Terms of use

Important notice

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) describe how the LocalWheels Albania website and related services work, including how car-rental trip prices, private transfer offers, Albania/Kosovo tour bookings, and card payments are calculated. They are written for transparency and to reflect how our software operates today. They are not personal legal advice. If you need advice about your specific situation (tax, insurance, immigration, or court proceedings), consult a qualified professional. Nothing here limits rights you may have under mandatory rules of the Republic of Albania, the European Union (where applicable), or any other country whose laws apply to you.

What LocalWheels is (and is not)

LocalWheels Albania operates an online marketplace that connects (a) people who wish to rent a vehicle (“travellers”, “you”) with private or small-business vehicle providers (“hosts”, “owners”), (b) travellers who need a point-to-point private transfer with independent driver partners (“drivers”), and (c) where enabled, travellers who plan multi-day Albania/Kosovo trips through the tours planner (self-drive or with a professional chauffeur). We are not a car-rental company, taxi operator, tour operator of record, or common carrier, and we do not own the vehicles listed. The rental / handover agreement for a car is between the traveller and the host; the transport agreement for a transfer is between the traveller and the driver; with-driver tour packages are performed by the host or chauffeur partner for that booking. We provide the platform (listings, search, booking and transfer requests, tours planning, driver offers, in-app messaging, and — where enabled — card payment processing through Stripe).

By registering, accessing, or using the service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the service.

Contact for general questions about these Terms or the Privacy Policy: use the contact details published on our website (e.g. the Contact page). Operational emails may be sent from system addresses such as noreply addresses; substantive data-rights requests should be sent to a published contact email.

Accounts, roles, and eligibility

You must provide accurate registration information and keep it up to date where the product allows. You are responsible for all activity performed while logged in to your account. Accounts may be “traveller”, “owner” (host), “driver” (independent transfer partner), or “admin” (platform staff). Drivers maintain a driver profile (display name, phone, vehicle details, service areas) linked to their user account; the product allows one driver profile per user.

You may not use the platform to circumvent applicable fees, to misrepresent a vehicle or transfer capability, to list a vehicle you are not entitled to rent out, to submit transfer offers you cannot honour, to harass other users, or to exchange contact details in ways that undermine trust and safety controls (see messaging rules below).

We may suspend, restrict, or close accounts that violate these Terms, pose a security or fraud risk, or are required by law enforcement / court order, subject to applicable procedural rules.

How the trip rental total (“rental subtotal”) is calculated

When you request a booking, the platform computes a rental subtotal for the selected pickup and return instants. That subtotal is stored on the booking (and used for vouchers and checkout) as the trip rental amount before any promotional voucher discount is applied at payment time.

For transparency and stability, the platform may also store a structured snapshot (JSON) of key listing pricing and policy fields at the time of your request. After a host accepts, later edits by the host to the live listing do not retroactively rewrite the economics captured on your booking row; checkout and support use the merged snapshot rules where present.

Core rental: the subtotal is derived from the host’s daily pricing for each billed rental day in your trip window. A “rental day” follows the platform’s billing rules (each billed day is up to 24 hours from pickup, with partial periods rounded up to the next billed day — as implemented in our pricing engine).

Seasonal and period pricing: a listing may have a base daily rate, optional peak-season fields, and/or multiple dated “pricing periods”. For each billed calendar day of your trip, the platform selects the applicable daily rate and the strictest applicable host rules (for example minimum rental days, free-cancellation lead time, and no-show hold percentage) from among the vehicle defaults and any pricing period that covers that calendar day. Calendar-day boundaries for peak/period logic use the platform’s configured rental pricing time zone (environment-driven; intended to align with Albania/Europe where supported by the runtime).

Length-based adjustments on the rental portion: if the host has configured them, the rental subtotal may include (a) a percentage surcharge on short trips up to a configured number of days, and/or (b) percentage discounts for longer trips. These are applied to the rental portion according to the same engine used at booking creation and at checkout previews.

