Prom Night Limo Hire: The questions you must ask at the time of quotation before placing a booking.
- Ask where the Limo company is based and what it is called?
- Does the company have an operator's Licence?
- Is the Limo or car you are about to book a licensed private hire vehicle?
- Can you come and view the Limo in person before booking it?
- Always ask for full address and landline number.
Every year lots of prom kids and parents book limos after searching online and paying a deposit over the phone or by bank transfer, just to find out on the actual day of the booking that the limo they booked is not turning up. The result is a lot of disappointed kids and angry parents, who have lost their hard earned money to BOGUS online brokers and comparison companies.These companies, in all honesty could be running from a bedroom laptop hundreds if not thousands of miles away, with a website and a non geographical number taking on lots of calls everyday and making lots of money.
Lets just first look at the numbers; even a deposit of £20-50 per booking which could be multiplied by 25-50 bookings a day would generate £500 - £2500 per day for the BOGUS company, after 365 days £180K - £900K richer that BOGUS company can re-appear with a new website, new number and new logo calling themselves anything they like.
All this can be done because they don't own a single Limo.
Those who have nothing fear nothing. No reputation - Nothing at stake.
On the other hand, lots of local limo operators up and down the country struggle to make the ends meet as the pressures of real business are completely different from the BOGUS business. Lots of bills to be paid, targets to be met, lots of expensive motors mean they need to be stored, taken care off and kept in serviceable condition 365 days of the year with staff costs and business rent and rate bills to be satisfied. Losing vital business to the BOGUS Limo company means less bookings for the legitimate operator.
The parents who lose money might complain few times and look to get reimbursed but the BOGUS companies are nowhere to be found when you go out to look for them, their numbers get changed and no reply is the common fate of the complaining customer. I have seen websites and facebook pages disappear overnight just before the proms.
It is essential for every customer to look at the company critically before handing over your hard earned money and even more important when it comes to 'your kids'. The children are very disappointed when their day is ruined.
Firstly ask and double check what the company is called and their location. Don't just believe High street, city centre of every town and every village the reality is that simply isn't possible. Take the address and postcode : Google Streetview it check to see if their actually is a company at the address given.
Its easy when you can see some Limos or signs of the Limo company. Just type in post code in google search bar and check. Can't keep 30 feet long limos hidden from view if you have them.
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| Limo Hire Company Birmingham |
Does the company have operator licence?
Any one hiring a vehicle with a driver in UK must hold an operator licence either with a local council in case of upto 8 passenger vehicle or with DVSA (formerly known as VOSA) granted by Traffic commissioner. It simply against the law for any person to start hiring this service without any operator licence.
Is the Limo or car you are about to book licensed private hire vehicle?
Vehicles which are unlicensed and our operated illegally have been know to be taken off the road and crushed by VOSA in the past. Their Insurance is invalid as its not fit for the use of proms or any events such like. Private hire vehicles will always have CRB / DBS checked drivers with appropriate private hire licensed driving licence.
Can you come and view the limo in person before booking?
Unless you can go and see the limo before booking how can you be sure that what you are paying for is what you will get on the day. Lots of photos on website doesn't guarantee that the limo you will get will be one of those and also doesn't actually mean that the company has these limo unless you can go and see in person. Lots of photos from America are shown on limo companies pages in the UK. As long as they look nice they are used on websites with a little disclaimer to say these images our for illustration purpose only.
Always ask for full address and Landline number.
Book only with local companies with experience and knowledge. My advise book direct at all cost, never use broker or third party. Only then you can actually be sure that the person coming out to you on the day of booking would care to do the Job right as it will be his company name and reputation on the line.
If you are looking for Limo hire in Birmingham or surrounding areas give us a call. We have been a small family owned and run business since 2001. Trying harder everyday to provide 5 Star service each and every time.
