Frequently Asked Questions
DRIVING LICENCE – if UK licence, you will also need to know your National Insurance number to do the check online (unless you’ve obtained the code from ‘Share My Driving Licence’website). Licence must be original – no photocopies! If old style paper licence, you need to bring a valid Passport. Any other licence than those from EU, USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, must be referred for Insurance clearance by contacting us first.
PROOF OF CURRENT ADDRESS IN THE UK – bank statement or utility bill (must be recent & must show drivers name and current address)
Preferred payment by Debit Cards.
We also accept Visa or Mastercard credit cards. We don’t accept American Express cards. Cash is acceptable only as a part payment (deposit ONLY). No company cheques – SORRY!
It normally takes up to 24 hours to be processed. We strongly advise that if you are booking a vehicle to be collected within next 24-48 hours, you ring the respective office and confirm the availability. Most of the time, vans are fully booked up for the weekends about 2-3 days in advance – therefore, online bookings stand less chance of being confirmed. All online bookings are processed in person – your booking requests are not valid until you have received confirmation from the branch. We will not accept responsibility for hirers assuming the vehicle they have requested has been booked, if it’s not been confirmed by the issuing branch. Confirmation is done either by telephone or email, so it is essential that you supply us with correct details.
ONLINE BOOKINGS are NON-REFUNDABLE.
We make every effort to supply the vehicle ordered/booked. If the vehicle ordered becomes unavailable for whatever reason, we will supply an acceptable substitute.
Deposit needs to be paid by valid Credit/Debit card and must be banked before the vehicle is taken. Hirers 21 – 24 years of age must pay double deposit. Age restrictions on specific vehicle rentals apply.
£200 deposit – economy, small cars and small vans
£250 deposit – SWB Transits
£300 deposit – midsize cars and LWB Transits
£400 deposit – large family cars, 7 seaters, Jumbos and Lutons
£500 deposit – 9, 15 & 17 seater minibuses and Tippers
Excess is equal to DOUBLE the rental deposit and is per claim/accident. For example, one accident whilst rented a SWB Transit – £250 x 2 = £500. Second accident in the same rental period, another £500! Obviously, excess is applicable only on accidents that are proved to be the hirer’s fault!
£12 per day or £59 per week (Cars) & £15 per day or £59 per week (Panel vans, MPVs and 9 seaters). Opting for Damage Liability Reduction (DLR) halves the renters liability on the rental contract to give increased peace of mind. Excludes vehicle theft, key loss and malicious damage – any damage caused by, or as a result of, using the vehicle contrary to the Jafvans terms and conditions laid out in the rental agreement. DLR is NOT available on 17 seater minibuses and Luton Box vans. It may be withdrawn at anytime due to adverse weather conditions or at the discretion of Jafvans management.
We can arrange a collection from Heathrow Airport for any rental of one week or more, providing that the flight arrives between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday. We collect you from the Terminal and bring you to one of our branches to complete the paperwork.
We can also collect you if you live in the following Postcode areas: HA (all), UB (all), W5, W7, W13, WD1, WD18, WD19, WD23. Same rules and procedure as Heathrow collection applies.
All rentals are 24 hours (for example 9am to 9am) – except Saturdays when vehicles need to be returned by 4.30pm. It is vital that vehicles get returned on time – there is a late return fee of minimum £10 per hour. We are always happy to extend the rental if we can, but the hirer must ring before the hire ends.
Unfortunately, vehicles can’t be returned outside office hours.
Subject to availability. Most of the time, extension is not a problem, but the hirer must ring the respective office before the rental ends and arrange rental extension.
For any early returns, refunds can only be given if we have received at least 24 hours notice before the vehicle is returned.
Booking Deposits and Online Bookings are NON-REFUNDABLE.
Additional drivers insurance is charged at £8 per day or £35 per week (per each additional driver). They must produce their licence, NI number and proof of address.