Optional full insurance (traveller opt-in): if the listing offers “full insurance”, you may choose it when booking. When selected, the platform adds a premium equal to the listing’s configured per-day price multiplied by your billed rental days, and folds that premium into the reservation value (the trip rental subtotal). Because it is part of the net reservation value, the same single prepay percentage used for the platform commission is applied to it: that percentage of the premium is paid on card when you send the request (with commission prepay), and the remainder of the premium is paid in cash to the host at pickup, exactly like the rental. “Full insurance” means the host assumes private responsibility for damage to the vehicle during the trip; it is not insurance sold by the platform. Opting into full insurance waives the listing’s security deposit unless the host has configured the listing to still require the deposit (see “Cash at pickup”).

Distance: if the listing sets a daily kilometre limit with an extra charge per km, that is part of the listing’s commercial terms with you; overages are not automatically added to the stored trip subtotal unless the product explicitly does so — clarify amounts with the host.

Flat add-ons selected at booking (added to the rental subtotal as whole-trip surcharges, not per day): (1) Child seats — if the listing offers them, you may request up to the configured maximum; the platform multiplies the listing’s flat price per seat by the number of seats for the whole rental. (2) Driving outside the country — if the listing allows it, you may select this option; the platform adds the listing’s configured flat outside-country surcharge for the whole rental. (3) Outside working-hours delivery — if the listing defines working-hours presets other than “flexible” or “24/7”, and your pickup and/or return local-time instants fall outside the stated window, the trip requires the listing to allow outside-hours delivery and to have a positive configured fee; the platform charges that fee once for each affected leg (pickup outside the window counts as one leg; return outside the window counts as one leg). Working-hours windows are evaluated in the same rental pricing time zone used for seasonal/period day boundaries. Boundary rule: each window is treated as half-open in local clock time (for example 08:00–20:00 means from 08:00 inclusive up to but not including 20:00 — an event at exactly 20:00 local is outside the window).

Cross-border cash deposit add-on (not part of the card checkout subtotal split below): if you select outside-country driving and the listing defines an extra security deposit for that, that extra amount is due in cash at pickup together with the base listing deposit (see “Cash at pickup”).

Advertised “from €X / day” on search or cards may be the lower of base and peak rate; your actual trip subtotal can be higher if your dates include higher-priced days or add-ons.

Request payment when you send a booking (Stripe Checkout)

To send a booking request you pay online by card through Stripe Checkout: the fixed booking service fee plus the platform commission prepayment (a percentage of your net trip rental after any voucher), unless the listing offers full online payment and you chose that mode — in which case you pay only the booking service fee at request time. Amounts are read from platform and listing settings in effect when you pay.

Until this request payment is successfully completed, your request is not sent to the host and does not block the vehicle’s availability for those dates. Once paid, the request becomes visible to the host, who can then accept or decline it. Your card is saved with Stripe. For full online-payment listings we may automatically charge the full net trip rental when the host accepts. For split / cash-at-pickup listings the no-show guarantee hold is not charged at accept — it is charged only if you no-show or late-cancel per platform rules (see below).

The booking service fee is collected online for every request, including listings that otherwise operate cash-only for the rental, because it is the platform’s fee rather than rent owed to the host.

Traveller phone number: to send a request you must provide a valid phone number. This number is stored on the booking and is visible only to platform administrators/support for identity verification, fraud prevention, and assistance; it is not shown to the host. Coordinate with your host through in-app chat and exchange contact details there only when the platform allows it for a confirmed trip.

Refund of the request payment (service fee and prepayment slices): refunded in full to your card when you cancel while the request is still pending (the host has not accepted), when the host declines your request, when the host does not respond within the platform’s response window (24 hours by default unless administrators change it, after which the request is auto-declined), when your pending request is auto-declined because the host accepted an overlapping request, or when support resolves a handover dispute in your favour for host fault (for example host no-show or a substantially different vehicle). It is not refunded when the host accepts and the trip proceeds (subject to free-cancellation rules below), or where you are at fault after acceptance (for example you cancel an accepted booking outside the free window, or you do not show up).

