day till 23:59hrs. New Years Eve from 17:00hrs throughout New Year’s Day to 23:59hrs.
Q. How does a payment appear on my credit card statement?
A. Your credit or bank statement should show Prestige Chauffeurs Limited
Q. Can I pay with PayPal?
A. Yes, we can send an invoice which can be settled via PayPal, but clients should advise at the time of booking this preferred payment method.
Q. Will I incur a credit card charge when booking?
A. EU rules state merchants cannot charge extra charges for private credit or debit cards, however charges can still be applied to corporate credit cards.
Chauffeur Hire Only
Q. I want to hire a chauffeur to drive my car, do I use your insurance?
A. This service is subject to being on the client’s insurance.
Q. What insurance do I use to hire a chauffeur to drive my vehicle?
A. Our corporate clients have insurance on their company vehicles that allow anyone with their permission to drive their vehicle and covers hiring a chauffeur. Others will have any driver policies that automatically cover those employed by them. Finally, we are named drivers on other policies to enable us to drive clients’ vehicles.For new clients we require confirmation that your insurer allows commercial use of a chauffeur to drive your vehicle and proof of cover being provided to us prior to any chauffeur being hired.
Q. How am I charged when hiring a chauffeur to drive my vehicle?
A. Clients using this service are charged either by the hour, with a minimum charge or on a fixed day rate.
Q. Are there any other costs associated with hiring a chauffeur to drive my vehicle?
A. Any per hour of day rate charge excludes any other costs, such as tolls, parking, fuel or other out of pocket expenses. For clients hiring a chauffeur where they are requiring to stay overnight, hotel accommodation can either be arranged by the client or for an additional charge by ourselves.
Q. Is it possible to quote for a chauffeur to drive my vehicle including all extra charges?
A. We can provide clients with an estimate inclusive of all charges to hire a chauffeur to drive their vehicle. For example, this could include fixed hire chauffeur day rates, flights, ferry transfers, tolls, parking and hotels. The quotation would be subject to price changes, as estimates would be based on additional costs prices at time of contacting us. Clients always have the right to book and pay direct for additional charges and we can provide a quote based solely on the hire of a chauffeur.
Legal
Q. What is your cancellation policy?
A. We offer a no charge cancellation guarantee when clients cancel their booking in advance of their chauffeur being dispatched. A cancellation fee or full charge will be liable under the following conditions. For example, a client wishes to be collected from Heathrow at 08:00 hrs but doesn’t cancel till 04:00 hrs, a time after which the chauffeur would have been dispatched. This example would incur a cancellation charge of at least 50 percent. A client requires a journey to Manchester from Bury at 8pm and cancels this trip at 18:30hrs, this would not incur any cancellation charge.
Q. Can I smoke or vape in the car?
A. No. We have always operated a non-smoking policy since our foundation prior to UK law making it illegal to smoke inside vehicles or buildings. Our non-smoking policy extends to vaping. For clients who smoke or vapeyour chauffeur will accommodate clients smoking or vaping prior to entering the vehicle, especially from a long-haul flight.
Q. I think I may have left an item in one of your vehicles. How do I get it back?
A. Chauffeurs will check vehicles prior to leaving clients, but sometime smaller items can be missed, especially at night. Any lost items will be kept safely and securely and your chauffeur will contact you if items are found. If you have lost or left an item in one of our vehicles and haven’t been contacted by us, please contact our office on 0161 797 6665 as soon as possible so vehicles can be checked to try to locate left items.
Other Questions
Q. How can I submit a question?
A. You can use our simple contact form at Contact Us.
Q. How accurate are your estimated journey times?
A. Our estimated journey times are based on previous average travel times to the destination(s) you wish to travel to. We use technology to confirm timings for journeys, but neither can take into account significant delays or adverse weather. If you use our website to book a journey or obtain a quote and it is estimated to take 30 minutes, we would always recommend booking a collection time by adding an extra 15-20 minutes. If you book via our office, we will automatically add extra time to all journeys but clients can authorise a specific time if they don’t want to add in a safety net.
Q. Are you able to collect me from a large public event, such as a concert or football match?
A. Yes, we can collect clients from any large event.
