Rentals increase as lockdown eases

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Rentals increase as lockdown eases

Car and van rentals are increasing as people gradually return to work and some restrictions on lockdown are lifted.

As some recycling centres have been opened and house move restrictions have lifted demand for vans has surged, also increased by contractors returning to work.

Although we have introduced safety restrictions to help customers and staff stay safe from the pandemic, we believe we are the only vehicle rental company in the area to have managed to stay open throughout the lockdown.

We are currently looking at re-opening on Saturdays for customers to collect vehicles for weekend rental.

While nothing is set in stone as no-one really knows what will happen as restrictions continue to be gradually eased, we are advising customers to think ahead if they wish to rent a vehicle, whether car or van given the steady growth in rentals we have experienced recently.

Please call to book well ahead of when you will need a vehicle to enable us to complete as much of the paperwork as possible.

Hygiene and social distancing measures at our offices will remain in place for the foreseeable future, however, so we ask to be patient when they come to pick up a vehicle.

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Business as usual – well almost!

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Business as usual – well almost!

We believe we are one of the few remaining vehicle rental businesses continuing to rent to private customers.

So, it is business as usual, but, of course, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, with modifications.

Mindful of both staff and customer safety, we are allowing only one customer into the office when they come to complete the paperwork and pick up their vehicles.

We provide hand sanitising equipment and there are lines on the floor to show people the accepted social distances. Card machines and door handles are sanitised between each customer.

All vehicles are spray cleaned with anti-bacterial cleaner and wiped before each customer goes out with a vehicle.

Office hours have been reduced very slightly and we are asking all customers to make sure they ring us before 4pm if they need to speak to us.

Anyone who wants a vehicle during a weekend is getting a little extra for their money!  We are asking all weekend renters to collect their vehicles on Fridays, which means they get some extra hours for free.

These are the arrangements for the foreseeable future and please be assured we are doing everything we can to ensure your safety.

Take care and stay safe.

Business exhibition season

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Business exhibition season

It’s the start of the annual business exhibition season and that means transport for delegates and equipment.

Many businesses have their own portable stands, from roller banners to more elaborate self-assembly enclosures all featuring their company’s branding and details.

It may be that your company needs to rent a van for a few days to transport the equipment to the location and we can help. If your company also has magnetic signs you can attach them to the outside without any problem.

Or you may need a car to transport your representatives to and from the venue.

Generally, when businesses rent fleet vehicles from us for longer periods, they want to put their own branding decals on them.

If we cannot provide you with a vehicle that is free of our branding we are happy for you to remove ours for the duration of the rental period and replace it with your own.  We would then remove your decals when you return the vehicles to us.

Demand for vehicles for business exhibitions tends to increase at this time of year, so if you can give us a week’s notice it helps us to make sure you can have the right vehicle for your needs.

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Planning a trip on Valentines Day

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How about a trip in a stylish car for Valentine’s or Mothers’ day?

Are you planning a special treat for your beloved on Valentine’s or for your mother on Mothers’ Day?

Among the most extravagant Valentine’s gifts ever have been a €7 million Bulgari diamond necklace (David Beckham for Victoria), a holiday trip to Thailand (Ronan Keating) and a €64,000 white gold panther motif Cartier cuff (Kanye West to Kim Kardashian).

There is a long tradition of extravagant Valentine’s gifts among celebrities.

In 1966, German multimillionaire Gunter Sachs arranged for a helicopter to fly over Brigitte Bardot’s home La Madrague in the Cote d’Azur, to air-drop hundreds of red roses over her house. 

But you don’t have to be a millionaire to give your loved one a day to remember and you don’t need to only treat them on Valentine’s or Mothers’ Day.

If you are planning a treat for a loved one that involves more than the traditional cards and flower, how about a meal in a very special restaurant or a day or weekend trip somewhere special.

Why not add the finishing touch by renting a comfortable new saloon car to transport them in style and comfort.

We have a Hyundai i40 as a suggestion.

It is a very hi-spec model complete with Satnav, heated seats, reversing sensors and much more.

If you want to hire a car for Valentine’s there’s not much time left, so contact us soon if you want to be sure of a special car to transport your Valentine in style.

Vehicle contract hire – a flexible option

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Vehicle contract hire – a flexible option

Many people do not realise how flexible vehicle rental is when compared to lease hire.

With lease hire, there is usually a fixed term contract and a mileage limit on each vehicle, which can cause problems if circumstances change. Lease hire is not a service we offer.

Rental periods, however, can be as flexible as our customers want and can be changed at any time. Typically, our customers rent for periods of between a month and a year but some can go for longer.

Among our regular customers are local authorities around Essex and with two elections, local and national now expected in the next two months, we expect to be busy.

They will need vans to transport the many temporary polling stations that are needed, not to mention the ballot papers and other equipment.  It may be that people who will supervise at the polling stations will also need transport to get to and from them, especially if they are in out-of-the way places.

But there are all sorts of other tasks local authorities carry out that people are less aware of. In areas that use refuse bags rather than bins for household rubbish, who delivers the supplies of bags? 

Then, there are the meetings outside of their authority areas that officers may need to attend.  It can often be more cost effective, efficient and convenient to hire a car for a one-off event than to use public transport.

Why vehicle hire works for businesses

Among the other advantages of using a hire system for vehicles, even for a fleet of vehicles, is that they are all fully maintained with MOTs and servicing organised by the hiring company.

If a vehicle out on hire needs repairs for any reason it is straightforward to return it to us for attention and to be supplied with a replacement even at short notice.

