T&C
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These terms explain what to expect when you book a Happicabs journey — including how bookings and fares work, when cancellation charges apply, and what happens if something goes wrong. They apply everywhere we operate.
Happicabs is a licensed private hire operator based in Essex. We take bookings for standard saloon cars, estate vehicles, people carriers, eight‑seater vehicles and wheelchair‑accessible vehicles, across Chelmsford City and the surrounding area, including Braintree, Witham, Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers. Unlike many local taxi firms who cover a single town, Happicabs operates across several licensing areas — where a rule in these terms depends on location (for example, cancellation charges), we've said so.
"Happicabs" or "we" means the companies within the Happi Group Limited (company number 10124785, registered office 98 Hornchurch Road, Hornchurch, Essex, RM11 1JS; principal trading address Unit 8, Reeds Farm Estate, Roxwell Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3ST), including Happicabs Chelmsford Limited (company number 10233187). All group entities hold valid private hire operator licences and provide services under these terms.
We are licensed by: Chelmsford City Council, Maldon District Council, Wolverhampton City Council, Transport for London (trading as Happicars — see happicars.co.uk/london), Uttlesford District Council, Ashfield District Council, Braintree Council, Brentwood Council, and South Cambridgeshire District Council.
By booking with us or using our services, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree with something here, please speak to us before booking — our contact details are at the end of this page.
A few terms are used throughout these terms with a specific meaning. Everything else takes its everyday meaning.
A request for a journey made through one of our booking channels (phone, app, website, email, IVR, freephone, or a booking tablet/butler at a partner venue) and accepted by us.
A booking becomes confirmed only once you receive a confirmation email or SMS with the driver's details, vehicle registration and tracking link — not simply on submitting a request. Where pre‑payment is required, confirmation also depends on that payment succeeding.
The price payable for a journey, based on distance, time, waiting time and any additional charges set out in these terms (for example tolls, parking or soiling charges).
A journey starting within our core operating area for that branch. For Chelmsford, this currently means the CM1, CM2, CM3, CM7, CM77, CM8 or CM9 postcodes, or within approximately 2.5 miles of the central point of our operating area — whichever more accurately reflects genuine local coverage, since some of these postcodes stretch well beyond it. Other branches have their own local range, available on request or on the relevant local page of our website.
A journey starting outside the local coverage area (as defined above) for the branch handling the booking.
Another licensed private hire operator or approved third‑party provider that Happicabs may use to complete your journey — see Third-party & shared bookings.
Time the vehicle spends waiting for you beyond the free period set out in Waiting time & no‑shows.
Where the vehicle has arrived and waited the applicable free period, and you have not appeared and have not been reasonably contactable.
You can book by telephone, our mobile app, website, email, freephone, a booking tablet at a partner venue, or our interactive voice response (IVR) line. We do not accept bookings made directly with a driver — a booking only counts once it's gone through one of these official channels, which protects you if something goes wrong, since an off‑the‑books arrangement with a driver isn't covered by our insurance, licensing or these terms.
We can decline any booking, for any reason. If a driver becomes unavailable after your booking is accepted, we'll make reasonable efforts to allocate another driver; if we can't, we'll cancel the booking and you won't be charged. A booking is only confirmed once you receive an SMS or email confirmation with your driver's details, vehicle registration and tracking link. Where pre‑payment or PayLink is required, confirmation also depends on that payment being received in full — a failed or incomplete payment may result in automatic cancellation.
It's your responsibility to make sure payment goes through; if you're not sure, call your nearest branch to check before relying on the booking.
Please give us accurate, complete details at the time of booking — date, time, pick‑up location, destination and passenger numbers. If incorrect or outdated information causes a delay or means we have to cancel, a cancellation charge may apply (see Cancellations).
Your Happicabs app and web‑booker account should always show the current name, mobile number and email address for whoever's likely to be travelling — not just whoever originally set the account up. We rely on these details to confirm your booking, send driver and vehicle information, and reach the right person if there's a query about the pick‑up.
If we or a driver can't reach you or the passenger because the number, name or email on the account is out of date, we can't be held responsible for any resulting delay, missed pick‑up, or a booking being treated as a no‑show — this includes bookings made on someone else's behalf where their details weren't kept current. Please take a moment to check your details are correct before booking, and update them straight away if anything changes.
Once a journey has started, we may not always be able to add stops or extend it — this is a decision for our office, not the driver, since altering one journey can affect other passengers' pre‑booked trips. Where we can accommodate a change, additional charges will apply and will be explained to you before the change is confirmed.
Please double‑check your booking details before confirming. We're not liable for errors you make when booking (wrong address, time, date or vehicle type), and if a mistaken duplicate booking results in more than one vehicle being dispatched, each dispatched vehicle is chargeable. If this happens because of a fault on our part — for example a system error on our website or app — we won't charge you for the duplicate, and you should contact us straight away so we can put it right.
This applies whichever channel you book through: our app, website, over the phone, by email or via IVR. Where incorrect information has been given to us by you or on your behalf — including information given verbally over the telephone — we're not responsible for any resulting delay, misallocation, additional charge or cancellation, though we'll always help you correct it as quickly as we can once we're aware.
If you're booking a pickup from an airport, please give us your flight number when you book. We use it to track your actual arrival time — including any delay, early landing or diversion — and to work out when to dispatch your driver and how much free waiting time applies (see Waiting time & no‑shows).
Without a flight number, we can only work from the collection time you gave us, which may no longer match your actual landing or clearance time. Your driver also won't reliably know which terminal or arrivals area to wait at, and — particularly at busy airports — won't be able to identify you among the other passengers coming through arrivals.
If a driver is unable to locate or identify you because no flight number was provided, and you don't reach the agreed meeting point or make contact within the waiting periods set out in Waiting time & no‑shows, the booking will be treated as a no‑show and the applicable charge will apply. We can't be held liable for a missed pickup in these circumstances, since it isn't something we're able to resolve without the flight information needed to track your journey — please add your flight number at the time of booking, or update us as soon as possible if it changes.
