Help & frequently asked questions

Yes — genuinely £0, on every one-way hire from London to a London airport. It isn't a promo code or an introductory teaser; it's the whole point of how Waylaid is built.

Conventional rental firms charge a one-way surcharge (typically £50–£150) because cars pile up at drop-off points and have to be driven back — the costly "deadhead" repositioning. We only run the one direction our fleet already needs to travel: from across London into the airports, where demand from arriving travellers is highest. You make the move rivals pay drivers to make, so we skip that cost and hand the saving back. The price you see already includes the one-way move, with no fee bolted on.

Fast — and checked by a person. Once you send your request, a Waylaid agent confirms live availability for your route and car and emails your confirmation within 30 minutes during opening hours (Mon–Fri 7am–9pm, Sat–Sun 8am–8pm), with your booking reference, pickup address and drop-off details. Booking outside those hours? We'll confirm first thing when we open.

If anything looks off, or your confirmation hasn't arrived within 30 minutes during opening hours, call us on 020 3984 2200 (Mon–Fri 7am–9pm, Sat–Sun 8am–8pm) and we'll sort it on the spot.

We take all major credit and debit cards. There's no payment to make when you request a booking, and the price you see is the price you pay, with no hidden fees added later.

As with any car hire, a refundable security deposit is held against the card at pickup to cover the insurance excess and fuel. It's released back to you after drop-off once the car is checked in. The card used must be in the name of the main driver. Business-account customers can be invoiced instead — read more under business accounts.

Yes. You get free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup — cancel in that window and you're refunded in full, no questions asked.

Need to change the date, time, pickup hub or vehicle class? That's usually fine too, subject to availability; just contact us as early as you can. To manage or amend a booking, head to your booking or call 020 3984 2200.

Often, yes — subject to availability at your chosen hub. Last-minute flight? Pick your route and you'll see live availability for that day before you pay.

For the best choice of vehicle and time we'd always suggest booking ahead, but if you're up against the clock, call 020 3984 2200 and we'll find you the quickest option across our 10 London hubs.

From one of our 10 pickup hubs across London: Holborn (Head Office), King's Cross / St Pancras, Shoreditch, Canary Wharf, Victoria, Stratford, Hammersmith, Battersea, Croydon and Wembley. You choose the most convenient one when you book.

The exact address and arrival instructions are on your confirmation email. See all hubs and what's nearby on the locations page.

Three things: a valid full driving licence for the main driver, the credit or debit card used to book (in the driver's name, for the deposit), and your booking reference from the confirmation email.

If you're paying with a non-UK or photocard licence, bring any accompanying paperwork your licence requires. Adding a second driver? They should be there at pickup with their licence too — see additional drivers under Insurance & cover.

Drive to the airport, drop the keys at our Waylaid desk, and walk to your gate — the airport drop is included in your price, so there's nothing extra to pay. We serve all six London airports: Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), Stansted (STN), Luton (LTN), London City (LCY) and Southend (SEN).

Your confirmation email gives the precise desk location and the drop-off zone to head for. From there the car goes straight back out to an arriving traveller — that double utilisation is exactly why we can keep prices low.

Our airport desks are open 5am–11pm every day, which covers the vast majority of departures. Our pickup hubs follow office hours: Mon–Fri 7am–9pm and Sat–Sun 8am–8pm.

Flying outside desk hours? Tell us when you book and we'll arrange an out-of-hours key drop so an early or late flight is never a problem. And whatever the time, roadside assistance is 24/7 on 020 3984 2222.

Absolutely — we're named-driver friendly. You can add additional drivers to a booking, and each named driver is fully covered to drive the car (see Are additional drivers covered?).

The main driver must be present at pickup with their licence and the payment card. Any additional drivers should attend with their own licence so we can verify them. Add drivers during booking, or by calling 020 3984 2200.

Every Waylaid hire comes fully insured as standard: Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) plus theft protection are built into the price you see — there's nothing extra to add to be road-legal and covered.

