Elite Car Service

"Had to use Elite due to a last minute change of plans. Very expensive. Driver also took an extremely long route from Gatwick that added over 30 additional mins to the journey when the M25 was showing as clear. Was shouting at other drivers along the way and using phrases like ‘that must be a woman’. Also seemed annoyed when we didn’t pay with cash - nothing on the booking to say we had to do that. Won’t be using again. Avoid."

"I have been using Elite for over 20 years and always found the customer service to be of a satisfactory standard, until recently. Whenever I have checked luggage to collect after a flight, and I book an Elite car, I have been adding a note to the driver in my booking to arrive 30 minutes after the plane had landed in order to avoid or minimize a waiting charge. I was advised to do this by Elite several years ago (before the change of ownership), because then supposedly the 45 minutes free waiting time would only start 30 minutes after the plane landed. I recently arrived at LHR on a long haul flight and it took me about 75 minutes to clear immigration and collect my luggage. Considering the "arrive 30 minutes after landing" note plus the that fact that the driver told me that he only arrived 40 minutes after the plane had landed, I should not have been charged waiting time. However, Elite insisted on charging me £16.50 waiting time. I spoke to someone at the office to dispute the charge, but he told me in no friendly manner that my note is meaningless, would not accept that the note was suggested by Elite themselves and also would not let me speak to a manager or someone with some authority. I subsequently e-mailed Elite explaining the situation, but from their responses it was obvious that they do not really care about retaining my business so I will be taking it elsewhere. The new owner(s) would do well to take customer service more seriously."

"DO NOT USE THEM- I have used them for years and been happy, but last week my taxi to the airport was 20 mins late. When I phoned at 6 mins late the driver was clearly asleep and had not planned to turn up. Long story short, he arrived 20 mins late by which time I was soaking wet waiting outside, as he kept telling me he was 3 mins away. He then took a 15 min detour. So almost 40 minutes into my journey I was basically at the end of my road! I missed my domestic flight for a work trip due to being 10 mins late! I had to pay for a new flight. Elite said they would pay half, even though they should have paid all, but never transferred the money for even half! They kept trying to blame me even though I had told them the flight and check in time and they had agreed it was plenty of time for the taxi as it was a domestic flight and I had only hand luggage. Had the taxi come on time I would have made my flight, yet they have not paid for my new flight or even apologised. I will never use them again, shoddy drivers and even worse customer service."

"I have been using Elite Cars since 2017 when the controllers were efficient, helpful and courteous. Since the change of ownership all that has changed. Recently I booked a car well in advance for a 12.30pm pick up. On the said day I rang the Company only to be told twice that I had not booked. Eventually my booking was found, but no apology . I was told I could pay the Office from the car on the way to my destination, which I did, paying for both outward and return journeys. The Controller wanted me to give an exact time for the return pick up which I could not give as my 2 appointments were both at a London hospital . Under a degree of pressure I said about 4.30pm . I was not told that if I ran over this time that a charge would be made. Unknown to me the Controller told the driver to wait (we had arrived at the hospital at 1.15pm) . I came out slightly over an hour late and the driver told me I had a certain amount to pay him in cash because I had kept him waiting. I said I would speak with the office. The driver rang the office and the Controller said "Tell her I will ring her at home at 10 tomorrow morning". He didn't ring until 2 days later. I missed the call and rang the controller , who was argumentative and didn't want to listen to me regarding the fact it was his decision to keep the driver at the hospital plus the driver told me he could have done another job earning him £30 but was kept at the hospital, which the controller denied. I told him I was not going to pay as I wasn't made aware of the possibility of an extra charge. His response "So you wanted me to tell you in advance". He concluded by saying that I was not to ring them again and to find another company. What a demise in 5 years from a customer orientated company to one which considers money is more important. 5* down to 1* in 5 years."

"I have been using Elite Car Service in Wimbledon for a while, and so far I was always happy about the service until yesterday. I had booked the pickup from the airport to home and I have been waiting for the driver for 30 min (on an already delayed flight), for a journey home that is around 40 min…by the time I was home it was 1:40am. I got different motivations about the delay, on the phone I was told there were problems with road closures, while the driver told me he left as soon as he was contacted by the team… I did not receive the usual message that the driver was on his way, so something must have gone wrong there. I was not even offered a discount for the inconvenience, I had to negotiate it. Nevertheless when there is a mess up, the customer has to be offered a compensation to offset the issue, this is the basic of customer care. If I had not used this service in the past, I would have given a 1 star, but because in the past they were always precise and on time, I am rating them 3 stars."