Customer Terms & Conditions

1. Who provides the vehicle

Vehicles on VRM are provided by independent vehicle owners. VRM operates the booking, due diligence, payment coordination, custody and handover service; it does not ordinarily own the advertised vehicle. This distinction does not remove any duty that the law imposes on VRM.

2. Request, availability and payment sequence

A booking request temporarily holds the dates while the owner has twelve (12) hours to respond. For a booking of 14 or more days the customer may submit a proposed lower daily rental rate. VRM may reject offers outside its unpublished eligibility rules. The owner separately accepts or declines the offered price and confirms vehicle availability. If the price is declined, the customer may accept the original listed rate or cancel without paying. No rental payment is due until availability and the agreed rate are confirmed and VRM supplies payment instructions. Eligibility checks, rental agreement and handover remain mandatory.

3. Eligibility, licence and authorised drivers

The renter and each separately approved driver must hold a valid licence suitable for the vehicle, satisfy published age and eligibility conditions, and provide genuine verification information. Only authorised drivers may operate the vehicle. The customer must notify VRM of any licence suspension or medical/legal issue affecting safe driving.

4. Responsible permitted use

The customer will use the vehicle prudently and for its designed purpose, obey road rules, adhere to manufacturer limits and avoid overloading, off-road use where prohibited, racing, towing, illegal activities, subletting, ride-hailing, paid passenger carriage, dangerous driving and cross-border travel unless expressly authorised in writing and insured.

5. Fuel, mileage, cleanliness and return

The booking confirmation must state the start/end dates, daily rate, location, fuel and mileage rules, fees for late return, permissible extension and any deposit. The customer must return the vehicle, keys and equipment in substantially the inspected condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted. Any added charges must be itemised, reasonable and supported by evidence.

6. Inspections and condition acknowledgement

VRM will arrange documented handovers at the four custody stages. The customer should inspect exterior, interior, tyres, equipment, fuel and mileage before acceptance and promptly note apparent defects. Checklists and up to six stage photographs form part of the evidence for disputes; they do not prevent claims relating to hidden defects.

7. Pre-existing faults and vehicle safety

The customer must promptly report warning lights, safety concerns, breakdowns or other faults and stop driving when continued operation would be unsafe. VRM will coordinate the owner and reasonable assistance. A mechanical defect not caused by customer misuse should not automatically be charged to the customer. Applicable statutory consumer remedies remain available.

8. Accidents, theft and emergencies

The customer must secure personal safety, contact police/emergency services where appropriate, promptly notify VRM and cooperate with the insurer and lawful investigation. The customer must not admit liability for another party without advice or arrange unauthorised repairs except as necessary to protect life or prevent immediate damage.

9. Traffic penalties and legal charges

The customer is ordinarily responsible for their own traffic, toll, parking and towing infringements during the hire period, where established by evidence, plus only clearly disclosed and reasonable processing costs. Penalties predating collection or arising from the owner’s conduct are not automatically the customer’s responsibility.

10. Insurance verification and responsibility

VRM verifies the insurance information supplied by the Owner when deciding whether a vehicle qualifies for listing. A vehicle is listed only after its coverage has passed that verification. The applicable policy conditions, authorised drivers, permitted uses, excesses and material restrictions remain relevant to each rental and will be disclosed where applicable. Listing approval does not promise that every loss or incident is covered. VRM does not arrange additional insurance for a booking.

The Customer must take reasonable care, comply with agreed driver and use restrictions, and is responsible only for losses legally attributable to their proven negligence, misuse or breach, subject to law and fair claims review. This acknowledgment is not a blanket assumption of all uninsured losses, does not waive statutory rights or injured third parties' rights, and does not exempt the Owner or VRM from responsibility for their own legally established wrongdoing. Any excess, deductible or uninsured claim must be documented and allocated under applicable law and enforceable agreed terms.

11. Prohibited abuse and protective termination

If VRM obtains verifiable evidence of serious vehicle abuse, prohibited use or material breach, it may suspend the rental and require safe, lawful return or recovery of the vehicle, with appropriate notice where practicable. Any physical recovery must comply with law and must not endanger persons or breach the peace. Unproven suspicion alone is not sufficient to impose penalties.

