The entries that you are seeing on your bank statement may not be charges but in-fact pre-authorisations.
A pre-authorisation is a temporary hold of funds placed on your account when you order with FREE NOW. We use pre-authorisations to check that your payment method is valid.
The amount that we pre-authorise to your card will depend on the type of order you are making and your payment method.
Please select the payment method you used below:
If ordering using a Credit or Debit Card:
|
Vehicle Type Ordered |
Specific Destination Entered |
No Destination Entered |
|
Black Cab or Black Cab Eco |
The Estimated Fare or a minimum pre-authorisation of £10 |
Flat £25 pre-authorisation |
|
Ride or Ride EV (Private Hire Vehicle) |
Quoted Fixed Fare is pre-authorised |
Option not available |
If ordering using Apple Pay or a prepaid card:
|
Vehicle Type Ordered |
Specific Destination Entered |
No Destination Entered |
|
Black Cab or Black Cab Eco |
Flat £25 pre-authorisation |
Flat £25 pre-authorisation |
|
Ride or Ride EV (Private Hire Vehicle) |
The quoted Fixed Fare |
Option not available |
Why is there a flat £25 pre-authorisation on some Black Cab orders?
Unlike our 'Ride' fleets, Black Cab fares are not fixed and are based on the meter in the vehicle. Therefore to ensure payments are successful we set a flat pre-authorisation based on average ride prices.
Why is there a 25% uplift on the pre-authorisation for 'Ride' trips booked on Apple Pay?
If the final price including tips and any changed destination is greater than the amount pre-authorised, the payment will fail. Therefore, we add a 25% buffer when pre-authorising these Apple Pay orders to avoid failed payments and the creation of debt.
Are you seeing two charges from FREE NOW? Check out this help article here.
To learn more about how FREE NOW uses Pre-authorisations check out our FAQs or our guidance page.