The terms governing your use of VDrive Private Hire's website, hire services and partner programme.
Last updated: 15 March 2026 · These terms are kept under regular review. We recommend you have your own legal adviser review them before relying on them as a partner or hirer.
Quick summary. VDrive Private Hire is a UK private hire vehicle (PHV) rental and fleet-management business based in Kidderminster. We hire PCO/PHV-licensed vehicles to qualified drivers and we manage vehicles on behalf of partner companies (check-out, check-in, payments, PCNs, enforcement and reporting). The detail below explains how the relationship works for both drivers and partners.
By accessing or using VDrive Private Hire's website, applying for a vehicle hire, or registering as a Partner, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use our services. These Terms apply alongside (and do not replace) any signed Hire Agreement or signed Partner Agreement.
To hire a Vehicle from VDrive Private Hire, you must:
You must upload clear copies of your identity, address, driving licence, PCO/PHV badge and any insurance documents during application. We may run further checks (DVLA, fraud-prevention databases, social-media presence in some cases). We reserve the right to decline any application without giving reasons. Approval is normally communicated within 1–3 working days. Approved applicants are invited to attend collection by appointment. See section 4A for how to lock a specific vehicle online while your application is being reviewed.
Once you have a registered, approved customer account, you may reserve a specific vehicle online before collection by paying your first week's rent for that vehicle through our payment processor (Stripe Checkout). This payment secures the vehicle and counts as Week 1 of your hire. The following terms apply to that payment:
Consumer law note. Vehicle hire is a contract for the supply of transport services. Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (Schedule 2, paragraph (h)), contracts for the rental of vehicles are excluded from the 14-day right to cancel that normally applies to distance and off-premises contracts. The cancellation rules in this section 4A therefore apply in place of any general cooling-off right. Nothing in this section limits any non-excludable rights you may have under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (for example, where the service is not performed with reasonable care and skill).
Vehicles are hired on a rolling weekly basis. Plans are typically offered for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months, with weekly pricing tiers: the longer the term, the lower the weekly rate. The exact weekly rate, deposit, and minimum hire period are recorded on the signed Hire Agreement at collection.
If there is any conflict between these Terms and the signed Hire Agreement, the signed Hire Agreement governs the day-to-day hire relationship. These Terms continue to apply for everything else.
Only the named Driver on the Hire Agreement may drive the Vehicle. Sub-hire, lending, swapping or sharing the Vehicle with another driver is strictly prohibited and will end the hire and trigger immediate vehicle recovery.
Weekly hire is payable in advance on the agreed payment day. Accepted payment methods are recorded on your account. If a payment is not received by the agreed day:
Repeated late or missed payments will result in suspension of the Driver's account and a referral to debt collection where appropriate.
A refundable security deposit is taken before collection. The amount depends on the Vehicle and is confirmed in writing. The deposit is returned within 14 working days of the Vehicle being signed back in, less any of the following lawful deductions:
You must return the Vehicle in the same condition as received, fair wear and tear excepted. We use BVRLA-style fair-wear-and-tear principles as our reference. A walk-around inspection, including video and photos, is completed at both collection (check-out) and return (check-in), and you will be asked to sign these off. Any damage identified at check-in beyond fair wear and tear will be charged at cost (parts, labour, paint), with photographic evidence.
Vehicles may only be used for licensed private hire work in the United Kingdom. You must not:
Vehicles in our managed fleet are covered by a fleet insurance policy for licensed private-hire use only. You must declare any motoring convictions, driving-licence endorsements, claims history or medical conditions that affect fitness to drive, both at the start of hire and as they arise. Any misdeclaration that invalidates cover will leave you personally liable for the full cost of any claim. Driving the Vehicle uninsured (e.g. with an expired licence or badge) is a serious breach and will end the hire immediately.
The following policy excess amounts apply to all insurance claims and are your responsibility to pay:
Excess payments are invoiced separately and must be settled within 14 days of demand. Failure to pay will result in the amount being deducted from your security deposit and, where insufficient, referred to our debt-recovery process.
Where VDrive Private Hire arranges and pays for vehicle recovery on your behalf, whether or not the incident is your fault, the full recovery cost is a debt immediately due from you. This amount is in addition to any applicable policy excess and will be invoiced and recovered accordingly.
