Cancellation & refund policy
One simple rule for every trip on FairCar: no fine print, no per-host variations.
When you get a full refund
A guest receives a 100% refund only when both of the following are true at the moment they cancel:
- The cancellation happens within 7 days of when the booking was first created.
- The trip is still 7 or more days away from starting.
When the booking is non-refundable
- The trip begins within 7 days of when the booking was created. It's non-refundable from the moment of booking.
- More than 7 days have passed since the booking was created.
- The trip is now less than 7 days away from starting.
How it works
Your free-cancellation window is the shorter of 7 days from when you booked or the time until 7 days before the trip starts. A few examples:
- Booking 30 days before pickup → 7 full days to cancel for a full refund.
- Booking 10 days before pickup → 3 days to cancel (since the trip is then 7 days away).
- Booking 6 days or fewer before pickup → non-refundable from the moment you book.
- Cancelling 8 days after booking, even if the trip is months away → non-refundable.
Why we do it this way
Late cancellations leave hosts with an empty calendar they often can't fill on short notice. Capping the cancellation window at 7 days after booking, and locking trips that start within 7 days, protects host income while still giving guests real flexibility for trips planned in advance.
Missed verification deadline
Verification (a license scan and a selfie) has to be finished by the deadline shown on your trip, normally 24 hours before pickup. If verification is not finished by then, the booking is cancelled under this listing's cancellation policy, treated as a guest cancellation at that moment, so the refund follows the rules above and may be partial or zero.
Guest no-shows
If you don't show up for pickup, the host can mark the trip as a no-show. A no-show is treated like a late cancellation: the trip price is refunded only as the policy allows (usually not at all, because the trip has started), and the sales tax is refunded in full. Marking a no-show isn't a host cancellation.
Sales tax
Sales tax is always refunded in full when a trip is cancelled, on top of whatever the policy refunds, because no rental took place.
Host-initiated cancellations
If a host cancels your confirmed booking for any reason, you always receive a full refund, no matter how close the trip is. We'll also help you find a comparable replacement vehicle when possible.
Hosts get 3 free cancellations in any rolling 12 months. After that, each host cancellation costs the host a $50 fee, taken out of their next payouts. Guest cancellations, unpaid checkouts, no-shows and cancellations by FairCar never count. Repeat host cancellations also affect the listing's search ranking and can lead to suspension.
Refund timing
Eligible refunds are issued to the original payment method through Stripe. They typically post to your account within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank or card issuer.
Documented emergencies (serious illness, natural disaster, vehicle unsafe at pickup) are reviewed case-by-case by FairCar support. Open a request from your Trips dashboard within 24 hours of the event.