If it should happen that a vehicle is not needed for as long as the original hire period, that’s no problem.  The vehicle can be returned earlier.

Altogether, renting vehicles for however short or long they are needed and knowing there will be no maintenance or repair costs is a more flexible option than fixed term leasing.

Leave plenty of time to rent a minibus

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Leave plenty of time if you need to rent a minibus

If you need to rent a minibus, particularly if you need a 17-seater, please be aware that they are in very short supply.

Since the DVLA changed the rules in 1997, when the 17-seater category DI was removed from the standard driver’s licence, drivers have been required to take a minibus test, so anyone whose licence was issued after that year will no longer automatically be able to drive one.

If, however, you have an older licence that is still valid it will still include the DI category and you can still hire and drive one.

Since 1997 almost all of the larger rental companies have ceased to hold these larger minibuses, but some local independents, like Robertsons, still offer them.

However, demand for all sizes of minibus is always high, not only for private groups but for organisations like schools, colleges, the police and businesses needing to transport groups of people for a variety of purposes. Drivers of school or college parties have to have done the minibus test and have DI category on their licences.

We always do a pre-rental DVLA check, so we will need the licence numbers of any proposed minibus driver to do this.

If you belong to a club, group or other organisation that has a trip planned, please give us as much notice as possible.

We never like to let people down, but the lack of availability of minibuses is becoming a serious issue.

Young people and car rental

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Young people and car rental

The end of college and university terms is coming up and that means we will have increased demand for rentals, particularly vans, as parents prepare to collect their student young people together with their life support systems!

Peak period is July so if you will be wanting to rent a vehicle for a day for this purpose our advice is to let us know as soon as you can.

While we are on the subject of young people and vehicle renting we thought we’d let you know what restrictions there are on renting to young people.

If they are students, we cannot rent a vehicle until they are aged 25, otherwise young people can rent a vehicle if they are 21-plus years of age.

For the under-25s we charge an additional Young Persons Fee of £10 per day.  If they have a non-UK driver’s licence, they must have a minimum of a year’s experience of driving in the UK.

There are no restrictions on the types of vehicle younger people can hire as long as their driver’s licence covers the category of vehicle.

We cannot do one-way only vehicle hire as all vehicles must be returned to our depot.

Heading out of the country on a touring holiday?

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Heading out of the country on a touring holiday?

Last year a combination of glorious summer weather and uncertainty over the travel consequences of Britain leaving the EU meant that many of us chose to “staycation”.

But this year, given the endless delays to Brexit and uncertainty about the summer weather, it is possible that we will return to holidaying abroad and many of us will choose the self-drive option.

So, if you’re thinking of renting a car for your holidays what can you expect from Robertsons?

Firstly, you will have a vehicle that is still under warranty, therefore generally less than three years old.

Secondly, all our rental vehicles for overseas driving are put into the workshop for a proper and thorough check to ensure they are in top condition.

Thirdly, all paperwork will be in order for travelling abroad. This includes a VE 103 E form which is a permission to take the vehicle out of the country plus we ensure there is a complete overseas breakdown kit as required in other countries and you will also have some basic spares, such as light bulbs.

All our rentals are covered for driving overseas. It helps to know roughly where you intend to go so that we can calculate your likely mileage per day.

At the moment you can still drive in Europe using a standard UK driver’s licence although it is possible that will change once the Brexit arrangements are in force.

For all this we charge a 25% surcharge to cover all the additional work we have to do.

For those people coming into the UK by air who rent a vehicle from us to use during their stay, we try to be as accommodating as possible.

We understand that flights do get delayed, so we will rearrange your rental to fit with any new times for no additional charge.

We do not deliver vehicles to airports, however, so anyone renting from us will normally arrange their own transport to get to the depot from which they are picking up their rental.

If you are planning to rent a vehicle for a holiday abroad, please allow us at least a week’s notice to make sure all the extra paperwork and arrangements are in place for you.

We hope you enjoy your holidays.

bank holiday rental and new London charges

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Bank Holiday Rental and new London charges

Bank Holiday rentals and the cost of driving in London

With the Easter Bank Holiday period over and more Bank Holidays imminent we thought it would be helpful to give you an explanation of how our rental system at such times works.

Unlike with some other rental companies, you can rent a vehicle for only as long as you need.

If, say, you only wanted the vehicle for Good Friday, you can pick it up on the Thursday and we will insure it for you to drive home. You must not then drive it until the start of the rental day, when it will be fully insured. You only pay for the day for which you actually rented it.

Also, because we have four open yards, to which you can return your vehicle regardless of which of our depots you rented it from, you don’t need to worry about paying for extra days you don’t want just because the rental office is closed for the holiday.

Just leave the vehicle at one of our four open yards and pop the keys into the box.

The new Ultra-Low emission zone (ULEZ) charges in London

The charges are steep when it comes to vans and vehicles larger than 3.5 tonnes at £100 per day and they apply to all vehicles that are not compliant. That’s on top of the congestion charge we all have to pay.

To be compliant, a vehicle has to have a 66 (or newer) registration, in other words be no older than September 2016. If your business has to make a delivery or deliveries within the ULEZ and your vehicle is older, you will have to pay this and it can add a significant amount to your business costs.

We are increasingly getting customers specifying that they only want to rent a compliant vehicle.

However, the new charge was introduced with only two months’ warning and with a fleet of 300-plus vehicles from cars to vans to trucks, it will take time for us to replace all our vehicles.

We do have some compliant vehicles and we have more on order. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to ensure our customers who need to be ULEZ compliant can rent a suitable vehicle but please be patient until we are able to completely replace our fleet.