Where a fault determination has been recorded on your account (see section 15K for post-termination survival of this obligation), your account will be suspended and you will be unable to be checked into a new vehicle until the excess is paid in full or formally waived by VDrive Private Hire. The status of any open claim and the outstanding excess amount are visible in your customer portal.
As registered keeper, VDrive Private Hire (or the Partner) initially receives all PCNs, congestion-charge / ULEZ / clean-air-zone notices, dart-charge notices, bus-lane charges, parking charges, red-route fines and speeding notices issued against the Vehicle. Where the contravention occurred during your Hire Period, liability is transferred to you on record at the time of the offence and a non-refundable administration fee per notice is charged in addition to the underlying amount. Failure to settle PCN charges promptly may result in:
Fuel and AdBlue are the Driver's responsibility throughout the Hire Period. Routine servicing and MOT are scheduled by VDrive Private Hire (for our own vehicles) or by the Partner (for Partner vehicles); you are required to make the Vehicle available for these appointments. Tyres must be maintained at legal tread depth; punctures and damage caused during hire are the Driver's responsibility. Any defect (warning light, unusual noise, fluid leak, brake feel) must be reported to us immediately and the Vehicle taken off the road until inspected.
All accidents, however minor, must be reported to us within 24 hours, with photographs of all vehicles involved, the scene, registration plates, and the contact and insurance details of any other party. Do not admit liability at the scene. In the event of breakdown, contact our 24-hour line for instructions. Recovery of the Vehicle to a safe location is normally arranged through the fleet insurer or our nominated recovery partner; charges may apply where the breakdown was caused by Driver action (wrong fuel, kerbed wheel, lost keys, misfuelling, flat battery from accessories, etc.). Where an accident is found to be your fault or where liability is disputed, all recovery, towing and storage costs are charged to you in addition to the fault excess set out in section 10.
You must comply at all times with the TfL or local council code of conduct, the Highway Code, and all applicable UK road-traffic and licensing law. Anti-social behaviour, hate speech, harassment of passengers or our staff, or any conduct that brings VDrive Private Hire or our Partner into disrepute is a serious breach of these Terms and may result in immediate termination of hire.
Either party may end a rolling weekly hire by giving the notice set out in the Hire Agreement (typically 7 days). At the end of hire, the Vehicle must be returned, clean and fuelled, to the address and within the time window we confirm. A late-return fee applies for unauthorised retention. We reserve the right to recover the Vehicle immediately and without further notice in the event of:
These Terms of Service and the signed Hire Agreement (together with any signed Partner Agreement where applicable) constitute the entire agreement between the parties relating to their subject matter and supersede all prior representations, discussions, correspondence, negotiations, drafts, agreements, memoranda of understanding, and arrangements, whether oral or written, including anything on our website, in promotional materials, or said by any VDrive Private Hire representative before the agreement was signed. You confirm that you have not entered into this agreement on the basis of any representation, warranty, or statement that is not expressly set out in these Terms or in the signed Hire Agreement.
A failure or delay by VDrive Private Hire to exercise any right or remedy under these Terms or the Hire Agreement on any one occasion does not constitute a waiver of that right or remedy and will not prevent VDrive Private Hire from exercising it on any subsequent occasion. No single or partial exercise of any right or remedy precludes any other or further exercise of it or the exercise of any other right or remedy. A waiver is only effective if it is in writing signed by an authorised VDrive Private Hire representative.
If any provision of these Terms or the Hire Agreement is found by a court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, void, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, that provision will be severed from the remaining provisions and the rest of these Terms and the Hire Agreement will remain in full force and effect as if the invalid provision had not been included.
A person who is not a party to these Terms has no right to enforce any of their provisions under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999. The rights of the parties to rescind or vary these Terms are not subject to the consent of any other person.
Any notice, demand, payment request, termination notice, or other communication under these Terms or the Hire Agreement may be served by VDrive Private Hire to the Driver by any of the following methods, and will be deemed received at the time indicated:
It is the Driver's responsibility to keep their contact details up to date on their account. VDrive Private Hire is entitled to rely on the last contact details provided; failure to receive a notice because contact details are out of date does not affect the validity of the notice.
