VANTHRUST LTD — CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE AND CUSTOMER TERMS
Status: Owner-approved / internally reviewed / not independently lawyer-reviewed.
This remains a launch draft. Independent UK legal review is recommended and must
not be claimed unless a genuine adviser/file reference is recorded.
1. Definitions
“Vanthrust”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Vanthrust Ltd. “Customer” means the person or business requesting or purchasing the service. “Goods” means the items accepted for transport. “Booking” means a transport service confirmed by Vanthrust. “Driver Assist” means agreed manual assistance by a single driver. “Business Customer” means a customer acting wholly or mainly for business purposes. “Consumer” means an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession.
2. Scope of service
Vanthrust provides booked courier and light commercial-vehicle transport services within the service area stated in the quote. A service is subject to vehicle/resource availability, safe and lawful operation, accurate customer information and these Conditions.
3. Contract formation
A request, enquiry or quote is not a confirmed booking. A contract is formed only when Vanthrust issues booking confirmation after any required customer acceptance, payment/account approval, capacity and safety checks. The confirmation, quote, agreed variations and these Conditions together form the contract.
4. Quotes and prices
Quotes are in GBP and are based on information available at the time, including route, timing, vehicle, cargo, access and requested services. A quote applies only to the booking and facts identified in it. Materially changed information may require a reviewed variation or new quote.
5. VAT
Vanthrust Ltd is currently not VAT registered and therefore does not currently add VAT. If the VAT status changes, future applicable quotes/invoices will state the treatment clearly from the relevant effective date.
6. Collection and delivery times
Collection and delivery times are estimates or confirmed service windows as stated in the booking. Vanthrust will use reasonable care to meet confirmed commitments but journey times may be affected by traffic, road restrictions, weather, safety incidents, customer/site delay and events outside reasonable control.
7. Customer information and declarations
The Customer warrants that it owns the Goods or has authority from the owner to arrange their carriage and give instructions. The Customer must provide complete and accurate collection and delivery addresses; access and parking restrictions; authorised contacts; opening/access hours; cargo description; quantity; dimensions; weight; value where requested; handling requirements; and any hazardous, fragile, regulated or unusual characteristic. Vanthrust may rely on those declarations when quoting and planning and may require reasonable supporting safety information or evidence before collection. Nothing in these Conditions gives Vanthrust a general unrestricted right to open sealed Goods.
8. Goods not accepted
Standard service does not accept illegal goods, passengers, live animals, weapons or ammunition, explosives, unapproved dangerous goods, cash or negotiable instruments, or goods outside legal vehicle, insurance or operational limits. Vanthrust may also refuse goods that are inadequately packed, materially misdescribed, unsafe or unsuitable for a single-driver service. High-value, fragile, regulated or unusual goods may require additional information and explicit written approval before acceptance.
9. Declared value and insurance
The Customer must disclose the true value of Goods when requested and whenever the value is material to acceptance or insurance.
Vanthrust currently maintains Goods in Transit insurance with owner-reported cover up to £50,000 and Public Liability insurance up to £2,000,000, in each case subject to the actual policy terms, exclusions, excesses, conditions and insurer acceptance.
These insurance figures do not create or increase contractual liability and do not guarantee payment of any claim. Public Liability insurance is not a substitute for Goods in Transit cover. Goods valued above £50,000 require separate written review and any required insurance arrangement before acceptance.
10. Packaging and preparation
The Customer is responsible for ensuring Goods are appropriately packed, protected, labelled and ready for safe transport unless Vanthrust has expressly agreed to provide a specified packing service.
11. Load safety and vehicle capacity
Goods must be capable of being carried within the vehicle’s legal and operational limits. Vanthrust may refuse, rearrange or require changes to a load where necessary for vehicle stability, payload, axle/load distribution, securing or safety.
12. Loading and unloading
Unless Driver Assist has been expressly booked, the Customer is responsible for providing adequate people/equipment for loading and unloading. Vanthrust may supervise or intervene where necessary to protect the vehicle, load or people and may refuse unsafe loading/unloading.
13. Single-driver service
The launch service is a single-driver goods service unless Vanthrust expressly confirms otherwise in writing. No two-person handling service is implied. A standard Goods Booking does not carry passengers; passenger travel requires a separately lawful and insured service expressly confirmed by Vanthrust.
