Circumstances change, and sometimes a booked journey needs to be cancelled. Fare 1 has a clear process for this, and understanding what happens to your money after you cancel — and how long it takes — is useful to know before you need it.
How Fare 1 Charges at Booking
Before explaining the refund process, it helps to understand how the initial charge works. Fare 1 uses Stripe's manual capture model: when you confirm a booking, your card is authorised for the full quoted fare, but not immediately charged. The actual charge (capture) happens after the journey completes.
This distinction matters for the cancellation process.
Cancelling Before the Journey
If you cancel before the journey takes place, the authorisation hold on your card is released. Because the payment was never captured — never actually charged — there is no charge to refund in the traditional sense. Your bank reverses the hold.
How long does the hold release take? Fare 1 instructs the release promptly on cancellation. The timing after that is in the hands of your bank or card issuer. Most UK banks clear holds within two to five business days, though some take up to seven. The hold does not convert to a charge; it simply disappears from your pending transactions.
You will not see a debit followed by a credit — you will see the pending hold resolve without posting as a completed transaction. On most online banking platforms, the pending entry drops off within a few days of cancellation.
Cancellation Fees
Fare 1's cancellation policy applies a fee structure depending on how close to the journey the cancellation is made. Late cancellations — particularly those made on very short notice when the driver is already en route — may incur a cancellation charge. The terms are shown in the booking conditions at the point you book.
Where a cancellation fee applies, the charge process is as follows: the full authorisation is released, and a separate charge is taken for the cancellation fee amount only. Your net position is that you have paid the cancellation fee and nothing more.
Where no cancellation fee applies — because you cancelled with sufficient notice — you pay nothing and the hold clears completely.
Prepaid Journeys and Auto-Refunds
For bookings where payment was captured in advance — rather than following the standard post-trip capture model — the refund process involves an actual monetary return rather than a hold release.
Auto-refund trigger. When a prepaid booking is cancelled and a refund is due, the platform initiates the refund automatically. There is no manual request process for the passenger; the refund instruction is sent to Stripe at the point the cancellation is processed.
Refund timeline. Once Fare 1 instructs the refund, Stripe processes it and the money returns to the original payment method. The standard timeline for card refunds via Stripe is five to ten business days from the refund instruction, though many UK card issuers process them faster. PayPal refunds typically post within a few business days.
What the refund covers. The refund covers the full amount captured minus any applicable cancellation fee. If the booking attracted no cancellation fee, the full prepaid amount is returned.
Bookings That Were Never Completed
Separately from passenger-initiated cancellations, there is a category of bookings where a journey was confirmed but never completed — for instance, where a driver did not arrive or where circumstances outside the passenger's control prevented the journey. In these cases, the passenger is not charged. If a prepaid capture had been taken, a full refund is issued.
Fare 1's EXPIRED booking status also covers journeys where the pickup window passed without the ride commencing for reasons unrelated to the passenger. Where a prepaid charge was taken on such a booking, an auto-refund is initiated.
How to Cancel
Cancellations can be made via the Fare 1 customer app or the booking website at book.fare1.co.uk. Find the relevant booking in your booking history and select the cancellation option. The cancellation timestamp is recorded and determines whether a cancellation fee applies under the policy in effect at the time of booking.
If you need to cancel and are having difficulty doing so through the app, contacting the Fare 1 team directly will allow the cancellation to be processed manually.
Summary of Timelines
Pre-journey cancellation, no fee: authorisation hold released, clears from your account in two to seven business days depending on your bank. No charge posted.
Pre-journey cancellation, fee applies: hold released, cancellation fee charged separately. Net charge equals the cancellation fee only.
Prepaid booking cancelled: refund instructed immediately, arrives via Stripe in five to ten business days, typically faster.
For any question about a specific refund or cancellation, contact the Fare 1 team with your booking reference and the situation will be resolved promptly.
To book with confidence, knowing what the cancellation terms are before you confirm, visit book.fare1.co.uk.