Vintage Carriages Malvern, Malvern, Worcestershire

We hired these for our wedding in Staffordshire. He picked the bride up 15 minutes late (due to traffic caused by road works apparently), then proceeded to get lost en route to the church and finally arrived 32 minutes after the ceremony was due to start (after asking a bus driver and their passengers for directions!). Finally, when he drove us to the reception venue, he didn't know the way either, so we had to direct him ourselves.

In mitigation, he claimed that we didn't give him the postcode of the church, meaning he couldn't be blamed when his Sat Nav took him to the wrong place. He also claimed the bride should have known the way and be able to direct him, and that because he isn't from Staffordshire, it isn't his fault.

He offered us no apology or compensation at all, and also refused to send us a copy of the booking form we sent him so we could confirm whether we actually did provide the postcode. He also refused to answer our questions when we suggested he could have just phoned the church to get the postcode if it was that important, or when we asked him what steps he took to confirm the route in his Sat Nav was the correct one.

The bride was so upset when she arrived at the church, she walked down the aisle in tears. He later claimed that we were smiling after the wedding so we must have been happy with the service. Not to mention that he also said we should have told him of any and all roadworks on the way to pick the bride up!

We would suggest there seemed to be very little planning done ahead of the wedding, and the customer service was poor. Make your own judgement based on our experience. If he knows the area, and close to where they are based, it might be ok.