S&J Self Drive Hire Reviews 

80
•
TrustScore 4 out of 5

4.2

While we don't verify specific claims because reviewers' opinions are their own, we may label reviews as "Verified" when we can confirm a business interaction took place. Read more

To protect platform integrity, every review on our platform—verified or not—is screened by our 24/7 automated software. This technology is designed to identify and remove content that breaches our guidelines, including reviews that are not based on a genuine experience. We recognise we may not catch everything, and you can flag anything you think we may have missed. Read more

See what reviewers are saying

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I hire a van on 23 August at the Branch in Romford. Until present date did not get my deposit money back. I contacted them three times they said me don’t hold the deposit as it was hold by the b... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I've recently used S&J Romford to move home, the vans were in good condition and cleaned. The staff were so professional and friendly I would thoroughly recommend this company.

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Called the Romford branch to get a van hired to moved, the team were incredibly friendly and helpful and even learned to me a few ratchet straps to use as it was a last minute hire Van worked like a... See more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding. I managed to order my van for the wrong day! S&J (Basildon) went the extra mile (no pun intended!) to sort me out a replacement at very short notice. It was larger than I needed or wante... See more

Company replied

Company details

  1. Van rental agency

Written by the company

We are a family run business established in 1996, committed to providing late model van hire at competitive price's. Branches In Ockendon, Romford and Basildon.


Contact info

4.2

Great

TrustScore 4 out of 5

80 reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

No recent history of asking for reviews

This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative

Replied to 100% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 24 hours

How this company uses Trustpilot

See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.

4.2

All reviews

(80)

14 reviews in the last 12 months

Write a review
Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I hire a van on 23 August at the Branch…

I hire a van on 23 August at the Branch in Romford. Until present date did not get my deposit money back.

I contacted them three times they said me don’t hold the deposit as it was hold by the bank with “Pre Authorised”. I have contacted the bank and they said the bank is ill not hold any deposit.

In meantime time I still didn’t get my money back.

23 August 2026
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Thank you for your review, and I'm sorry for the frustration this has caused.

Your deposit isn't a payment — it's a temporary hold on your card, released automatically once the vehicle is returned undamaged. We don't take any action to "refund" it, because it was never actually taken; your bank simply releases the hold.
Release times depend on your bank, not on us:
• Most banks: 7–10 working days
• Monzo, Starling, Metro Bank and some other digital/online banks: up to 28 days
This is standard practice across the banking industry for all pre-authorisations (not just ours), and we have no way to speed it up. If it's been longer than the times above, please contact your bank directly — they'll be able to see the hold and confirm its release date.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great service from the Romford branch

Great service from the Romford branch. Good prices,good motors plus great guys there. If you need a van I recommend this place. By far the best.
"You know it makes sense" lovely jubbly
John

25 September 2026
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Cheers John, lovely jubbly indeed! Thanks for taking the time to leave such a great review. We'll make sure the lads at Romford see it, as they'll be chuffed. Glad the van did the job, and we look forward to seeing you again next time you need some wheels.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Friendly service.

I've recently used S&J Romford to move home, the vans were in good condition and cleaned.
The staff were so professional and friendly I would thoroughly recommend this company.

22 September 2026
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Thank you for the lovely review, and congratulations on the new home! Moving can be stressful, so we're really pleased the van and the Romford team helped make the day go smoothly. I'll pass your kind words on to the staff, who'll be delighted to hear it.

All the best in your new place, and we hope to see you again.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

basildon branch thankyou

great service and support by the basildon branch at a recent event for rc cars, was brilliant to see and massivley appreciated by all involved, highly recomend the basildon branch for all your hire needs

Nathan Ralls

24 July 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Best van hire experience

I couldnt recommend the Romford location more if I wanted to. We called for an inquiery had to move all the way across london to Romford.

They were sweet enough to let us pick up the van a day early, free of charge to save us time for the move the next day due to tube strikes. Lent us some ratchet straps as well.

