Terms & Conditions

04-01-2022

EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services (“EmpireCLS”) thanks you for visiting us. Your access to and use of the EmpireCLS Website (the “Site”) is subject to the following terms and conditions (collectively the “Terms”) and all applicable laws.

By accessing and browsing the Site, you accept, without limitation or qualification, the Terms and acknowledge that any other agreements between you and EmpireCLS are superseded and of no force or effect.

1. Terms and conditions of service:

RATES

• Reservation Confirmation: The rate presented on your reservation confirmation is intended to serve as a good faith estimate of the cost of service based on the information provided at the time of booking, and is not intended to represent the actual cost of the trip. Wait time, taxes, extra stops or additional services may change your rate.  Final charges will reflect actual usage.  Reservations in international markets may incur a mileage charge. Rates are subject to change without notice. EmpireCLS is not responsible for services delayed or not rendered due to weather or other circumstances beyond its control.

• Hourly billed reservations: Hourly billed reservations are calculated from the time the vehicle leaves the garage until it returns.  The standard hourly minimum is 2 hours, however certain markets or specialty vehicles may carry a higher hourly minimum.

• Grace period: Delays are inevitable, which can sometimes keep customers from meeting their chauffeurs. EmpireCLS logistics team works hard to give chauffeurs enough time to be in position prior to reservation pick-up time. For each reservation, customers are granted a window of time to meet their chauffeurs at the requested pick-up time and location before incurring waiting time charges.
  • Airports pickups: EmpireCLS monitors all commercial airline arrivals to ensure on-time airport pickups. A forty-five (45) minute grace period is allowed on all domestic arrivals and seventy-five (75) minutes on all international arrivals. Waiting time charges will apply after the grace period and are accrued in quarter-hour increments, based on the vehicle’s hourly rate.
  • Non-airport pickups: For all pickup locations other than airports, a fifteen (15) minute grace period is allowed. Waiting time charges will apply after the grace period and are accrued in quarter-hour increments, based on the vehicle’s hourly rate.

• Base Rate: The base rate reflects the rate charged for transportation services, prior to gratuity, ADM, airport fees, fuel surcharge, and taxes

• Gratuity: For convenience, a discretionary gratuity is added to each reservation (industry standard of 20% base rate of vehicle). The full gratuity amount is paid directly to the chauffeur. As gratuity is a reflection of service, this charge is wholly voluntary, and can be negotiated or waived at any time.

• ADM: This charge refers to a very small fraction of varying operational costs of handling and monitoring the reservation, imposed by municipal, state and federal governments, agencies and commissions, including airport, regulatory, licensing and other fees.

• Airport Fee:  Airport Parking and Fees are subject to change without notice, as EmpireCLS has no control over if and when increases will be imposed by various governmental authorities.  EmpireCLS charges an $18.00 Airport fee for all arrivals. 

• Taxes:  Taxes are subject to change without notification, as EmpireCLS has no control over if or when a tax increase  may be imposed by various governmental agencies.  Taxes are charged as incurred.  TT/AA Tax /Port Authority, Local, State or Federal Government Implied Tax.

• Tolls: This charge represents tolls that may be incurred by EmpireCLS between the pickup and drop-off destinations, as well as for tolls during the chauffeur’s return trip. Tolls are calculated for all flat-rate transfers based upon the most expeditious route. Tolls are billed as incurred for hourly reservations.

• BCF Charge: ECLS’ TLC Base License is part of the NY Black Car Fund and all reservations within the NY Tri State area are subject to a 3% surcharge. This fee is calculated on all rate components, except tax, and is forwarded to the NYCBCF.

• NY Congestion Fee: NY Congestion fee is a $2.75 surcharge applied to transportation that; both begins and ends in New York State and that begins in, ends in, or passes though the borough of Manhattan, south of and excluding 96th Street.

• Fuel Surcharge (FSC):  The fuel surcharge is based on the average cost of fuel at the time of the reservation, as reported weekly by the Energy Information Administration, a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy. This charge will therefore increase or decrease with fuel price levels.

• Extra Stops:  In-route Extra Stops in the same town are $20.00, Extra Stops in a different town (in-route) are $30.00.  Extra Stops in NYC are $30. Out-of-route extra stops are quoted on a case-by-case basis.

• Early Morning/Late Night Surcharge:  An additional charge of $25.00 will be applied to the base rate of reservations that are scheduled between the hours of 12AM (midnight) and 5AM.

