The terms,
in plain English.

1. About these terms

These terms apply to every job you book with First Call Recovery 247 ("we", "us", "our"), whether you book through this website, on WhatsApp or by phone. They are part of the agreement between you ("you", "the customer") and us for that job. Please read them before you book. If something is unclear, ask us before you go ahead.

In these terms, "job" means the recovery, roadside help, transport, collection, delivery or driving that we agree to arrange for you, and "supplier" means any other business or driver we use to carry out all or part of a job.

2. Who we are and what we do

We provide vehicle recovery, roadside help, vehicle transport, MOT and service collections, auction and salvage collections and trade plate driving across the UK, including specialist handling of supercars and prestige vehicles. We are not a breakdown membership or an insurance company. You pay for each job as it is agreed, and these terms do not form an insurance policy.

3. Using third-party suppliers

To cover the whole of the UK, we use trusted third-party suppliers, such as other recovery and transport operators and drivers, to carry out all or part of a job when we need to. This lets us reach you wherever you are.

You can ask us at any time who will carry out your job, and we will tell you. Our suppliers are insured for the work they carry out. If you need details of the cover, for example for a high-value vehicle, ask us before you book and we will tell you what we can. Each supplier is responsible for the way it carries out the work. Section 11 explains how damage is handled when a supplier is involved.

4. Quotes and booking

A quote is based on what you tell us: the vehicle, where it is, where it is going, what condition it is in, whether it starts, rolls and steers, how much room there is to load it, and when you need it done. A quote is not a booking.

A job is booked only when we have agreed the job, the price and the timing with you, and we have confirmed it to you in writing. A message on WhatsApp counts as writing. Until then, either of us may decide not to go ahead.

If the details you gave turn out to be wrong or incomplete (for example the vehicle is a non-runner, the wheels are locked, the keys are missing, the vehicle is bigger or heavier than described, or access is restricted), the price and timing may change. We will tell you and agree the change with you before we carry on. If we cannot agree, we may decline the job, and charges may be due for any work already done or wasted journeys.

5. Prices and payment

The price is agreed with you before the job is booked. Payment arrangements, including when and how you pay, are agreed when you book. Please pay as agreed.

Charges made by auction sites, storage yards, car parks, ports, tolls or other third parties, such as storage, release, loading, congestion or access fees, are separate from our price and are your responsibility.

If an invoice is not paid on time, we may chase it and may claim the reasonable costs of recovering it, as the law allows.

6. Arrival and delivery times

Arrival and delivery times are our best estimates, and we do not guarantee them. Traffic, weather, road or site closures, the number of jobs at the time, the distance and the condition of the vehicle can all affect timing. We will keep you informed where we reasonably can.

If you ask us, we will arrange for you to receive the live location of your vehicle by WhatsApp while it is being moved, where the supplier is able to provide it. Live location depends on the supplier's equipment and on mobile signal, so it may be interrupted.

We are not responsible for delays caused by things outside our reasonable control, including severe weather, accidents, road closures, strikes, vehicle breakdowns, supplier shortages, emergencies and the actions of the police or other authorities.

7. Vehicles we can and cannot take

Tell us the make, model and registration, whether the vehicle is petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric, and its size and weight if it is larger than a normal car or van. We can only carry or recover a vehicle that our equipment and suppliers can move safely and legally, and we will tell you before you book if we cannot take yours.

We may refuse or stop a job if we think it is unsafe, unlawful or unsuitable, for example because of the condition or load of the vehicle, the place it is in, or the behaviour of anyone present. If that happens after we have started, we will agree with you what to do next, and reasonable charges may apply for the work done.

Enclosed (covered) transport is available on request. Tell us when you enquire, and we will confirm availability, and the price, before the job is booked. Hybrid and electric vehicles, and low, lowered or high-value vehicles, need particular care. Please tell us about them, and about air suspension, lift modes, electronic parking brakes, locked steering and similar features, so that we can plan how the vehicle will be loaded and moved. You must not ask us to carry anything illegal, dangerous or hazardous in or on the vehicle.

8. What we need from you

You agree to give us accurate information, and to tell us about any existing damage and any fault that could affect how the vehicle is moved.

Please make sure that the keys, fobs and locking wheel nut keys are available when we arrive, and that the vehicle can be reached and loaded. Please also tell us if the vehicle is on private land, in a car park or a yard, and who must give permission for us to take it.

You confirm that you own the vehicle or have the owner's permission to arrange the job, and that you are allowed to give us access to wherever it is.

For any job where the vehicle is driven, it must be roadworthy, legally insured for the journey and have a valid MOT where one is required.

Someone should be available to hand over the vehicle and to receive it at the agreed time and place. If a collection or delivery cannot go ahead because nobody is there, access is blocked or the details were wrong, extra waiting, storage, re-attendance or re-delivery charges may apply, and we will agree them with you.

9. Personal items, pets and passengers

Please remove valuables and personal items before we move the vehicle. Items left in a vehicle are left at your own risk.