All Vehicles in the VDrive Private Hire fleet are fitted with a GPS telematics device. By signing the Hire Agreement, the Driver gives their express, informed consent to the following processing for the duration of the Hire Period and for a reasonable period thereafter for legal, insurance and debt-recovery purposes:
Telematics data is personal data and is processed by VDrive Private Hire as data controller in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Full details of retention periods, data-subject rights (including the right of access, rectification and erasure), and the lawful basis for processing are set out in our Privacy Policy. VDrive Private Hire is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as a data controller. Any attempt to tamper with, disable, or obstruct the telematics device is a serious breach of these Terms, will end the hire immediately, and may constitute a criminal offence.
The relationship created by the Hire Agreement is a contract of bailment: VDrive Private Hire bails the Vehicle to the Driver for the Hire Period in return for weekly hire payments. This relationship does not create, and must not be construed as creating, any employment, worker, agency, partnership, joint venture, or principal/agent relationship between VDrive Private Hire and the Driver. The Driver is and remains self-employed and is solely responsible for their own income tax, National Insurance contributions, VAT (if applicable), employer and public liability insurance, and compliance with all obligations applicable to their status as a self-employed individual. VDrive Private Hire has no responsibility for the Driver's earnings, working hours, tax affairs, or social-security contributions.
Using the Vehicle for any criminal purpose, including but not limited to carrying or transporting controlled drugs, county-lines activity, human trafficking, sex work, theft, fraud, or any offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, is a fundamental breach of these Terms. VDrive Private Hire will terminate the hire immediately and report the matter to the relevant authorities.
If the Vehicle is seized, impounded, or detained by any public authority (including but not limited to the Police, DVLA, HMRC, the National Crime Agency, or a local council) as a result of or in connection with the Driver's actions, conduct, or failure to comply with applicable law, all of the following costs are the Driver's sole liability and must be paid in full before the security deposit is returned:
VDrive Private Hire will cooperate fully with any investigation by the relevant authorities and will provide any records, telematics data, or documentation requested.
VDrive Private Hire accepts no responsibility for any personal property, belongings, documents, equipment, or other items left in the Vehicle at the time of return, repossession, or seizure. Where a Vehicle is recovered from the Driver, we will attempt to hold any personal property found in the Vehicle for a period of 7 calendar days from the date of recovery, during which time the Driver (or an authorised representative) may arrange collection by appointment. After that 7-day period, any uncollected items may be disposed of at our discretion and without further notice. VDrive Private Hire will not be liable for any loss, damage or disposal of such items.
By signing the Hire Agreement, the Driver expressly authorises VDrive Private Hire and any recovery agent or sub-contractor acting on its behalf to collect and take possession of the Vehicle from any location at which it may be found, including private property, where VDrive Private Hire is entitled to recover the Vehicle under these Terms. The Driver agrees to procure any necessary permission from any third-party landlord, property owner, or operator to enable such recovery and to indemnify VDrive Private Hire against any claim, cost, or liability arising from a third party in connection with the recovery. This consent is irrevocable for the duration of the Hire Agreement and for so long as any amount remains outstanding.
Termination of the Hire Agreement, however it arises, does not extinguish or reduce any financial obligation that accrued during the Hire Period or that arises as a consequence of the hire. In particular, the following obligations survive termination and remain fully enforceable:
All surviving obligations are payable on demand and, if unpaid, may be referred to debt collection or legal proceedings without further notice.
Without prejudice to any other remedy available to VDrive Private Hire, all sums not paid by the Driver on the due date carry interest at the statutory rate of 8% per annum above the Bank of England base rate, accruing daily from the due date until payment in full, pursuant to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (or, for consumers, at our contractual rate of 8% per annum above Bank of England base rate). VDrive Private Hire is also entitled to recover from the Driver all reasonable costs of recovering unpaid sums, including debt-collection agency fees, solicitor's fees, court fees, and enforcement costs, in addition to the principal debt and interest.