Card charges after the host accepts (automatic; Stripe)

When your booking request is accepted by the host, we automatically charge your saved card (off-session) for the full net trip rental only when you chose full online payment on the listing. The booking service fee and commission prepayment were already collected when you sent the request — they are not charged again here. For split / cash-at-pickup listings, the no-show guarantee hold is not charged at accept; it is charged later only if you forfeit the trip by no-showing or cancelling outside the free-cancellation window, or if support rules in the host’s favour on a renter no-show dispute. If your bank requires extra authentication (3-D Secure), you must complete verification in the app.

Prepaid commission: the percentage was taken from the net trip rental when you sent the request (see request payment section). It is not charged again at accept.

No-show guarantee hold (split mode): if enabled for your trip, the hold amount is computed as the lowest of: (i) the configured percentage of your net trip rental, (ii) a very high internal platform EUR ceiling, (iii) any stricter EUR cap the host configured on the listing, and (iv) 100% of your net trip rental. The hold is charged to your saved card only on forfeiture events described above — not at accept and not on a normal completed trip. When charged, it may be credited to the host’s internal wallet per platform rules.

What is not in this card checkout: the listing’s security deposit is not charged on the primary Stripe checkout in the current product configuration; it is expected to be paid in cash to the host at pickup (see below). Separately, after certain return disputes, the platform may open additional Stripe flows to collect further deposit amounts up to applicable caps.

Currency: card charges are processed in euro (EUR) unless otherwise stated at checkout.

Stripe records: we store Stripe session/payment identifiers (including a separate identifier for the request-time checkout), cents breakdowns of request payment and of any accept-time or forfeiture charges (prepay, policy hold amount, full net rental), payment status fields (including deferred hold), and timestamps needed for refunds and accounting.

The platform retains the prepaid commission and the booking service fee as platform revenue once successfully collected (subject to the service-fee refund conditions above); they are not treated as part of the cash rent owed to the host at pickup. The hold is subject to refund / release rules below.

Cash at pickup: rent and security deposit

Unless you and the host agree otherwise in writing outside the platform (which we do not supervise), you should assume the following cash components at vehicle handover:

Security deposit: the listing shows a deposit amount. That amount (plus any configured extra deposit for cross-border trips if you selected outside-country driving) is treated as a security deposit to be paid in cash to the host at pickup in the current product flow. The deposit belongs to the rental relationship between you and the host; the platform may provide tooling and dispute flows but is not the owner of that cash. Full insurance and the deposit: if you opt into full insurance and the listing is configured to waive the deposit, no security deposit is due at pickup for that trip; if the host configured the listing to require the deposit even with full insurance, the deposit is still due as described here.

Remaining net rental: the checkout preview and terms copy describe an estimated cash amount to pay the host at pickup calculated as: net trip rental (after voucher) minus the prepaid commission you already paid on card, minus an estimated card-processing cost attributed to the no-show hold ({{PLATFORM_STRIPE_FEE_LABEL}} — the estimated Stripe fee on the hold portion from platform settings; values may change). This estimate is for transparency; actual agreement on counting instruments still happens between you and the host within the law.

Fuel and other local charges (fines, tolls, cleaning) follow the listing’s stated fuel policy and Albanian law unless contractually agreed otherwise between traveller and host. Where no (or insufficient) security deposit is collected, see also “Documented card charges for fines, tickets, and accidents”.

Refunds, hold release, deposit top-ups, and disputes

No-show hold: when charged (forfeiture only in the current product), it is a guarantee tied to attendance. Normal completed trips never charge the deferred hold. If charged and the host is entitled under platform rules, the amount may be retained and credited to the host wallet rather than refunded to you.