Pets and animals should not be left in a vehicle that is being moved, and we recommend you keep them with you. Passengers can travel only if we have agreed it in advance, and only where it is safe and lawful.

10. Roadside help, safety and unattended vehicles

We carry out roadside work, such as a jump start or a wheel change, only where it is safe, and we cannot promise it will fix the problem. If it is not safe, for example on a live carriageway, or the vehicle is not suitable, or the roadside work does not solve the problem, we may recommend recovery instead, and recovery is charged as agreed with you.

If you are in danger, get yourself and your passengers away from the traffic and call 999. Please do not stay in a vehicle on a motorway or busy road if it is safe to leave it. Our page on what to do if you break down on a motorway has more advice.

If you ask us to collect a vehicle that is left unattended, you authorise us and our suppliers to take it, and you are responsible for making sure that you have the right to do so.

11. Our checks, and damage during a job

We carry out our checks before a job begins, which may include noting or photographing the condition of the vehicle. Please tell us about any existing damage when you book, and where you can, check the vehicle with us at collection and again at delivery.

Please check the vehicle as soon as it is delivered, and tell us and the supplier about any damage straight away, and in any case as soon as you notice it. The sooner you tell us, the easier it is to look into.

If damage happens while a supplier is carrying out the job, it is dealt with directly between you and that supplier. We will gladly give you all the details we hold about the supplier and the job, and help as much as we reasonably can if you want to pursue a claim. Because the supplier carries out the work, we cannot accept responsibility for what the supplier does or does not do.

12. Losses we are not responsible for

Apart from what these terms and the law require of us, we are not responsible for losses that were not a reasonably foreseeable result of something going wrong, such as missed appointments, lost earnings, loss of use of the vehicle or the cost of other travel. We are also not responsible for damage that was already there, for wear and tear, or for faults that were present before the job began, and that were not caused by us or by our supplier.

13. Your legal rights

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes anything that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud. If you are a consumer, these terms do not affect your statutory rights, including your right to services carried out with reasonable care and skill.

14. Auction, salvage and trade collections

For an auction or salvage collection, you must make sure that the vehicle is paid for and released, and that you have the lot number, release reference and any collection appointment the site requires. The site's own rules about access, loading and storage deadlines apply, and we cannot change them. We have no affiliation with any auction house, and auction names are used only to say where a vehicle is collected from.

Salvage and damaged vehicles may be unstable, may leak fluids or may have parts that are loose or missing. Please tell us what you know, so that we can plan the collection safely. We are not responsible for the condition the vehicle was in when we collected it.

15. Trade plate and driven jobs

Where we deliver a vehicle by driving it, the journey adds mileage to the vehicle. Driven jobs are suitable only for roadworthy vehicles, and trade plates may be used only for the purposes the law allows. If a vehicle is not suitable to be driven, we will recommend transported delivery instead.

16. MOT and service collections

Where we collect a vehicle and take it to a garage for an MOT, service or repair, the work is carried out by the garage you choose, and the garage's own charges, terms and responsibility for its work are separate from ours. We arrange the collection and the return journey. If the vehicle does not have a current MOT, tell us before you book.

17. Cancelling or changing a job

Please tell us as soon as you can if you need to change or cancel a job. Any change or cancellation charge is agreed with you when you book. If one of our drivers or suppliers has already been sent to you, or has already travelled, a reasonable charge for that may apply, and we will tell you what it is.

If we need to cancel or change a job, for example because of safety, a supplier problem or something outside our control, we will tell you as soon as we can and agree what to do. We will not charge you for a job we have cancelled.

18. Storage and abandoned vehicles

If we cannot deliver a vehicle because nobody can receive it, access is not possible, or payment is outstanding, we may need to store it. Storage charges may apply, and we will agree them with you. If a vehicle is left with us or a supplier and is not collected despite reasonable attempts to reach you, we may take the steps the law allows to deal with it.

19. Complaints

If something has gone wrong, use our complaints form or message us on WhatsApp and tell us what happened, including the date, the vehicle, and what you would like us to do. We will look into it and come back to you. Where a supplier was involved, we will give you the details we hold and help you take it up with them. If a complaint cannot be settled, you may have other options open to you, including mediation or court, and your rights as a consumer are not affected.

20. How we talk to each other

We are moving with the times, so we do not use email. We work through WhatsApp, and messages sent there count as writing for these terms. Please keep your messages to us about the job in the same WhatsApp chat, so that nothing gets lost.

21. Your information

How we handle your information, including your location and our use of cookies, is explained in our privacy and cookies notice.

22. General

These terms, together with what we have agreed with you for the job, are the whole agreement between us for it. If any part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies. If we do not insist on something straight away, we can still do so later. A person who is not a party to the agreement has no right to enforce any of its terms.

We may update these terms from time to time. The terms in place when you book are the ones that apply to your job.

23. The law that applies

These terms, and any dispute about them or about a job, are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring a claim in your local courts.