Fares are based on distance, duration, waiting time, route, and any additional costs such as parking, tolls or congestion charges. We'll give you the total cost at the time of booking. Where a quote can't fully account for every possible charge (for example an unknown parking fee at your destination), we'll flag that additional charges may apply — ask us at the time of booking if you want certainty on price.
You have 5 minutes free waiting time from the vehicle's arrival at your pick‑up point (local journeys), or up to 30 minutes included for airport pick‑ups. After that, waiting time is charged in 15‑minute increments:
| Vehicle type | Day rate | Night rate | Day rate — London airports | Night rate — London airports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saloon / estate | £25 / hour | £35 / hour | £30 / hour | £40 / hour |
| People carriers, larger vehicles & minibuses | £35 / hour | £50 / hour | £40 / hour | £55 / hour |
Bank holidays are charged at the night rate throughout the day. Day/night hours for your area are shown at the time of booking.
The free waiting period is 5 minutes from arrival. Beyond that, a driver may choose to wait up to 15 minutes in total at their discretion before treating the booking as a no‑show — see the cancellation table for the charge that applies. We'll always try to reach you first by phone, app notification or SMS before doing this.
We can't be held responsible where we're unable to reach you because your phone has no signal or battery, or because the person waiting to travel isn't the person who made the booking and isn't reachable on the contact details provided. If you're booking on someone else's behalf, please make sure they know when to expect the vehicle and how the driver may try to reach them.
We may apply higher tariffs on bank holidays, over Christmas and New Year, and during major local events. You'll always be told the higher fare before you confirm the booking, so there are no surprises at the end of your journey.
Our tariffs change at set times — for example a higher rate coming into effect at 11pm, on a bank holiday, or during a special event. The fare that applies to your journey is the tariff in force when you're actually collected and travel, not necessarily the tariff shown when the booking was made.
Most late changes to a pickup are entirely innocent — traffic, a driver running behind, plans shifting by a few minutes — and this clause isn't aimed at that. It's aimed at bookings that appear to have been deliberately timed to fall just before a tariff increase — for example booking for 10:55pm instead of 11pm or later — specifically to lock in the lower rate, where the passenger then isn't ready, isn't collected, or doesn't travel until after the higher tariff has actually taken effect. Where we reasonably believe this has happened, we reserve the right to charge the tariff that was genuinely in force at the time of collection or travel, regardless of the rate quoted at booking.
Repeated attempts to time bookings around a known tariff change may, in addition to the correct fare being charged, result in us declining to offer discretionary, promotional or off‑peak pricing to that account in future, and — for persistent or deliberate misuse — restrictions being placed on the account's ability to book with us.
Our fares are calculated by the pricing systems built into our app, website and other booking platforms, and we expect them to be used honestly. We don't tolerate deliberate attempts to manipulate, exploit or interfere with these systems to obtain a fare lower than the journey genuinely warrants — for example entering a false pick‑up or drop‑off location, exploiting a technical fault or known bug in the app or web portal, or otherwise using our booking systems in a way they aren't intended to be used, to reduce or avoid the correct fare. This is a broader principle than the specific timing scenario in 4.5 above, and applies to any method of trying to cheat the fare, however it's done.
Where we reasonably believe a booking has been made this way, we may cancel it at our discretion, without prior notice, explanation, or a refund of any amount already paid. This is in addition to, and doesn't limit, our rights under Tariff changes & timed bookings above, and repeated or serious misuse may result in restrictions being placed on the account. If you spot a genuine fault or bug in our app or website, please report it to us at info@happicabs.com rather than making use of it — we're always glad to hear about it and will put it right.
You're responsible for keeping the vehicle clean and undamaged, including the conduct of everyone travelling with you.
| Issue | Maximum charge | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| General soiling | up to £100 | Cleaning costs and reasonable loss of earnings while the vehicle is off the road |
| Sickness / severe mess — standard vehicle | up to £120 | Professional valeting and driver downtime |
| Sickness / severe mess — larger vehicle | up to £200 | Professional valeting and driver downtime |
| Accidental or other damage | up to £1,000 | Repair costs |
We'll only apply these charges where there's genuine evidence of soiling or damage caused during your journey (for example driver/dashcam report or photos), and the charge will reflect the actual cost incurred, not automatically the maximum. You're entitled to ask us for evidence before you pay.
We accept credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cash, PayLink, and BACS (for large group or corporate pre‑bookings only, cleared at least 12 hours before travel). All payments are in GBP. We don't accept cheques or foreign currency. Online payments are processed through secure, authorised payment gateways.
From time to time we offer promotional codes or vouchers. Each code is valid for one journey, per passenger, within its stated promotional period, and can only be applied before a booking is confirmed and the vehicle dispatched — not part‑way through or after a journey. Codes can't be combined with other offers, sold, or exchanged for cash, and apply to the fare only (not tolls, parking or other third‑party charges). If a genuine technical fault in our app stops you redeeming a valid code within its window, we'll issue a replacement at our discretion. We take misuse of codes seriously and may suspend an account involved in suspected fraud, but we'll tell you why unless there are serious grounds not to.
You can cancel a booking at any time through the phone, the Happicabs app, or your web‑booker account. We don't accept cancellations by SMS (unmonitored) and can't guarantee same‑day email cancellations will be seen in time — for anything urgent, please call.
| Time before scheduled pickup | Cancellation fee |
|---|---|
| More than 2 hours | No charge |
| Less than 2 hours | 10% of booking value (minimum £5) |
| Less than 1 hour | 50% of booking value (minimum £5) |
| On dispatch / driver has arrived | Up to 100% of booking value, plus a reasonable call‑out charge |
| Time before scheduled pickup | Cancellation fee |
|---|---|
| More than 24 hours | No charge |
| Less than 24 hours | 10% (minimum £5) |
| Less than 12 hours | 25% (minimum £5) |
| Less than 6 hours | 50% (minimum £5) |
| Less than 4 hours | 75% (minimum £5) |
| On dispatch / driver has arrived | 100% of booking value |
| Time before scheduled pickup | Cancellation fee |
|---|---|
| More than 12 hours | No charge |
| Less than 12 hours | 50% (minimum £5 on card‑paid bookings) |
| Less than 4 hours | 75% (minimum £5 on card‑paid bookings) |
| Less than 1 hour, on dispatch, or driver has arrived | 100% |
Special events, concerts & festivals: journeys within half a mile of a major local venue (for example Chelmsford City Racecourse, Hylands Park, Central Park Chelmsford, Promenade Park Maldon, or Damyns Hall Aerodrome) may carry different — usually stricter — cancellation terms, shown clearly before you confirm that booking.