• Meet and Greet: There is no Meet and Greet charge for the chauffeur to park the vehicle and meet arriving passengers in the airport terminal. EmpireCLS also employs Airport Representatives who work at select airports and assist arriving and departing passengers in a variety of ways. The charge for Meet and Greet service by our Airport Representatives varies from market to market, based upon client needs.

• Child Safety Seats: EmpireCLS can provide child safety seats upon request.  There is an additional charge of $25 per safety seat.

• Cleaning Fee: A cleaning fee may be charged if a passenger smokes in the vehicle, or if any damage is done to the vehicle that will require cleaning/disinfecting services that go beyond our standard vehicle cleaning procedures.

• Special Event Pricing: Reservations in markets experiencing high demand of service for traveling to or from a specific event (Special Event) are subject to vehicle rates (Pricing) and Policies that may supersede standard market Pricing and Policies, as set by EmpireCLS, and may also affect reservations traveling within the market but not traveling to or from the Special Event. The Special Event terms and conditions will appear in the special instructions on this confirmation.

CHANGES AND CANCELLATIONS

We understand changes or cancellations to travel plans can be abrupt or without reason. Be sure to give us adequate notice, and we’ll see you next time. Changes or cancellations for reservations can be submitted to EmpireCLS via e-mail at specialservices@empirecls.com, the customer’s online reservation system, when applicable, on the EmpireCLS website or mobile app, or by calling us directly at (800) 451-5466, or (201) 784-1200 for calls outside the U.S. and Canada. Changes/cancellations via e-mail require twenty-four (24) hours advance notice. Changes/cancellations via phone require one (1) hour advance notice for our corporate-owned markets, two (2) hours advance notice when traveling in our affiliate markets, and twenty-four (24) hours when traveling in Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado mountain region or in international markets. Please take into consideration the TIME ZONE for the respective market. The cancellation policy adheres to the actual PICKUP TIME within each individual market. This is considerably important in determining possible late cancel charges.Customers who fail to provide adequate notice of either trip reservation changes or cancellation, as referenced above, will be billed the full fair, including a twenty (20) percent gratuity charge. Please be advised that cancellation policy can vary for buses, minibuses, and event related bookings.

• No-shows: A reservation is considered a “No Show” if the passenger cannot be located or contacted within (a) one (1) hour for airport pickups (time begins when passenger’s plane lands) or (b) thirty (30) minutes at other pickup locations. For all No-Shows, the full trip fare, including a twenty (20) percent gratuity, will be charged. To avoid this charge, or if you are having trouble locating your chauffeur, we advise you not to leave the pick-up location on your reservation without first contacting EmpireCLS at (800) 451-5466 or (201) 784-1200.

BILLING

All reservations are billed in US dollars.

• Pre-Authorization: Thirty-six hours prior to your trip, EmpireCLS will request a pre-authorization of your credit, debit or pre-paid account for the estimated total of your reservation confirmation, and an additional 30% of the total. A pre-authorization is a “hold” on funds from your bank account drawn by EmpireCLS when we initially take your account and payment information, but have not yet processed the final charge(s) for your trip. The pre-authorization guarantees that the provided account information has the available funds to pay for the services purchased from EmpireCLS, and is removed when processing the final total. Your trip may be canceled if we are unable to request a pre-authorization from the provided payment information prior to your trip.
• Final total: The final trip total is calculated after the vehicle returns to our facilities and will be reflected on your provided payment information within 48 to 72 business hours after the completion of the trip. If you do not receive a final receipt, please contact our Accounting department at (800) 451-5466 x2900 or account@empirecls.com.

Please note that you may experience one of the following situations as a result of the pre-authorized charge on your payment information:

• Your bank statement may temporarily reflect a “double-billing” or multiple payments to EmpireCLS for the same charges.
• While your bank does not decline a payment to EmpireCLS, your bank still may place a hold on certain funds in your bank account.
• Although EmpireCLS may decline your payment information, your statement may continue to show that a payment to EmpireCLS is pending.

EmpireCLS is not responsible for any services fees or charges you may incur when authorizing the provided payment information.

2. Use of Personal Data

EmpireCLS takes your privacy very seriously and understands the importance of knowing how your personal information is being used and shared. For more information, see EmpireCLS’ Privacy Policy.

3. Copyrights, trademarks and ownership

All content included on the Site, including text, graphics, logos, images, news, articles, software scripts and applets (collectively the “Content”), is the property of EmpireCLS or its affiliates, and is protected by United States and International copyright laws. You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information, software, or services obtained from the Site without the written permission of EmpireCLS. Any other use, including the reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission, republication, display or performance, or any exploitation, of the Site or any of the Content or software on the Site, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited.

