1. Who we are and what these terms cover

China Chauffeurs is a trading name of Sterling Axis Ltd, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom (“we”, “us”, “our”). We deliver services in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao, working with our registered operator in mainland China, Shanghai Nianyao Automobile Service Co., Ltd, and other local suppliers.

These terms apply whenever you book, pay for or use our services (the “Services”), including private chauffeur transfers, hourly and daily hire, airport arrival and departure assistance (including VIP Fast Track), cross-border transfers, and guide and journey planning support. “You” means the person who books and everyone travelling with them.

If you book for other people, you confirm that you are allowed to share their details with us, and that you have told them about these terms.

A written quote, booking confirmation or payment link may add to or change these terms for your booking. If they conflict with these terms, the written confirmation applies to that booking.

2. Our role and local suppliers

We arrange and coordinate ground transport and related services. Vehicles are driven by professional local drivers working for us or for local operators and suppliers (“Suppliers”). Suppliers are responsible for holding the licences, permits and insurance that Chinese law requires of them. If licences, insurance or vehicle details matter to you, ask us before you book and we will tell you what we can confirm in writing.

When we arrange hotels, attraction tickets, guides, dining, eSIMs or other third-party services, we do so as your agent or intermediary. Unless we tell you in writing that we are the organiser, the contract for that service is between you and the third-party supplier, and the supplier’s own terms apply. We do not organise package holidays. Where we arrange several services for one journey, each is a separate service.

3. Quotes, bookings and confirmation

• Estimates are not offers. Prices shown on our website or in early messages are estimates. A price becomes firm only when we confirm it in writing (by WhatsApp, email or payment link) for the service, date, route, passengers and vehicle stated.
• When a booking is confirmed. Your booking is confirmed when we receive your deposit (30% unless we state otherwise) or full payment, and we send you confirmation. Until then we may change or withdraw a quote and we do not guarantee availability.
• Accurate information. You must give us accurate details: names as shown on travel documents, flight or train numbers, addresses, passenger numbers, luggage and any special requirements. We are not responsible for problems caused by incorrect or late information, and changes may change the price.
• Payment links. A payment link is locked to the details it shows. Check them before you pay. If anything is wrong, do not pay; tell us and we will issue a corrected link.
• Acceptance. By paying through a payment link you confirm that you have read and accept these terms, Billing & Refunds and the Privacy Policy. We record the time and the version you accepted.
• Electronic contracts. You agree that we may make this contract and send you notices electronically.

4. Prices, extra charges and payment

Prices are stated in the currency shown on your confirmation or payment link. You pay through our secure Airwallex checkout. We do not see or store your full card details.

Unless your confirmation says otherwise, the price covers the vehicle, a professional driver, fuel, standard tolls and parking for the agreed service, and the waiting time stated in your confirmation. The following are extra and may be charged: additional hours or distance, additional stops, waiting beyond the time included, changes to the route or schedule, cross-border bridge, tunnel and permit fees (passed through at cost), cleaning or damage charges (clause 7), and third-party costs you ask us to arrange. Where practical we will tell you before an extra charge applies, and you agree to pay charges for services you request or cause.

Your balance is due before the service, as set out in Billing & Refunds. We may decline to start a service if payment is outstanding. Where tax applies to a charge, it is shown on your invoice. Currency conversions shown on our website are approximate; the amount in the currency of your payment link is the amount you pay, and your bank or card issuer may add its own fees.

5. Changing or cancelling your booking

You can ask to change or cancel a booking by messaging us on WhatsApp or by email. Cancellation charges follow the schedule in Billing & Refunds, measured from the scheduled pickup time. A change request is subject to availability and may change the price; a request made inside a cancellation window may be treated as a cancellation.

If you are a consumer: because our Services are supplied for a specific date and time, the statutory right to cancel a distance contract within 14 days generally does not apply once the service date is fixed, where the law provides for that exception. The cancellation schedule applies instead. This does not affect any right you have that cannot be excluded by law.

6. Changes, substitutions and cancellations by us

We may substitute the vehicle or driver with one of the same or a higher category, for example because of a breakdown, maintenance, an airport or city vehicle restriction, or availability. We will tell you promptly.

