Cancellation & Refund Policy

How cancellation works on BOWTT

BOWTT never takes payment from passengers, so there is no card charge or wallet balance to "refund" — you pay the captain directly, in person, once your trip is under way. Because of this, cancellation on BOWTT is mainly about stopping a request or trip at a stage where that is still fair to everyone involved, rather than about money changing hands.

Cancelling a request before a boat is found

While BOWTT is still searching for an available boat ("Finding your boat"), you can cancel your request in the app at any time, free of charge. No captain has been assigned yet, so cancelling at this stage affects no one else.

Cancelling after a boat is found

Once a captain has accepted your request ("Boat found"), you can still cancel from the app, but please do so as early as possible — the captain may already be on their way to meet you. Cancelling repeatedly after a captain has accepted may affect your passenger reputation, in the same way that reliability affects a captain's reputation.

Once boarding or the trip has started

Once boarding has been confirmed and the trip has started ("You're on your way"), the trip can no longer be cancelled from the app. If there is a genuine safety or emergency reason to stop, contact the captain directly and, if needed, the relevant emergency services, then let BOWTT know afterwards.

If a captain cancels or does not show up

If a captain declines, misses, or cancels an accepted request, BOWTT automatically looks for another eligible captain where possible, or tells you straight away so you can try again. This does not count against you, and you do not owe anything for a trip that did not happen.

Payments, receipts and refunds

BOWTT never receives or holds a passenger's fare. You pay your captain directly, so BOWTT cannot refund or reverse a payment. When your trip is completed you get a trip summary showing the quoted amount, and once your captain confirms that you paid you get a payment receipt. That receipt is generated by BOWTT from the captain's confirmation and says clearly that the money was collected directly by the captain.

Any refund that is due, for example if you were charged more than the quoted amount or a trip you paid for did not happen, can only be issued by the captain. If you and the captain cannot agree, or the captain does not respond, contact BOWTT through our Complaints & Support page. We will help look into it and may speak to both of you, but we cannot guarantee the outcome and we cannot pay back money we did not receive.

Payment disputes

A dispute about whether a fare was paid is not a refund from BOWTT. If a captain reports a trip as unpaid, or a passenger disputes that report, BOWTT reviews it so it can be resolved fairly between the passenger and the captain. See our Complaints & Support page to raise a payment dispute or any other issue with a completed trip.

Reliability and repeated cancellations

BOWTT relies on passengers and captains both showing up for accepted trips. Frequent cancellations, especially after a boat has already been found, may be reflected in your reputation on the platform, but a new user with little or no history is never treated as a problem user simply for being new.

Contact

If you are unsure whether you can still cancel, the app will always show you the option if it is available at your trip's current stage. For anything else, contact us at info@bowtt.com.