Customer terms

Vanflex is run by Ironbridge Group Ltd (“Vanflex”, “we”, “us”). Payments show on your statement as VANFLEX.

Vanflex is a booking platform. The job itself is carried out by an independent, self-employed van driver (“the driver”), not by Vanflex staff. We arrange the job, set the fixed price, take payment on the driver's behalf, and handle cancellations, refunds and complaints. The driver is responsible for carrying out the job with reasonable care and skill.

Before a driver can take jobs we check their driving licence, insurance and, for rubbish and garden jobs, their upper-tier waste carrier registration. We can't guarantee a particular driver, van or arrival time beyond what these terms say.

You choose the job, addresses, load or items, extras, and either “Now” or a one-hour arrival window up to 14 days ahead. You must be 18 or over and able to pay by card.

Your booking is a request until a driver accepts it. The contract for the job is made when a driver accepts (or, for a booked-ahead job, books it) and we confirm by text, email or on the booking screen. Until then, nothing is charged and either of us can walk away.

“Now” jobs are only offered to drivers who can reach you within 60 minutes. The arrival time shown is our promise: if the driver is later, you can cancel free or ask for another driver.

Keep your booking link private — anyone with it can see and cancel the booking.

You see one fixed price, including VAT where it applies, before you pay. It's built from the job, the load or items, the distance and any extras, and it covers loading, the drive and unloading (or, for waste, lawful disposal).

The price is based on what you tell us. It does not cover:

• items, weight or volume beyond what you described, or items you didn't list that cost more to dispose of (for example sofas, mattresses or fridges);
• stairs, long carries, dismantling or waiting time you didn't tell us about, beyond what's reasonable;
• parking, congestion or toll charges at your address, unless you told us there are none — please arrange a legal place to park.

If the job is clearly bigger than described, the driver can take only what was booked, or decline the job. If they decline because the description was wrong, that counts as you cancelling (section 6). We'll help you rebook the rest at the right price.

When you book, the full price is held on your card and the card is saved for that booking. Nothing is taken until a driver accepts. If nobody does, the hold is released.

For booked-ahead jobs taken more than a few days after you booked, we may let the original hold go and take the payment from your saved card instead. You authorise us to charge the saved card for the job and for any cancellation or no-show fee these terms allow.

If a payment fails, we'll send you a link to pay. If it's still unpaid by the time in that message, we can cancel the job. A job already under way that isn't paid is still owed, and we may recover it.

Card payments are handled by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number.

You agree to:

• describe the job honestly and accurately, including load size, heavy or awkward items, stairs and access;
• be there (or have someone over 18 there) at the pickup and drop-off at the booked time;
• have the right to have the items moved or disposed of, and permission to access both addresses;
• have items packed, ready and safe to lift, with fragile and valuable things properly protected;
• tell the driver about anything hazardous, very heavy or unusual before loading;
• treat drivers with respect. Drivers can leave if they're abused, threatened or feel unsafe, and that counts as you cancelling.

You can cancel on the booking screen, which always shows what cancelling would cost before you confirm:

• Before a driver takes the job: free.
• “Now” jobs: free for 5 minutes after a driver accepts. After that the driver is on the way, so a call-out fee (shown when you book — currently £15) goes to them.
• Driver later than promised: free, whenever you cancel.
• Booked-ahead jobs: free until 24 hours before your window. Within 24 hours, 50% of the price goes to the driver who kept the slot for you.
• Once the driver has arrived: the job can't be cancelled in the app. Speak to the driver or contact us.
• No-show: if the driver waits at the pickup for 15 minutes and can't reach you or find the items, the job is cancelled and the call-out fee is kept. The rest is returned.

Because each job is a transport service for a specific date or time, the 14-day cooling-off period under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 doesn't apply. The cancellation rights above replace it.

If we or the driver cancel (for example no driver is free, a booked-ahead job is still uncovered 2 hours before its window, or the driver can't make it), you get all your money back. We're not responsible for other costs caused by a cancellation, unless it was our fault and those costs were foreseeable.

A released hold usually drops off your card within a few days. Refunds go back to the card you paid with, usually within 5–10 working days depending on your bank. We don't give refunds in cash or credit unless we agree it with you.