12. 10% abuse administration charge and remediation

Where serious misuse or a material breach is substantiated, an abuse administration charge equal to 10% of the total agreed base rental charges may be deducted, but only if lawful, fair, reasonable and clearly disclosed before agreement. Reasonable additional repair, recovery or cleaning costs caused by the breach may be charged only when evidenced and itemised, without double recovery. The customer can challenge the evidence or amount. An unused rental-fee balance is refunded after lawful deductions within the disclosed refund timeline.

13. Cancellation, no-show and refund rules

Owner refusal or expiry before payment never triggers a rental charge. Any post-payment cancellation fee, late fee, security deposit, cleaning rate, damage claim, administrative fee or refund timetable must be stated clearly in the booking confirmation. Funds collected for unavailable vehicles must be refunded in accordance with applicable law and the agreed policy; unfair blanket no-refund clauses are not intended.

14. Registration-name discrepancies

If a vehicle’s registration name differs from the listing account holder, VRM will display this conspicuously before a booking request and require separate acknowledgement. A mismatch does not necessarily mean theft, and neither the customer’s acknowledgement nor VRM’s document review constitutes a guarantee of title or absolves VRM of legal obligations. VRM may block or cancel a vehicle that cannot be satisfactorily cleared.

15. Owner responsibility and VRM responsibility

The owner is generally responsible for lawfully offering, insuring, maintaining and disclosing known faults on the vehicle. VRM is responsible for the services and reasonable care it undertakes, including its accepted custody and verification workflow. Liability for loss, injury or property damage depends on fault, causation, applicable insurance and law; no blanket exclusion of consumer rights applies.

16. Personal belongings and passengers

The customer should remove valuables from the car when unattended and transport passengers safely in accordance with seating and restraint laws. Personal-property risks and passenger liability are subject to applicable law, insurance and the proven conduct of the parties.

17. GPS and location data

If a vehicle uses an owner-installed or VRM portable tracker, the customer will be told before collection. Location data may be used proportionately for safety, suspected theft, incident investigation and documented rental administration, with restricted access and disclosed retention. No promise of continuous monitoring or recovery is made.

18. Privacy and notifications

VRM uses necessary customer, driver, booking, payment, verification and handover data for service delivery, legitimate safety checks and legal compliance, subject to a separate privacy notice and data-protection law. Transactional booking updates may be sent through email or opted-in WhatsApp; marketing communications require separate consent.

19. Evidence, dispute handling and fair process

Where damage, misuse or a fee is disputed, VRM will provide a reasonable explanation and supporting records, allow the customer to respond and consider pre-existing condition evidence. Charges should be itemised before deducting a deposit or refund. Parties retain access to the Consumer Protection Commission, courts or another lawful dispute process.

20. Availability of contract and acceptance

These terms are available before each booking request. The customer must positively acknowledge them for each booking request, and the rental agreement, price, disclosures and handover inspection must be confirmed again before release. Acceptance is recorded with the booking ID, version and time. Material amendments will require renewed agreement.

21. Governing law and non-waiver

Zimbabwean law is intended to govern this agreement. Any invalid term is severed to the extent legally required without affecting the remaining valid terms. Nothing waives rights, remedies or duties that cannot be waived under applicable law.

22. Payment deadlines, cancellation and deposits

Upon owner confirmation, VRM's payment window is forty-eight (48) hours, or sooner where the planned pickup date requires it. The specific deadline displayed for the booking governs. Payment is made manually in cash or through EcoCash using instructions supplied by VRM; the website does not collect payment. VRM must verify receipt before vehicle release. If cleared payment is not received by the deadline, the provisional hold expires and the dates may be made available again. No cancellation administration fee is charged before payment.

For a customer-initiated cancellation after payment but before physical collection, VRM's fixed administration fee is US$50, capped at the rental fee actually paid. The remaining rental fee is refundable. If VRM or the owner cancels, no customer cancellation administration fee applies and customer refunds are handled in accordance with applicable law. After collection, separate early-termination rules apply.

Each vehicle has a separately disclosed refundable security deposit, proposed by the owner and approved by VRM before publication. Deposits are not rental revenue and do not form part of the 20% commission base. Deposits are refunded subject to documented, reasonable, lawfully authorised deductions; evidence, dispute resolution, status and payment references must be maintained. An unresolved deduction does not imply money has been transferred. VRM maintains and verifies the payment, refund and settlement records manually.