Terms and conditions

How Your Trip Is Performed

When you book with Meridian Fleet Chicago, your agreement for transportation is with Meridian Fleet — we are the transportation company you are contracting with, and we remain responsible for arranging your trip and standing behind it. Some trips are performed using Meridian Fleet's own vehicles and our own chauffeurs. Other trips are performed by vetted, independently licensed and insured affiliate operators in our network — professional carriers we engage to serve our customers, particularly for peak demand, specialty vehicles, or specific service areas.

Before performing a Meridian Fleet trip, every affiliate operator is screened for a valid public passenger vehicle license, commercial insurance, and a qualified, background-checked chauffeur. Affiliate operators are independent businesses; their chauffeurs are their own employees or contractors, and Meridian Fleet does not control the day-to-day employment, payroll, or personnel decisions of an affiliate operator. Whether your trip is performed by our own team or by an affiliate operator, this Agreement, our service standards, and our Cancellation Policy apply to your reservation, and Meridian Fleet remains your point of contact for your booking, your billing, and any service issue. Nothing in this section limits any right you have under law, and nothing in it releases Meridian Fleet or any operator from responsibility for the safe performance of your trip.

Billing, Payment Authorization & Cancellation Policy

1. Payment Obligations & Timing

Full payment of the reservation total is due no later than seventy-two (72) hours prior to the scheduled pickup time. If the balance is not paid in full by then, the reservation may be treated as cancelled by the Client effective that day, and any refund of amounts already paid is determined by the Cancellation Policy disclosed at booking and in the Cancellation & Service Agreement, which controls. Reservations made within 72 hours of service require full payment at the time of booking. Bookings may be secured with a deposit at checkout; the deposit applies to the reservation total, and the remaining balance is charged by the same 72-hour deadline.

2. Authorization for Charges

By completing a reservation, the Client authorizes Meridian Fleet to charge the payment method on file for the reservation amount, applicable taxes, surcharges, and any additional charges incurred during or after service.

3. Failure to Pay

If payment is not received in full by the 72-hour deadline, the Company may cancel the reservation without notice, release the vehicle and driver, and retain any payments made in accordance with the applicable cancellation policy. Service will not be provided without full and cleared payment.

4. Additional Charges

Additional charges may include, but are not limited to: overtime (billed in 15-minute increments), unscheduled stops, waiting time beyond grace periods, tolls, parking, airport fees, cleaning fees, and damage or repair costs. All additional charges are due immediately upon completion of service.

5. Cancellation Policy

The complete cancellation and refund schedule is disclosed at booking and in the Cancellation & Service Agreement, which controls, and is published in full on our Cancellation Policy page. In summary, sedans and SUVs cancel free 3+ days before pickup, a 50% charge applies from 3 days down to 24 hours, and the full fare applies inside 24 hours; stretch limos, party buses, Sprinters, and specialty vehicles require 14+ days for a full refund, with a 50% refund from 7 days up to 14 days, a 25% refund from 72 hours up to 7 days, and no refund inside 72 hours; executive shuttles refund in full 5+ days out, 50% from 48 hours up to 5 days, and nothing inside 48 hours. Weddings, corporate events, and bookings of 2 or more vehicles take a 30% non-refundable deposit under the event schedule on that page. Cancellation windows are measured back from the scheduled pickup time, Chicago time. A cancellation takes effect when we receive it by phone, email, or reply to your confirmation, and we confirm it in writing. If you move a trip to a new date or time, the window is measured from the earlier of the original and the new pickup time. A no-show (no one in your party meets the chauffeur by the end of the complimentary wait, and you have not reached us to delay or cancel) is charged the full fare. Tolls, parking, and airport fees not yet incurred are always refunded. Because a specific vehicle and chauffeur are reserved and other bookings declined, these cancellation fees are an agreed, reasonable pre-estimate of our loss (liquidated damages), not a penalty.

6. Non-Payment & Collections

If an amount you owe under these Terms goes unpaid and we have to collect it, you agree to pay our reasonable costs of collection, including reasonable attorney fees and court costs, to the extent the law permits.

7. Weather & Acts of Nature

Meridian Fleet Chicago is not responsible for delays or service interruptions caused by weather, traffic, road closures, or events beyond its control. A weather-related delay does not qualify for a refund; if such an event stops the trip, we refund the unperformed portion. We waive cancellation fees in full when, for your pickup time and county, the National Weather Service has issued a Blizzard, Ice Storm, or Tornado Warning, or a government authority closes the roads on your route or orders people not to travel, and when your airline cancels your flight (send us the flight number or the airline notice). Delayed flights are not cancellations: we track arrivals and adjust pickup at no change fee. Other weather, traffic, and a third party cancelling your event (a venue, concert, or party) are not waiver events, and the normal tier applies. If we decide conditions are unsafe to operate, we cancel and refund in full.

