Ullapool. Jan Ubels
Receiving A Booking Request
- Message Thread Communications
- Booking Form
- Confirming A Booking
- Collecting Payments
- Incorrect Information
- Finding Your Customer Details
- Insurance
- Daily Rates
- Your Booking Form / Hire Agreement
- Damage and Marking Damage Down Before the Hire
- Security Deposit
- Paying by Credit Card
- Breakdown Cover
- Due Diligence and Meeting the Customer
- Van Safety and Checking Dents
- Keeping Customer Info During a Hire in the Event of a Claim
- Your Identification Details
Message Thread Communications
Before confirming a booking, you can speak to the hirer via the Camperbug message thread. Ask them any questions you need and confirm any information from them. Anything particular in your terms and conditions can be discussed here. Again, if after receiving this, there are further clarifications that you would like, contact them through the message thread. There is no obligation on your part to accept any booking that you are not comfortable with. Please do not accept any bookings that you are not sure about or any bookings for which you would like to find out further information about the customer and their driving history.
Booking Form
Once the hirer and you have agreed on the booking, they will complete a form with information about themselves. The below shows an example of the information that the hirer provides you before they confirm the booking. It is quite an extensive range of information and is normally sufficient to understand more about the hirer.
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Confirming A Booking
We collect the info below for every driver on the booking up to 3 drivers - and also ask them where they are going and who they are travelling with. They input how many points they have on their licence, any endorsements, convictions etc. You also have their driving licence details and can enter these details to confirm the data they have sent you. You should immediately ask for photo evidence confirming what they have told you, as soon as they send you this info.
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Collecting Payments
The first payment made to Camperbug is non-refundable. In the event that you cancel the booking, you would be expected to return to the customer this payment as the service Camperbug provides is one of contact. If they cancel the booking, then the payment is not returned to them by either you or us. Camperbug receives the first payment from the customer and you receive the Now Collect amount as seen on the quote. We do not currently ask the customer for money that we will then pass onto you, it is your responsibility to collect this.
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In the extremely rare event that you accepted a booking and found out that the customer (who had given you the correct information requested) was still ineligible to hire, you would be liable to repay the money paid by them to Camperbug. It is the owner's responsibility to use the messaging system to ask for all the information that they need in the first place and understand the suitability requirements for all bookings they accept. Do not accept bookings that you are not comfortable with and always ask for further information from the hirer.
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What if the hirer is not transparent with their info? In the event that a hirer stated on the form they had only 3 points for example, when in fact they had 9, once you had checked their licence details, they would void the booking. After they have confirmed, you should ask for photographic evidence to confirm what they have told you. Also you must clearly state that they have the required number of utility bills and the correct photo ID at the time of collection. In our experience it has never happened that hirers invent and make up details they submit on the form. It is very easy to actually verify their correct info and hirers understand that they would lose their deposit payment, so it's not worth it.
What if the hirer is not transparent with their info? In the event that a hirer stated on the form they had only 3 points for example, when in fact they had 9, once you had checked their licence details, they would void the booking. After they have confirmed, you should ask for photographic evidence to confirm what they have told you. Also you must clearly state that they have the required number of utility bills and the correct photo ID at the time of collection. In our experience it has never happened that hirers invent and make up details they submit on the form. It is very easy to actually verify their correct info and hirers understand that they would lose their deposit payment, so it's not worth it.
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Finding Your Customer Details
There are a couple of ways to find the customer's details as shown below, when you have their contacts then drop them a line.
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Insurance
You are responsible for purchasing insurance. If you would like to use the Camperbug scheme, please drop us a line and we can let you know about other insurers that you can also use outside our scheme. More information about insurance can be found here: Camperbug Insurance Information
The insurance we sell on Camperbug is a separate product from our booking system. The Camperbug insurance scheme is an entirely separate product not a part of our self-drive hire. It is the responsibility of the owner to decide if they want to buy it. You should factor in the cost of the insurance to the quote when you make it. Remember to always include insurance in the costs you charge to a customer. This is normally about £20 per day and you may buy this from any provider not just Camperbug.
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Daily Rates
These are set by the system automatically by default but if you visit your Listing Page and press Prices, you will be able to edit the prices to those that you wish. Remember to add an insurance cost to the prices you enter. You can also block out your non-available dates in the calendar section of the website.
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Your Booking Form / Hire Agreement
Please remember that you will need to have a booking form which the customer completes and signs. The form lists the things that are important to you when hiring your vehicle out. Remember that they have already supplied a lot of information already. You should complete this information when you send the customer the form and not ask them to complete this information again. However, you will need to collect this information for any bookings that do not take place through Camperbug. The customer should sign this when they meet you and confirm they have read your terms and conditions and are happy to sign the agreement. You must retain signed copies of the hire agreement / booking form.
