Home of the Set fare / West Lothian Private Hire

★★★★★

“I used the app for the first time to get to the airport. Despite my living in a remote’ish’ area they found the place easily and arrived on time at 3:30 in the morning. (I’ve had trouble with other taxis before) I thought I had indicated leaving a tip on the app but it doesn’t seem to have been taken off! Very Sorry because the driver was great. Will definitely use again.”

★★★★★

“About 50% of the time the taxi drivers are great. Our street is a 10mph road with no walkways. A few of the drivers we have had from this company have been driving through these streets at 20-30 mph. We've had a few drivers almost crash. We've had drivers checking Facebook while driving. And the last one was the worst one. I forgot my bag in the taxi and phoned to get it back. He brought it back but then proceeded to say "you give me money now" I don't have a problem paying for the extra trip he had to make but he started demanding cash right there and then and got aggressive with me when I said I don't carry cash. The woman on the phone was lovely but the email we got about the complaint said "we will remind the driver of the rules." I believe the driver should be fired for acting aggressively towards a customer and not just "reminded of the rules" The reason I left my bag in the car by mistake was because he was driving 40mph down the 10mph road and almost crashed into a fence. Oh I should also mention we have had drivers shouting and swearing while we've had our 3 year old son in the car with us. 1st: actually in my email it was explicitly said that the driver was aggressive. Secondly: the driver is in a customer service job. If I had acted aggressively to a customer because they made a mistake then yes I would expect to be fired from my job. I have worked in customer service and I can guarantee acting aggressively to a customer is a sackable offence. Thirdly: the fact that you are trying to gaslight to protect your idiot drivers shows what kind of company you actually are and why your drivers feel like they can get away with breaking the law, speed limits and being racist and ignorant. I am aware that my original complaint did not mention the other issues but that does not change the fact that the issue of my complaint was aggressive behaviour. As I had explained on the phone to make the complaint, we would have been happy to reimburse the driver for the missed job he claimed to have lost but the fact of the matter is you are disregarding the aggression as a simple mistake. Aggressive behaviour is a thought out action not a mistake. And your reply to the email suggests that no repercussions will be made to the driver. The mistake was mine for leaving my bag in the car. You completely disregarded the part of the email that stated aggressive behaviour and focused on the "asking for money" I have emailed the appropriate authorities on this matter and will take it further if need be. As I do not want anyone else to have to endure aggressive behaviour from this driver or others. I will apologise for the name calling as that was inappropriate.”

★★★★★

“I have used this cab firm loads now. I originally started using them as I had issues with a couple of other cab firms in Livingston, and noticed the prices here are a bit more competitive. I tend to take both short and longer trips. Strangely, I find the longer trips I take (Livingston to Dalkeith) tend to be very competitive price wise, and cheaper than other cab firms. However, the shorter trips (Eliburn to Livingston centre) tend to be more expensive than other firms. Not sure why this is. The main reason I choose HOTSF is the reliability. I would say that nine out of ten times, I haven’t had any issues with them. Out of all the cabs I’ve booked (probably 50+), I think two or three have either turned up in the wrong place, and I was not able to find them so had to book elsewhere, or they have not been able to find a driver so I was forced to cancel. I have had more issues than this with other companies in Livingston. I will also say that sometimes the cabs have been too early, which doesn’t sound too bad however they only wait five minutes even if you’ve booked for a later time. The drivers have all been polite thus far. There has been a language barrier a few times, absolutely not an issue with me but something you may want to be aware of if you are the type of customer who likes chatting to your driver. Despite always travelling solo, cabs I’ve ordered have varied from minibus-style cabs with six seats (in my photo), to Toyotas, to Tesla’s. So it can vary, which is fine by me. They always let you know the colour and plate no of the car so you know who to look out for. You can request an estate car if you wish, but you may have a longer wait. I’m not sure if wheelchair accessible Taxi’s are something they offer, it certainly doesn’t say so on the app. They also offer a wait and return service. The app is decent and lets you play around with prices/ get quotes without having to book. You can pre arrange, however I tend to find you are left waiting just as long as if you’d booked on the spur of the moment. You can also cancel your cab using the app without having to call reception. I would advise paying in advance if you live in a rural area, as sometimes the sumup card machines (that need to connect to the drivers phone 4G to work) struggle to get a signal where I am and it takes ages for me to be able to pay, keeping the driver from his next job too. I have tipped sometimes when carrying cash, but there’s no pressure to do so. Overall, four stars. Not perfect as the short journey prices aren’t competitive enough, and I’ve had a couple of no shows or occasions where they couldn’t find a driver. But they are the best cab firm I’ve tried in Livingston so far.”