How Recovru works, from asking for help to paying for the job.
You tell Recovru where you are and what has happened. Vetted operators nearby send one price each, and you choose one. Your payment is held, not taken, when you accept. You track the operator to you, and your card is charged when the job is done, or for a cancellation or attendance charge the Terms allow.
Operators nearby send one price each and you choose one. The price you choose is the total you pay, with any VAT the operator charges included. Your card is held when you accept and charged when the job is done. If no operator nearby quotes, nothing is held or charged. Cancelling can cost a charge once the operator has set off: see Cancellation and Refunds and the Cancellation Rates.
The Recovru app opens in your browser today; iPhone and Android apps are coming soon.
Recovru is not an emergency service. If you are in danger, call 999.
The whole thing, in four steps
- Tell us where you are and what has happened. Asking is free and commits you to nothing.
- Operators nearby send one price each for the whole job, with an arrival time. Choose one, or none.
- Accept a price and it is held, not taken. Track your operator to you on a live map.
- When the job is done your card is charged. If something is wrong, say so in the app and the money stays held while our staff look.
Ask for help
Tell us where the vehicle is and what has happened. The app asks, in this order:
- Where the vehicle is, as a pin you confirm on the map.
- How safe that spot is.
- What is wrong, and whether the vehicle hit anything.
- The vehicle, and the questions for that kind of job.
- Where the vehicle should go, if it needs recovering.
- Photos, where the operator has to see the problem to come equipped.
- Anything else, in your own words.
Asking is free and commits you to nothing. Ask for help now, or for a time up to 30 days ahead. Not sure which service you need? The Services page lists all of them.
Prices come in
- Your request goes to operators within 5 miles and 15 minutes' drive first, and widens every 45 seconds, to 25 miles and 45 minutes at most, until someone quotes.
- Each operator has 180 seconds to send one price for the whole job, with the time they can reach you.
- You see up to five prices at a time, each held for 5 minutes, in an order set by a published score in which arrival counts most. Nobody can pay to rank higher.
- Every price is the total you pay, including any VAT that operator charges. A price with no VAT in it says so.
- If nobody sends a price, you are told plainly, and nothing is held or charged.
Accept, and your payment is held
When you choose a price, the confirmation shows who is coming, the exact figure, the VAT inside it where the operator charges VAT, when they will arrive, and what cancelling would cost from then on.
When you accept, the price is held on your card. A hold is not a charge: the money is taken when the job is done, or for a cancellation or attendance charge the Terms allow.
On the way
- Track your operator on a live map, with their position and the time they will reach you.
- Message your operator in the app.
- Show your operator the 4-digit arrival code when they reach you. It confirms they are the operator you booked, and has nothing to do with payment.
When the job is done
The operator marks the job complete. You confirm it, in the app or by giving them the completion code the app shows you, or say something is wrong and the money stays held while our staff look. If you do neither, the payment is taken 30 minutes after the job was marked complete.
Your contract for the job is with the operator. Recovru arranges it and collects the payment as the operator's agent. Your invoice and receipt are in the operator's name, issued by Recovru as their agent, and they show the VAT when the operator is VAT registered. Card payments are processed by Stripe.
If the job turns out different
If the job is not what was described, the operator shows you a revised price and why, and nothing changes unless you approve it in the app.
Every price includes an attendance and assessment fee: 50% of the price you accept, VAT included, and never more than £100.00 (£200.00 for a lorry, bus or coach). You pay it instead of the price only if the operator arrives and cannot do the job because what you told us was materially wrong or left out something important, for example the wrong vehicle type, damage that was not mentioned, or keys that were not there. You are not expected to be a mechanic. The Terms of Use set out how it is worked out.
Cancelling
- Free before you accept a price.
- Free for two minutes after you accept.
- Free until the operator's position shows them setting off.
- After that, a charge for the journey they made, worked out on the published Cancellation Rates and capped. Every penny goes to the operator.
- If your operator cancels, you pay nothing and the hold is released at once. Your bank may take a few working days to show it.
The detail is in Cancellation and Refunds.
Plans
Rescue prices are the same on Free, Plus and Family, and nobody needs a plan to get help. Plus and Family prices include VAT. Commercial plans are for organisations, and priced for each one, including VAT. See Plans.
Staying safe
Recovru is not an emergency service. If you are in danger, call 999. Wait somewhere safe, away from traffic, while your operator is on the way.
Questions
Is anything taken when I ask for help?
No. Nothing is held until you accept a price.
What is the arrival code for?
It confirms the operator is the one you booked. It has nothing to do with payment: a separate completion code, shown in the app when the job is done, is one way to confirm it.
What if nobody sends a price?
You are told plainly, and nothing is held or charged.
Can the price change once I accept?
Only if the job materially changes. The operator shows you why, and you approve a revised price in the app before anything changes.
What if the operator cancels?
You pay nothing and the hold is released at once. Your bank may take a few working days to show it.
This page was last updated on .
Get help now
Tell us where you are and what has happened, and operators nearby send you their prices. You do not need a plan to get help.