As a BVRLA member (no. 9912) we hold ourselves to the trade's standards on cover and conduct. The headline price includes insurance (CDW + theft), unlimited mileage on one-way hires, the airport drop and, of course, no one-way fee.

Standard cover carries an excess — the most you'd contribute towards damage or theft — which is held as part of the refundable deposit at pickup and released after drop-off if all's well.

You can reduce the excess by adding our Excess Reduction option at booking, which lowers your liability for genuine peace of mind on the drive. Add it when you book, or ask our team to add it on 020 3984 2200.

Yes — completely. The whole journey from your London pickup hub to your London airport is the hire, and it's all covered by the same CDW and theft protection from the moment you collect the car to the moment you hand back the keys at the airport desk.

The airport drop itself is included in your price too, so there's no separate charge and no gap in cover. One booking, one price, covered end to end.

First, make sure everyone is safe. Then call our 24/7 roadside assistance line on 020 3984 2222 — it's staffed around the clock, every day of the year, so help is always one call away.

For an accident, exchange details with anyone involved, take photos if it's safe, and call us so we can guide you through next steps and get you moving (we'll always do our best to keep you on track for your flight). For a breakdown, sit tight in a safe spot and we'll arrange recovery.

Yes. Waylaid is named-driver friendly: every driver you add to the booking is covered by the same CDW and theft protection as the main driver, so you can share the wheel without worry.

Each additional driver must be named on the booking and present their valid licence at pickup for verification. Add drivers when you book, or call 020 3984 2200 to add one before pickup.

Plenty. The range runs from City (VW Polo or similar, from £25) and Hatchback (Ford Focus or similar, from £29) through Saloon, Estate and SUV, up to Premium (BMW 3 Series or similar, from £69) and a 7-Seater MPV (Ford Galaxy or similar, from £59) for bigger groups. There's a Van (Ford Transit or similar, from £69) too for relocations and B2B loads.

Browse the full line-up, seats and luggage on the fleet page, or compare "from" prices by airport on pricing.

Yes — and we're proud of it. You can book a fully electric car (Tesla Model 3 or similar, from £55), and overall 38% of our fleet is electric or hybrid, so a cleaner drive to the airport is easy to choose.

Going electric is a great fit for the airport run, and it's part of how we keep Waylaid's footprint down. Pick the Electric class on the fleet page or straight at booking.

Yes — add child seats and sat nav as extras when you book, so they're fitted and ready when you collect the car. Travelling with little ones to Gatwick or a family trip to Stansted? Tell us the ages and we'll match the right seat.

Select your extras during booking, or call 020 3984 2200 and we'll add them to your reservation.

No. One-way hires come with unlimited mileage as standard, so you can take a sensible route to your airport without watching a meter.

It's one of the things baked into every one-way price alongside insurance, the airport drop and the £0 one-way fee — see exactly what's included on the pricing page.

Yes. We work with companies on corporate travel, relocation and fleet deals, with predictable rates and priority availability across all six London airports. Teams that move their airport runs to Waylaid get one tidy relationship instead of a pile of one-way surcharges.

See what's on offer on the business page, or read how operations teams use us in the testimonials there.

On a business account you're invoiced rather than paying per trip — one consolidated invoice covering your team's journeys, so there's no chasing receipts and no deposit on individual hires. It's the "one invoice, predictable rates, zero hassle" set-up our corporate customers ask for.

We'll agree billing cycles and reporting to fit your finance team. Our VAT number is GB 384 7261 02 and we're registered in England & Wales (no. 12876543). Set it up via business accounts.

Our Business Accounts team, headed by Tom Bennett, looks after corporate customers from set-up to ongoing support. Email business@Waylaidcarhire.co.uk and we'll get straight back to you.

Prefer to talk it through, or want a tailored quote for your travel programme? Start on the business page or call our team on 020 3984 2200.