If you pay twice, or pay after a job was cancelled, we refund the extra payment automatically.

We don't carry asbestos, chemicals, gas bottles, other hazardous waste, clinical or medical waste, paint and solvents in quantity, tyres in bulk, anything illegal or stolen, explosives or ammunition, live animals, people, or anything unsafe or too heavy to carry. Drivers can refuse any item like this on the day.

For rubbish and garden jobs, you confirm that the waste is what you described and contains none of the items above. You're responsible for costs, fines or claims caused by waste you mis-described or hid (for example asbestos in a bag of rubble), including the cost of disposing of it properly.

The driver takes waste to a licensed site. As the person producing the waste you have a legal duty of care to use a registered carrier — every driver who takes waste jobs is registered, and you can ask us for their registration and a waste transfer note.

Marketplace pickups: you deal with the seller and pay them yourself. The driver collects and delivers but doesn't inspect, test or check the item, and isn't responsible for its condition, what it is, or whether it fits where you want it.

Builders' materials: you must list the materials and weights honestly; we only send a van that can carry the weight you give us.

Please don't give the driver cash, jewellery, watches, important documents, passports, medicines, laptops or phones, irreplaceable or sentimental items, or anything worth more than £1,000 on its own. Carry these yourself. If you hand them over anyway, they're at your own risk.

Tell us quickly. Check your things when they arrive. Report any damage or loss within 48 hours (or obvious damage before the driver leaves), with photos, to hello@vanflex.uk. We'll pass it to the driver and help you claim on their insurance. Late claims are harder to check and may be refused, unless you couldn't reasonably have told us sooner.

The driver is responsible for loss or damage they cause through not taking reasonable care. They aren't responsible for: wear and tear; damage to items you packed yourself unless the outside packaging is also damaged; flat-pack or poorly made furniture coming apart; items in section 9; or damage caused by the item's own fault or by following your instructions. Damage to your property caused by the driver must be reported in the same way.

Vanflex is responsible for running the platform with reasonable care and skill. We're not responsible for the driver's acts or omissions, but we will help you resolve a claim. Our total liability to you for any booking is limited to the greater of the price of that booking or £500.

Neither we nor the driver are responsible for losses that weren't foreseeable, or for business losses (lost profits, income or opportunity) — Vanflex is for domestic and private use.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that can't be limited by law. Your statutory rights as a consumer — including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, that services are carried out with reasonable care and skill — are not affected.

One code per booking. Codes have no cash value, can't be exchanged or transferred, and can't be added after booking. Credit codes only work for the person they were sent to. Referral codes are for friends: using your own doesn't earn a reward. Codes with a use limit are held while you pay and may run out.

We can refuse, cancel or claw back codes, credit or rewards that are misused — for example, fake bookings or multiple accounts.

You can rate your driver after the job. Ratings must be honest and about that job. We may remove ratings that are abusive, discriminatory, fake or unrelated to the job.

We can refuse a booking, or cancel one and refund you, if we reasonably think it's fraudulent, unsafe, unlawful, against these terms, or if there's a pricing error. If we cancel because of something you did (for example abuse, misdescribed waste, or a fraudulent payment), we may keep a fee that covers the driver's costs.

Neither we nor the driver are responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control — for example severe weather, road closures, accidents, breakdowns, strikes or outages. If a job can't go ahead because of one, you can cancel free or rebook.

We use your details to arrange and support your booking, as explained in our privacy notice. The driver sees your name, number, addresses and job details only for the job they're doing, and must not use them for anything else.

If something goes wrong, contact us at hello@vanflex.uk with your booking details. We aim to reply within 2 working days and to resolve complaints within 14 days. If we can't agree, you can go to court; you may also be able to use an alternative dispute resolution service.

We may update these terms, for example to reflect changes in the law or in how Vanflex works. The version shown when you booked applies to that booking. We record which version each booking was made under.

If any part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies. If we don't enforce a right straight away, we can still enforce it later. These terms are between you and us; nobody else can enforce them, except that the driver can rely on the sections that protect them (including 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10).

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. You can bring proceedings in the courts of England and Wales, or, if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in your local courts.