Refund policy.

We use Stripe's manual-capture flow. When you book, your card is authorised for the quoted amount — your bank holds the funds aside but does not transfer them to us. We capture the authorisation only when an admin accepts the trip and dispatches a driver.

If the booking is cancelled before capture, the authorisation is released and the held funds return to your account — typically within 1–7 business days depending on your card issuer.

• More than 24 hours before pickup: full refund, no fee. If the trip was already captured, we issue the refund within 2 business days.
• Within 24 hours of pickup: 25% of the quoted fare is retained as a cancellation fee, the remaining 75% is refunded.
• No-show at pickup: full fare charged. The driver and vehicle were dispatched.

If we cancel a booking we've accepted (driver unavailable, vehicle problem, force majeure), you pay nothing. Any authorised amount is released; any captured amount is refunded in full within 2 business days.

We'll help arrange an alternative where reasonable — a replacement vehicle, an adjusted pickup time, or a referral to a partner operator. You're never obliged to accept these.

For website bookings that aren't accepted before the pickup time, our system auto-cancels the booking and emails you an apology. The card authorisation is released immediately.

If extras occurred during the trip (added stops, waiting beyond the included window, route changes), we charge them after the trip:

• Extras are quoted on the original rate sheet at /pricing.
• We send a receipt by email showing the original fare and any extras.
• If you dispute an extra, reply to the receipt within 14 days — we'll review and refund where appropriate.

Refunds go back to the original payment card via Stripe — we cannot refund to a different card or to a bank transfer. Stripe typically returns the funds to your card within 5–10 business days; some banks are faster.

You'll see the refund as a separate line on your statement, not as a reversal of the original charge.

Before opening a card chargeback, please email us at hello@fare1.co.uk. We resolve most billing queries within 2 working days. Chargebacks force us to dispute through Stripe and lock the booking record while the case is open — talking to us first is faster.

Email hello@fare1.co.uk with your booking reference and we'll come back within 2 working days. Complaints handling at /complaints.