FreeNow complaints Ireland: charges, refunds and taxi problems

Check whether your bank shows a pending card authorisation or two completed payments. FreeNow explains that a temporary hold can reduce your available balance without being a completed charge. Compare the bank entries with the trip invoice before describing the problem as a duplicate payment.

If you paid in the app and also paid the driver by cash or card, send FreeNow support evidence of both payments. If a trip is marked completed but you were not in the taxi, select that booking and report it promptly. If you do not recognise the booking or transaction at all, contact FreeNow and your bank promptly using their official channels.

FreeNow says an app fare estimate can differ from the final taximeter fare. Compare the trip invoice with the estimate and any separately listed fee. Its Irish help page explains where to find the Price Breakdown before booking. Ask support which charge applies and how it was calculated.

For a cancellation dispute, record who cancelled, when, the pickup location and any messages from the driver. Ask FreeNow to identify the rule it applied to your booking. A cancellation does not, by itself, establish that the fee was wrong. This guide does not assume one fee or cancellation rule applies to every trip.

For an app payment, check the email address on your account for the receipt. FreeNow also explains how to find an eligible recent trip under Trips and select Invoice. If you paid the driver directly, ask the driver for the receipt; FreeNow says its emailed fare overview is different.

A separate invoice for the technology fee does not, on its own, prove that you paid twice. Keep the trip and fee invoices, booking reference, date, time and relevant screenshots. Redact unrelated bank transactions before sharing a payment record. Keep the driver or vehicle details if they are relevant to the complaint.

“I am querying booking [reference] on [date] at [time]. The trip record says [status], but [what happened]. My payment record shows [pending entry or completed payment] of [amount]. Please explain the charge and correct or refund any error. I attach [relevant receipt or screenshot].”

This is sample wording, not a reported customer case. Use only facts you can support. If you ask for a refund, identify the specific payment rather than treating every pending entry as money already collected.

Transport for Ireland advises contacting the app booking operator first where it is involved. Its taxi-support page explains the NTA complaint form for matters within taxi legislation, including fare issues, driver conduct, vehicle condition and booking problems. A complaint about a taxi is different from asking FreeNow to explain an app fee.

The NTA does not handle criminal or road-traffic offences through this complaints process. Contact An Garda Síochána about those matters; use emergency services if there is immediate danger.

If a completed card payment remains disputed, ask your card provider promptly whether chargeback is available and what deadline and evidence apply. It is not an automatic refund. Keep any refund or reversal record so the same payment is not claimed twice.