VDrive Private Hire may, without the Driver's consent, sub-contract or delegate any of its operational obligations under these Terms or the Hire Agreement to third parties, including debt-collection agencies, vehicle recovery and repossession agents, telematics providers, and maintenance contractors. VDrive Private Hire remains responsible to the Driver for the proper performance of any sub-contracted obligation.
No amendment, variation, or modification to the signed Hire Agreement is valid or binding unless it is made in writing and signed by an authorised representative of VDrive Private Hire. Verbal agreements, text messages, WhatsApp messages, or emails from non-authorised personnel do not constitute a binding variation of the Hire Agreement. These Terms of Service may be updated in accordance with section 21.
If the Driver wishes to challenge any damage charge identified at check-in, they must raise a formal written dispute by emailing admin@vdrive.uk with the subject line "Damage Dispute - [vehicle registration] - [hire agreement reference]" within 48 hours of the check-in inspection. The dispute must include the Driver's reasons and any supporting photographic or video evidence. After the 48-hour window, the check-in inspection record (photos + video) will be deemed accepted by the Driver and no further challenge will be entertained, without prejudice to VDrive Private Hire's right to recover the charges in full. VDrive Private Hire will acknowledge the dispute within 3 working days and respond substantively within 14 working days.
VDrive Private Hire provides an operational management service to vehicle-owning Partners. We make sure the day-to-day hire of your vehicles runs smoothly. We do not take on the commercial, financial or legal risk that sits with you as the vehicle owner. The split is set out below so we can both run a clean, professional operation.
We perform the following with reasonable skill and care:
The following stay your responsibility throughout; VDrive Private Hire is not liable for any of them:
VDrive Private Hire does not pay for, organise, or contribute towards any maintenance, servicing, tyre, repair, MOT, plate, road tax, insurance, ULEZ or licensing work on a Partner vehicle. These are the Partner's cost and arrangement at all times.
We will use commercially reasonable efforts to recover any sums owed by drivers: automated reminders, late fees, immobilisation, repossession, and (where appropriate) referral to debt collection. We do not guarantee recovery and we are not liable to the Partner for unpaid hire, shortfall, bad debt, write-offs or any sums the driver fails to pay, regardless of the cause. Hire amounts are remitted to the Partner on a received basis only; we only pay across what we have actually collected.
We allocate PCNs and similar notices to the responsible driver on record at the time of the contravention and apply our admin fee. We are not liable for the underlying amount, any escalation, court costs, bailiff action, or charges levied directly against the registered keeper. The Partner remains the registered keeper and ultimately liable to the issuing authority where the driver does not pay.
VDrive Private Hire is not the Partner's insurer and does not act as an insurance intermediary. We are not liable for any uninsured loss, excess, premium increase, no-claims-discount loss, total-loss settlement, gap-insurance shortfall, or refusal of cover by an underwriter. Accident reporting, claims and recoveries are the Partner's responsibility, working directly with their own underwriter or broker. We will, on request, share the documentation, photos and video evidence we hold to support the Partner's claim.
Our check-out and check-in records (photos + video) are evidential and form the basis of any deposit deduction. VDrive Private Hire is not liable for damage caused by the driver beyond what is recoverable from the driver's deposit and reasonable debt pursuit; nor for fair wear and tear, mechanical failure, tyre punctures, AdBlue, fuel or consumables.
We will attempt to recover your Vehicle when the hire contract is breached, but we are not liable for vehicles that cannot be located, are taken outside England & Wales, are damaged or stripped before recovery, or are subject to police, customs, council, court or third-party seizure. Reasonable recovery and storage costs may be charged onwards to the Partner where appropriate.
The platform, partner dashboard and reporting tools are provided "as is" on a best-efforts basis. We are not liable for downtime, data loss caused by user error, or third-party outages (hosting, payment processors, telecoms providers).
VDrive Private Hire is not liable to the Partner for loss of profit, loss of contracts, loss of opportunity, loss of goodwill or reputation, business interruption, or any indirect, special or consequential loss, however arising.
VDrive Private Hire's total aggregate liability to the Partner under the partner relationship in any 12-month period is limited to the management fees actually paid by that Partner to VDrive Private Hire in the preceding 12 months. Nothing in these Terms limits liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be limited under English law (the Partner's statutory rights are not affected).
