Frequently Asked Questions

Book online at any time. Choose your depot, dates and van, add your driver details and pay the hire charge by card. Your confirmation arrives by email straight away. If you would rather talk to someone, call us.

Yes, if we have one free. Same-day bookings can be made online until 11:00am. After that, call us and we will tell you what is available.

From one day up to 90 days. The daily rate is lower for hires of 3 to 6 days, and lower again for 7 days or more. Current prices are on each van's page.

A day runs from your collection time until 8:00am the next morning. Collect on Saturday morning and return by 8:00am on Sunday, and that is one day.

• Small Van: tools, boxes and collections. Drives and parks like a car.
• Transit: deliveries, trade runs and medium-sized moves.
• LWB and XLWB Transit: longer loads, large appliances and bigger moves.
• Luton with tail lift: house removals and heavy furniture. The tail lift does the lifting.
• 7.5 Tonne Lorry: the largest moves and palletised loads. It needs a different licence: see Can I drive the 7.5 tonne lorry on a car licence?

Our van size guide goes through each one, or call us and we will help you choose.

No. You can book without one. An account saves your details and your drivers, so booking again is quicker.

Drivers must be aged 23 to 75. For the 7.5 tonne lorry, drivers must be 25 or over.

A full UK driving licence that you have held for at least two years. A standard car licence (category B) covers every van up to and including the Luton.

Only if your licence includes category C1. If you passed your car test before 1 January 1997, you will normally have C1 already: check the back of your photocard. If you passed after that date, you need to have taken a separate C1 test.

Yes, with up to six points. If you have more than six, call us before you book. You will also be asked about motoring convictions, accidents and insurance claims when you book, and these must be answered accurately.

It is a code that lets us see your driving record, which our insurer requires for every driver. Go to gov.uk/view-driving-licence with your licence number, National Insurance number and the postcode on your licence, then choose to share your licence. The code lasts 21 days, so make it a day or two before you collect.

Our DVLA check code guide has the steps in full.

• Your photocard driving licence.
• Your DVLA check code, if you did not enter it when booking.
• Proof of your address dated within the last 3 months, such as a utility bill or bank statement.
• The card you booked with.

Every named driver needs their own licence and check code. If a driver cannot show these, we cannot release the van, and this is treated as a cancellation on the day.

Yes. Add drivers when you book, or ask us before you collect. Each additional driver costs £5 per day and must meet the same age and licence rules. We sometimes need an additional driver to come to the depot with their licence when you collect, and we will tell you if so. Only drivers named on the hire agreement are insured.

Sometimes. Online booking is for UK licence holders. If your licence was issued in another country, call us before you book and we will tell you whether we can hire to you and what to bring.

VAT, unlimited mileage, comprehensive insurance and breakdown cover. Fuel is not included. Additional drivers and the Windscreen and Puncture Waiver are optional extras.

No. All hires include unlimited mileage.

The standard deposit is £250.

• Booked online: nothing is taken for the deposit when you book. On the day you collect, we place a hold for the deposit on the card you paid with. A hold reserves the money but does not take it, so make sure the card has enough available.
• Booked by phone or at the depot: you pay the deposit by card when you collect.

If a hold cannot be placed on your card, you will need to pay the deposit at the depot before you drive away.

Once the van is back and checked. A hold is released and nothing is taken; your bank may take several working days to show the money as available again. A deposit you paid is refunded to the same card and normally arrives within 5 to 10 working days.

Only what is owed under your hire agreement: missing fuel, damage, cleaning, a late return, or any unpaid hire charges. We tell you what we have kept and why, and the rest goes back to you.

By debit or credit card, online or at the depot. We do not accept cash.

Yes. If you find a van of the same specification for less in our area, tell us and we will match or beat it.

Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 10:30am, and Saturday and Sunday between 8:30am and 9:30am. You choose a collection time when you book.

• Hemel Hempstead: 11-12 Eastman Way, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 7DU
• Watford: Old's Approach, Tolpits Lane, Watford, WD18 9TS

Maps and directions are on our Contact page.

By 8:00am on your return date.

Yes. Both depots have a 24-hour key drop. Park in a suitable spot at the depot, lock the van and post the keys through the key return box. There is no need to call ahead. We check the van in when we next open, so take a few photos of it and of the fuel gauge before you leave.

Call us as soon as you know. If the van is free we can usually extend your hire. A van returned late without agreement is charged at the daily hire rate for each day it is late.

No. The van goes back to the depot you collected it from.

Where you leave your car is up to you. We do not reserve parking for customers' cars or look after them.

Yes. Comprehensive insurance for the drivers named on your hire agreement is included in the price. Business customers can use their own insurance by arrangement.

You pay the cost of the damage up to your responsibility amount, which is £1,000 as standard and is shown on your hire agreement. Three things are not covered by our insurance, and you pay their full cost:

• damage to the roof, or from hitting anything overhead;
• putting in the wrong fuel;
• lost keys.

Vans are taller than they feel. Check the height shown in the cab before car parks, low bridges and drive-throughs. The van's condition is recorded with photos when you collect and when you return.

An optional extra costing £5 for the first day and £2 for each day after. With it, you are not charged for windscreen damage or punctures. It is not available on the 7.5 tonne lorry.

Breakdown cover is included. Call the depot and we will arrange help; do not arrange repairs yourself. After any accident, however small, tell us straight away. Take the names and addresses of anyone involved and any witnesses, and do not admit fault.

The same amount the van had when you collected it. If it comes back with less, we charge for the missing fuel at cost. Check the fuel type before you fill up.

You do. That covers parking tickets, speeding and bus lane fines, tolls such as the Dartford Crossing, and the London Congestion Charge and ULEZ. Pay tolls and daily charges yourself on the day. If a notice comes to us afterwards, we pass your details to the issuer or pay it and charge your card, and add a £15 administration fee.

Some of our vans meet the ULEZ standard and some do not. If you plan to drive in London, ask us when you book, and check your van's registration on the Transport for London website before you go.

Only with our agreement in advance. Call us before you book and we will tell you whether it can be arranged.

No. Our vans cannot be used for towing.

Moving your own things, or carrying tools and materials for your own trade, is what the vans are for. They cannot be used for courier work or for carrying other people's goods or passengers for payment, for racing or driving lessons, or with more weight than the van is rated for.

Return it as you found it, with the load area and cab emptied. If it needs more than a normal clean, we charge for cleaning.

Yes, if we have the van free. A change made 48 hours or more before collection is free: you pay any difference in price, or we refund it. A change with less than 48 hours to go is treated as a cancellation and a new booking.

Call the depot before the van is due back. If it is not booked out to someone else, we extend the hire and you pay for the extra days. The longest hire is 90 days.

It depends how much notice we get before your collection time:

The deposit is never kept for a cancellation. To cancel, email hire@abacus-self-drive.co.uk or call us with your booking reference. The cancellation takes effect when we confirm it in writing. Full details are in our Cancellation and Refund Policy.

No. The hire charge is for the period you booked. If you need a shorter hire, tell us before you collect and we will change the booking.

It is rare, but a van can be damaged or returned late by the previous hirer. We will contact you as soon as we know and offer another van, time or depot. If nothing suits, you get a full refund of everything you have paid.

Yes. Choose "Company" when you book, then add each person who will drive.

Yes. Custom pricing is available on request for regular customers. Call us to talk about regular or longer-term hire and using your own insurance.