Refunds are processed back to your original payment method. Where a cancellation charge applies, it will be deducted from the refund; the remaining balance is returned to you within a reasonable time, normally within 5–10 working days depending on your card provider. If you believe a cancellation charge has been applied unfairly, contact us first (see Complaints) — we'll explain the charge and correct any error.
If your driver hasn't arrived yet, please allow reasonable time before assuming something's wrong: around 45 minutes for an ASAP booking, 15 minutes past the scheduled time for a pre‑booked local journey, and up to 120 minutes for airport pickups or large events where the driver may need extra time to reach or locate you. If you cancel before this reasonable window has passed, no charge applies.
Road traffic conditions, diversions and roadworks can sometimes mean a driver takes longer to reach you than expected, even with the best will in the world — this isn't something we can always predict or control. Where this happens, we ask that you wait for the driver within the timeframes above rather than cancelling, not showing up, or making your own alternative travel arrangements without first agreeing this with our call office. Cancelling, leaving, or arranging alternative transport on your own initiative in these circumstances doesn't entitle you to a refund. Reasonable allowance is especially important around festivals, events and other busy periods, when traffic and pickup times are less predictable than usual.
Please be ready at the agreed pick‑up point at the scheduled time. As set out in Waiting time & no‑shows, you have 5 minutes free waiting time, after which a driver may wait up to 15 minutes in total at their discretion before the booking is treated as a no‑show.
For anything time‑critical — an appointment, a meeting, or a transfer you can't afford to miss — build in extra time rather than cutting it fine. As a rule of thumb, we suggest adding at least 50% on top of the expected journey time, plus a further 30 minutes, when working out what time to book your pick‑up for; this normally leaves enough margin to absorb ordinary traffic and still arrive on time. For healthcare appointments, aim to arrive at least 30 minutes early, and for flights, follow your airline's advice and arrive at the airport by their advised time — not leave home at that time.
We're not liable for missed flights, trains or appointments caused by traffic, accidents, severe weather, breakdowns or other events outside our control — but we will always do our best to keep you informed of delays as soon as we're aware of them.
Some pick‑up points — double yellow lines, no‑waiting zones, or similar restrictions, which are common around the town centres of Chelmsford, Braintree and Witham — only allow a driver to wait for around 2–3 minutes before parking restrictions require them to move on. If you're not at the vehicle within that window, the driver will circle the block or call you to agree a nearby alternative meeting point; this isn't treated as a cancellation, and moving on doesn't itself trigger a charge. If we're unable to reach you or agree a revised pick‑up point within a reasonable time, the booking may be treated as a no‑show under Cancellations, no‑shows & refunds. Where possible, it's worth checking whether your pick‑up point has restrictions and suggesting a short alternative when you book.
To keep everyone safe and comfortable, you and anyone travelling with you must not:
We operate a zero‑tolerance approach to abusive, threatening or violent behaviour. Where this happens, the driver may end the journey immediately without refund, and we may share dashcam or CCTV footage with the police to support any investigation. Short of that, if you or a passenger doesn't follow the conditions above, the driver may decline to start or may stop the journey, and a cancellation charge may apply — but drivers won't withhold reasonable assistance or refuse a journey over a minor, good‑faith disagreement.
Passengers under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult (18+) for the whole journey, and it's the booking party's responsibility to arrange this, along with any car seat required by law (see Car seats). Our drivers provide safe transport, not supervision or care — they're not trained chaperones. We may decline to carry an unaccompanied child or vulnerable passenger where suitable arrangements haven't been made.
Please tell us about any accessibility needs, medical conditions, or other requirements when you book, so we can send an appropriate vehicle. Our fleet includes wheelchair‑accessible vehicles. If you don't tell us in advance and the vehicle sent isn't suitable, we'll do our best to send an appropriate replacement as quickly as possible, without an additional charge to you for our error in dispatching the wrong vehicle type where you gave us the right information.
Under the Equality Act 2010, passengers travelling with a certified assistance dog travel free of charge, and our drivers must carry assistance dogs alongside their passenger unless the driver holds a valid medical exemption. You may be asked for proof of the assistance dog where this isn't obvious.
We're happy to carry well‑behaved domestic pets at the driver's discretion — please book this in advance by phone so we can confirm availability and any charge. We allow one pet per journey, securely harnessed or in a carrier, remaining in the footwell. You're responsible for your own pet insurance; any soiling or damage a pet causes is subject to our standard cleaning charges (see Soiling & damage).
We don't supply car seats — please bring your own. It's your responsibility to fit the seat correctly following the manufacturer's instructions; neither Happicabs nor the driver is liable for a defect in a seat you've supplied or for its installation. If a driver reasonably believes a seat is unsafe or insecurely fitted, they may decline to start, or may pause, the journey until it's corrected.
For airport drop‑offs where you'd like us to store your car seat for your return journey, a reasonable storage charge may apply. Please label the seat clearly with your name, contact number and return date/flight number — we'll take reasonable care of it, but it's held at your own risk.
Please book a vehicle sized for your luggage — all items should fit safely in the boot. The passenger seating area isn't considered luggage space, so please choose an appropriately sized vehicle at the time of booking rather than planning to carry bags, cases or other items on your lap or around your feet. Drivers may decline excessive luggage that can't be carried safely, and where a larger vehicle is genuinely needed, additional charges may apply. Drivers may assist with loading at their discretion and in line with health and safety guidance, but you remain responsible for your own belongings; where a driver helps, that assistance doesn't transfer liability to Happicabs or the driver for accidental damage.