Car Seats (Article A)

• A.1. Advance Request: Car seat requests must be made at least 48 hours before pickup. The Illinois Child Passenger Protection Act requires children under 8 to be secured in an appropriate child restraint.
• A.2. Required Info: Type of seat (rear-facing infant, forward-facing toddler, or booster), age of child, and type of vehicle requested.
• A.3. Non-Compliance: If a required seat was not requested in time or the information provided was inaccurate, the Company may decline to transport the child, and any resulting cancellation is treated as a Client cancellation under the Cancellation Policy. If the Company cannot supply a seat requested on time with accurate information, the Client may reschedule or cancel for a full refund.
• A.4. Fees: Any car seat fee is quoted per seat and included in the total shown before you pay. Parents or guardians remain responsible for checking that each child is correctly secured.

Cleaning (Article B)

B.1. Customer Responsibility

Customer is responsible for cleaning and removing all trash, food containers, drink bottles, and personal items upon exit.

B.2. Prohibited Items & Activities

The following are prohibited in all vehicles: eating (except water), confetti/glitter/powders, staining products, feet on seats, smoking/vaping/tobacco/cannabis, chemicals, construction materials, paint, or hazardous items — unless written consent has been obtained.

B.3. Cleaning Fee Schedule

• B.4. Downtime & Loss of Use: If a biohazard or damage takes the vehicle out of service and we have to cancel or re-assign a booked trip because of it, the Client pays a loss-of-use fee at the vehicle's published hourly rate for the documented hours out of service, capped at 8 hours. Standard and deep cleaning fees already include the time to clean.
• B.5. Card-on-File Authorization: Customer authorizes charges on the card on file for cleaning, detailing, biohazard remediation, repairs, and downtime. Every such charge is supported by timestamped photographs or records and an itemized notice emailed within 48 hours of the trip, and the Client may dispute it with us in writing within 7 days of that notice.
• B.6. Right to Refuse Service: The Company may end service for sanitation or safety risks caused by the Client's party, without refund of the unused time. If we end a trip early, the chauffeur stops at a safe, lit, public place or your destination if it is nearby, never leaves a minor or an incapacitated passenger alone, and calls emergency services where someone is at risk.
• B.7. No Storage: Customers may not leave items in the vehicle during round-trip services.

Damages

• The Client is fully responsible for any damage or excessive cleaning resulting from their reservation.
• Cleaning and repair costs will be charged to the payment method on file.
• Failure to pay may result in collections action.
• Delays, Breakdowns & Force Majeure: These are large vehicles operating in real traffic, and we build extra time into every itinerary. Vehicles are machines and can break down despite scheduled maintenance. Meridian Fleet is not responsible for delays or interruptions caused by traffic congestion, road closures, vehicle breakdowns, severe weather, or other conditions beyond our reasonable control, and we do not guarantee arrival by a specific clock time. If a vehicle develops a mechanical problem, we contact you as soon as reasonably possible and attempt to provide a substitute of the same class. If we can offer only a lower class of vehicle, you may refuse it for a full refund or accept it and receive the price difference back. If a reservation named a specific vehicle and we cannot provide it or one of the same class and marque, we refund the full fare on request. If no vehicle arrives within 30 minutes of the scheduled pickup time because of us, and we have not agreed a new time with you, you may cancel for a full refund. If we cannot perform part of the service we refund the unperformed portion. In the event of a significant delay on our part, our liability is strictly limited to a maximum refund of the fare collected for the affected trip segment, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses (such as a missed flight or event). Nothing here limits liability that Illinois law does not permit us to limit, including for personal injury caused by our negligence.
• Quotes, Availability & Confirmed Prices: A quote is an estimate, not a reservation. Every quote is subject to our review and to vehicle and chauffeur availability until we confirm the trip with a confirmation number, and is valid for 7 days or until the vehicle is booked by someone else, whichever comes first. If a quote or confirmation contains a pricing error, or the vehicle becomes unavailable before your trip, we offer the corrected price or a vehicle of the same class; if you decline, or we can offer neither, we cancel and refund 100% of what you paid for that trip, and that refund is our only obligation. We may also cancel a confirmed trip for safety or when we cannot provide a vehicle, with the same 100% refund. Once confirmed, the price changes only if you change the trip (date, time, route, hours, stops, passengers, or vehicle). Your quote shows the total before you pay, including any date premium (Saturdays, holidays, and peak dates), taxes, fees, and optional extras you add; tolls, parking, and airport fees incurred on your trip are billed at cost. We never charge or add a gratuity.

