Frequently asked questions

How do I join?

Easy. Join in seconds by completing our online application.

How old do I have to be to join?

You need to have held a full driving licence for a minimum of 12 months and must be at least 19 years of age. There is no upper age limit.

NB. Members aged 21 and under pay a compulsory  £500 refundable deposit, standard excess, no monthly fee.

How does the pricing work?

You can visit our ‘What it costs’ page to see our current rates and our ‘Pricing FAQs’ for more information.

I have a non-UK driving licence, can I still join?

Absolutely. We can accept any nationality of driving licence for the duration that they are valid in the UK. Please be aware that once a non-UK licence has expired, it is your responsibility to let us know, as you will no longer be covered by our insurers.

I have had some driving offences, can I still join?

Depending on the nature of the offences, we can accept up to six points on your licence – sometimes up to nine. This will be checked and confirmed to you during the joining process.

You must have had no major motoring convictions in the last five years and not have more than three “SP” and “CU” code offences in the last three years. If you are unsure, do give us a call to check your individual circumstances.

I am a disabled driver, can I still join?

Of course, as long as you have a current valid driving licence. Please note that as a stipulation by our insurers, when you apply for membership we will have to ask you for some general information about your impairment. This is to ensure you are fully covered by our insurance company when driving a City Car Club vehicle.

Blue Badge holders can use this facility with any of our vehicles, but it is their responsibility to ensure that it is valid and displayed correctly.

Do I have to bring the City Car back to the same bay that I picked it up from?

Yes, at the end of your booking you must return the City Car to the same bay that you picked it up from.

What happens if the bay I need to return the car to is blocked?

If when you return from your journey the bay is blocked by another vehicle, please call the Clubhouse for instructions on where the car can be legally parked. Once you’ve parked the car, we’ll then report the offending vehicle to Parking Services and arrange for the City Car to be moved back into the bay.

What types of car are available?

We categorise our cars into two types, ‘smaller cars’ and ‘larger cars’. Smaller cars are all regular sized hatchbacks and our larger cars include estates, Toyota hybrids and the more spacious hatchbacks.

Take a look at our ‘what it costs’ page to see the current range of cars we have.

Is insurance included?

Yes. Fully comprehensive insurance is included with a standard excess of £750. All the statutory requirements are covered, on a comprehensive basis, including unlimited third party injury and passenger liability cover.

If you’d like to reduce your excess to £100 you can do so by paying £10 per month or £100 annual payment for 12 months for the price of 10  (please see our What does it cost? section). Hopefully you will never have a bump but if you do, you only have to pay the excess if our insurers deem the accident to be your fault (or the third party can not be traced).

If you are 21 years of age or under, there is a compulsory£500 refundable deposit, standard excess, no monthly fee.

Will a car be available when I need it?

This is extremely important to us – in our last annual survey over 90% of members told us that their first choice of car is ‘always’ or ‘almost always’ available.

And our on-going surveys show that on the rare occasion that our members’ first choice of car isn’t available, 99% of members are able to book an alternative car close by for the time they wanted.

Ensuring that members can book a car whenever they need one, be it right at the last minute or in advance, is something we monitor on a very regular basis. If demand picks up in one area, we simply add more cars!

What happens when I need to fill the car with fuel?

All of our cars are equipped with a fuel card. Members simply fill up the car as normal (check whether the car takes petrol or diesel!) and hand the fuel card over to the cashier along with the current mileage of the car.

This way, members never have to hand over their own money for fuel as the bill gets paid directly by City Car Club. The in-car computers calculate exactly how many miles have been driven during the booking so we can calculate the relevant mileage charge.

We ask our members to return the cars with at least a quarter tank of fuel for the convenience of the next member.

What if I’m running a bit late?

We understand that this happens to us all, and that’s why we make it as easy as possible to extend your booking.

Some of our cars allow bookings to be extended directly from the cars themselves and can be extended in 15 minute increments. We are working toward the whole City Car Club fleet having this facility. In the meantime members using cars where bookings cannot be extended from the car, can extend their booking by calling our Clubhouse where their booking can be extended for no fee.

In the event you accidentally make a back to back booking on the same vehicle instead of extending, please contact us so we are able to manually adjust your reservation.

If another member is affected by this, then we will try to move them to another car. You may have to pay some of the costs incurred here, but we try our hardest to avoid that. That’s why we always ask to be informed as far in advance as possible if members know they’re going to be late returning the car.

However, if members are late and do not let us know they’ll be charged a £30 late fee and 1.5 times the hourly rate for the duration over their original booking. Additionally, any costs accrued by any member who is kept waiting may be passed on.

Can I cancel a booking?