You're responsible for your own belongings — please check the vehicle before you get out. If a driver finds property left behind, we'll store it for up to 3 months. Get in touch through the contact form at happicabs.com/contact-us or happicabs.com/lost-property with your booking details, and we'll help arrange its return — a reasonable handling fee may apply, which we'll confirm with you before charging it.
After 3 months, unclaimed items may be returned, donated, or disposed of, and we won't be liable for property disposed of after this notice period. We recommend labelling valuable items and taking care of anything irreplaceable during your journey.
All Happicabs drivers are fully licensed and undergo background checks, including enhanced DBS checks where applicable, plus training in customer service, road safety and safeguarding.
Drivers aim to arrive on time but delays can happen due to traffic, weather, accidents or breakdowns beyond our control — we'll let you know as soon as we're aware. Drivers follow the most efficient route unless you reasonably ask otherwise; a request that meaningfully extends the journey may incur an additional charge, which will be explained before it's applied. Assistance with luggage, or helping a passenger in or out of the vehicle, is offered at the driver's discretion and always at the passenger's own risk — our service is door‑to‑door, and drivers aren't required to enter private property.
If you have a concern about a driver, email management@happicabs.com — see Complaints & dispute resolution for how we handle this.
All our vehicles undergo regular inspections covering safety standards, seatbelts, air conditioning and cleanliness. Passengers must wear a seatbelt at all times while the vehicle is moving — a driver may decline to travel with a passenger who won't comply, for everyone's safety.
If you have an accident or injury during a journey, please report it to the police and to us as soon as possible; claims are handled through the relevant insurance provider in line with legal requirements. Both Happicabs and our drivers carry appropriate insurance cover.
At busy times, or where a specialist vehicle is needed, we may arrange for another licensed operator or approved fulfilment partner to complete your journey. Where this happens:
If something goes wrong on a journey completed by a fulfilment partner, tell us and we'll help you resolve it — we won't leave you to deal with an unfamiliar third party alone.
We take reasonable steps to ensure your safety and to deliver the service as booked. We're responsible for loss, injury or damage that directly results from our negligence, or that of our driver, or a failure to follow safety protocols — for example, a road traffic collision caused by driver error.
We're not liable for delays or losses caused by things outside our reasonable control — traffic, road closures, accidents, severe weather, or events covered under Force Majeure below. We're also not liable for loss caused by your own actions, or a passenger's, including a missed connection where you didn't allow the recommended amount of time (see Passenger responsibilities).
Where we are liable to you for a claim relating to a journey — and subject always to the carve‑outs above for death, personal injury and fraud — our total liability for that journey is limited to the fare you paid for it. We won't be liable for indirect or consequential losses such as loss of earnings or missed onward travel, though we'll always work with you in good faith where a genuine failure on our part has caused you real inconvenience.
Our service is for personal transport. Where a journey is booked for business purposes, we're not liable for business losses — a missed meeting, a lost sale, or other commercial consequences. The same principle applies to personal plans connected to your journey: we're not liable for the cost of missed flights, trains or coach tickets, concert or event tickets, or similar, where the loss results from something outside our reasonable control (see Force majeure below) or from not allowing the recommended time set out in Passenger responsibilities. Where a genuine failure on our part is the direct cause of a missed connection or event, we'll deal with you fairly and in good faith — but our liability remains subject to the cap in 12.3 above.
We're not liable for a failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control — natural disasters, extreme weather, strikes, industrial action, civil unrest, public health emergencies, government restrictions, or mechanical breakdown. Where this affects your booking, we'll do our best to let you know and offer alternative arrangements where we can.
Our service is for passenger transport, not a courier or removals service. We don't accept unaccompanied goods, and drivers may decline to carry any item that appears to be of significant value, at their discretion.
We collect the personal data needed to provide and improve our service — your name and contact details, payment information, journey and booking history, vehicle/driver assignment, any special requirements you've told us about, communication records, CCTV/dashcam footage for safety and incident reporting, and GPS location data for journey management.
We process this data lawfully, transparently and securely, in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. We don't sell your personal data, and we don't share it with third parties for marketing. We do share what's necessary with payment processors, insurers, or a fulfilment partner completing your journey, as explained in Third-party & shared bookings above.
We'd always rather hear from you directly and put things right. You can raise feedback, a complaint, or a lost property enquiry via the contact form at happicabs.com/contact-us, or email management@happicabs.com for complaints and info@happicabs.com for general enquiries. For anything urgent during a journey, call the office number on your booking confirmation.
If something's gone wrong — a charge you don't understand, a driver you're unhappy with, an item left behind — please come to us first, through the channels above, before posting about it on social media. Almost everything gets sorted faster this way: we can look up your booking, speak to the driver, check the dashcam footage, and put things right, none of which we're able to do from a public comment or a tag on social media. We read every complaint sent to us directly and take each one seriously, and we'd genuinely rather have the chance to fix a problem for you than have you left frustrated waiting for a reply online. If, after we've had a fair opportunity to resolve things, you're still not happy, you're of course free to share your experience however you choose.
If we can't resolve things between us, you can refer the matter to the relevant local licensing authority for independent review (see About Happicabs & licensing for the authority covering your journey). Raising a complaint with us, or with the licensing authority, doesn't affect your right to take further legal action if needed.
We ask that disputes are handled respectfully on both sides. Where a passenger becomes abusive or threatening during the complaints process, we may refer the matter directly to the licensing authority or police rather than continue that exchange — this doesn't affect your right to pursue the complaint through those channels.
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and any dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
We may update these terms from time to time — for example to reflect a change in the law, our pricing, or how we operate. Any change will be published on this page with an updated date at the top, and where a change is significant, we'll also notify you by email or app notification if you have an active booking or account with us. Continuing to use our services after an update means you accept the revised terms; the terms that applied at the time you made a booking will govern that booking.
General enquiries: info@happicabs.com
Complaints: management@happicabs.com
Urgent, journey‑in‑progress issues: the phone number on your booking confirmation
We aim to respond to all enquiries and complaints within 48 hours, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.