The trademarks, logos, and service marks (collectively the “Trademarks”) displayed on the Site are the registered and unregistered Trademarks of EmpireCLS and others.

Nothing contained on the Site should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trademark displayed on the Site without the written permission of EmpireCLS or such third party that may own the Trademarks displayed on the Site. Your misuse of the Trademarks displayed on the Site, or any other Content on the Site, except as provided in these Terms, is strictly prohibited. EmpireCLS will aggressively enforce its intellectual property rights to the fullest extent of the law.

4. Disclaimer of warranties and liability

EmpireCLS does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the materials in the Site in terms of their correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise.

EmpireCLS, its respective affiliates and/or its suppliers may make improvements and/or changes to the Site at any time.

All information, software, and services on the Site are provided “as is” without warranty of any kind either express or implied. EmpireCLS, its respective affiliates and/or suppliers hereby disclaim all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, software, products, and services including, without limitation, all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. In no event shall EmpireCLS, its affiliates and/or its suppliers be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, cover, special, or consequential damages or loss of profits arising out of or in any way connected with the use of the Site or with the delay or inability to use the Site, or for any information, software or services obtained through the Site, or otherwise arising out of the use of the Site, whether based on contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise, even if EmpireCLS, its respective affiliates and/or suppliers has been advised of the possibility of damages. Because some states/jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability of consequential or incidental damages, the above limitation may not apply to you.

5. Secure and lawful use

You agree to comply with and abide by any security measures or systems implemented from time to time by EmpireCLS in connection with the Site, including but not limited to passwords or encryption mechanisms (such as digital certificates). As a condition of your use of the Site, you also warrant to EmpireCLS that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. You are prohibited from posting or transmitting any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, scandalous, inflammatory, pornographic, or profane material or any materials that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law.

EmpireCLS will fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing EmpireCLS to disclose the identity of anyone posting such information or materials.

6. Information hyperlinks

The Site may contain hyperlinks to Websites operated by parties other than EmpireCLS. Such hyperlinks are provided for your reference only.

EmpireCLS explicitly disclaims responsibility for the accuracy, copyright compliance, or reliability of material provided by or about third parties. Furthermore, EmpireCLS does not make any representations or warranties as to the security of any information, including, without limitation, credit card and other personal information you might be requested to give any third party, and you hereby irrevocably waive any claim against EmpireCLS with respect to such other operator or company. EmpireCLS strongly encourages you to make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any online or offline transaction with any other operator or company.

7. Software available on the site.

EmpireCLS hereby grants to you, the user, a personal, nontransferable license to use any downloadable software applets (“the Software”) for viewing and otherwise using the Site in accordance with these Terms and for no other purpose.

Please note that all Software, including without limitation all HTML code, Java Script and ActiveX controls contained in the Site, is owned by EmpireCLS, its affiliates, and/or its suppliers and is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Any reproduction or redistribution of the Software is expressly prohibited by law.

Without limiting the foregoing, copying or reproduction of the software to any other server or location for further reproduction or redistribution is expressly prohibited. The software is warranted, if at all, only according to the terms of the license agreement.

8. Use of EmpireCLS' online services

The Site is provided solely for assisting EmpireCLS’ customers in making legitimate reservations, retrieving online ride receipts or otherwise transacting business with EmpireCLS, and for no other purposes. You agree to be financially responsible for all of your use of the Site as well as for use of your account by others, including without limitation, minors living with you. You agree to supervise all usage by minors of the Site under your name or account. You also warrant that all information supplied by you or members of your household in using the Site is true and accurate. You understand that overuse or abuse of the reservation request facilities of the Site may result in your being denied access to such facilities.

9. General

This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, U.S.A., without regard to principals of conflicts of law. You hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of courts in Bergen County, New Jersey, U.S.A., in all disputes arising out of or relating to the use of the Site. Use of the Site is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provision of these Terms, including without limitation this paragraph.

If any part of this agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the agreement shall continue in effect.

This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the customer and EmpireCLS with respect to the Site and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written, between the customer and EmpireCLS with respect to the Site. A printed version of this agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.

Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.

EmpireCLS may at any time without notice revise these Terms by updating this page. You are bound by any such revisions and should, therefore, periodically visit this page to review the then current Terms. Your use of EmpireCLS’ services indicates your acceptance of these Terms.