The agreements that apply to every assignment

I, me, Monarch Drive: the sole proprietorship named above. You, client: whoever gives the assignment. Consumer: a client not acting for a profession or business. Business client: anyone else.

Vehicle: the car the assignment concerns. Assignment: what we have agreed I will do. Quote: the proposal setting out the arrangements for your assignment, such as route, date and price. Insurance sheet: the document Insurance and liability on this site.

These terms apply to every quote, order confirmation and assignment between you and me, unless we agree otherwise in writing.

I make them available to you before you book, electronically and in a form you can save and read back later. When requesting a quote you tick a box confirming you have received and accepted them. I record when that happened and which version it concerned.

Your own purchasing or general terms do not apply, unless I have expressly accepted them by e-mail.

If one provision is void or voidable, the rest continue to apply and we replace that one with a valid provision that comes as close to it as possible.

A quote is valid for 7 days, unless the quote itself states a different period.

Price indications on this website — the calculator on the homepage, the amounts on the route pages and the package prices — are an estimate based on what you enter, not an offer. Only what is in the quote is binding.

The assignment is formed as soon as you accept the quote, by WhatsApp or by e-mail, or as soon as I begin performing it with your knowledge. Your acceptance of the quote is the agreement; together with these terms it records what we have agreed. There is no separate contract to sign.

If you are a consumer, I quote you the total price including VAT. If you are a business client, I quote amounts excluding VAT. Where both figures appear on this site, the one for your own category is the one that counts for you.

Costs I pay to others on your behalf — fuel, tolls, vignettes, ferries, parking, an overnight stay en route — are included in the all-in price if the quote says so, and are otherwise charged separately on the basis of the receipts. I add no mark-up to them.

I do not raise an agreed price unilaterally. If the assignment changes after your approval, article A6 applies.

For transport assignments you pay 60% on approval of the assignment and 40% on delivery. That first 60% is what funds the flight, the accommodation and the other travel costs; I book nothing before that deposit.

If you report damage on or after delivery, we deal with that report separately under article A10 and the module for your service. If you are a business client, you still pay the 40% on delivery and do not suspend that payment because of the report. If you are a consumer, you may withhold at most an amount in proportion to the damage reported; you pay the rest on delivery.

Chauffeur services are settled on the day itself. Business clients receive an invoice payable within 14 days.

If you do not pay on time you are in default. If you are a business client, statutory commercial interest is due from the due date, plus extrajudicial collection costs. If you are a consumer, statutory interest applies, and I only charge collection costs after sending you a reminder giving you fourteen days to pay without further cost.

Payments to me are discharging; a cash payment to a chauffeur I have engaged is not.

If you want to change something after your approval — a different date, a different address, a detour, an extra stop — we discuss what that means for the price and the planning, and I confirm it by e-mail before carrying it out.

Costs I had already irrevocably incurred for the original plan, such as a booked flight or hotel, remain payable to the extent I cannot recover them. I show you those costs with the receipt.

You cancel by e-mail. The scale is: more than 7 days before the agreed date free of charge, between 7 days and 24 hours before it 50%, and within 24 hours before it 100%.

Travel costs already booked and no longer cancellable are settled against your deposit. Whatever remains is refunded.

If you are a consumer, this scale applies alongside your statutory rights and not instead of them. What applies to your cooling-off period is set out in the module for your service.

If illness, a breakdown or something else stops me from driving, I let you know as soon as possible and propose a new date, or a replacement I know and instruct myself. If you would rather not, I dissolve the assignment free of charge and you get back everything you have paid, less whatever was demonstrably already carried out.

I may refuse or stop an assignment if the vehicle turns out not to be roadworthy or not insured, if the assignment cannot be carried out lawfully, or if continuing would be unsafe. I explain why, and I charge only for what was actually done up to that point.

If you are a consumer and the assignment is formed without our having met in person — through this site, e-mail, telephone or WhatsApp — you are in principle entitled to a fourteen-day cooling-off period.

