You could be slapped with £300 fine for giving your mates a lift – here’s how

DRIVERS could be slapped with a £300 fine for giving their mates a lift.

Motorists may be temped to rides to friends to make some extra cash on the side.

1

But some insurance policies do not permit drivers to accept any sort of payment for a lift as this could be perceived as your car being used for hire and profit.

However, accepting petrol money is fine as you’re unlikely to make a profit from this.

Win a BMW M3 Touring for 89p

SUN readers can win a BMW M3 Touring plus £2,500 in cash or an £80k cash alternative from 89p with our special discount code

We have teamed up with 7days Performance to offer you a special discounted chance to win the amazing cars this week.

Using the code SUN10, you will get 10p off the normal price of 99p.

Enter the competition HERE

Full terms and conditions can be found here

Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply.

If you giving lifts is found to be purely for financial gain – or they are being advertised as a service – then the driver can have their cover invalidated. 

And driving without insurance could to a fine of at least £300 and six penalty points, Gov.uk states.

Dan Hutson, Head of Motor at comparethemarket.com, said to Express.co.uk: “By offering friends and family a lift, you may think you’re doing a good deed, but by accepting payments for the drive, you might actually be invalidating your insurance premium.

“Although car sharing is now often included on standard motor policies, you should only accept a contribution for fuel and other running costs. 

“Although car sharing is now often included on standard motor policies, you should only accept a contribution for fuel and other running costs. 

“Check with your insurance provider that you are not crossing any lines to invalidate your policy.”

If motorists want to generate income from offering lifts to people, then they will need private-hire car insurance.

And a private-hire driving licence may also be needed.

It’s worth knowing that putting your insurance in someone else’s name, even if it’s a parent, is known as fronting and can result in your policy being invalid.

It’s illegal and drivers could end up being fined up to £5,000 if taken to court.