-
Are there penalties for cancelling a reservation?
You can cancel a reservation (or change the start time or shorten it) at no charge if you cancel more than 2 hours prior to the reservation or before 9am on the reservation date.
If you cancel a reservation within 2 hours before its start time, you will be charged for 50% of the original time booked.
If your reservation is longer than 24 hours, please note that no cancellation fees apply beyond the first 24 hours of a booking.
Although it is always possible to cancel, postpone or shorten a reservation without penalty before 9am (in fact, between 12am and 9am), it is important to take into account that any reserved time that has already lapsed remains billable (for example, if at 8:45am you cancel a reservation that started at 7am, you will still be billed for 1 hour and 45 minutes).
-
Why can’t I shift the start, shorten, or cancel a reservation when its “original start time” is in the past?This restriction is intended to prevent members from abusing our already generous policies on modifying or cancelling reservations. Otherwise, it would be possible for members to get around the penalties by:
- shifting the start and end dates/times of a trip to shorten it after the fact, thus avoiding the penalties, or,
- creating very long reservations that you could shorten every day with the sole aim of ensuring the availability of this vehicle by preventing anyone else from reserving it in advance.
-
What does “original start time” mean when it comes to the modification and cancellation policy?
It refers to the start time that you entered when you first made your reservation, or the earliest-ever start time registered in our system for this trip.
This precision is important because it is not possible to shift the start time of a reservation yourself, to shorten it or to cancel it, once the “original start time” of your reservation has passed. To do this, you must call us.
-
What is the difference between cancelling a reservation and ending a trip early?
You can only cancel a reservation if you do so before the scheduled departure date/time. If you do it afterward, it will be considered “Releasing” the vehicle.
To cancel a reservation: click on “Cancel” in the Communauto app or “C” in your online account.
To release the vehicle: click on “End trip” in the Communauto app or “R” in your online account.
If you end your trip early, your account will still be charged for the full time reserved at the start of your trip, up to the first 24 hours. After 24 hours, no cancellation fees apply. See Appendix – Penalties and other fees for more information.
Important note for members using an RFID key fob (or equivalent) instead of the app to lock the doors at the end of a trip:
Locking the doors in this way will secure the vehicle, but this does not release the vehicle and make it available to other users.
If you are close to the end of your reservation, this might not make a difference. Otherwise, it is better to return to the app to release the vehicle.
If you return a vehicle several days earlier than planned, it is very important to release it properly. You will be responsible for the cost of the additional days if you do not release the vehicle.
Whether or not the unused hours of your initial reservation will save you money, releasing a vehicle when you are done with it will help optimize vehicle availability. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to do so.
See also:
Modifying or Canceling a Reservation
Updated on March 20, 2024