We may cancel or suspend a service if we reasonably believe it would be unsafe or unlawful, if a government or authority restriction prevents it, if payment is not received, if information you gave was materially wrong, or because of an event beyond our control (clause 14). If we cancel and cannot offer a comparable alternative you accept, we will refund the amounts you paid for the Services we did not provide.

7. The chauffeur service

Pickup and waiting

Please be ready at the agreed place and time. The waiting time included is stated in your confirmation; longer waits may be charged. For airport pickups the driver monitors your flight. If we cannot meet you at the agreed place and time after reasonable attempts to contact you, and you have not told us of a delay, the booking may be treated as a no-show.

Routes, timing and delays

Drivers choose the safest and most practical route. Traffic, roadworks, accidents, police and security controls, events, weather and restricted zones can delay a journey, so times are estimates and we do not guarantee arrival times. Please leave a generous buffer for flights, trains, meetings and events.

Vehicles, luggage and child seats

We provide the vehicle class and seating confirmed in writing. Photographs are illustrative and a vehicle of the same class may be supplied. You must not exceed the passenger and luggage capacity, and drivers may refuse to carry more than is lawful or safe. Seat belts must be worn where fitted. Child seats are available on request, in advance and subject to availability. You are responsible for children in your party and for using child restraints correctly.

Conduct

Smoking and vaping, illegal items, weapons, hazardous materials and drugs are not allowed, and animals may be carried only with our prior written agreement (assistance animals excepted). Please do not behave in a way that endangers, harasses or distracts the driver or others. The driver may end the journey, without refund, if safety or the law is at risk.

Damage, cleaning and lost property

You are responsible for damage to a vehicle, and for soiling beyond ordinary use, caused by you or your party. We may charge the reasonable cost of repair or cleaning. If you leave something in a vehicle we will try to help you recover it, but we are not responsible for items left behind, and return may be at your cost.

Recording and driver limits

Some vehicles may be fitted with cameras or recording devices for safety and to resolve disputes. Recordings are handled under our Privacy Policy. Drivers must follow the law and rest requirements, which can limit the length of a booking. Drivers are not guides, translators, medical staff or security personnel unless we confirm that in writing.

8. Airport assistance and VIP Fast Track

“VIP Fast Track” and similar terms describe airport assistance, which can include meeting you, guiding you along the routes permitted to you, help with baggage, porter support, lounge access and priority or dedicated channels where they are offered. What is available depends on the airport, terminal, airline, flight, cabin, time and your eligibility, and it is operated by airport authorities, airlines or third-party providers.

• Confirmed in writing. We confirm the specific airport services before you pay. Only what is named in that confirmation is included. Lounge access, porter service or a specific channel is included only if named.
• We do not control the authorities. No private company controls immigration, customs, quarantine or security. Every traveller must complete all required procedures, and the decisions of the authorities are final. We do not guarantee queue times, access to a particular channel, admission to the country, baggage timing, or that any procedure will be skipped or shortened.
• Your documents. You must give accurate flight, name and nationality details and hold documents valid for entry. If you are refused entry or delayed by an authority, services already provided or arranged in reliance on your booking are chargeable and we are not liable for the consequences.
• Arrival and departure are separate. Book each direction. We monitor flights using the information available, but you must tell us promptly if your plans change. Re-positioning and extra waiting may be charged. Airline wheelchair assistance must be requested from the airline.

9. Cross-border travel

Transfers between Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China depend on vehicle eligibility, quotas, permits, port opening hours and the decisions of border authorities. We cannot guarantee crossing times, or that a passenger or vehicle will be admitted. You are responsible for valid travel documents for every jurisdiction. The vehicle or driver may change at a port. Bridge, tunnel and permit fees are passed through at cost. We confirm the cross-border vehicle plan in writing, and a border or port closure is treated as an event beyond our control.

10. Guides, hotels, tickets and other services we arrange

Availability and prices of third-party services depend on the suppliers. Attractions can close or limit entry at short notice because of weather, reservations, maintenance or official orders, and guided experiences depend on what local rules permit. Tickets and reservations are subject to the supplier’s terms and may be non-transferable and non-refundable. We are not responsible for a third-party supplier’s acts or omissions except where the law says we are, but we will help you raise any problem with them.