There are exceptions to that rule, and which one applies to you depends on the service. It is set out per module: article B1.7 for transport, B2.6 for chauffeur services and B3.6 for car sourcing. I point this out to you before you book.

I am liable for damage that is the direct result of a failure attributable to me.

My liability goes no further than what my liability insurance pays out in that case, plus the excess I bear myself. If that insurance pays nothing out, for whatever reason, my liability is limited to the invoice amount of the assignment concerned, with a maximum of € 2,500 per event.

This limitation does not apply in the case of intent or deliberate recklessness on my part, nor in the case of death or injury. The law simply applies there.

Of my own accord I take on two things I am not obliged to. If damage arises through my doing, I bear your excess up to € 500 per event. If you are a private client and that costs you no-claim years, I compensate that loss up to € 1,500. The two stand alongside each other and fall within the maximum above. The calculation of that loss is based on the premium and the conditions that apply to your policy at the time of the event.

I am not liable for consequential loss — lost profit, a missed event, a running lease instalment, a missed appointment — except in the case of intent or deliberate recklessness.

A fine incurred during my drive is mine to pay. If you, as the registered keeper, receive such a fine at home, forward it to me and I will pay it. This is separate from the limits above.

You warrant that you are entitled to give the assignment, that the information you give me is correct, and that the vehicle is as you have described it.

If I drive the vehicle and you are a private client, you warrant that it has third-party and comprehensive insurance for the duration of the assignment. If you are a motor dealer, you warrant that the car is insured and that I may drive it as a driver engaged by you.

If it turns out afterwards that the vehicle was not insured as agreed, or that you were not entitled to dispose of it, you indemnify me against third-party claims arising from that.

By force majeure I mean any circumstance beyond my control that makes performance unreasonable to demand of me: a border closure, a natural disaster, war or civil unrest, a strike, a pandemic, a government measure, or weather for which the Dutch KNMI or the national weather service of the country I am driving in has issued an orange or red warning.

In case of force majeure I may suspend performance. If it lasts more than thirty days, either of us may end the assignment free of charge to the extent nothing has yet been carried out. Whatever has been done is settled proportionately.

If you have a complaint, let me know by e-mail. If you are a consumer you have one month after the end of the assignment; if you are a business client, five working days.

I respond in writing within thirty days. If we cannot resolve it together, the courts are open; see article A16.

Report damage to the vehicle as soon as possible, and in any case before the vehicle is used again after delivery. What is recorded together with photographs at delivery counts as the condition in which the vehicle was handed over.

A complaint does not suspend your obligation to pay, except to the extent that article A5 allows a consumer to withhold part of the payment.

I process your data in accordance with the GDPR, and only in order to carry out the assignment and be able to account for it. How that works and how long I keep what is set out in the privacy statement on this site.

The photographs from the inspection, the messages we exchange en route and the receipts for costs incurred are kept together per assignment. That is the evidence we both benefit from if a discussion arises.

What I learn about you, your company or your passengers en route stays with me. That applies to the chauffeurs I engage as well, and it continues to apply after the assignment has ended.

I publish no photographs of your vehicle, your number plate or your address without your permission. If I ask whether I may show an assignment as an example, I do so by e-mail and you can simply say no.

Dutch law applies to every assignment.

I bring disputes before the Midden-Nederland district court. If you are a consumer, you may within one month after I invoke that choice still opt for the court that has jurisdiction by law.

I may amend these terms. A new version gets a new version number and a date, and is published on this page.

For an assignment already under way, the version you accepted applies. For consumers, a change only takes effect after express agreement, or on a subsequent assignment.

I bring your car to the agreed place by driving it, on its own registration and its own wheels. No trailer and no truck are involved, and I do not outsource the assignment to anyone else, another chauffeur included, without your prior permission.

The car remains yours and travels under your own insurance. That is the essential difference from a carrier who takes your car along as cargo on his own vehicle, and it is why the articles below are about your policy.

You warrant that the car is roadworthy and has a valid MOT, and that you as owner or authorised representative give permission for me to drive it. Article A11 applies to the insurance.

