This is version 1.0 of our Terms & Conditions of Carriage, superseded on 7 October 2026. It is kept here as a record and continues to govern bookings accepted while it was in force, from 5 October 2026 to 7 October 2026. The terms that apply to bookings placed now are the current Terms & Conditions of Carriage.
Version 1.0 — last updated 5 October 2026. These are the terms on which we carry goods. The version above is the version recorded against your booking.
Contents
- 1. Who we are and what these terms cover
- 2. Quotations and charges
- 3. Your responsibilities
- 4. Cancellation
- 5. Waiting time
- 6. Failed collection, failed delivery and returns
- 7. Liability
- 8. Payment
- 9. General
1. Who we are and what these terms cover
1.1 These terms govern every booking placed with InstaParcel (a trading name of Perceptive Consulting Solutions Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 07964886, registered office 6 York Way, Harlestone, Northamptonshire, England, NN5 6UX) (“we“, “us“), whether placed through our website, our online booking tool, by email or by telephone.
1.2 By placing a booking you (“the Customer“) accept these terms. Where you book on behalf of a business, you confirm you are authorised to bind that business.
1.3 We are a carrier and a provider of carriage services. We may perform a booking ourselves or arrange for it to be performed by a sub-contracted carrier. Either way these terms apply and we remain your point of contact.
2. Quotations and charges
2.1 A quotation is based on the information you give us: the collection and delivery addresses, the goods, their weight and dimensions, the vehicle class and the time window.
2.2 If any of that information is wrong or incomplete, the price may change. Where the job as it actually stands differs from the job as quoted — a larger item, a different address, an extra stop, a vehicle that cannot carry the load — we will tell you the revised price and you may accept it or cancel under section 4.
2.3 Charges are exclusive of VAT unless stated otherwise.
2.4 The only additional charges we may add after booking are those set out in these terms: waiting time (section 5), failed collection or delivery and returns (section 6), cancellation (section 4), and re-quoted work under 2.2. We will not add any other charge without telling you first.
3. Your responsibilities
3.1 You must give us a working contact number for both the collection and the delivery point, and the people on those numbers must be reachable during the booked window.
3.2 Our drivers and our customer service team will call you or your contact if they cannot find the address, cannot get access, or cannot identify the goods. If we cannot reach anyone, the driver waits, and waiting is chargeable under section 5. If we still cannot reach anyone, the job may fail under section 6.
3.3 You must make sure the goods are ready, properly packaged for transit, and accessible at the time booked.
3.4 You must tell us accurately what is being carried. You must not send prohibited goods: cash, bullion, jewellery or precious stones; illegal or stolen goods; firearms, ammunition or explosives; live animals; human remains; hazardous or dangerous goods (including anything classified under ADR) unless agreed by us in writing in advance; counterfeit goods; or anything whose carriage would breach any law.
3.5 If prohibited goods are carried without our written agreement, we may refuse, abandon or return the consignment, we will not be liable for any loss of or damage to it, you remain liable for the full charge, and you indemnify us against any resulting claim, fine or cost.
4. Cancellation
4.1 You may cancel free of charge at any time before a driver has been assigned to your booking.
4.2 Once a driver has been assigned, the following applies:
| When you cancel | Charge |
|---|---|
| Before a driver is assigned | No charge |
| After a driver is assigned and dispatched, before arrival at collection | 50% of the booking price |
| After the driver has arrived at the collection point | 50% of the booking price |
| After the goods have been collected | Cancellation is not possible — see 4.4 |
4.3 “Dispatched” means we have assigned the job to a driver and that driver has begun travelling to the collection address. We record the time of assignment and the driver’s movements, and we will show you that record on request.
4.4 Once the goods are in our possession the booking cannot be cancelled. If you no longer want the delivery to go ahead, we will return the goods to the collection address or take them to an alternative address. That is a separate job, charged separately under 6.4. The original booking remains payable in full.
4.5 We may cancel a booking if the goods are not as described, if carriage would be unlawful or unsafe, or if you are in breach of these terms. Where we cancel for one of those reasons, the charges in 4.2 apply as though you had cancelled.
4.6 Where we cancel for any other reason, you pay nothing and we refund any sum already paid.
5. Waiting time
5.1 Every booking includes 15 minutes of free waiting time at the collection point and 15 minutes at each delivery point, measured from the driver’s arrival.
5.2 After the free allowance, waiting is charged per minute at the rate for the vehicle class booked:
| Vehicle class | Rate per minute |
|---|---|
| Motorbike | 25p |
| Car | 30p |
| Small van (short, long and extra-long wheelbase) | 35p |
| Large van | 40p |
| Luton, including tail lift | 50p |
| 7.5 tonne and above | 65p |
5.3 Waiting time is evidenced, not estimated. Where the job is run by our own driver, arrival and departure are recorded by our system. Where the job is run by a sub-contracted carrier, the arrival and departure times are those recorded by that carrier on the transport exchange through which the job was placed. We will provide that record with any waiting charge, and we will not charge you for waiting we cannot evidence.
5.4 Waiting caused by us — a late driver, or a vehicle fault — is never charged.
6. Failed collection, failed delivery and returns
6.1 A collection or delivery fails where, through no fault of ours, the driver cannot complete it: nobody is present, access is refused or impossible, the goods are not ready, the address is wrong, or we cannot reach you or your contact under 3.2.
6.2 Where a collection or delivery fails, the full booking charge remains payable, together with any waiting time accrued under section 5.
6.3 Where a further attempt is required, it is charged as a new booking at our rate for that journey at the time.
6.4 Where goods have been collected and cannot be delivered, or you ask for them back, we will return them to the collection address or to an alternative address you give us. The return is a separate job and is charged at our rate for that journey at the time, in addition to the original booking. We will quote it before we run it wherever we reasonably can.
6.5 Where goods cannot be delivered or returned and remain in our possession, we may store them at your cost and, after giving you 30 days’ written notice, dispose of them.
7. Liability
7.1 Our liability for loss of or damage to goods is limited to £100 per consignment unless you have declared a higher value and paid the corresponding insurance premium at the time of booking.
7.2 We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including loss of profit, loss of contract, or loss arising from a delivery arriving later than expected.
7.3 Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
7.4 Claims must be notified to us in writing within 7 days of the delivery date, or of the date delivery should have taken place.
8. Payment
8.1 Prepaid bookings are payable in full at the time of booking. The booking is not confirmed until payment has been taken.
8.2 Credit account customers pay within 14 days of the invoice date, unless different terms have been agreed with you in writing.
8.3 Additional charges arising under sections 4, 5 or 6 are invoiced after the job. For prepaid customers they are payable on receipt of the invoice; for credit account customers they fall within the 14-day term in 8.2.
8.4 We may charge interest on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
9. General
9.1 These terms, together with the booking confirmation, form the whole agreement between us.
9.2 We may update these terms. The terms that apply to your booking are the version you accepted when you placed it, and a copy of that version is sent to you with your booking confirmation.
9.3 These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.