These terms explain what to expect when you book a Happicabs journey — including how bookings and fares work, when cancellation charges apply, and what happens if something goes wrong. They apply everywhere we operate.
Happicabs is a licensed private hire operator based in Essex. We take bookings for standard saloon cars, estate vehicles, people carriers, eight‑seater vehicles and wheelchair‑accessible vehicles, across Chelmsford City and the surrounding area, including Braintree, Witham, Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers. Unlike many local taxi firms who cover a single town, Happicabs operates across several licensing areas — where a rule in these terms depends on location (for example, cancellation charges), we've said so.
"Happicabs" or "we" means the companies within the Happi Group Limited (company number 10124785, registered office 98 Hornchurch Road, Hornchurch, Essex, RM11 1JS; principal trading address Unit 8, Reeds Farm Estate, Roxwell Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3ST), including Happicabs Chelmsford Limited (company number 10233187). All group entities hold valid private hire operator licences and provide services under these terms.
We are licensed by: Chelmsford City Council, Maldon District Council, Wolverhampton City Council, Transport for London (trading as Happicars — see happicars.co.uk/london), Uttlesford District Council, Ashfield District Council, Braintree Council, Brentwood Council, and South Cambridgeshire District Council.
By booking with us or using our services, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree with something here, please speak to us before booking — our contact details are at the end of this page.
A few terms are used throughout these terms with a specific meaning. Everything else takes its everyday meaning.
A request for a journey made through one of our booking channels (phone, app, website, email, IVR, freephone, or a booking tablet/butler at a partner venue) and accepted by us.
A booking becomes confirmed only once you receive a confirmation email or SMS with the driver's details, vehicle registration and tracking link — not simply on submitting a request. Where pre‑payment is required, confirmation also depends on that payment succeeding.
The price payable for a journey, based on distance, time, waiting time and any additional charges set out in these terms (for example tolls, parking or soiling charges).
A journey starting within our core operating area for that branch. For Chelmsford, this currently means the CM1, CM2, CM3, CM7, CM77, CM8 or CM9 postcodes, or within approximately 2.5 miles of the central point of our operating area — whichever more accurately reflects genuine local coverage, since some of these postcodes stretch well beyond it. Other branches have their own local range, available on request or on the relevant local page of our website.
A journey starting outside the local coverage area (as defined above) for the branch handling the booking.
Another licensed private hire operator or approved third‑party provider that Happicabs may use to complete your journey — see Third-party & shared bookings.
Time the vehicle spends waiting for you beyond the free period set out in Waiting time & no‑shows.
Where the vehicle has arrived and waited the applicable free period, and you have not appeared and have not been reasonably contactable.
You can book by telephone, our mobile app, website, email, freephone, a booking tablet at a partner venue, or our interactive voice response (IVR) line. We do not accept bookings made directly with a driver — a booking only counts once it's gone through one of these official channels, which protects you if something goes wrong, since an off‑the‑books arrangement with a driver isn't covered by our insurance, licensing or these terms.
We can decline any booking, for any reason. If a driver becomes unavailable after your booking is accepted, we'll make reasonable efforts to allocate another driver; if we can't, we'll cancel the booking and you won't be charged. A booking is only confirmed once you receive an SMS or email confirmation with your driver's details, vehicle registration and tracking link. Where pre‑payment or PayLink is required, confirmation also depends on that payment being received in full — a failed or incomplete payment may result in automatic cancellation.
It's your responsibility to make sure payment goes through; if you're not sure, call your nearest branch to check before relying on the booking.
Please give us accurate, complete details at the time of booking — date, time, pick‑up location, destination and passenger numbers. If incorrect or outdated information causes a delay or means we have to cancel, a cancellation charge may apply (see Cancellations).
Your Happicabs app and web‑booker account should always show the current name, mobile number and email address for whoever's likely to be travelling — not just whoever originally set the account up. We rely on these details to confirm your booking, send driver and vehicle information, and reach the right person if there's a query about the pick‑up.
If we or a driver can't reach you or the passenger because the number, name or email on the account is out of date, we can't be held responsible for any resulting delay, missed pick‑up, or a booking being treated as a no‑show — this includes bookings made on someone else's behalf where their details weren't kept current. Please take a moment to check your details are correct before booking, and update them straight away if anything changes.
Once a journey has started, we may not always be able to add stops or extend it — this is a decision for our office, not the driver, since altering one journey can affect other passengers' pre‑booked trips. Where we can accommodate a change, additional charges will apply and will be explained to you before the change is confirmed.
Please double‑check your booking details before confirming. We're not liable for errors you make when booking (wrong address, time, date or vehicle type), and if a mistaken duplicate booking results in more than one vehicle being dispatched, each dispatched vehicle is chargeable. If this happens because of a fault on our part — for example a system error on our website or app — we won't charge you for the duplicate, and you should contact us straight away so we can put it right.
This applies whichever channel you book through: our app, website, over the phone, by email or via IVR. Where incorrect information has been given to us by you or on your behalf — including information given verbally over the telephone — we're not responsible for any resulting delay, misallocation, additional charge or cancellation, though we'll always help you correct it as quickly as we can once we're aware.
If you're booking a pickup from an airport, please give us your flight number when you book. We use it to track your actual arrival time — including any delay, early landing or diversion — and to work out when to dispatch your driver and how much free waiting time applies (see Waiting time & no‑shows).
Without a flight number, we can only work from the collection time you gave us, which may no longer match your actual landing or clearance time. Your driver also won't reliably know which terminal or arrivals area to wait at, and — particularly at busy airports — won't be able to identify you among the other passengers coming through arrivals.
If a driver is unable to locate or identify you because no flight number was provided, and you don't reach the agreed meeting point or make contact within the waiting periods set out in Waiting time & no‑shows, the booking will be treated as a no‑show and the applicable charge will apply. We can't be held liable for a missed pickup in these circumstances, since it isn't something we're able to resolve without the flight information needed to track your journey — please add your flight number at the time of booking, or update us as soon as possible if it changes.