VDrive Private Hire acts as an independent service provider. Nothing in these Terms or in any Partner Agreement creates a partnership, joint venture, employment or agency relationship between VDrive Private Hire and the Partner. Each party is responsible for its own taxes and liabilities.
The Partner agrees to keep VDrive Private Hire harmless from third-party claims arising out of the Partner's vehicle, ownership, finance, insurance, regulatory non-compliance or anything outside VDrive Private Hire's defined scope of service set out at 16.1.
If there is any conflict between these Terms and a signed bilateral Partner Agreement, the bilateral Partner Agreement takes precedence. Where there is no signed bilateral Partner Agreement, these Terms apply in full.
VDrive Private Hire charges the Partner a platform fee of £20 per vehicle per week (calculated daily at £20 ÷ 7 = £2.857142… per day, rounded to two decimal places at cycle close) for the operational management services described at clause 16.1. The fee is charged only for the days each vehicle is actually on hire to a driver under a check-out / check-in record on the platform. Days on which the vehicle is off-hire (returned and not yet assigned to a new driver, off-road for repairs, plate renewal, MOT, servicing or any other reason) do not accrue the fee.
The fee is billed on a rolling 28-day cycle, calculated per vehicle. Each vehicle's first cycle starts on the day that vehicle is first placed on hire through the platform (the "anchor date"); subsequent cycles run consecutively in 28-day blocks from that anchor, regardless of calendar month. The check-out date is counted as on hire; the check-in date is counted as returned and is not charged. A day is only counted as a hire day once it has been completed in full. The maximum fee for one vehicle in a single 28-day cycle is therefore £80, applicable only if the vehicle was on hire every day of that cycle.
Each cycle auto-closes the day after it ends and an itemised invoice is generated against the Partner showing days on hire, the daily rate and the total fee for that vehicle and cycle. Closed invoices are settled by the Partner to VDrive Private Hire in accordance with the agreed payment method and timeframe set out in the Partner's onboarding pack or signed Partner Agreement.
On the same 28-day cycle, VDrive Private Hire calculates a net payout per vehicle, being the gross weekly hire actually collected from the driver inside that cycle window (excluding deposits and damage charges) less the matching platform fee for the same cycle. Net payouts are remitted to the Partner by bank transfer in line with the Partner's onboarding pack. Remittance is on a received basis only (clause 16.3); unpaid hire that has not been collected from the driver is not included in the payout. Both the platform-fee invoice and the matching net-payout record are visible to the Partner on the partner dashboard.
VDrive Private Hire may change the platform fee, the cycle length or the calculation method on at least 30 days' written notice to the Partner in accordance with clause 21. Where a Partner has a signed bilateral Partner Agreement that sets a different fee, cycle or remittance arrangement, that bilateral agreement takes precedence under clause 16.13.
For Drivers, VDrive Private Hire's liability in connection with the website, the application process and the hire is limited to the amount you have paid us in the 3 months preceding any claim. We are not liable for indirect, consequential or economic loss, loss of earnings, or loss of opportunity arising from use of our services or vehicles. Nothing in these Terms limits liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be limited under English law. Your statutory rights as a consumer (where applicable) are not affected.
Neither party is liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond reasonable control, including (but not limited to) acts of God, severe weather, fire, flood, pandemic, war, terrorism, civil disorder, industrial action, government action, fuel shortages, or major outage of telecoms, power or third-party platforms.
If you have a complaint, please email admin@vdrive.uk with the subject line "Complaint - [your name]". We aim to acknowledge complaints within 3 working days and respond substantively within 14 working days. If we cannot resolve a complaint between us:
These Terms of Service are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
We may update these Terms from time to time. For non-material changes (typos, formatting, clearer wording), the updated Terms apply on publication. For material changes (changes to fees, scope of service, or liability allocation), we will give at least 30 days' notice by email and on this page before the new Terms take effect.
For any queries about these Terms, contact us at:
VDrive Private Hire (Company No. 17177362, registered in England & Wales)
Trading address: 78 Mill Street, Mill Lane, Kidderminster, DY11 6XJ
Registered office: Paymal House, Stepney Way, London, United Kingdom, E1 3HR
Email: admin@vdrive.uk · Phone: 07777964171