11. Your responsibilities

• Documents and entry. You are responsible for valid passports, visas or visa-free eligibility, health documents and compliance with entry rules. We cannot give immigration advice.
• Insurance. We strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance covering medical costs, cancellation, delay, baggage and personal accident. Our liability is limited as set out below.
• Health and needs. Tell us in advance about mobility, medical or access needs. We are not a medical provider.
• Valuables. Keep passports, money, devices and valuables with you.
• Local law. Follow local laws, including rules on photography in restricted areas and on prohibited items.
• Minors. Children under 18 are not carried unaccompanied unless we agree in writing.

12. Security and protection services

We provide ground transport and coordination. We do not provide security personnel, close protection or armed protection, and we do not describe any vehicle as armoured unless we confirm that specification in writing for your booking. If you need protection services, arrange them through qualified providers who are lawfully permitted to operate in China. We can coordinate transport around them by written agreement.

13. Our responsibility to you

What we promise

We will provide the Services with reasonable care and skill and as described in your confirmation.

What we do not limit

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law. If you are a consumer, your statutory rights are not affected.

Limits

Subject to the paragraph above:

• our total liability to you for all claims connected with a booking is limited to the price you paid us for the affected Services;
• we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, for loss of profit, revenue, business, opportunity or goodwill, for wasted expenditure, or for missed flights, trains, meetings, events or connections;
• we are not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond our reasonable control (clause 14), by the independent acts or omissions of airports, airlines, authorities or third-party suppliers, or by your own acts or omissions.

If you book for a company or for other travellers, you confirm that you may accept these terms for them, and these limits apply to all of them. We recommend that you insure risks that these limits leave with you.

14. Events beyond our control

We are not in breach of these terms, and are not liable, for any delay or failure caused by an event beyond our reasonable control. Examples include severe weather, natural disasters, epidemics and public-health measures, war, terrorism, civil unrest, strikes, government, police or airport orders, road, port, airport or border closures, airline disruption, and power, network or system failure. We will try to arrange a reasonable alternative. If we cannot, we will refund the price of Services not provided, less costs already properly incurred for you that we cannot recover, which we will identify.

15. Complaints

If something is wrong, please tell us as soon as you can, ideally during the service so that we can put it right, and in writing within 7 days after it ends so that we can investigate properly. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and aim to give a full response within 14 days. This does not limit your legal rights.

16. Using this website

The information on this website is general and may contain errors or become out of date; prices and availability can change. Content, images and marks on this website belong to us or our licensors. You may view and print pages for personal, non-commercial use. Please do not copy, scrape, frame, resell or use the website to build a competing service, and do not try to gain unauthorised access to it or interfere with it. Links to other websites are provided for convenience and are not endorsements. To the extent the law allows, the website is provided as available, without a promise that it will be uninterrupted or error-free. See also our Travel Information & Disclaimer.

17. Privacy, cookies and messages

Our Privacy Policy explains how we use personal data and our Cookie Policy explains cookies and similar technologies. We use WhatsApp, email and phone to deal with your booking. We send marketing only where the law allows, and you can opt out at any time.

18. General

• Suppliers and assignment. We may use subcontractors and Suppliers to deliver the Services. You may not transfer your booking without our written agreement.
• Whole agreement. These terms and your written confirmation are the whole agreement about your booking.
• If part is invalid. If a provision is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.
• No waiver. If we do not enforce a right straight away, we do not lose it.
• Third parties. Only you and we may enforce these terms, apart from the rights of our affiliates and Suppliers to rely on the limits in clause 13.
• Notices. We may send notices to the email address or WhatsApp number you gave us. You may contact us at the details below.
• Language. The English version of these terms applies. Translations, including on parts of our website, are for convenience.
• Changes. We may update these terms. The version in force when you paid applies to your booking. The date above shows the current version.

19. Governing law and disputes

These terms and any dispute connected with them are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except that if you are a consumer you may also bring proceedings in the courts of the country where you live, and the mandatory consumer protections of that country still apply to you. Please contact us first so that we can try to resolve any dispute informally.

20. Contact us

Sterling Axis Ltd, trading as China Chauffeurs
Email: concierge@chinachauffeurs.com
WhatsApp: +86 195 4022 0601
Website: www.chinachauffeurs.com