Private car hire

[granretire]

Not sure if this is the correct board to post this query.
I need a taxi to take me from a holiday about 50 miles away back to home. I have accepted a quote from a local company (yes, they are licensed etc) and they want me to pay by BACS 'now'. What steps should I take to ensure that the driver arrives on the day and doesn't demand any further payment (ie knows that I have already paid)
Is there anything else I need to do?

[quelquod]

I suppose you’ll get a receipt by email which you can show the driver? As to guaranteeing he shows up and on time I doubt there’s much you can do really - anything could happen - make sure you have all the contact details to hand for last minute confirmation. I agree that 50 miles is a fair haul for them to risk but personally I’ve never paid up front like that. I expect this will be north of £100 anyway so as usual make sure you pay by credit card just in case, BACS offers no protection.

[yorkshirelad1]

Not sure if this is the correct board to post this query.
I need a taxi to take me from a holiday about 50 miles away back to home. I have accepted a quote from a local company (yes, they are licensed etc) and they want me to pay by BACS 'now'. What steps should I take to ensure that the driver arrives on the day and doesn't demand any further payment (ie knows that I have already paid)
Is there anything else I need to do?

If you're concerned about protecting your funds (when paying via BACS), I have an inkling if you pay at least part ("deposit"?) by credit card, then you have some cover with the credit card company. Sorry, don't have a source at the moment, but may try and look for one later. Google may help.
If you're really concerned, why not offer to at least part by credit card (even if you have to pay a small % fee) and the rest via BACS.

[AF62]

I need a taxi to take me from a holiday about 50 miles away back to home. I have accepted a quote from a local company

You haven't mentioned if the "local company" is local to the holiday location or local to your home.

I suspect the cost would be the same whichever you employed as it is unlikely they will get a return fare, so you might be better using a company local to your home to come to your holiday location and collect you, as at least then if anything goes wrong you can go around to their office and shout at them! In addition you might have more of a sense of whether a company local to your home is respectable and reliable or not.

[servodude]

I need a taxi to take me from a holiday about 50 miles away back to home. I have accepted a quote from a local company

You haven't mentioned if the "local company" is local to the holiday location or local to your home.

I suspect the cost would be the same whichever you employed as it is unlikely they will get a return fare, so you might be better using a company local to your home to come to your holiday location and collect you, as at least then if anything goes wrong you can go around to their office and shout at them! In addition you might have more of a sense of whether a company local to your home is respectable and reliable or not.

Requiring an upfront BACS transfer would set alarm bells ringing.

I used https://gettransfer.com/ a couple of years back to organise a transfer for my folks from Edinburgh airport to Renfrewshire.
It was during the time of the pandemic when it was unclear whether family would be able to help because of restrictions and we wanted to keep them away from public transport.
It was all very well handled and paid online with clear receipts and email confirmations etc; apparently the trip itself was excellent. (Checking the receipt it was 60quid - minus a discount code because it was the first time I'd used them.)

-sd