14. Unsafe manual handling
The driver is not required to perform hazardous manual handling. If the driver reasonably determines that a task cannot safely be performed by one person because of weight, dimensions, shape, centre of gravity, stairs, carrying distance, environment or another material risk, the driver may refuse or stop that handling component. The Customer may be required to supply suitable labour/equipment or agree a safe alternative or reschedule.
15. Driver Assist / handballing
Where booked or subsequently approved, Driver Assist is charged at £50 per hour, normally calculated as £12.50 per 15 minutes unless the quote states otherwise.
16. Stairs
Safe single-driver stairs handling is charged at £15 per floor where applicable. This charge does not create an obligation to carry any item that the driver considers unsafe.
17. Waiting
The first 15 minutes of waiting at collection and the first 15 minutes at delivery are included separately. Thereafter waiting is £1 per chargeable minute, capped at £20 for each 30-minute chargeable block, producing an effective maximum of £40 per hour. The same elapsed time must not be charged simultaneously as waiting and Driver Assist.
18. Congestion Charge Zone
A fixed £18 Central London/Congestion Zone surcharge applies to each qualifying booking where the agreed collection, delivery or required planned route enters the applicable London Congestion Charge Zone, where disclosed in the quote/booking.
19. Parking, tolls and other journey expenses
Parking, tolls, tunnels, ferries, permits, site-access fees and other unavoidable journey expenses may be added at actual cost where reasonably incurred for the booking. Evidence should be retained where available and additions are subject to Vanthrust review. The same cost must not be recovered twice from the same booking.
20. Access and route restrictions
The Customer must disclose known restrictions affecting access. Vanthrust may perform or require route-specific review for height, width, weight, tunnel, parking or other restrictions. Approval of one route or site does not imply approval of another.
21. Variations
Changes requested after confirmation, including addresses, time windows, cargo, access, handling or service scope, require Vanthrust review and may change price or feasibility. No driver is required to accept an unapproved material variation.
22. Cancellation by the Customer
Unless a specific written contract provides otherwise: more than 24 hours before collection, no cancellation charge; 3 to 24 hours, up to 50%; less than 3 hours, up to 75%; after dispatch, en route or arrival, up to 100%; and after collection, 100% plus lawful, proportionate and properly incurred return, rerouting, waiting, parking, toll or related costs.
For Consumers, any retained amount or cancellation charge remains subject to applicable consumer law, must be fair and reasonable, and must take account of losses Vanthrust reasonably avoids or mitigates.
23. Cancellation or refusal by Vanthrust
Vanthrust may cancel, suspend or refuse work where necessary for safety, legality, inaccurate material information, prohibited goods, vehicle breakdown, inability to access the site, non-payment, abusive conduct or another serious operational reason. Where the Customer is not at fault, any refund or alternative service will be determined in accordance with applicable law and the circumstances.
24. Customer absent / premises closed / failed collection
Where collection cannot occur because the Customer, sender, Goods, authorised contact or premises are unavailable/not ready, Vanthrust may record the event and charge reasonable waiting, wasted journey, rescheduling or related costs where permitted and disclosed. Reasonable additional costs caused by materially inaccurate or incomplete Customer information, lack of readiness or undisclosed access restrictions may be charged only where lawful, transparent, attributable to the Booking and not recovered twice.
25. Failed delivery
If delivery cannot safely or lawfully be completed because of absence, refusal, inaccurate information, restricted access, unsafe conditions or Customer instruction, Vanthrust may hold, return, redirect or redeliver the Goods as reasonably appropriate and may charge justified additional costs.
26. Delays and events outside reasonable control
Vanthrust is not responsible for delay to the extent caused by matters outside its reasonable control, including severe traffic disruption, road closure, accident, weather, emergency, authority action or access failure, subject always to rights and liabilities that cannot lawfully be excluded. Vanthrust will take reasonable steps to manage and communicate material disruption.
27. Vehicle breakdown and operational recovery
If a vehicle becomes unavailable or another operational exception occurs, Vanthrust may use an approved recovery process, including a replacement resource or revised commitment with appropriate review and Customer communication. No unsafe or unlawful continuation is required.
28. Subcontracting
Where lawful and operationally appropriate, Vanthrust may use a suitably approved and appropriately insured subcontractor or replacement carrier. Vanthrust will not represent an unapproved third party as an authorised carrier.