I carry out Drive-it-Back only with a comprehensively insured car. If the car has third-party cover only, I do not accept the assignment. Above the € 500 excess I bear myself there would be nothing: you would be left with an uncompensated car and I with a bill I cannot carry.

Beyond that, you do not need to arrange or provide anything for the insurance.

During the drive I am the custodian of your car. If damage arises through my doing, I bear your excess up to € 500 per event and, if you are a private client, compensate the loss of your no-claim years up to € 1,500. Above that your comprehensive cover works, and the limit in article A10 applies.

I am not liable for damage caused by circumstances beyond my control, such as vandalism in an enclosed or supervised car park, natural forces or stone chips, nor for defects or wear the car already had at collection.

At collection and at delivery we go through an inspection together: existing damage, mileage, fuel or charge level, the condition of the interior, and what travels in the car. We record it together with photographs.

If you cannot be present at collection or delivery, I send you the photographs digitally the same day, and you have 24 hours to respond. What has been recorded together, or not disputed within that period, counts as the condition of the car at that moment.

Damage that was not recorded at collection but is recorded at delivery counts as having arisen during the assignment.

You may load the car with your own luggage or household goods. That is possible with me because the car simply drives, and it saves you a separate shipment.

The contents travel at your own risk. My liability and the € 500 excess concern the vehicle, not what is inside it. Leave valuables, cash and important documents at home or take them with you.

Stay within the permitted payload, keep the rear view and the mirrors clear, and secure the load. What you send along we note together at collection. You warrant that the load contains nothing whose transport or import is prohibited.

I drive with the car locked and stay overnight only in an enclosed or supervised car park. You get a daily update, and my live location on request.

Delays from traffic, weather or border queues are included in the fixed price. If the car itself breaks down, I call your breakdown service; repairs, parts and towing are at your expense, through your own breakdown cover. If the breakdown of the car costs an extra night or day, I charge the overnight stay at cost and, per extra day, my day rate for chauffeur services. If the repair takes longer than two days, I may travel back; delivering the car then becomes a new trip, which we agree together.

If something happens en route, I report it in writing within 24 hours with photographs, even when it counts against me. In the event of damage to third parties I complete a European accident statement on the spot.

For a transport assignment we agree a specific date or period of performance. The statutory fourteen-day cooling-off period does not apply to transport services of that kind. I point this out to you before you book, and the cancellation scale in article A7 applies instead.

If your assignment nevertheless works differently — because no date has been fixed yet, for instance — the cooling-off period does apply, and I say so in as many words.

I supply a chauffeur, not a car and not taxi transport. You make the vehicle available; I drive it as we have agreed.

On an ordinary assignment I drive myself. Only on assignments requiring several chauffeurs at once do I bring in people I select and instruct myself, and I agree that with you in advance. You never get an unknown stand-in on the day.

You warrant that the vehicle is roadworthy and that the owner permits me to drive it. Article A11 applies to the insurance.

If you are a motor dealer, the car runs under your own insurance, and you warrant that I may drive it as a driver engaged by you.

If you are a private individual, your car travels under your own comprehensive insurance, even when I drive; you do not need to arrange anything for that. I only drive a comprehensively insured car: if your car has third-party cover only, I do not accept the assignment.

If damage arises through my doing, I bear your excess up to € 500 per event and, if you are a private client, compensate the loss of no-claim years up to € 1,500, within the limit of article A10.

Working time covers driving time, waiting time and the travel time needed to reach you and return. I charge per quarter of an hour, rounded up, with a minimum of three hours per assignment.

If the trip ends somewhere other than where it began, I charge for the return journey. What that is we agree in advance and it is stated in the quote.

I observe the statutory driving and rest times and the traffic rules. If that makes a trip run over or requires a break, that is not a failure on my part.

Parking, tolls, vignettes, ferries and any overnight stay are for your account, unless the quote says they are included in the price. I supply the receipts and add no mark-up.

If a day including waiting time runs to more than six hours, I charge a meal allowance. The amount is stated in the quote.