Drugs & Alcohol

• Smoking and vaping are strictly prohibited in all vehicles. Violations are charged the smoking fees in Article S below.
• Alcohol is only permitted where open-container laws allow and only for passengers 21 years of age and older.
• No alcohol is permitted during school charters, prom services, or when anyone under 21 is aboard.
• Glass bottles and glassware may be prohibited on party buses and at some venues; open containers must stay inside the vehicle.
• Illegal drugs are strictly prohibited. Violations result in immediate termination of service and law enforcement notification.

Lost Items

• Except where the law says otherwise, the Company is not responsible for items left in a vehicle. We take reasonable care of anything we find.
• We hold found items for 30 days. You may pick an item up free of charge by appointment; if you ask us to deliver or ship it, we quote the cost first and charge it only after you approve.

Overages & Wait Times

• A 15-minute grace period is provided for standard pickups; 60 minutes for airport pickups.
• After the grace period, wait is $1 per minute for sedans and SUVs and $2 per minute for stretch, Sprinter, mini bus, party bus, and coach. Hourly extra time is billed in 15-minute increments at the vehicle hourly rate, using chauffeur app stamps (Arrived, Picked Up, Completed).
• Extra stops: on hourly trips there is no per-stop fee, and time at a stop counts toward your hours. On airport and point-to-point transfers, each unscheduled extra stop is $40.
• Route deviations, forgotten items, and passenger issues are considered overages — no refunds apply.

Passenger Behavior

• Lawful, respectful, and safe behavior is required at all times.
• The Company may end service immediately, without refund of the unused time, for unsafe or unlawful behavior. If we end a trip early, the chauffeur stops at a safe, lit, public place or your destination if it is nearby, never leaves a minor or an incapacitated passenger alone, and calls emergency services where someone is at risk.
• The Client is financially responsible for all passengers' conduct.

Pick-Up / Drop-Off Locations

• All pick-up and drop-off locations must be safe, legal, and accessible for the vehicle type reserved.
• A change of pick-up or drop-off location is re-priced at our published rates, and we confirm any added charge with you before the trip.
• No refunds are issued for delays caused by forgotten belongings.

Seating Capacity

• Passenger count may not exceed the legal seating capacity of the vehicle.
• The Company may substitute a vehicle of the same class; a lower class is handled as set out under Delays, Breakdowns & Force Majeure.
• Exceeding capacity may require an upgrade at the customer's expense.

Smoking (Article S)

S.1. Smoking and vaping of any substance are prohibited in all vehicles at all times. Under the Smoke Free Illinois Act, “smoking” includes electronic cigarettes, and our vehicles serve the public and are our chauffeurs' workplace. Cannabis use is prohibited in any motor vehicle under Illinois law and can never be authorized.

• S.2. Remediation Fees: A remediation fee applies if any passenger smokes ($200 sedan/SUV, $300 Sprinter, $450 stretch limousine/party bus, $500 shuttle/bus) or vapes ($100). These amounts are a good-faith advance estimate of the cost of restoring the vehicle to service — interior detailing, odor treatment, and time out of service — not a penalty, and are not stacked with cleaning fees for the same condition.
• S.3. Every remediation fee is supported by timestamped photographs or records with an itemized notice emailed within 48 hours, and is charged under the authorization and limits in the Billing section.
• S.4. Compliance with all federal, state, and local laws on tobacco, cannabis, and nicotine is required.

Trip Updates

• 1. Pricing Updates: The Company will contact the Client about any price change it makes to a confirmed trip. The Client may cancel that trip for a full refund instead of accepting the change.
• 2. Schedule Modifications: The Company may adjust routes for traffic, road closures, and safety, and pickup times for tracked flight arrivals. Any other change to a confirmed time is agreed with the Client first.
• 3. Round-Trip No-Show: The Client must be present for the return trip. If no one in the party meets the chauffeur for the return by the end of the complimentary wait and the Client has not reached us to delay or cancel, the return leg is a no-show and is billed in full.
• 4. Post-Trip Notice — a condition of any service-quality refund or credit: If any part of your trip did not meet what we promised, or a refund or credit you were told to expect has not arrived, email info@meridianfleetchicago.com within 7 days after your scheduled drop-off, with your order number, the trip date, and a specific description of what happened. Giving us this written notice — and a fair chance to make it right — is a condition of any service-quality refund or credit under this Agreement, and lets us review the trip records while they are fresh. We respond within 5 business days and correct any genuine problem. Nothing in this section limits or waives any right you have under applicable law — including the federal Fair Credit Billing Act — to raise a genuine billing dispute with your card issuer; contacting us first usually resolves a problem faster.