Certainly. If members cancel a booking giving 5 or more hours notice, there is nothing to pay (but as much notice as possible is appreciated so other members can book the car). If a booking is cancelled with less than 5 hours notice, members will be charged 60% of the cost of the booking – up to a maximum of £30.

How quickly can I use the car after booking online?

You can book a car a few minutes in advance (if available) and go to the car straight away. Equally you can book a car several months in advance. If you cancel a booking more than 5 hours in advance there is no charge.

If I overbook the amount of time I want the car for, will I be charged for the entire booking, or for the actual time I used the vehicle?

If you book a car for 5 hours but only use it for 3.5 hours you are still charged for the whole booking. This is because the car is unavailable to other members during your booking/reservation. You can extend a booking from the car. We advise you are realistic when making a booking as to what you need to avoid issues extending the booking if there is another booking after. We do issue late fines (where other members are inconvenienced) but only for repeat offenders and wherever possible (if we are given notice) we try to accommodate all members.

How can I get into the car – don’t I need keys?

All our cars are accessed with a smart-enabled membership card. You simply place it over the card reader on the windscreen and the car doors will unlock. Once inside the car, members tap their PIN into the in-car computer and grab the keys from the designated key storage area.

Can I use a car for business?

Yes. Our insurance covers you for personal and business usage. Take a look at our ‘car clubs for business’ page to see how City Car Club could suit your business travel requirements.

Discount Card – what is this?

Our Discount Card is an optional membership plan which allows members to receive a 20% discount off hourly and daily rental rates for a cost of just £15 per month. This brings the hourly rate down to just £4.16 for our standard cars!

The Discount Card can be selected when you sign up to City Car Club, or at any stage during your membership. Existing members wishing to take up this option simply need to email confirmation to membership@citycarclub.co.uk. You won’t need to be issued with a new membership card.

If you wish to change back to the regular pay-as-you-go tariff (with no monthly fees) just let us know. You can do this at any time after three months of being on the Discount Card tariff.

Can I access all your cars across the UK?

Yes you can. And this is a major benefit of being a member of City Car Club as we have the largest network of club cars across the UK. Members can access every single one of our cars in any city in which we operate. Off on business? Travelling to see family and friends? Book your City Car Club car and pick it up at your destination.

As a default members will only see cars in their home city when they log into the booking site. To view and book cars in any other city, simply call us and we can do this immediately.

Do your cars have breakdown cover?

As our cars are all new, reliable and serviced on a regular basis, a breakdown is unlikely. However, all cars are covered for breakdown and recovery assistance. Our 24/7 Clubhouse line on 0845 330 1234 (option 2) is there to help in this scenario.

There isn’t a car near to me – can I request one?

We’re always expanding our network of cars, so do keep checking our website for the latest news. To let us know that you would like a car near you please take a minute to tell us (click here). The more people requesting a car near them, the sooner we will try to get one in place.

And if you have an off-road parking space that you’d like to offer as a home for a City Car, please let us know by emailing home@citycarclub.co.uk

London Congestion Charging – do I have to pay this?

Unfortunately, Transport for London does not yet exempt car club cars – but we are working on it!

However, if you use one of our City Cars whose home is inside the zone, we will bear the full cost of the Congestion Charge.

Additionally, all cars with emissions of under 100g CO2 are also excluded from the charge wherever they live in London. We have been adding more and more of these sub-100g cars to our fleet and will continue to do so. Currently all our Toyota Prius Hybrids, Toyota IQs and Ford Fiesta Econetics are exempt from the charge.

If the City Car lives outside the zone and you drive into the charging zone, we will pay the charge and pass the cost onto you at the normal rate of £10.00 (unless the car is sub-100g CO2 as mentioned above). In this situation, you don’t need to worry about paying the charge yourself. Provided the City Car was based in London, we do this on your behalf and add it to your monthly bill.

All London City Cars that are exempt from the congestion charge can be identified by a red congestion charge exempt symbol on our locations page.

Don’t forget, the Congestion Charge is only applicable Monday to Friday between 07:00 and 18:00.

If you enter the charging zone in a City Car from one of our Clubs outside London (including all cars with emissions of under 100g CO2) , you are required to pay the charge directly yourself, as non-London cars are not registered with Transport for London. Failure to do so will incur additional penalties levied by TfL for late payment and an administration charge of £30.

Where are your full Terms and Conditions?

You will find a link to our Terms and Conditions on the footer of each page on our website .This also outlines our penalty charges and we strongly recommend reading this before joining. As much as we hate ‘rules’ too, we have to enforce them to ensure the smooth running of the club and for the benefit of all members.

Can I add a partner to my account?

Of course. You can add a partner to your account for just £30 per annum and he/she will be issued with their own membership card. Please note that you must both reside at the same address and that any usage/fees for both yourself and your partner will be debited from your account.