Customer Terms & Conditions

1. About Stars on Wheels

Stars on Wheels (“SOW”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is the trading name of Vanguard Travel & Services Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 08229659. Our registered office is:

Suite A, 82 James Carter Road,
Mildenhall, Bury St Edmunds,
England, IP28 7DE.

We operate an online booking platform that connects productions, agencies and individual clients (“you”, “the Customer”) with independent vehicle owners (“Vehicle Owners”) who supply vehicles and drivers for on-screen and behind-the-scenes use.

We are not a transport operator and do not own or operate the vehicles listed on the Platform. When you confirm a booking, you enter into a contract with the relevant Vehicle Owner. We act as an intermediary and booking agent.

Stars on Wheels is designed primarily for business and professional use (for example production companies, studios and agencies). If you are a consumer, your statutory rights are not affected by these terms.

By requesting a quote, confirming a booking or using the Platform to communicate with a Vehicle Owner, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Customer Terms & Conditions. If you do not agree, you must not proceed with a booking.

By making a booking, you also confirm that you are at least 18 years old and have the legal authority to enter into contracts on your own behalf or on behalf of the business or organisation you represent.

2. Key definitions

In these Customer Terms:

• Platform means the Stars on Wheels website, systems and tools used to search, quote and book vehicles.
• Vehicle Owner means the independent business or individual supplying the vehicle and driver.
• Reservation Fee means the amount you pay at the time of booking to secure the vehicle. It includes a deposit held on behalf of the Vehicle Owner and our Booking Fee.
• Booking Fee means our fee (5% of the total job price) for providing the Platform and booking service. This is included within the Reservation Fee and will be itemised on your booking confirmation.
• Balance means the remainder of the agreed job price payable directly to the Vehicle Owner.
• Shoot or Job means the filming, photography or related activity for which the vehicle is booked.
• Wet hire means the Vehicle Owner (or their driver) drives the vehicle at all times. Self-drive is not permitted unless expressly agreed in writing.
• Call Time means the agreed arrival time for the vehicle at the specified location.

3. How bookings work

3.1 You submit a request through the Platform with your key details: dates, times, locations, type of production, and how you intend to use the vehicle.

3.2 Vehicle Owners respond with availability and pricing. Prices shown to you on the Platform are total prices for the services described, inclusive of our Booking Fee and any platform adjustments, but exclusive of additional on-the-day charges such as overtime, extra mileage, parking, tolls or other production-specific costs unless explicitly stated.

3.3 When you confirm a booking, you agree to:

• Pay the Reservation Fee via our secure payment provider (Stripe); and
• Pay the Balance directly to the Vehicle Owner using the method(s) agreed with them.

3.4 Your booking is only confirmed once the Reservation Fee has been successfully processed and you receive a written booking confirmation from us on behalf of the Vehicle Owner.

4. Handover and communication

4.1 Communication between Customers and Vehicle Owners is carefully controlled to ensure clear, documented expectations and to prevent confusion before a booking is confirmed.

4.2 Before handover, you and the Vehicle Owner must not communicate directly unless:

• A viewing has been arranged through the Platform; or
• The booking is sufficiently complex that essential clarification is required before quotes can be finalised (as determined by Stars on Wheels).

4.3 Handover occurs only when:

• You have paid the Reservation Fee; and
• The Vehicle Owner has accepted the booking through the Platform.

4.4 Once handover is complete, we share the necessary contact details with both parties so you can communicate directly. From this point onwards, the Vehicle Owner becomes your primary operational contact, and our role becomes one of support and record-keeping.

4.5 All booking changes, complaints and disputes should still be reported to us promptly so we can support both parties and ensure correct processes are followed.

5. Reservation Fee and Booking Fee

5.1 The Reservation Fee amount is displayed clearly on your quotation before you commit to the booking. The Reservation Fee consists of:

• A deposit held on behalf of the Vehicle Owner (the exact value is shown on the quotation); and
• Our Booking Fee (5% of the total job price), which is included within the Reservation Fee and itemised on your booking confirmation.

5.2 The Vehicle Owner sets the deposit value for each booking, provided it is at least 25% of the total job price. That deposit value will always be shown clearly on the quotation in monetary terms.

5.3 The Reservation Fee is collected by us via Stripe and split so that:

• The net deposit is passed to the Vehicle Owner; and
• The Booking Fee is retained by us for providing the Platform and support.

5.4 The Reservation Fee is non-refundable if you cancel the booking, regardless of the notice period, except where the Vehicle Owner has failed to attend or cancelled as set out in clause 9.

