How to choose a London chauffeur service
Private hire ranges from excellent to terrible in London. Here are the 5 questions to ask before you pay, the red flags to walk away from, and what a fair price actually looks like for the most common routes.
Published 2026-05-01 · Get London Transfer
The 5 questions to ask before you book
Private hire chauffeur services in London range from excellent to genuinely awful. Here's how to tell which you're booking with, before you pay:
- Are they TfL-licensed? Every legitimate London private-hire operator holds a TfL PHV Operator Licence. Ask for the licence number; verify on the TfL register.
- Are drivers DBS-checked? Reputable operators run criminal record checks on drivers. Particularly important for child-seat, lone-female, and corporate-confidential journeys.
- Is the price truly fixed? Or does it convert to a meter for "exceptional traffic"? Confirm in writing before booking.
- What happens if my flight is delayed? The right answer: "We track it and wait free of charge for [60+] minutes after landing." Anything else means surprise fees.
- Where's the driver going to meet me? The right answer: inside Arrivals, holding a name board. Not "in the short-stay car park" or "by the kerb on the ground floor."
Red flags
Walk away if you see:
- Web-only booking with no phone number. Something going wrong at 3am? You need a human.
- "Approximate price" with conditions. Means the meter runs in disguised form.
- No mention of TfL licensing. May be operating unlicensed.
- Cash-only. Suggests off-books operation.
- Driver insists on payment in advance to "secure the booking". Standard practice is payment at the journey or via the booking platform — not Western Union or bank transfer.
- Vehicle photos look like stock images. Legitimate operators photograph their actual fleet.
The price question
You'll see chauffeur services priced from £35 (a quick LCY-Canary Wharf hop) to £250+ (long-distance executive). What's a fair price?
| Journey | Fair-price range | Suspicious if |
|---|---|---|
| Heathrow → Central London | £55-£90 | Under £40 (skipping insurance/tax?) |
| Gatwick → Brighton | £60-£90 | Under £45 |
| Heathrow → Southampton (cruise) | £130-£180 | Under £100 |
| Stansted → Cambridge | £50-£80 | Under £40 |
| Heathrow → Bath (long-distance) | £170-£250 | Under £140 |
Suspiciously low prices usually mean: unlicensed, uninsured, or surge-pricing-by-stealth. Pay £20 more for legitimate service.
What you should expect from a good service
- SMS confirmation within minutes of booking
- Driver name, photo, vehicle and number plate sent 1 hour before pickup
- Meet & Greet inside Arrivals with a name board
- 60 minutes free waiting after landing (airport transfers)
- 15 minutes free waiting for non-airport pickups
- Bottled water in the vehicle
- Phone chargers available
- Climate-controlled, smoke-free, recently valeted
- Driver in business attire, polite, English-speaking
- No "tip suggested" prompt at the end (it's optional)
Corporate vs leisure: any difference?
Most reputable operators serve both. Corporate-account customers typically get:
- Monthly invoicing instead of per-trip card payment
- Cost-centre coding for accounting
- Priority dispatch in busy periods
- Named account manager
- Slightly higher base vehicles (S-Class standard)
For leisure, you get the same drivers and vehicles — just paid trip-by-trip.
Reviews — where to look
- Google Business reviews — most representative, hardest to fake at scale
- Trustpilot — useful, watch for review-farms
- TripAdvisor — focused on tourist services, less for corporate
- Operator's own website testimonials — interesting but cherry-picked, weight accordingly
Look for a mix of 5-star and 1-star reviews — all 5-star is suspicious. Read how the operator responds to negative reviews; that's the real test of customer care.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a London chauffeur company is licensed?
Ask for their TfL PHV Operator Licence number, then verify on the TfL register at tfl.gov.uk.
What's a fair price for a Heathrow to Central London transfer?
£55-£90 in a saloon. Under £40 suggests unlicensed operation.
Should I be worried about cash-only chauffeurs?
Yes — legitimate operators take card or invoice. Cash-only often indicates off-books operation.