Fares are based on distance, duration, waiting time, route, and any additional costs such as parking, tolls or congestion charges. We'll give you the total cost at the time of booking. Where a quote can't fully account for every possible charge (for example an unknown parking fee at your destination), we'll flag that additional charges may apply — ask us at the time of booking if you want certainty on price.
You have 5 minutes free waiting time from the vehicle's arrival at your pick‑up point (local journeys), or up to 30 minutes included for airport pick‑ups. After that, waiting time is charged in 15‑minute increments:
| Vehicle type | Day rate | Night rate | Day rate — London airports | Night rate — London airports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saloon / estate | £25 / hour | £35 / hour | £30 / hour | £40 / hour |
| People carriers, larger vehicles & minibuses | £35 / hour | £50 / hour | £40 / hour | £55 / hour |
Bank holidays are charged at the night rate throughout the day. Day/night hours for your area are shown at the time of booking.
The free waiting period is 5 minutes from arrival. Beyond that, a driver may choose to wait up to 15 minutes in total at their discretion before treating the booking as a no‑show — see the cancellation table for the charge that applies. We'll always try to reach you first by phone, app notification or SMS before doing this.
We can't be held responsible where we're unable to reach you because your phone has no signal or battery, or because the person waiting to travel isn't the person who made the booking and isn't reachable on the contact details provided. If you're booking on someone else's behalf, please make sure they know when to expect the vehicle and how the driver may try to reach them.
We may apply higher tariffs on bank holidays, over Christmas and New Year, and during major local events. You'll always be told the higher fare before you confirm the booking, so there are no surprises at the end of your journey.
Our tariffs change at set times — for example a higher rate coming into effect at 11pm, on a bank holiday, or during a special event. The fare that applies to your journey is the tariff in force when you're actually collected and travel, not necessarily the tariff shown when the booking was made.
Most late changes to a pickup are entirely innocent — traffic, a driver running behind, plans shifting by a few minutes — and this clause isn't aimed at that. It's aimed at bookings that appear to have been deliberately timed to fall just before a tariff increase — for example booking for 10:55pm instead of 11pm or later — specifically to lock in the lower rate, where the passenger then isn't ready, isn't collected, or doesn't travel until after the higher tariff has actually taken effect. Where we reasonably believe this has happened, we reserve the right to charge the tariff that was genuinely in force at the time of collection or travel, regardless of the rate quoted at booking.
Repeated attempts to time bookings around a known tariff change may, in addition to the correct fare being charged, result in us declining to offer discretionary, promotional or off‑peak pricing to that account in future, and — for persistent or deliberate misuse — restrictions being placed on the account's ability to book with us.
Our fares are calculated by the pricing systems built into our app, website and other booking platforms, and we expect them to be used honestly. We don't tolerate deliberate attempts to manipulate, exploit or interfere with these systems to obtain a fare lower than the journey genuinely warrants — for example entering a false pick‑up or drop‑off location, exploiting a technical fault or known bug in the app or web portal, or otherwise using our booking systems in a way they aren't intended to be used, to reduce or avoid the correct fare. This is a broader principle than the specific timing scenario in 4.5 above, and applies to any method of trying to cheat the fare, however it's done.
Where we reasonably believe a booking has been made this way, we may cancel it at our discretion, without prior notice, explanation, or a refund of any amount already paid. This is in addition to, and doesn't limit, our rights under Tariff changes & timed bookings above, and repeated or serious misuse may result in restrictions being placed on the account. If you spot a genuine fault or bug in our app or website, please report it to us at info@happicabs.com rather than making use of it — we're always glad to hear about it and will put it right.
You're responsible for keeping the vehicle clean and undamaged, including the conduct of everyone travelling with you.
| Issue | Maximum charge | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| General soiling | up to £100 | Cleaning costs and reasonable loss of earnings while the vehicle is off the road |
| Sickness / severe mess — standard vehicle | up to £120 | Professional valeting and driver downtime |
| Sickness / severe mess — larger vehicle | up to £200 | Professional valeting and driver downtime |
| Accidental or other damage | up to £1,000 | Repair costs |
We'll only apply these charges where there's genuine evidence of soiling or damage caused during your journey (for example driver/dashcam report or photos), and the charge will reflect the actual cost incurred, not automatically the maximum. You're entitled to ask us for evidence before you pay.
We accept credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cash, PayLink, and BACS (for large group or corporate pre‑bookings only, cleared at least 12 hours before travel). All payments are in GBP. We don't accept cheques or foreign currency. Online payments are processed through secure, authorised payment gateways.
From time to time we offer promotional codes or vouchers. Each code is valid for one journey, per passenger, within its stated promotional period, and can only be applied before a booking is confirmed and the vehicle dispatched — not part‑way through or after a journey. Codes can't be combined with other offers, sold, or exchanged for cash, and apply to the fare only (not tolls, parking or other third‑party charges). If a genuine technical fault in our app stops you redeeming a valid code within its window, we'll issue a replacement at our discretion. We take misuse of codes seriously and may suspend an account involved in suspected fraud, but we'll tell you why unless there are serious grounds not to.
You can cancel a booking at any time through the phone, the Happicabs app, or your web‑booker account. We don't accept cancellations by SMS (unmonitored) and can't guarantee same‑day email cancellations will be seen in time — for anything urgent, please call.
| Time before scheduled pickup | Cancellation fee |
|---|---|
| More than 2 hours | No charge |
| Less than 2 hours | 10% of booking value (minimum £5) |
| Less than 1 hour | 50% of booking value (minimum £5) |
| On dispatch / driver has arrived | Up to 100% of booking value, plus a reasonable call‑out charge |
| Time before scheduled pickup | Cancellation fee |
|---|---|
| More than 24 hours | No charge |
| Less than 24 hours | 10% (minimum £5) |
| Less than 12 hours | 25% (minimum £5) |
| Less than 6 hours | 50% (minimum £5) |
| Less than 4 hours | 75% (minimum £5) |
| On dispatch / driver has arrived | 100% of booking value |
| Time before scheduled pickup | Cancellation fee |
|---|---|
| More than 12 hours | No charge |
| Less than 12 hours | 50% (minimum £5 on card‑paid bookings) |
| Less than 4 hours | 75% (minimum £5 on card‑paid bookings) |
| Less than 1 hour, on dispatch, or driver has arrived | 100% |
Special events, concerts & festivals: journeys within half a mile of a major local venue (for example Chelmsford City Racecourse, Hylands Park, Central Park Chelmsford, Promenade Park Maldon, or Damyns Hall Aerodrome) may carry different — usually stricter — cancellation terms, shown clearly before you confirm that booking.
