Grab’s $4 Fee For Cancellations After 5 Minutes
Update, 10 Mar: The policy will now take effect on 25 Mar.
You’ve booked a Grab but you realise you won’t need the ride anymore, so you click “cancel” without worrying since this is only your first or second time.
But soon you might have to think twice as Grab announced an updated policy on Sunday (3 Mar) that could end up costing you more.
From 25 Mar, customers who cancel within 5 minutes of getting a driver or don’t show up 5 minutes after the driver has arrived will have to pay a S$4 penalty.
This will be a change from the current policy, which only charges customers for their third cancellation made in 7 days.
$4 charge for late cancellation & no-show
Under the new policy, customers can only cancel rides for free within 5 minutes of getting a driver, or 3 minutes in the case of GrabShare.
Thereafter, if you decide to cancel your booking, you’ll have to pay S$4.
The same applies for no-shows after the driver has arrived at the pick-up location. Customers who make drivers wait for more than 5 minutes will incur the charge as well.
Grab will deduct the amount directly from your GrabPay balance or credit/debit card. Those who pick cash payment will be charged the amount on their next ride.
More leeway for customers
Under the current policy, customers have to pay S$5 for their third cancellation in 7 days, regardless of waiting time.
This means that you incur the S$5 fee even if you cancel within seconds of getting a driver.
The new policy gives customers a 5-minute window for each booking to sort things out with the driver before the charges apply.
Exceptions for special cases
However, Grab understands that exceptions should be made for certain cases which aren’t as clear-cut as the above. No charges will be incurred in the following situations:
- Ride takes much longer than indicated to arrive — but first, check if driver is stuck in traffic or missed a turn
- Driver arrives over 5 minutes past ETA
- Driver cancels right after arrival, without waiting for you
Fairer to drivers & customers
Grab claims that the new policy will make cancellations fairer to both driver-partners and customers.
Customers can cancel when the situation calls for it, and drivers will be compensated with the S$4 fee for any unfair cancellations by customers.
So the next time you decide to cancel your Grab booking on a whim, think again.
Featured image from Grab.