We accept drivers 21-75 years of age with clean licence. Drivers 21-24 must pay double deposit. If you are over 75, you can still hire, but only if you arrange your own insurance prior to collection.
All our quotations, over the phone, via email or online include Fully Comprehensive Insurance. The hirer is always responsible for up to their liability/excess amount on any damage, however caused. The only things not covered by the insurance is anything that comes down to negligence – ie. interior, tyres (caused by bad driving). Roof damage or anything over 6 feet in height is also not covered. Failure to abide by the terms & conditions may revoke the insurance cover and make the hirer fully liable.
All drivers must have held their licence for at least 24 months. UK licence holders must supply us with their National Insurance number so we can check their licence online or obtain the code from ‘Share My Driving Licence’ website.
EU, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand licences are acceptable on normal terms. Licences from any other country need to be cleared by our insurance company and are valid for one year from the date of entry into United Kingdom.
Hirers of 15 & 17 seater minibuses must have category D1.
Many endorsements are acceptable (ie. SP30). Over 6 points may cause a higher deposit or refusal of hire. Management reserve the right to refuse hire for any endorsements, if needed. If in doubt, please ring the respective branch with the details of your endorsements and conviction dates. Drivers age 21 to 24 must have full CLEAN licence & no accidents.
From the moment rental vehicle has been signed over to a customer/hirer, each & every customer/hirer is fully responsible for any additional charges whilst the vehicle is on hire to them. Most common charges are various penalties like parking fines, congestion charges, bus lane fines etc.
For all various penalty charges that we receive and have to deal with, Jafvans will charge a non-refundable admin fee of £20.
Most PCN’s (Penalty charge notices) can be redirected to the customer – after receiving a PCN, we send the copy of rental agreement to appropriate organisation who then finalise the outcome with the customer direct. However, some contraventions and fines cannot be done that way. Bus lane fines and congestion charges must be paid by the owner (which is, obviously, us). The appropriate amount must then be charged to the customer’s Credit or Debit card + the regular admin fee of £20.
150 free miles per day for all cars, MPV’s, minibuses and vans.
Van rentals of 7 days or more reduces the mileage to 100 miles per day.
MPV’s (7 and 9 seaters) rentals and minibus rentals weekly mileage allowance is 1,000 (7 days).
Excess miles on all cars, MPV’s, minibuses and vans are 25 pence per mile.
Unlimited mileage is only available on cars for rentals of 7 days or more.
A note of the mileage is taken before the vehicle leaves the branch and again when it returns.
We don’t have fuel pumps on site or the capability to refill before every hire. Customers are expected to return the vehicle with the same amount of fuel in the tank as when the vehicle was first picked up (ie. if the vehicle is picked up with half a tank of fuel, it needs to be returned with half a tank or the hirer will be charged). A note of fuel type and amount is marked on a vehicle check out sheet. Any costs associated with using the wrong fuel is not covered by the insurance and the full cost must be paid by the hirer.
Currently, NOT AVAILABLE – best to ring and confirm with our office. There is a charge for Continental hire which can only be quoted directly from the branch you wish to pick up from. You will also need to arrange your own Five Star breakdown cover for the period you will spend off the UK mainland. Please note that Eire and Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Channel Islands are considered non UK hires.
We don’t allow 15 & 17 seater minibuses to go outside UK mainland.
For your peace of mind, Jafvans maintain a 24 hours emergency telephone service. Number is given on Rental Agreements. This breakdown is exclusive to the UK and the insured drivers only. Please note that we have to pay all call out charges – if the breakdown service is called out for an unacceptable reason or a driver error, then the hirer will be charged the full service cost. No vehicle breakdown cover for vehicles going off the UK mainland.
Weekend Rentals – starts on Friday at 5pm and ends Monday 8.30am
Saturday Rentals – starts on either Friday 5pm or Saturday morning and ends Saturday 4.30pm
Sunday Rentals – starts on Saturday at 4.30pm and ends Monday 8.30am
Bank Holiday Mondays – South Harrow office ONLY from 9am to 1pm