In this contract a reference to “you” and “your” include the lead-named person on the confirmation invoice (who must be at least 18 years old at the time of booking) and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made.
Terms and Conditions
These booking conditions form the contract between us for your journey
We are:
1. In this agreement
1.1 “Pick-up Point” means the place specified by you in the Booking Request as the place we will meet and start your Journey.
1.2 “Pick-up Time” means the time and date on which we meet to start any leg of your Journey.
2. What is included in the price
2.1 The following items are included:
2.1.1 Travel from the Pick-up Point to your destination, and on return journeys travel from your destination to your Drop-off Point (which is likely to be the same place) in a minibus;
2.1.2 A qualified minibus driver to drive the vehicle.
3. Booking your journey
3.1 You can either book your minibus journey over the phone with an authorised agent of Blackpool Minibuses, or you can submit a booking request online.
3.2 We will require some details to confirm the booking which we will hold in accordance with the Data Protection Act.
3.3 Your booking is not confirmed until you have received a confirmation email from Blackpool Minibuses. If you have not received this within 24 hours of making the booking, please contact us.
3.4 Online booking requests are not confirmed bookings until you have received an email accepting and confirming the booking, which we aim to send within 24 hours of booking.
3.5 Once a booking is confirmed, we require at least a 20% deposit within 7 days to secure your booking.
3.6 If we do not receive your deposit within 7 days of requesting it, we will cancel your booking. If you would like more time to pay the deposit, feel free to contact us, but this is at our discretion.
4. Payment
4.1 We can take payment via a bank transfer, or as a card payment over the phone or online.
4.2 Full payment of the balance must be made 72 hours prior to your journey commencing. We also reserve the right to cancel the booking if the balance is not paid on time.
4.3 We will send you a payment reminder 7 days prior to your journey to allow you to pay the remaining balance online.
5. Changes and cancellations by you
5.1 You may be able to make minor changes to your booking up until the day of your departure, including the number of passengers, the pick-up address, the destination address, or adding extra pick-ups and drop-offs. These changes can be made by getting in touch with the office during office hours via phone or email, but are at our discretion as they would need to fit around other bookings and European driving laws. These changes may be subject to an additional charge.
5.2 We request that you please inform us of any changes to your booking as soon as possible.
5.3 You may cancel your booking more than 7 days before date of travel, and receive a full refund of any money you have already paid.
5.4 If you choose to cancel your booking within 7 days of travel, you will lose your 20% deposit. If cancelled within 24 hours of your journey, you will forfeit the full amount.
6. Changes and cancellations by us
6.1 When a booking is confirmed, we will endeavour to ensure that the journey goes ahead as planned. However, occasionally unforeseen circumstances beyond our control may mean that we have to cancel a booking. These circumstances include, but are not limited to weather conditions, road closure, mechanical issues, fuel strikes, etc.
6.2 In the event of us cancelling a booking, we will give you a full refund. We will let you know as soon as possible, so you can make alternative arrangements.
6.3 If we have to cancel your booking within 7 days of the journey, we will suggest an alternative minibus company where possible.
6.4 If we need to make any changes to your booking due to unforeseen circumstances, we will consult you before making the change, and allow you the option of cancelling with a full refund if you cannot accommodate the change.
7. Punctuality
7.1 In the unusual event that we are running late due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, such as mechanical failure, road closure, accidents, etc. we will contact you as soon as possible on your provided phone number. We will give you a realistic ETA, and also the option to cancel the journey with a full refund to allow you to make alternative arrangements if your journey is time critical.
7.2 Please let us know of any alternations to times as soon as possible. Last minute alternations may be possible at the discretion of the office team / driver, but cannot be guaranteed.
7.3 If you are running more than 15 minutes late to meeting us at a meeting point, we reserve the right to cancel the journey without a refund. We will attempt to contact you via your provided phone number before doing so, and in some circumstances, will allow you extra time if your request is reasonable and it doesn’t impact another booking, although this may incur an additional charge to cover the driver’s time. If you fail to arrive on time, or the driver cannot get hold of you, they will leave after 15 minutes and won’t be able to return.
7.4 If landing at an airport or ferry port, your driver will aim to be there to pick you up 20 minutes after your landing/docking time. This may differ slightly, due to road accidents or closures, or if your flight lands earlier than stated. We do track flights, so do the best we can to time this correctly.
7.5 If landing at an airport or ferry port, we allow up to 60 minutes after your actual landing/docking time to collect luggage and find your driver. Due to the airport/ferry port costs incurred, as well as additional labour costs, anything over 60 minutes will incur an additional charge of £25 per hour, to be paid to the driver in cash, or by calling the office to pay over the phone.
7.6 If your flight or ferry is delayed at all, please inform the office ASAP so that we can make sure there is a driver available. Failure to inform us on a delay reserves us the right to cancel the leg of the journey without refund. We will always do all we can to help and to accommodate your altered plans, but we cannot guarantee a driver being there exactly when you come out if a delay on the day occurs. We will always contact you to provide you with the available options in such a situation.
8. Additional charges and rules
8.1 It is a legal requirement to wear seat belts at all times while the vehicle is moving. Please adhere to this during your journey.
8.2 With the drivers permission, you are welcome to bring alcoholic drinks and food on to the bus, but please respect the driver and the bus. Any aggressive or unacceptable behaviour towards the driver or vehicle may result in your journey ending before you reach your destination, at the driver’s discretion. In this event you will forfeit any payment made.
8.3 We would kindly ask that you take any rubbish away with you.
8.4 Smoking is not permitted on our minibuses
8.5 Possession of illegal substances or weapons is not permitted on our minibuses.
8.6 We have a tolerant policy towards minor spillages. However, we need to ensure the minibus is in a suitable condition for future passengers, so in some circumstances we may have to pass on additional charges to you;
8.6.1 The standard charge for cleaning of a large spillage (including vomit) is £25. You can pay this charge directly to the driver during the journey, or this can be taken against your payment card if you prefer. Refusal to pay this charge may result in your journey not being completed.
8.6.2 Any damage or large spillages requiring a professional valet or repair will be charged to you via an email invoice or to your payment card. If by invoice, we request that you pay these charges within 30 days of the invoice being issued. We will provide receipts of any repair or valet work undertaken upon request. Any invoices that remain unpaid will be passed on to a debt collection agency.
9. Insurance and our liability
9.1 We are comprehensively insured to carry passengers for hire or reward, but this does not extend to anything that happens when not on board the minibus.
9.2 You are no longer covered by our insurance when you are in breach of any of our rules as set out in this document, including not wearing a seatbelt.
9.3 We accept no liability for any incidents that occur as a result of you being under the influence of alcohol, or any other intoxicating substance. Furthermore, we reserve the right to cancel your journey, or eject any person we believe is causing danger to themselves or others during a journey.
9.4 Although we are happy for you to leave non-valuable items in the minibus, we accept no liability for any loss or damage to any items you may leave.