6. Balance payments, extras and fines

6.1 You must pay the Balance directly to the Vehicle Owner, using the payment method(s) they accept (for example bank transfer before the shoot, or card/cash on the day).

6.2 The Vehicle Owner may charge additional fees on top of the agreed job price where:

• Call times are significantly extended beyond the original booking;
• Locations change or increase travel time substantially;
• Additional mileage, parking, tolls or access costs are incurred; or
• You request additional scenes or usage not covered in the original brief.

6.3 Any such additional fees must be reasonable and, where possible, discussed and agreed with you before they are incurred.

6.4 You are responsible for any parking tickets, traffic fines, congestion charges, clean air zone charges or similar penalties incurred as a direct result of your instructions, chosen locations or failure to arrange appropriate permissions or parking. The Vehicle Owner is entitled to recover these reasonable costs from you and may provide evidence such as tickets, notices or photographs where required.

7. Changes to your booking

7.1 If you need to change times, locations, usage or other important details, you must inform us and the Vehicle Owner as early as possible via the Platform.

7.2 The Vehicle Owner is not obliged to accept changes. Where changes are possible, the Vehicle Owner may:

• Agree the change at no extra cost; or
• Offer the change subject to an adjusted price; or
• Decline the change and treat the original booking as cancelled by you.

7.3 If the Vehicle Owner is willing to move the booking to a new date that you request, the Reservation Fee may be transferred to the new date. If no new date can be agreed, your original booking will be treated as cancelled by you and the Reservation Fee will not be refunded.

8. Cancellations by you

8.1 If you decide to cancel your booking for any reason, you must notify us in writing via the Platform or by email.

8.2 The Reservation Fee (including the Booking Fee and deposit portion) is non-refundable if you cancel, regardless of the notice period, except where the Vehicle Owner has failed to attend or cancelled as set out in clause 9.

8.3 You may remain liable to pay some or all of the Balance depending on the timing and impact of your cancellation. Any such charges will be assessed reasonably and in line with the Vehicle Owner’s own fair cancellation policy.

9. Cancellations and failure to attend by the Vehicle Owner

9.1 If the Vehicle Owner cancels your booking or fails to attend the shoot without a valid reason (for example breakdown, serious incident or force majeure), the Vehicle Owner is responsible for refunding the full deposit portion of the Reservation Fee.

9.2 In this situation, we will refund our Booking Fee to you. The net effect is that you receive a full refund of the Reservation Fee you originally paid.

9.3 We will use reasonable efforts to help you find an alternative vehicle. However, replacement vehicles are not guaranteed and may differ in style, age, specification or price.

9.4 We are not responsible for any additional costs, losses or disruption arising from a Vehicle Owner’s cancellation or failure to attend, beyond refunding the Reservation Fee as described above.

10. Force majeure

10.1 Neither Stars on Wheels, the Vehicle Owner nor the Customer will be liable for delays, cancellation or failure to perform where caused by events outside reasonable control.

10.2 Examples include severe weather, major accidents, road closures, public transport strikes, civil emergencies, police incidents, illness, power failure or other significant operational disruption.

10.3 Each party must notify the others as soon as reasonably possible and use all reasonable efforts to minimise the impact.

11. Lateness, waiting time and no-shows

11.1 The Vehicle Owner is expected to arrive on or before the agreed Call Time, allowing reasonable buffer for traffic and access.

11.2 If the Vehicle Owner is late but the shoot can still proceed in a broadly similar way, you and the Vehicle Owner must agree a reasonable adjustment to the Balance to reflect the lost time or disruption. We can assist with this discussion if needed.

11.3 If the Vehicle Owner’s lateness means key scenes cannot be filmed or the shoot is materially compromised, this may be treated as a failure to attend. In that case:

• The Vehicle Owner must refund the deposit portion of the Reservation Fee; and
• We will refund our Booking Fee to you.

11.4 If you are not ready at the agreed Call Time, the Vehicle Owner must allow a reasonable waiting period of up to 60 minutes, unless a different period is agreed in writing.

11.5 If you have not made contact or are not present after this period, and cannot be reached, the booking may be treated as a no-show. In this case:

• The Reservation Fee is non-refundable; and
• The Vehicle Owner may charge reasonable compensation for lost time or travel costs.

12. Wet hire only, on-set conduct, smoking and pets

12.1 All bookings through Stars on Wheels are on a wet hire basis. This means the Vehicle Owner (or their appointed driver) remains in control of the vehicle at all times.