Deposit top-ups: if the host reports a return issue, the product may allow additional deposit collection via Stripe (off-session charge with 3-D Secure where required, or a checkout link) only within the listing’s deposit cap and operational rules shown in the owner/admin tools.

Pickup disputes: travellers may open pickup-related cases during defined windows; hosts may respond with claims. Administrators may record a binding ruling for platform-managed money flows (for example refunding prepaid fees and releasing holds to the traveller, or crediting part of a hold to an internal host wallet balance when the host was in the right under platform rules). Wallet credits are internal accounting for amounts owed to hosts — not a substitute for regulated payment services where those apply.

Nothing in these Terms forces you to waive mandatory consumer rights under Albanian consumer-protection legislation where they apply to you.

Documented card charges for fines, tickets, and accidents

Traffic fines, parking tickets, tolls, and similar penalties incurred during a rental are ordinarily the traveller’s responsibility under the listing and applicable law. Damage or accident costs are likewise governed by the rental relationship, any deposit, and any full-insurance opt-in shown for the trip.

If you rent a car and do not pay a security deposit (including where the listing deposit is zero, the deposit is waived, or no deposit cash is collected at pickup), you authorise the platform to charge the payment method saved with Stripe on your account for amounts owed for tickets, fines, or accident-related costs attributable to your trip, when those amounts are supported by an invoice (or equivalent official / supplier bill) for the fine, ticket, or accident.

The same authorisation applies where a deposit was paid but is insufficient to cover the documented invoice amount: the platform may charge your saved card for the shortfall up to the invoice total, subject to mandatory law.

Every such charge must be documented. The platform (and, where relevant, the host) will retain the related invoice or bill and payment records for accounting, dispute handling, and legal obligations. We will not use this authorisation to charge undocumented lump sums. Where your bank requires authentication (for example 3-D Secure), you must complete it. Nothing here limits mandatory consumer dispute or chargeback rights that cannot be waived.

Promotional vouchers

We may issue promotional voucher codes. A valid voucher reduces the rental subtotal used to calculate the net trip rental at checkout (and therefore reduces the prepaid commission base and the no-show hold base). Unless we explicitly state otherwise, a voucher does not change the cash security deposit you owe at pickup.

You may enter a code when submitting a booking request; we may store a normalized code on the booking for reuse at checkout. Codes are validated again when you pay; expired, exhausted, or non-applicable codes will fail and must be corrected or removed.

Vouchers are not legal tender, may expire, and may carry minimum rental values, maximum redemption counts, and per-checkout limits. Unless stated, only one voucher applies per checkout and stacking is not allowed.

Cancellation by the traveller

You may cancel from your account subject to the rules below. All times are interpreted against the scheduled pickup instant unless stated otherwise.

Hard floor: you must always cancel more than twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled pickup time to benefit from any “free cancellation” window described here.

Listing-specific calendar rule: when the host (or a pricing period) sets a number of whole calendar days before the pickup date, free cancellation for accepted bookings is available only while both are true: (a) the pickup calendar date (in the platform rental pricing time zone) is at least that many full calendar days after the current calendar date in that same zone, and (b) more than twenty-four (24) hours remain before the scheduled pickup instant.

When no listing-specific day count is set, platform default calendar rules apply: if your booking request was submitted more than ten (10) days before scheduled pickup, you may cancel without penalty only while more than ten (10) days remain until pickup; if your request was submitted within ten (10) days before pickup, you may cancel without penalty only from the start of the calendar day after you submitted the request until twenty-four (24) hours before pickup (same-day requests and cancellations in the last twenty-four hours are outside the free window).

Pending requests (host has not accepted): if you cancel after paying request payment, we refund that request payment in full via Stripe and we do not charge any no-show hold — the hold only applies after the host has accepted.

Accepted bookings: if you cancel inside a free window and you had already paid online (request payment and/or accept-time charges), we refund those captures via Stripe where technically and legally possible. Outside the free window, you may still cancel; for split / cash-at-pickup listings we may charge the deferred no-show hold on your saved card, and other online amounts (including request payment) are not refunded unless mandatory law requires otherwise or we elect to make a goodwill exception.

