Top 10 FAQs - Owners
Andy Barnes avatar
Written by Andy Barnes
Updated over a week ago

1. SAFETY & SECURITY 🚨

  • How does hiyacar verify drivers?
    - We put prospective drivers through a 7-layer identity verification process to verify identity, licence validity, minimum age (21), and many other factors that indicate drivers which are more likely to be respectful of our owners and their cars.

2. OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES / WHAT MATTERS TO DRIVERS 🤝

  • What are my responsibilities as an Owner?
    - For the safety of our members, we ask you to always make sure your car is roadworthy (mechanically functioning).
    - Keep your car clean with a full tank of fuel if possible.
    - Know how our system works and help drivers understand things in advance that prevent problems where possible
    - Respond promptly to drivers' questions.
    - Keep your calendar up to date to make honest representations to drivers about your car’s availability
    - Accept all of your booking requests in principle, but contact us if you can’t for some reason
    - Help hiyacar learn and improve to be better for drivers and better for owners!

  • What's the Pick-up & Drop-off Process?
    - Drivers will pick up and return the car to your specified location.
    -- If you don't have Quickstart installed you would hand the keys to the driver in person and check their Drivers’ Licence.
    -- With Quickstart our app does driver face recognition and car unlocking automatically (which makes meeting a driver optional for owners).
    - To validate the car’s insurance, drivers need to use the hiyacar app to take pictures of the car's condition and fuel / mileage levels before and after the booking.
    - For more information please contact us.

3. CLEANLINESS 🧼

  • What if my car returns dirtier than at pickup?
    - Send us a note via our Claims process within 24 hours after the booking is completed and we will take action quickly.

4. RECEIVING A PARKING TICKET OR A CONGESTION CHARGE 🎫

  • If you receive a parking ticket or a congestion charge, you won’t be liable for these - we just ask you to upload an image via the PCN claims link. We then immediately attempt to charge the driver, and if successful, we will transfer the cost of the PCN to you so you can pay the fine

5. DAMAGES 🔧

  • What if my car is damaged following a booking?
    - Send us a note via our Claims process within 24 hours after the booking is completed and we will take action quickly.
    - Read more about our Wear & tear policy.

6. INSURANCE 🦺

  • How does the insurance work?
    - Your car must always be insured, however our insurance overrides yours during a booking. Read more about it here.

  • What's covered and what's not?
    - Our insurance covers your vehicle for up to £40,000, and if there is a third party property damage we cover that up to £20,000,000. It also covers accidents and theft. However, it would not cover theft if keys were left in the vehicle. The insurance also doesn't cover loss or damage due to incorrect fuel being used, or if the vehicle is driven if it's SORN or without MOT. For more extensive information on this please refer to this article.

7. PAYMENT 💰

  • What share of the rental fee do I receive?
    - You will receive 70% of the rental fee you set. In the app you will be shown what you can do to get more bookings and earn more over time. It’s all about doing what matters to drivers.

**Please note that as of March 1st 2023, our standard commission rate will be 40% unless you purchase our recommended AA breakdown cover. If you provide the policy number, we will reduce our commission to 30%.**

  • When will I receive payments from bookings?
    - We make a bank transfer to your registered account--depending on your bank it usually takes 4-7 working days to appear in your account.

8. CANCELLATIONS ❌

  • Our cancellation policy is simple - both you and the driver can cancel a booking 24hrs prior to the start date without charges. However, if you don't keep your booking promise then you will be charged for cancelling within 24hrs of the start time. If the driver cancels within 24hrs of the start you will receive part of your payment.

9. QUICKSTART ⚡

  • We are more than happy to have our keyless technology Quickstart installed into your car for free should your car be located in London, Oxford, Bristol, Edinburgh or Brighton. You must have 2 remote keys for the install to go ahead (one for your use, one for the Quickstart box). London, Brighton and Oxford installs are carried out by our engineer - Bristol & Edinburgh installs are done by the AA. Please click here and complete the section at the bottom of the page to confirm that you are happy to agree to the above. Some cars are not compatible with Quickstart. Please reach out to our support team for more questions.

10. TIPS TO GET MORE BOOKINGS 📈

  • Install QuickStart

  • Put InstantBook on

  • Reduce your price to match our suggested rates

  • Add description to your car as well as any specific instructions you may have

  • Get our Owner Welcome pack which includes several props like car outside and inside stickers for more visibility, hiyacar hanger, charger, phone holder, and referral cards.

  • Use mate’s rates and share your discount code

  • Share your referral code

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