Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a contract between you and Standown Ltd (company number 15559763, VAT number 472 5043 03, registered at G04, 1 Quality Court, Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1HR) and govern your use of the Standown website, iOS and Android apps and portals (the "Service"). By creating an account or booking a job you accept these Terms.

1. What Standown does

Standown is a booking platform. We connect customers who need a van, a driver, or a driver's mate with independent drivers and driver's mates ("Workers") who perform the transport or labour. Unless we state otherwise in writing, Standown arranges the job and handles payment; the driving and physical work is performed by the Worker.

2. Eligibility and accounts

• You must be 18 or over and able to enter a contract.
• You must give accurate details, including a full UK address with door number or house name, and a working phone number.
• Customers choose a personal or business account. Business accounts must give correct company billing details; invoices are issued to those details.
• Identity verification (photo ID plus a selfie) may be required before you can book or work. We may suspend an account that fails verification.
• You are responsible for keeping your login secure and for activity on your account.

3. Bookings, pricing and payment

• Fares are calculated from the pickup-to-dropoff distance (including any additional stops, up to four) plus the vehicle's hourly rate for the expected duration, plus any driver's mate fees, plus VAT at the prevailing UK rate. The total is shown before you confirm.
• The price shown at checkout is the price you pay for the job as booked. Changes you make on the day — extra stops, a different address, a longer job, waiting time, congestion or clean-air charges, parking fines caused by your instructions — may be added afterwards and charged to your payment method.
• Payment is taken through Stripe. Standown does not store card details.
• A receipt is issued for every paid job. Business accounts receive a VAT invoice using their stored billing details.
• Jobs become visible to Workers once payment has been made. If no Worker accepts your job, we will refund you in full.

4. Cancellations and refunds

• You may cancel free of charge before a Worker has accepted the job.
• Once a Worker has accepted, cancelling more than 60 minutes before the pickup window is free; within 60 minutes we may retain a cancellation fee of up to 25% of the fare to compensate the Worker.
• If nobody is present at the pickup address, access is not possible, or the load does not match the booking, the Worker may cancel on site and up to 50% of the fare may be retained.
• If Standown or the Worker cancels, you receive a full refund.
• Refunds are returned to the original payment method, normally within 5–10 business days.
• Because the Service is arranged for a specific time slot you request, the 14-day cancellation right for distance contracts does not apply once the job has started with your agreement.

5. Your responsibilities as a customer

• Describe the job honestly, including load size, weight, floors, lift access and parking.
• Be reachable by phone during the pickup window; Workers are given your number so they can call on arrival.
• Do not ask a Worker to carry prohibited items (see section 7), to overload a vehicle, to exceed legal driving hours, or to drive or park unlawfully.
• Pack items adequately. Standown and Workers are not responsible for damage to poorly packed, fragile or already-damaged items.

6. Driver's mates and labour

Driver's mates provide lifting and carrying help for the time booked. They are not removal packers, cleaners or tradespeople, are not required to lift beyond safe manual-handling limits, and may decline unsafe tasks. Mate-only jobs (labour with no van) are available where offered.

7. Prohibited items and conduct

You may not book Standown to move: illegal drugs or goods, weapons, explosives, hazardous or flammable materials, live animals, human remains, cash or bullion, untaxed alcohol or tobacco, or anything requiring a licence you do not hold. Abuse, harassment, discrimination, threats or fraud towards Workers, customers or staff will result in immediate account termination and may be reported to the police.

8. Workers: drivers and driver's mates

• Workers are independent contractors, not Standown employees. You set your own hours and choose which jobs to accept.
• Before working you must pass identity verification, provide a valid right-to-work document or UK share code, a National Insurance number, proof of address dated within the last three months, and (for drivers) valid licence, insurance for hire and reward, and a roadworthy vehicle matching the class you accept jobs for.
• You must keep documents current. Expired documents suspend your access to jobs.
• Your location is shared with the customer and Standown while you are on an active job, so the customer can track your arrival.
• Payouts. Earnings are paid on a weekly cycle by bank transfer to the verified account on your profile. Drivers receive the van fare element, driver's mates receive the mate fee element, less the Standown platform fee and any agreed adjustments. Each run comes with a statement, and you can raise a correction request from your portal.
• You are responsible for your own tax, National Insurance and, where applicable, VAT.
• Repeated cancellations, no-shows, poor ratings or safety breaches may lead to removal from the platform.

9. Ratings, reviews and complaints

Customers can rate a driver and raise a complaint in the app. Reviews must be honest and must not contain abuse or personal data about third parties. We may remove reviews that breach these Terms and may act on complaints, including suspending accounts while we investigate.

10. Liability

• Nothing in these Terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or anything else that cannot be limited by law.
• Loss or damage claims relating to goods must be reported within 7 days of the job, with photos. Claims are handled with the Worker and their insurer; Standown's own liability for goods is limited to the value of the fare paid for that job unless we caused the loss directly.
• We are not liable for delays caused by traffic, weather, road closures, third-party access restrictions, or events outside our reasonable control.
• We do not exclude your statutory rights as a consumer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
• For business customers, our total liability for any job is limited to the fare paid, and we exclude indirect or consequential loss, including loss of profit.

11. Availability of the Service

We aim to keep the Service available 24/7 but do not guarantee uninterrupted operation. We may change, suspend or withdraw features, and may carry out maintenance. Vehicle availability depends on Workers online in your area and on the booking hours configured for each vehicle.

12. Notifications and communications

By using the Service you agree to receive service messages about your jobs, payments and account by email, push notification and, where enabled, SMS. These are not marketing and cannot be fully switched off while you have an active job, though you can manage channels in your notification preferences. See our Privacy Policy.

13. Intellectual property

The Standown name, logo, apps, website and content belong to Standown Ltd. You may use them only as needed to use the Service. You may not copy, scrape, reverse engineer or resell any part of the Service, or use automated systems to access it except through interfaces we publish.

14. Suspension and termination

You can close your account at any time by contacting us. We may suspend or terminate your account if you breach these Terms, fail verification, act unsafely, or if we are required to by law. Outstanding amounts remain payable, and completed job records are retained as described in the Privacy Policy.

15. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. The version shown when you book applies to that job. We will notify you of material changes in the app or by email before they take effect.

16. Governing law and complaints

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. Please contact us first so we can try to resolve any dispute: Info@Standown.co.uk or 020 8050 9559.

17. Apple and Google app terms

Where you download the Standown app from the App Store or Google Play, these Terms are between you and Standown Ltd only, not Apple or Google. Apple and Google have no obligation to provide support for the app and are not responsible for any claim relating to it. You must comply with the applicable store terms, and you confirm you are not located in a country subject to a relevant embargo. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of this section and may enforce it.