Private transfers marketplace

The platform offers a separate private-transfer marketplace. A traveller submits a request with route (from/to locations), scheduled pickup time, passenger count, luggage notes, contact phone, and optional flight number. Registered drivers may submit priced offers. When the traveller selects an offer and pays online, the transfer becomes confirmed with that driver.

The transport service is provided by the driver, not by LocalWheels. We facilitate discovery, offers, messaging, card payment collection, and dispute tooling. Drivers are independent partners; we do not employ them or guarantee their availability, punctuality, or vehicle condition beyond what our verification and review flows support.

Until payment is completed, the request may remain open for offers or may be cancelled without a transfer fare charge by the traveller. After payment, different cancellation and dispute rules apply (see below).

Travellers may remove certain cancelled or completed transfers from their list where the product allows. Transfers with an open dispute, or cancelled transfers resolved in the traveller’s favour after a dispute, may not be deleted by the traveller while those records are needed for support and accounting.

Transfer payments (Stripe Checkout)

When you accept a driver’s offer, you pay the full offer total in EUR by card through Stripe Checkout in one payment. There is no separate cash component for the transfer fare in the current product flow.

The offer total is split between the platform and the driver: the platform retains a commission (default 8% of the offer total). Administrators may change the platform-wide commission in Platform Settings → Transfer marketplace, or set a different commission override on an individual driver profile. The remainder is recorded as the driver’s net payout.

On successful payment the transfer status becomes confirmed, in-app messaging opens, and the traveller’s phone number and any flight number provided become visible to the assigned driver (and to administrators) to coordinate pickup. The driver’s phone number shown on their profile becomes visible to the traveller after payment.

Driver wallet credit: when a transfer is marked completed and payment was successful, the driver’s internal wallet is credited with the net payout amount (commission already deducted), once per transfer. Cancellation and dispute outcomes may credit or debit the driver wallet according to the rules below.

Drivers may request withdrawals from their wallet balance subject to minimum amounts and admin processing, similar to host wallet withdrawals. Wallet balances are internal accounting — not a regulated payment account unless separately disclosed.

We store Stripe session and payment identifiers, payment status, paid-at timestamps, and cents breakdowns (total, commission, driver payout) for refunds and accounting.

Transfer cancellation and refunds

Traveller cancellation (paid transfer): while status is confirmed or in progress and no dispute is open, the traveller may cancel before the trip is completed.

Refund timing: a partial card refund applies only if you cancel at least as early before scheduled pickup as the trip’s one-way driving time (from the route estimated at booking — for example a 4-hour drive means cancel at least 4 hours before pickup). Cancelling closer to pickup than that driving-time window yields no refund to your card.

Refund amounts when the timing rule is met: platform administrators configure the split in Platform Settings under Transfer marketplace (current defaults unless changed: approximately 65% refunded to the traveller via Stripe, 30% credited to the driver wallet, and 5% retained by the platform). Percentages apply to the cents total with rounding; the platform share absorbs any remainder so the parts sum to the amount paid.

Late cancellation (inside the driving-time window): the traveller receives no card refund; the paid balance is allocated between the driver wallet and the platform using the administrator-configured driver and platform cancellation percentages (defaults 30% / 5% unless changed).

Traveller cancellation is blocked while a transfer is disputed or while product rules restrict the action.

Unpaid requests: before Stripe payment succeeds, the traveller may cancel without a card refund because no transfer fare was charged.

Driver cancellation or no-show after payment: the traveller receives a full refund of the amount paid on card. The driver’s wallet is debited a penalty (default 50% of the transfer value unless the platform publishes a different rate) for driver-fault cancellation or no-show. The wallet may go negative; future earnings may offset negative balances.