I ask you and your guests not to smoke or vape in the vehicle, not to use drugs, and not to hinder me while I am driving. Wear your seatbelt; with children you are responsible for the correct seat.

If the car is seriously soiled or damaged during the trip by you or your guests, the cleaning or repair costs are for your account, substantiated with photographs and the invoice from whoever puts it right.

If continuing would be unsafe, I may stop the trip. I then charge for what has been driven up to that point.

For a chauffeur service I reserve a particular day and time for you and keep it free. I proceed on the basis that the statutory cooling-off period therefore does not apply and that the cancellation scale in article A7 applies instead. I point this out to you before you book.

If you are a consumer and nevertheless wish to invoke your cooling-off period, I will not litigate about it: I then settle what has been carried out up to that point and the costs incurred, and nothing further.

On a designated-driver ride I take you home in your own car after a dinner, a drink or a party. This is a chauffeur service, so the rest of this module applies in full, with two exceptions set out below, because the price is built up differently.

By way of exception to B2.3, this ride is not charged by the hour and the three-hour minimum does not apply. You pay a call-out fee, an amount per kilometre and a minimum per ride; those amounts appear on the service page and in the quotation. Waiting time is charged per five minutes after the first ten; intermediate stops per stop, with no maximum. There is no night or weekend surcharge.

By way of exception to A7, you cancel a designated-driver ride free of charge up to two hours before the agreed time. After that I charge half, because by then I am usually already on my way to you. The wider ladder in A7 does not suit a ride that is often booked the same evening.

Article B2.2 applies to the insurance: I also drive a designated-driver ride only in a comprehensively insured car. What applies to soiling or damage during the ride is set out in B2.5 and does not change here.

I drive within the area stated on the service page. If your destination lies outside it, I only accept the ride if I can arrange my own journey back, and we agree a price in advance that includes it.

I search, assess and negotiate on your instructions. I sell nothing myself and buy nothing for my own stock: you buy directly from the seller and pay him directly as well.

Exactly what falls within your assignment — searching, selecting, inspecting, negotiating, import support, delivery — is set out in the package you choose, and that package is stated in the quote.

I make no bid, conclude no purchase and incur no costs on your behalf without your express approval by e-mail or WhatsApp. I ask for that approval case by case, not once for the whole assignment.

If you sign a purchase mandate, it states exactly what it covers and up to what amount.

An inspection is a snapshot with the means available at that moment. It is not a guarantee and not a substitute for a technical survey: hidden defects and future faults fall outside it.

Information from the seller, a garage, the Dutch RDW, a dealer or any other third party I pass on as I receive it. I do not warrant that it is correct, but I do tell you where it came from and what I make of it.

The service fee is a fixed amount per package and is decoupled from the price of the car. That way I never earn more on a more expensive car.

If I negotiate on your behalf, the negotiation bonus is added: 20% of the amount I manage to get below the asking price. If I get nothing off, you do not pay it. The asking price is what the car is advertised for; if it is not advertised, we agree a reference price by e-mail before negotiating.

If you end the assignment early, I settle what has been done up to that point, pro rata to the package, plus the costs I had already incurred. If you received an introductory discount, it is taken into account pro rata.

Everything I pay to others on your behalf — import tax, transport, an inspection, duties — I budget in advance and you pay as an advance. I finance nothing myself and earn nothing on it.

Afterwards it is settled against the receipts. Whatever is left over comes back to you.

With car sourcing we agree no fixed date of performance. If you are a consumer, you therefore have a fourteen-day cooling-off period, counted from the day after you approve the quote.

If you want me to start within those fourteen days — and usually you do, because otherwise the search stands still for a fortnight — I ask you to request that expressly and to confirm that you understand you lose your cooling-off period once the assignment has been fully performed. You include both in your acceptance of the quote, by WhatsApp or by e-mail, and I keep that message, with its date, with the assignment.

If you withdraw within those fourteen days while I am already at work, you pay proportionately for what has been done up to that point, and nothing further.

If you do not request an immediate start, I wait out the fourteen days before beginning. That costs time, but it is your choice and I charge you nothing extra for it.