The things clients ask us most often, answered plainly. If yours is not here, ring the booking desk and we will tell you straight.
Getting the journey in the diary and knowing what it costs.
Use the booking system on our homepage. Enter the journey and you will see a fixed price straight away, then confirm it there and then. If you would rather talk it through, or the journey is complicated, ring 0191 716 6630 and we will take the details over the phone.
The earlier the better. A few days' notice is comfortable for most journeys, and weddings and event work are usually booked months ahead. That said, we take same day and short notice bookings whenever the diary allows, so it is always worth asking.
Yes. Every journey is quoted as a fixed price before you confirm it, and that is what you pay. There is no meter running, no surge pricing at busy times and no adjustment afterwards because the traffic was worse than expected. The only thing that changes the price is you changing the journey, and we will confirm the new figure with you before we go anywhere.
Private bookings are paid by card through the booking system when you confirm. Business account clients are not asked to pay at the point of booking at all. Everything goes onto one invoice at the end of the month.
Very often that is exactly what happens. Give us the passenger's name and mobile number along with the booking, and we will deal with them directly on the day so you are not left relaying messages. You will still get the confirmation and the invoice.
Let us know as early as you can and there is normally nothing to pay. A cancellation at very short notice means a driver and a vehicle held for a job we can no longer fill, so charges can apply close to the booked time and on wedding and event work booked well in advance. Ring us rather than guessing and we will tell you where you stand.
What happens once the journey is booked.
Ten minutes before the booked time as standard. We build slack into the schedule before the car leaves, so a hold up on the road is our problem to solve rather than yours to hear about.
Yes. One chauffeur takes the whole booking, from the first collection to the last drop, and they are briefed before they arrive. Nobody has to be told the plan twice, and on a multi stop day you are not explaining yourself to a different driver at every stop.
Yes, and it happens most weeks. One message to the chauffeur or a call to the office and we replan the rest of the day around it. If the change affects the price we will confirm the new figure with you before we move.
It can. On a multi stop day we hold the car locally between appointments so there is no rebooking and no standing outside waiting for a car to come back to you. Tell us the shape of the day when you book and we will price it that way, or book the car by the hour and keep it with you throughout.
Ask when you book and we will do our best to arrange it. Please give us as much notice as you can and tell us the child's age, so the right seat is fitted before the car sets off rather than at the kerb.
What turns up on your drive.
Our principal vehicle is a Mercedes-Benz S-Class in long wheelbase, finished in iridium silver with AMG Line trim and privacy glass in the rear. It is the car most clients ask for by name. We also run E-Class saloons and V-Class people carriers, so the vehicle is matched to the journey. Whatever is booked is what turns up.
It depends which vehicle suits the journey.
Leather seating, rear climate control, privacy glass, bottled water and charging for your phone. Quiet enough to take a call from, which is usually what our business clients care about most.
Every vehicle is fully licensed and insured for private hire and serviced on schedule, and every chauffeur is licensed and vetted. Licensing, insurance and driver documentation can be supplied on request if your procurement team or duty of care records need them.
For companies booking regularly.
It is an arrangement for companies that book us regularly. We hold your details, agree rates on the routes you use often, and everything lands on one invoice at the end of the month instead of a card payment every time somebody needs a car.
Yes. Anyone you nominate can book, through the client portal or by phone, and it all goes onto the same account. The portal lets a booker arrange journeys for several different passengers at once, and we keep usual collection points and any particular requirements on file so nobody has to repeat themselves.
They can. Tell us the reference or cost code you want against each booking and it comes through on the statement, so your finance team are not rebuilding the month from a pile of receipts.
It is a cloud based booking system for account clients. Book a journey in a few clicks, book multiple journeys for multiple passengers in one go, and download confirmations and past or present invoices whenever you need them. It gives you complete control over your travel requirements without having to ring anybody.
It has been a huge hit with our account customers since we brought it in.
Ring the office on 0191 716 6630 and we will go through it properly. It takes one conversation.
Meet and greet transfers.
Yes. Full meet and greet is standard on our airport work. Your chauffeur waits inside arrivals with a name board and takes the bags from there, so you are not standing in a car park looking for a registration plate.
We track the flight or the service, so the collection time moves with it and there is nothing for you to do. A delay is not a reason to charge you more. If a flight is diverted or cancelled outright, ring us as soon as you can and we will work out the sensible thing to do.
Any of them. Newcastle, Teesside, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Edinburgh are the regular runs, and we go to the London airports as a single door to door journey where that suits you better than flying up from the South. Same for rail, whether it is Newcastle Central or King's Cross.
The days that only happen once.
Yes. Ribbons and bows to match your colours, at no extra cost. Tell us the shade when you book.
Ask and we will arrange it. Most couples are happy with photographs, but if you would rather see it in person before you commit, that is not a problem.
That is up to you. Some couples want one arrival at the ceremony, others want the car for the whole day including the run to the reception afterwards. Tell us the running order when you enquire and we will price it as a whole rather than by the trip.
Where journeys start, and where they finish.
We are based in Whitley Bay and most of our work starts within an hour of the Tyne.
Regularly. London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham as single fixed price runs, door to door. For two or more people travelling together it often works out at less than two rail fares plus a taxi at each end, and you arrive able to work rather than having changed trains twice.
We take bookings 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and that includes the early hours and bank holidays. Event and hospitality work often finishes late, and we stay with the schedule however late that turns out to be.
Ring the booking desk and you will get a straight answer from the person who will be arranging the journey.