We do not supply booking forms for legal reasons but booking forms are generally very similar and it is easy to find something on the internet that you can use to create your own.
Damage and Marking Damage Down Before the Hire
Always do a walk around your vehicle with the customer. You should produce a graphical diagram that you have drawn of your van or motorhome. This should indicate any dents which exist and you should sign off these dents with the customer before they drive away. The customer will keep a copy of this image as will you. Upon return of the vehicle, the damage should be checked. If you are unable to reproduce a graphic, then on a piece of paper, list the existing defects and give a signed copy to the customer and keep one for yourself.
Security Deposit
Most lenders collect a deposit of £500, which is the value of their insurance excess and others collect more. You should typically collect a security deposit of £500. But be aware that the excess value on your policy could be different. Ideally the best way is to get yourself a card machine. If the customer pays by credit card, it gives them the added protection factor when they make the payment and you can refund the money back to the card when they have returned the vehicle. Also with PayPal, you can refund back within 30 days and recover any fees you might pay to PayPal. You should always do a careful check of the vehicle before and after the hire takes place. Make sure that you immediately refund the security deposit back to the customer after your checks are complete. In the event that the customer has picked up traffic and parking fines, you can write to the relevant body with a copy of your hire agreement and their address details and they will contact the customer to collect the fees that are owed. If you get a parking ticket that a customer has incurred, you should immediately send it to them, so they are able to settle the amount within the cheaper payment period.
Paying by Credit Card
Also payment of the security deposit by credit card will give you the same recourse to a refund and the same peace of mind to the customer. It is increasingly easy to get your hands on one of these small portable machines and will make life much simpler. There are countless card machines aimed at small businesses on the market today, and most enable you to take chip & pin, contactless, and mobile payments. If you google: ''card payment machines for small businesses'' then a number of options will come up.
Breakdown Cover
Would really recommend that you have your own breakdown cover in place. You can purchase RAC fleet cover or any kind of breakdown which covers the vehicle rather than the person. Please be aware that we do not currently offer a breakdown policy.
Due Diligence and Meeting the Customer
Nowadays, we do not have paper parts to driving licences, so it is up to you to check any endorsements which exist on the customer's licence. The government provides a service which allows you to do this online: Check Driving Record Ask for their national insurance number and postcode and then input these into the system.
When the customer arrives on your doorstep, you will need to check what they have told you is true and also confirm their identity. They will need to supply their driving licence as proof of their identity, utility bills and other documentation to establish the identity of the person hiring your vehicle and make sure that they are eligible. If you are using one of Camperbug's schemes these are the policy requirements:
- (a) You must ensure a hire agreement is fully completed on each and every hire and retain this.
- (b) You must obtain, verify and retain a copy of each driver’s driving licence and ensure the address noted is the driver’s current permanent residence in the UK.
- (c) You must ascertain that the hirer is eligible in accordance with the driving criteria on the Insurance policy.
- (d) You must obtain and retain a copy of 2 forms of ID – one must be a utility bill no older than 3 months and both forms of ID must match the hirer's address.
We do not need to see documents and they do not need presenting to us before a hire occurs but ALL of the above documents must be made available should an accident or incident occur. During the booking process, you should confirm with the customer, that they have all the identity documents which are required for booking the camper. If they are not using the Camperbug insurance policy, check with the insurance provider, what the requirements of identification are.
Van Safety and Checking Dents
It is also a good idea to do a mini driving lesson with the customer, get them used to driving a new vehicle and let them know what they can expect. The more you can let them know at this stage the better. Also make a note on a graphical diagram you have created, which shows the customers any dents or defects and make sure you both retain signed copies of this.
Keeping Customer Info During a Hire in the Event of a Claim
You must keep copies of customer identity details. You will need a copy of their driving licence, both sides, a copy of their recent utility (within the past 3 months) and also another utility bill (as stated above too). These can be stored as digital copies if you take photos of them on a smart phone or on a digital camera. These MUST be presented to the insurer, in the event of a claim and it will invalidate your insurance if you do not have these.
Your Identification Details
Finally, we will need to collect your identification details. If you have not already, can you send a passport or driving licence as proof of ID and also a utility bill too. You can simply take a photo of these and then attach in an email, so it should be quite easy to do. The reason we ask is because Camperbug customers are paying you money directly to hire now. Whilst we know you're very nice and trustworthy! we need to have proof that the person they're sending their money to is a real live genuine campervan owner. It gives customers peace of mind knowing that Camperbug ensures that the lenders on our site are genuine owners solely interested in hiring out their vans. Also if you have a gas safety certificate for the van that would be excellent too and if you don't have one we really recommend getting one done.