Refunds are processed back to your original payment method. Where a cancellation charge applies, it will be deducted from the refund; the remaining balance is returned to you within a reasonable time, normally within 5–10 working days depending on your card provider. If you believe a cancellation charge has been applied unfairly, contact us first (see Complaints) — we'll explain the charge and correct any error.
If your driver hasn't arrived yet, please allow reasonable time before assuming something's wrong: around 45 minutes for an ASAP booking, 15 minutes past the scheduled time for a pre‑booked local journey, and up to 120 minutes for airport pickups or large events where the driver may need extra time to reach or locate you. If you cancel before this reasonable window has passed, no charge applies.
Road traffic conditions, diversions and roadworks can sometimes mean a driver takes longer to reach you than expected, even with the best will in the world — this isn't something we can always predict or control. Where this happens, we ask that you wait for the driver within the timeframes above rather than cancelling, not showing up, or making your own alternative travel arrangements without first agreeing this with our call office. Cancelling, leaving, or arranging alternative transport on your own initiative in these circumstances doesn't entitle you to a refund. Reasonable allowance is especially important around festivals, events and other busy periods, when traffic and pickup times are less predictable than usual.
Please be ready at the agreed pick‑up point at the scheduled time. As set out in Waiting time & no‑shows, you have 5 minutes free waiting time, after which a driver may wait up to 15 minutes in total at their discretion before the booking is treated as a no‑show.
For anything time‑critical — an appointment, a meeting, or a transfer you can't afford to miss — build in extra time rather than cutting it fine. As a rule of thumb, we suggest adding at least 50% on top of the expected journey time, plus a further 30 minutes, when working out what time to book your pick‑up for; this normally leaves enough margin to absorb ordinary traffic and still arrive on time. For healthcare appointments, aim to arrive at least 30 minutes early, and for flights, follow your airline's advice and arrive at the airport by their advised time — not leave home at that time.
We're not liable for missed flights, trains or appointments caused by traffic, accidents, severe weather, breakdowns or other events outside our control — but we will always do our best to keep you informed of delays as soon as we're aware of them.
Some pick‑up points — double yellow lines, no‑waiting zones, or similar restrictions, which are common around the town centres of Chelmsford, Braintree and Witham — only allow a driver to wait for around 2–3 minutes before parking restrictions require them to move on. If you're not at the vehicle within that window, the driver will circle the block or call you to agree a nearby alternative meeting point; this isn't treated as a cancellation, and moving on doesn't itself trigger a charge. If we're unable to reach you or agree a revised pick‑up point within a reasonable time, the booking may be treated as a no‑show under Cancellations, no‑shows & refunds. Where possible, it's worth checking whether your pick‑up point has restrictions and suggesting a short alternative when you book.
To keep everyone safe and comfortable, you and anyone travelling with you must not:
We operate a zero‑tolerance approach to abusive, threatening or violent behaviour. Where this happens, the driver may end the journey immediately without refund, and we may share dashcam or CCTV footage with the police to support any investigation. Short of that, if you or a passenger doesn't follow the conditions above, the driver may decline to start or may stop the journey, and a cancellation charge may apply — but drivers won't withhold reasonable assistance or refuse a journey over a minor, good‑faith disagreement.
Passengers under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult (18+) for the whole journey, and it's the booking party's responsibility to arrange this, along with any car seat required by law (see Car seats). Our drivers provide safe transport, not supervision or care — they're not trained chaperones. We may decline to carry an unaccompanied child or vulnerable passenger where suitable arrangements haven't been made.
Please tell us about any accessibility needs, medical conditions, or other requirements when you book, so we can send an appropriate vehicle. Our fleet includes wheelchair‑accessible vehicles. If you don't tell us in advance and the vehicle sent isn't suitable, we'll do our best to send an appropriate replacement as quickly as possible, without an additional charge to you for our error in dispatching the wrong vehicle type where you gave us the right information.
Under the Equality Act 2010, passengers travelling with a certified assistance dog travel free of charge, and our drivers must carry assistance dogs alongside their passenger unless the driver holds a valid medical exemption. You may be asked for proof of the assistance dog where this isn't obvious.
We're happy to carry well‑behaved domestic pets at the driver's discretion — please book this in advance by phone so we can confirm availability and any charge. We allow one pet per journey, securely harnessed or in a carrier, remaining in the footwell. You're responsible for your own pet insurance; any soiling or damage a pet causes is subject to our standard cleaning charges (see Soiling & damage).
We don't supply car seats — please bring your own. It's your responsibility to fit the seat correctly following the manufacturer's instructions; neither Happicabs nor the driver is liable for a defect in a seat you've supplied or for its installation. If a driver reasonably believes a seat is unsafe or insecurely fitted, they may decline to start, or may pause, the journey until it's corrected.
For airport drop‑offs where you'd like us to store your car seat for your return journey, a reasonable storage charge may apply. Please label the seat clearly with your name, contact number and return date/flight number — we'll take reasonable care of it, but it's held at your own risk.
Please book a vehicle sized for your luggage — all items should fit safely in the boot. The passenger seating area isn't considered luggage space, so please choose an appropriately sized vehicle at the time of booking rather than planning to carry bags, cases or other items on your lap or around your feet. Drivers may decline excessive luggage that can't be carried safely, and where a larger vehicle is genuinely needed, additional charges may apply. Drivers may assist with loading at their discretion and in line with health and safety guidance, but you remain responsible for your own belongings; where a driver helps, that assistance doesn't transfer liability to Happicabs or the driver for accidental damage.