29. Proof of delivery
Delivery evidence may include signature, name, photograph, timestamp, location/status information and other appropriate operational evidence. Absence of one type of evidence does not by itself invalidate other reliable evidence.
30. Custody and handover
Vanthrust will take reasonable care of Goods accepted into its custody until authorised delivery, transfer, return or other lawful disposition, subject to these Conditions and applicable law.
31. Loss and damage
Claims for loss or damage will be assessed on their facts, supporting evidence, applicable law, the contract and applicable insurance terms. Nothing in these Conditions excludes or restricts liability where exclusion or restriction is prohibited by law.
32. Liability limitations
No numerical liability cap beyond the verified contractual/insurance position shall be implied merely from the insurance limits above. Any additional liability limitation intended for launch must be separately reviewed for consistency with applicable law and the actual insurance policy before publication.
33. Indirect or consequential loss
For Business Customers, to the extent permitted by law and expressly incorporated in the relevant contract, Vanthrust may exclude liability for indirect or consequential business losses that were not reasonably foreseeable or expressly assumed. This provision does not remove mandatory Consumer rights or liabilities that cannot lawfully be excluded.
34. Claims and evidence
A Customer should notify Vanthrust promptly of any alleged loss, damage, shortage or service issue and provide reasonable available supporting information, including the booking reference, photographs, packaging, proof of value and relevant documents. No notification wording shall remove statutory rights or unlawfully prevent a valid claim.
35. Payment
Payment is due in accordance with the quote, booking confirmation, invoice or approved account terms. Pay-as-you-go/prepayment may be required before collection.
36. Business credit
Approved Business Customers may be offered weekly consolidated Net 7, Net 14, Net 30, or specifically approved Net 45/60 terms after credit approval. Credit is not automatically granted.
37. Late commercial payment
For qualifying Business Customer debts, Vanthrust reserves applicable statutory or contractual rights relating to late payment, interest and recovery costs. Such rights are not automatically converted into punitive charges.
38. Refunds and reconciliation
Refunds, credits and payment corrections must follow Vanthrust’s reviewed reconciliation process. No driver is authorised to promise or alter a refund outside that process.
39. Data protection and privacy
Vanthrust processes personal information to quote, book, operate, evidence, administer, protect and comply with legal obligations relating to the service. Processing is subject to Vanthrust’s published Privacy Notice and applicable data-protection law.
40. Record retention
Vanthrust’s default operational/commercial retention baseline is six years where justified for job, invoice, payment, POD and relevant delivery evidence, subject to applicable legal obligations, disputes/legal holds, data minimisation and later deletion/anonymisation where no longer required.
41. Complaints
Complaints should be submitted promptly with sufficient information to identify the booking and issue. Vanthrust will review complaints using available operational records and applicable rights.
42. Consumer rights
Nothing in these Conditions affects mandatory statutory Consumer rights, including rights relating to services carried out with reasonable care and skill. Any Consumer term is subject to applicable fairness and transparency requirements.
43. Business Customers
A Business Customer confirms that the person making the booking has authority to bind the business and that supplied commercial, cargo and access information is accurate to the best of its knowledge.
44. Suspension
Vanthrust may suspend future bookings or account credit where invoices are materially overdue, account security is compromised, or continued service would be unlawful or unsafe, subject to applicable law.
45. Changes to these Conditions
Updated Conditions apply to future bookings from the stated effective date unless a Customer expressly agrees otherwise. Vanthrust will not retrospectively change a confirmed booking in a manner prohibited by law.
46. Governing law
These Conditions and the booking are governed by the law of England and Wales, subject to any mandatory Consumer rights or jurisdictional protections that apply.
47. Severability
If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, it is to be limited or severed only to the extent necessary; the remainder continues where lawful.
48. Third-party rights
Unless expressly stated otherwise, a person who is not a party to the contract has no contractual right to enforce these Conditions, subject to applicable law.
49. Notices
Operational notices may be sent through the contact methods associated with the booking/account. Formal notices must use the method/address specified by Vanthrust or the applicable contract.
50. Entire agreement / priority
The booking confirmation, quote, expressly agreed variations and these Conditions form the agreement for the service. Where there is a direct conflict, an expressly agreed written booking/account term takes priority to the extent stated and lawful.
This document is owner-approved and internally reviewed for V1, but has not been independently lawyer-reviewed. It must not be marked as legally reviewed unless a genuine adviser/file reference is supplied.