Administrative cancellation: platform staff may cancel a transfer and issue a full refund to the traveller where required for safety, fraud, or legal reasons.

Transfer disputes, messaging, and reviews

Messaging: after successful payment, travellers and the assigned driver may exchange messages in a transfer-scoped chat while status is confirmed, in progress, or disputed. Chat may remain readable for completed or cancelled transfers according to product rules. Automated checks may block phone numbers, email addresses, and external links in messages where circumvention controls apply.

Disputes: either party may open a dispute while the transfer is confirmed, in progress, or already in disputed status (subject to product windows). While disputed, traveller cancellation is blocked. Administrators review evidence and resolve the case.

If the dispute is resolved in the traveller’s favour: the traveller receives a full card refund, the driver’s wallet is debited a penalty (default 50% of the transfer value), and the platform may record an automatic zero-star review on the driver’s profile for that transfer.

If the dispute is resolved in the driver’s favour: the driver’s wallet is credited with the net payout, the transfer is marked completed, and the traveller may not submit a review for that transfer.

Reviews: after a completed transfer, the traveller may submit one rating and optional text review for the driver, unless a dispute was resolved in the driver’s favour. Reviews are displayed in connection with the driver’s profile.

Tours planner (Albania and Kosovo)

Where enabled, the platform offers a tours planner (for example on /tours) for multi-day road trips in Albania and Kosovo. You choose pickup and drop-off, travel dates, passengers, and places of interest; the product may generate or refine a day-by-day itinerary (including with assistance from automated planning tools). You may then request a booking for those dates as either a self-drive car rental or a with-driver (professional chauffeur) package, subject to availability.

An itinerary is a planning aid. Driving times, opening hours, road conditions, border formalities, and attraction access can change. You remain responsible for complying with traffic, border, and local rules. The platform does not guarantee that every suggested stop will be reachable or open during your trip.

Self-drive tours use the ordinary car-rental marketplace relationship: the rental / handover agreement is between you and the host. With-driver tours use a chauffeur package: transport and package services are provided by the host or independent chauffeur partner associated with the selected vehicle, not by LocalWheels as carrier. We provide the planner, booking, payment tooling, and (where offered) trip documents.

Self-drive vs professional driver; what a chauffeur package includes

Self-drive: pricing, deposits, insurance options, online prepayment, cash-at-pickup balances, and cancellation follow the ordinary car-rental rules in these Terms and the listing preview for the vehicle you book. The attached itinerary does not by itself change the rental contract economics unless the product expressly shows a different amount at checkout.

Professional driver (with-driver package): the host configures an all-in daily package price for tours. Unless the checkout preview states otherwise, that package is intended to cover the vehicle with chauffeur, estimated fuel for the planned itinerary distance (using the vehicle’s configured consumption and the platform’s stated fuel rate), and the driver’s meals and hotel during the trip. A fixed last-day hotel deduction (currently €50, as shown in the product) applies because the chauffeur typically does not need a hotel on the final day.

Not included in the with-driver package (unless expressly stated at checkout): your own accommodation, your meals and drinks, entrance or attraction tickets, personal expenses, optional activities, border or road taxes charged to travellers, tips, and any costs arising from itinerary changes you request outside the booked package. Clarify extras with the host or chauffeur in-app before relying on them.

Trip PDF: where the product allows, you may download a trip / tour itinerary PDF (day-by-day plan, summary facts, and related map content). The PDF is for convenience and does not replace these Terms, the booking record, or amounts shown at Stripe Checkout.

Tour payments and cancellation

With-driver tour bookings: when you send the request you pay online by card through Stripe Checkout approximately ten percent (10%) of the trip grand total shown for that chauffeur package, plus the platform booking service fee where applicable. Your card is saved with Stripe. The remaining package balance (about 90%) is paid in cash to the chauffeur / host at the start of the trip (or as otherwise shown in the booking payment summary), not as a second automatic card capture for the package remainder in the current product flow.