The van drove super smooth, with and without the load. Move went swimmingly in 1 go.

Nothing but an overall positive experience. Highly recommend and would definitely go to these guys again should I need a van hire again.

Special thanks to Dean and Anthony for taking such good care of us, a good laugh and perfect explanation of how everything worked.

Thank you guys!

22 April 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Romford branch were excellent

Called the Romford branch to get a van hired to moved, the team were incredibly friendly and helpful and even learned to me a few ratchet straps to use as it was a last minute hire
Van worked like a dream, no faults or critiques to give, very grateful for their flexibility when picking up the van and dealing with the tube strikes - but definitely higher again if needed!
Special mentions to Dean & Ant, really helped while we were in a stressful situation

22 April 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding company

Outstanding company! Fellas explained everything in detail, very friendly, very helpful. Certainly made a first time van renter feel comfortable.
Highly recommended!!

27 March 2026
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

We are delighted to hear this, Thank you very much Mr Long

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I have just seen a DISGUSTINGLY…

I have just seen a DISGUSTINGLY HORRIFIC accident online due to a load not being correctly secured! Could have killed someone.

24 March 2026
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Hi Mr Pearson.

We are aware of the video circulating online that you are referring to. I can assure you that the police are dealing with the responsible party, which is the company that hired the vehicle from ourselves.

Unfortunately we have no control over how our vehicles are operated once they are on hire.

We have spoken to the party in the video to support and assist her in any way we can.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Steal money charge you twice

Steal money charge you twice, take money from your bank as and when they feel like it, you have been warned.

20 September 2025
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Good morning Mr Bruce

Thank you for your feed back. Upon review, you failed to pay for the hire of your vehicle telling us you had sent the payment to us by bank transfer which never arrived. We also had to collect the vehicle as you failed to return it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Swb transit hire

What an easy transaction needed a van to collect something I'd bought on Ebay not only the cheapest I could find locally but what a great team no dragging out time when collecting no upselling if I could give them more stars I would thank you s and j hire

16 August 2025
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Thank you very much Mr Cox

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

THE BEST Drive Hire

S&J are the ONLY drive hire I would use, they are fantastic, friendly and super helpful. The vans are always great, Anthony and team always go the extra mile to accommodate the customer. Recommended to all my friends and family, great place thank you!

13 April 2025
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Thank you for you very kind words Taryn

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Loved the fact they don't try and…

Loved the fact they don't try and upsell you additional insurance. Easy pickup and drop off. Drop keys in the letter box is a great benefit when returning the vehicle after office hours. Had an issue which the site manager quickly resolved.

30 June 2025
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Thank you Andre

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Your delivery drivers cat call young…

Your delivery drivers cat call young girls when they’re making deliveries!

26 June 2025
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Hi Kali

We are a self drive hire company. We hire to the public so this would not be a representative of ours as we do not provide a delivery service.

If you can email info@sandjselfdrive.co.uk with the registration of the van, we can locate who has it on hire and forward your complaint.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great experience hiring a van from S&J…

Great experience hiring a van from S&J at Romford. Great service from the team very welcoming answered all my questions and above all Great prices. I will definitely be using there service again and recommend to anyone wanting hire vans. Thank you S&J for Great service.

2 April 2025
Unprompted review
S&J Self Drive Hire logo

Reply from S&J Self Drive Hire

Thank you Robert, We look forward to seeing you again.

The Trustpilot Experience

Anyone can write a Trustpilot review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they’ll be displayed as long as an account is active.

We use dedicated people and clever technology to safeguard our platform. Find out how we combat fake reviews.

Learn about Trustpilot’s review process.

Here are 8 tips for writing great reviews.

Verification can help ensure real people are writing the reviews you read on Trustpilot.

Offering incentives for reviews or asking for them selectively can bias the TrustScore, which goes against our guidelines.

Take a closer look