You're responsible for your own belongings — please check the vehicle before you get out. If a driver finds property left behind, we'll store it for up to 3 months. Get in touch through the contact form at happicabs.com/contact-us or happicabs.com/lost-property with your booking details, and we'll help arrange its return — a reasonable handling fee may apply, which we'll confirm with you before charging it.
After 3 months, unclaimed items may be returned, donated, or disposed of, and we won't be liable for property disposed of after this notice period. We recommend labelling valuable items and taking care of anything irreplaceable during your journey.
All Happicabs drivers are fully licensed and undergo background checks, including enhanced DBS checks where applicable, plus training in customer service, road safety and safeguarding.
Drivers aim to arrive on time but delays can happen due to traffic, weather, accidents or breakdowns beyond our control — we'll let you know as soon as we're aware. Drivers follow the most efficient route unless you reasonably ask otherwise; a request that meaningfully extends the journey may incur an additional charge, which will be explained before it's applied. Assistance with luggage, or helping a passenger in or out of the vehicle, is offered at the driver's discretion and always at the passenger's own risk — our service is door‑to‑door, and drivers aren't required to enter private property.
If you have a concern about a driver, email management@happicabs.com — see Complaints & dispute resolution for how we handle this.
All our vehicles undergo regular inspections covering safety standards, seatbelts, air conditioning and cleanliness. Passengers must wear a seatbelt at all times while the vehicle is moving — a driver may decline to travel with a passenger who won't comply, for everyone's safety.
If you have an accident or injury during a journey, please report it to the police and to us as soon as possible; claims are handled through the relevant insurance provider in line with legal requirements. Both Happicabs and our drivers carry appropriate insurance cover.
At busy times, or where a specialist vehicle is needed, we may arrange for another licensed operator or approved fulfilment partner to complete your journey. Where this happens:
If something goes wrong on a journey completed by a fulfilment partner, tell us and we'll help you resolve it — we won't leave you to deal with an unfamiliar third party alone.
We take reasonable steps to ensure your safety and to deliver the service as booked. We're responsible for loss, injury or damage that directly results from our negligence, or that of our driver, or a failure to follow safety protocols — for example, a road traffic collision caused by driver error.
We're not liable for delays or losses caused by things outside our reasonable control — traffic, road closures, accidents, severe weather, or events covered under Force Majeure below. We're also not liable for loss caused by your own actions, or a passenger's, including a missed connection where you didn't allow the recommended amount of time (see Passenger responsibilities).
Where we are liable to you for a claim relating to a journey — and subject always to the carve‑outs above for death, personal injury and fraud — our total liability for that journey is limited to the fare you paid for it. We won't be liable for indirect or consequential losses such as loss of earnings or missed onward travel, though we'll always work with you in good faith where a genuine failure on our part has caused you real inconvenience.
Our service is for personal transport. Where a journey is booked for business purposes, we're not liable for business losses — a missed meeting, a lost sale, or other commercial consequences. The same principle applies to personal plans connected to your journey: we're not liable for the cost of missed flights, trains or coach tickets, concert or event tickets, or similar, where the loss results from something outside our reasonable control (see Force majeure below) or from not allowing the recommended time set out in Passenger responsibilities. Where a genuine failure on our part is the direct cause of a missed connection or event, we'll deal with you fairly and in good faith — but our liability remains subject to the cap in 12.3 above.
We're not liable for a failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control — natural disasters, extreme weather, strikes, industrial action, civil unrest, public health emergencies, government restrictions, or mechanical breakdown. Where this affects your booking, we'll do our best to let you know and offer alternative arrangements where we can.
Our service is for passenger transport, not a courier or removals service. We don't accept unaccompanied goods, and drivers may decline to carry any item that appears to be of significant value, at their discretion.
We collect the personal data needed to provide and improve our service — your name and contact details, payment information, journey and booking history, vehicle/driver assignment, any special requirements you've told us about, communication records, CCTV/dashcam footage for safety and incident reporting, and GPS location data for journey management.
We process this data lawfully, transparently and securely, in line with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. We don't sell your personal data, and we don't share it with third parties for marketing. We do share what's necessary with payment processors, insurers, or a fulfilment partner completing your journey, as explained in Third-party & shared bookings above.
We'd always rather hear from you directly and put things right. You can raise feedback, a complaint, or a lost property enquiry via the contact form at happicabs.com/contact-us, or email management@happicabs.com for complaints and info@happicabs.com for general enquiries. For anything urgent during a journey, call the office number on your booking confirmation.
If something's gone wrong — a charge you don't understand, a driver you're unhappy with, an item left behind — please come to us first, through the channels above, before posting about it on social media. Almost everything gets sorted faster this way: we can look up your booking, speak to the driver, check the dashcam footage, and put things right, none of which we're able to do from a public comment or a tag on social media. We read every complaint sent to us directly and take each one seriously, and we'd genuinely rather have the chance to fix a problem for you than have you left frustrated waiting for a reply online. If, after we've had a fair opportunity to resolve things, you're still not happy, you're of course free to share your experience however you choose.
If we can't resolve things between us, you can refer the matter to the relevant local licensing authority for independent review (see About Happicabs & licensing for the authority covering your journey). Raising a complaint with us, or with the licensing authority, doesn't affect your right to take further legal action if needed.
We ask that disputes are handled respectfully on both sides. Where a passenger becomes abusive or threatening during the complaints process, we may refer the matter directly to the licensing authority or police rather than continue that exchange — this doesn't affect your right to pursue the complaint through those channels.
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and any dispute is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
We may update these terms from time to time — for example to reflect a change in the law, our pricing, or how we operate. Any change will be published on this page with an updated date at the top, and where a change is significant, we'll also notify you by email or app notification if you have an active booking or account with us. Continuing to use our services after an update means you accept the revised terms; the terms that applied at the time you made a booking will govern that booking.
General enquiries: info@happicabs.com
Complaints: management@happicabs.com
Urgent, journey‑in‑progress issues: the phone number on your booking confirmation
We aim to respond to all enquiries and complaints within 48 hours, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.