Self-drive tour bookings: request payment, accept-time charges, cash deposit, and remaining rent follow the ordinary car-rental payment sections above (including the listing’s security deposit rules).

Cancellation and refunds for tour bookings follow the same traveller-cancellation rules as other car-rental bookings in these Terms (pending vs accepted, free-cancellation windows, and no-show / late-cancel consequences), unless a specific tour checkout screen states a stricter or more favourable rule for that booking. Mandatory consumer rights remain unaffected.

If a with-driver tour cannot be fulfilled because of chauffeur or host fault after you paid the online prepay, support may refund the card amounts collected for that request under the same fault / dispute principles used for ordinary rentals, as recorded in an admin ruling.

Messaging and contact details

The platform may provide booking-scoped messaging for car rentals (including tour bookings) and transfer-scoped messaging after a transfer is paid. To reduce circumvention and fraud, automated checks may block phone numbers, email addresses, social handles, and external links in certain messages (for example the first booking note, or transfer chat where pre-payment contact sharing is restricted). Do not attempt to bypass these controls. Arrange handover details cooperatively using permitted channels.

For car rentals and tours, traveller phone numbers provided at request are stored for platform support and are not shown to the host unless the product explicitly allows contact sharing for a confirmed trip. For transfers, traveller phone and optional flight number are shared with the assigned driver only after successful card payment; the driver’s profile phone is then visible to the traveller.

Reviews

After a completed car rental trip (including a self-drive or with-driver tour booked through the platform), a traveller may leave a rating and short textual review about the host’s service. Reviews are tied to the booking and displayed in connection with the host’s profile across listings, so they reflect the host’s service rather than only one vehicle.

After a completed private transfer, a traveller may leave one review for the driver unless a dispute was resolved in the driver’s favour — see “Transfer disputes, messaging, and reviews”.

Promoted listings (hosts)

Hosts may purchase increased search visibility for a listing for a limited time. Default commercial parameters in the database include a promotion fee on the order of twenty euro (€20) and a visibility extension on the order of seven (7) days — administrators may change defaults; the purchase flow shows the live price and duration. Promotion affects ordering/visibility only; it does not change the rental contract, pricing engine, or review logic.

Identity verification (where offered)

We may offer flows to upload identity documents or selfies for verification. Those files are processed to operate trust and safety and may be stored with our image processor (e.g. Cloudinary) as described in the Privacy Policy. Refusal or failure to complete verification may limit certain actions on the platform.

Disputes between users, liability, and applicable law

Travellers and hosts, and travellers and drivers, should first try to resolve disagreements about the vehicle, transfer, tour package, timing, or charges in good faith, using platform messaging when available. Car-rental pickup/return disputes and transfer disputes may be escalated to administrators through the product’s dispute flows.

To the maximum extent permitted by mandatory law, LocalWheels Albania and its operators are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from marketplace use, rentals or tours between users, transfers, itinerary suggestions, or reliance on third-party services (including Stripe, hosting providers, or CDNs). Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where Albanian or other applicable mandatory law forbids such exclusion.

For consumers habitually resident in Albania, provisions of Albanian consumer-protection legislation (including Law No. 9902/2008 and its amendments, together with implementing acts) may confer rights that prevail over conflicting clauses in these Terms. For persons to whom the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, data rights are described in the Privacy Policy.

Venue and jurisdiction clauses may be governed by Albanian law for contracts with our company; however, mandatory consumer jurisdiction rules may give you the right to sue in your place of residence — seek advice if unsure.

Changes to the Terms and contact

We may update these Terms to reflect product, legal, or security changes. The “Last updated” date will change; for material changes we will use reasonable efforts to provide notice (for example banner, email, or in-app message) where feasible.

If you close your account, we may cancel pending booking, tour, or transfer requests. We may retain booking, transfer, tour itinerary, invoice, and payment metadata as required for tax, accounting, anti-fraud, and legal obligations — see the Privacy Policy.