A large deposit only protects you if the evidence behind it holds.
On a high-value car the deposit is the first line of protection, and the first thing argued about. A deduction from a four-figure hold gets disputed, and a card hold can be charged back. What decides it is what was captured at handover, days earlier. KeyProof assembles that evidence on every hire, before anything goes wrong.
What every hire leaves behind
IdentityPhoto ID matched to a selfie
LicenceDVLA share code, for your own check on gov.uk
ConditionTimestamped photos, both ends
AgreementE-signed, sealed with a hash
DepositLogged, traceable to the hirer
£49 a month, locked for as long as you stay, any fleet size, while founding is openThe hirer pays the £4.99 verification feeNo minimum term, 30 days free first
No firm has signed yet, and that is what the founding cohort is for: £49 a month, locked for as long as you stay, any fleet size, and a direct line to the two founders instead of a support queue. Nothing on this page asks to be taken on trust: walk the whole product in the demo.
KeyProof Ltd 17333773ICO ZC195906Own PI £1m + cyber £500k, Hiscox
Deposits are won at handover, not at the return counter.
A verified person behind the hold
A deduction against a first name in a DM thread is an argument. A deduction against a hirer whose photo ID was matched to a selfie, in an identity check run by Stripe, is a record. The person the deposit binds is the person who verified, not whoever turned up.
The starting condition, agreed rather than asserted
Timestamped photos at handover, always as the named set of6: front, rear, left side, right side, dashboard, odometer. The same angles again at return, so new damage is a side-by-side comparison. How condition capture works.
An agreement sealed at signing
The hirer e-signs your own agreement and the exact terms are hashed at the moment of signing, so any later change to them is detectable. On every hire the hirer also initials the damage-excess and mileage clauses individually before they can sign, which is precisely the part a deduction leans on.
The deposit itself, on the record
Amount and date, recorded against the booking before the car goes out. Every booking starts from a default deposit, set higher per car where the value warrants it, and always yours to override. The hold stays on your own account: KeyProof records it and never touches the money.
One record when it is questioned
When a deduction is challenged, the strongest position is the quiet one: the handover photo and the return photo side by side, the signed record, the deposit line, in one dated, sealed record you can show a hirer, a bank or an insurer instead of scrolling a chat thread for screenshots.
We keep the evidence. The money stays yours.
KeyProof Ltd never holds a hirer’s deposit, never decides a deduction, and never judges damage: the operator decides, and the product records. That boundary is what makes the evidence credible, because a record kept by a party with no stake in the outcome reads very differently from one assembled after the argument started. What the evidence chain looks like item by item is on the free deposit deduction evidence checklist, and you can walk the hirer’s side of it yourself in the demo.
Deposit protection, answered.
Does KeyProof hold the deposit?
No, and deliberately not. The deposit is a hold on your own account, between you and the hirer under your own agreement, exactly as it is today. KeyProof records the amount and the date against the booking so the record is complete, and KeyProof Ltd never holds or processes the money itself.
Does KeyProof decide whether I can make a deduction?
No. The deduction is your decision under your own agreement with the hirer, and KeyProof never judges damage. What it gives you is the evidence a deduction stands on: the agreement the hirer e-signed at check-in, the timestamped photo sets at handover and again at return, the verified identity behind the signature, and the deposit line itself. It is an evidence tool, not legal advice.
What evidence sits behind a defensible deduction?
Timestamped condition photos at handover and again at return on the same angles, a signed agreement bound to a verified identity, the deposit recorded with its amount and date, and, when you deduct, a repair quote so the figure is a real cost rather than a round number. On every hire KeyProof asks for the named set of 6 shots (front, rear, left side, right side, dashboard, odometer) before the car goes out, and if an operator goes ahead without the full set, that override is written on the record.
What happens if the hirer charges back a card deposit?
The card scheme and the bank decide a chargeback, so no tool can promise the outcome. What decides most evidence disputes is what you can produce: an agreement the hirer e-signed before the keys moved, the condition photographed at handover and the same angles again at return, and a verified identity behind the signature. KeyProof keeps all of that assembled on the booking, ready to present, instead of scattered across a camera roll and a DM thread.
Can I show the evidence to my insurer or the card scheme?
Yes, without giving anyone a login. Any hire can be sent out as a read-only share link that expires after 30 days and can be revoked by you at any time before that. The link never carries the hirer’s contact details or their DVLA share code, and the moment it is created is written to the booking’s timeline, so the record also shows when and what you shared.
What about a hirer on a foreign licence?
Your call, per firm: the default is GB licences only, and you can open it to EU/EEA or worldwide in your settings, with the rule enforced at the first question of the check-in so a hirer you would refuse is stopped there. On a non-GB licence the identity check still proves the document is genuine and the face matches, but driving entitlement is not checked against any authority, because none exists outside GB: you inspect the physical licence at handover, and the record states exactly what was and was not checked.
How big should the deposit be on a high-value car?
That is your commercial call under your own agreement, and it varies with the car and the hire. What KeyProof does is start every booking from a default deposit, let you set a higher default per car for the vehicles that warrant it, leave the figure yours to override on any booking, and record whatever you set before the keys move.
What does it cost?
A founding place is £49 a month, locked for as long as you stay, any fleet size, with no car cap, so the price does not move as the fleet grows. When founding closes, plans band by fleet size from £59 a month for up to 3 cars, with the full product on every plan. The hirer pays the £4.99 verification fee, and every plan starts with a 30-day free trial.
Take the deposit.
Keep the evidence that defends it.
A verified hirer, a sealed agreement, the deposit on the record and photos at both ends, assembled before anything goes wrong.
Locked for as long as you stay, any fleet size.
30 days free on every plan. No setup fee, no minimum term, cancel any time.