12.2 You, your crew, cast or any third party must not drive the vehicle unless this has been expressly agreed in writing by the Vehicle Owner and is supported by appropriate insurance and documentation.

12.3 Actors and crew may sit in or around the vehicle as part of the shoot, and may gently move or adjust the vehicle only under the close supervision and consent of the Vehicle Owner.

12.4 You must not require or pressure the Vehicle Owner to undertake dangerous or high-risk activity such as:

• High-speed driving, drifting, racing or aggressive manoeuvres;
• Driving on unsafe surfaces or through water beyond normal road conditions;
• Stunts, jumps or collision setups; or
• Use of fire, smoke, pyrotechnics or other special effects near the vehicle

unless this has been explicitly agreed in writing in advance and supported by appropriate risk assessments and insurance.

12.5 Unless expressly agreed in advance with the Vehicle Owner, smoking, vaping and the carriage of animals inside the vehicle are not permitted. Where animals are essential to a scene, this must be agreed in writing in advance and appropriate protections, coverings and cleaning arrangements put in place.

13. Your responsibilities (including brand/IP)

You are responsible for:

• Providing accurate and complete information when requesting a quote and confirming a booking;
• Ensuring locations are safe, legal and suitable for the vehicle to access and operate in;
• Arranging any necessary permissions, permits or parking suspensions for the vehicle;
• Ensuring your crew and cast treat the vehicle and driver with respect and care;
• Paying the Balance and any agreed additional charges on time; and
• Promptly informing us and the Vehicle Owner of any changes or issues that may affect the booking.

You are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions or licences from brand owners, rights holders or licensors in relation to the use of vehicle branding, logos, trade marks, number plates or distinctive designs in your production. Stars on Wheels and the Vehicle Owner are not responsible for any third-party IP claims arising from how you choose to feature the vehicle on screen or in marketing materials.

14. Damage, cleaning, insurance and misuse

14.1 The Vehicle Owner is responsible for maintaining appropriate vehicle insurance for normal road use when they are driving the vehicle as part of a wet hire booking.

14.2 You are responsible for any damage to the vehicle caused by your production, crew, cast or contractors, including by equipment, props, set dressing or misuse, other than fair wear and tear.

14.3 You must ensure that your own production insurance, public liability and any other relevant cover is adequate for the activities you undertake.

14.4 You are responsible for any extraordinary cleaning costs caused by your crew, cast or activities, including spills, heavy mud, make-up transfer, food or drink damage, fake blood, smoke residue or similar.

14.5 The handling of any damage or cleaning claims will be between you and the Vehicle Owner, although we may assist with communication and documentation where appropriate.

15. Our role and limitation of liability

15.1 We provide the Platform, payment tools for the Reservation Fee and customer support. We do not own, operate or directly control the vehicles supplied.

15.2 The contract for the supply of the vehicle and driver is between you and the Vehicle Owner. We are not a party to that contract and are not responsible for the performance of the Vehicle Owner beyond the obligations set out in these Customer Terms.

15.3 To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• Loss of profit, production costs, wasted expenditure or any indirect or consequential loss;
• Delays or failures caused by Vehicle Owners, traffic, weather, mechanical issues or events beyond our control; or
• Any loss arising from incorrect or incomplete information provided by you.

15.4 Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

16. Data, privacy and confidentiality

16.1 We will handle your personal data in line with our Privacy Policy. This includes sharing relevant details with the Vehicle Owner so they can deliver the booking (for example your contact name, phone number and shoot address).

16.2 You are responsible for ensuring that any personal data you provide to us about other individuals (such as crew contacts) is shared lawfully.

16.3 Use of the Platform is also subject to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

16.4 Both Customers and Vehicle Owners must treat all non-public information relating to the production, cast, locations, scripts, schedules or unreleased content as confidential. You must not share, publish or disclose any such information unless it is already public, you have written permission, or disclosure is legally required.

16.5 Vehicle Owners may refer to the general fact that their vehicle took part in a shoot, but must not share images, video, plot details or identifiable production information without your approval.

17. Complaints and dispute resolution

17.1 If you are unhappy with any aspect of your booking, please contact us as soon as possible with full details. We will review the situation, liaise with the Vehicle Owner and aim to help both parties reach a fair outcome.

17.2 While we cannot guarantee a particular resolution, we take all feedback seriously and may take action against Vehicle Owners who consistently fall below expected standards.

18. Changes to these terms and governing law

18.1 We may update these Customer Terms from time to time. The version in force at the time you make your booking will apply to that booking.

18.2 These Customer Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.