Problems, Disputes & Reviews

• Tell us during the trip. If anything is wrong (a late or wrong vehicle, a cleanliness, comfort, or conduct issue), tell the chauffeur or call (224) 801-3090 right away. Most problems can only be fixed while they are happening: we can send another vehicle, change the route, or adjust the trip. A problem we were not told about when we could have fixed it is harder for us to verify and correct.
• After the trip. Written notice to info@meridianfleetchicago.com within 7 days, as set out in Trip Updates above, is how a service-quality refund or credit starts. We acknowledge within 1 business day and answer in writing within 5 business days. Depending on what happened, we refund the affected portion, credit a future trip, or re-perform the service.
• Card disputes. Please contact us before disputing a charge; we can usually fix it faster. If you open a dispute without contacting us, we still work with you. For a trip performed as booked we send the card issuer this agreement, your acceptance record, receipts, messages, the dispatch stamps, and, where available, the vehicle's GPS record. If the issuer decides in our favor the charge stands, we may decline future bookings from an account that disputes trips it received, and an amount still owed may be pursued through lawful collection. If we find we made a mistake, we refund it without waiting for the dispute to finish.
• Reviews. We welcome honest reviews on any site, positive or negative. If something went wrong, we ask (but do not require) that you contact us first so we have a chance to put it right. Nothing in these Terms restricts or penalizes an honest review, no fee or charge ever applies because of a review, and we never make a refund or credit conditional on removing or changing one. We may reply publicly to a review with the facts of the trip, without sharing your payment details or other private information.

Safety, Information & Payment

• Accurate trip details. You are responsible for an accurate pickup address and time, flight number, passenger count, luggage, and a phone number that works on the day of travel. If wrong or missing information causes a late or missed pickup, the cancellation and no-show terms apply. Oversized luggage and equipment must fit the vehicle and should be listed at booking.
• Allow enough time. We plan the pickup from the information you give us. If the party is late to the vehicle, adds stops, or chooses a pickup time later than we recommend, we are not responsible for a missed flight, event, or connection.
• Passenger count. The chauffeur may refuse passengers over the booked count or the vehicle's seated capacity. Every passenger uses a seat belt where one is fitted.
• Intoxication. The chauffeur may refuse to carry a passenger who is so intoxicated that they are a safety risk. Illness or vomiting in the vehicle is charged under the Cleaning section.
• Minors. Passengers under 18 travel with a responsible adult unless we agree otherwise in writing; for a prom or student booking, the parent or guardian who books is responsible for the group.
• Service animals and accessibility. Service animals ride with their handler at no charge. Other pets travel only with our approval in advance. Tell us at booking if anyone needs a wheelchair-accessible vehicle or other help.
• Cameras and GPS. Vehicles may have cameras that record video inside and outside the vehicle, and GPS location, for safety and to resolve disputes. We do not record audio of private conversations without consent.
• Accidents and injuries. If anyone is hurt or the vehicle is in an accident, tell the chauffeur, call us right away, and seek medical care. We report it to our insurer and keep the trip records.
• Booking for someone else. The person or company that books is responsible for all charges under these Terms, and every rider must follow them.
• Card verification. We may ask the cardholder to confirm a booking (for example, a matching billing address, a call to the phone on file, or a photo ID) before we dispatch. If we cannot verify the payment, we cancel and refund the card in full. Charges made with a card used without the cardholder's permission are refunded to that card.
• Partner vehicles. At times we arrange a trip with a licensed and insured partner operator, in a vehicle of the class you booked. These Terms still apply, and you deal with us about the booking.

Miscellaneous

• Prepaid chauffeur service. Payment is for in-person ground transportation in or from Illinois, not a shipped parcel or digital good. No carrier tracking number applies.
• Electronic signature. Accepting the terms box in our booking form, paying a quote, invoice, or payment link, or confirming a booking by phone, text, or email after we send you a link to these Terms is your electronic signature under the federal E-SIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.) and the Illinois Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (815 ILCS 333). The person who books accepts for every passenger in the party. We retain booking, payment, message, and dispatch records for your reservation.
• Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. This applies whether you book from Illinois or another state, because the service is performed in Illinois unless we agree in writing to a different pickup state.
• Venue. Contract claims between you and Meridian Fleet Chicago may be brought in the state or federal courts sitting in Cook County, Illinois, except that either party may bring a claim in small-claims court where it qualifies. Card-network chargebacks follow Visa, Mastercard, and American Express rules — those processes are not waived by this page and are not decided in Cook County court.
• No waiver of network rights. Nothing here takes away rights your card issuer gives you under network rules. If a trip ran as booked, we will submit this agreement, your booking and payment records, your messages with us, and the dispatch timeline to the issuer.
• Entire agreement. This page, the Cancellation & Service Agreement (same version), and any written event contract signed by both parties for weddings, corporate, or multi-vehicle bookings are the contract. If they differ, this order controls: the signed event contract, then the Cancellation & Service Agreement (including the tier for your vehicle), then these Terms, then other pages of our website. A verbal statement does not change these terms unless we confirm it in writing. The version in effect when you book governs that booking. If any part of these Terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies.

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