Payment, Cancellation & Refund Policy

1. Purpose and scope

1.1. This Policy governs payments, payment authorizations, captures, deposits, cancellations, refunds, no-shows, Partner refusals, booking request expiry and related payment procedures on the Car&Vibe Platform.

1.2. This Policy applies together with the Terms of Service and the rules displayed to the Customer before booking confirmation.

2. Roles in payments and invoices

2.1. Car&Vibe is a digital marketplace platform. The Partner is the actual provider of the Underlying Service.

2.2. The Partner issues an invoice or receipt to the Customer or renter for the Underlying Service where applicable.

2.3. Car&Vibe issues an invoice or receipt for its own platform or service fees where applicable and may issue a monthly invoice to the Partner for Car&Vibe platform commission, service fee or other applicable Partner-facing fees. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Car&Vibe does not invoice the Customer for the full Partner Service.

3. Prices, fees and currency

3.1. Prices are displayed in euros unless expressly stated otherwise.

3.2. For Rent, a separate Car&Vibe service fee for use of the Platform may apply if displayed to the Customer before booking confirmation. The amount or calculation method must be shown before payment.

3.3. For Leisure, the Partner provides the Underlying Service and issues an invoice or receipt to the Customer where applicable. Car&Vibe may invoice the Partner for commission or a platform fee where applicable, generally through the monthly Partner-facing commission statement and invoice unless legal/accounting review or a separate agreement requires otherwise.

3.4. Additional costs may apply if shown before booking, provided in Partner terms or caused by Customer conduct, such as damage, lateness, fuel, charging, fines or extra equipment.

4. Payment methods and payment service providers

4.1. The Platform may allow payment by card, digital wallet, bank transfer or other payment methods shown to the Customer in the booking process.

4.2. Payments may be processed by an external payment service provider. That provider’s terms may apply to payments.

4.3. Car&Vibe does not need to store full payment card numbers. Payment data may be processed by the payment service provider.

5. Payment authorization, security authorization and capture

5.1. In the booking process, the Customer is shown whether the amount will be captured immediately, only authorized until Partner confirmation, captured after Partner confirmation or subject to a security authorization/deposit.

5.2. A deposit or security authorization may apply especially for Rent or other services where the Partner requires protection against damage, late return, fines or additional charges.

5.3. Refund of a deposit or voiding of a security authorization is handled by the Partner or payment service provider according to the rules shown to the Customer.

6. Booking request, rejection and expiry

6.1. If the Partner rejects a request or the request expires before confirmation, the Customer has no obligation to pay for the Underlying Service.

6.2. If an amount was only authorized, the authorization is voided and the reserved amount becomes available to the Customer according to the rules of the payment service provider and the Customer’s bank.

6.3. If an amount has already been captured, the refund is processed according to this Policy.

7. Rent payments, deposit and invoices

7.1. The Partner provides the Rent Underlying Service and issues an invoice or receipt to the renter for the rental where applicable.

7.2. For the ordinary Rent booking flow, Car&Vibe does not collect, review, verify or store driving licence images or documents.

7.3. Before booking, the renter confirms that they hold a valid driving licence and meet Partner requirements. The Partner verifies the original driving licence and other requirements at pickup or handover.

7.4. Deposits, insurance excess, damage, fuel, charging, fines, tolls, parking, late return and other Rent costs are governed by Partner terms and the rental agreement.

8. Leisure payments and invoices

8.1. The Partner provides the Leisure Underlying Service and issues an invoice or receipt to the Customer for that service where applicable.

8.2. For services that depend on weather, safety, sea conditions, minimum participant numbers or equipment availability, the rules displayed before booking confirmation apply.

9. Customer cancellation

9.1. The Customer may cancel a booking through the Platform where available or by contacting support.

9.2. Refund rights depend on the cancellation rules displayed to the Customer before booking confirmation. If cancellation rules are not clearly displayed for a listing, the Customer should not confirm the booking before those rules are available.

9.3. If a Car&Vibe Fee is charged to the Customer, the refund treatment of that fee must be displayed before booking confirmation and applies subject to mandatory law.

10. No-shows, lateness and failure to meet requirements

10.1. A no-show means that the Customer does not arrive at the agreed location at the agreed time or within the waiting period displayed before booking, if such period applies.

10.2. Lateness, missing required documents, failure to meet age or safety requirements, failure to follow instructions or failure to meet Partner requirements may result in refusal of service.

10.3. Refund rights in such cases depend on the rules displayed before booking, the reasons for refusal and mandatory law.

11. Partner cancellation, weather and safety

11.1. The Partner may cancel or postpone a service where necessary for safety, weather, vehicle or equipment failure, staff illness, legal requirements or other justified circumstances.

11.2. If the Partner cancels a confirmed booking for a reason not caused by the Customer, the Customer may be offered an alternative date, substitute service or refund of the amount paid through the Platform for the unperformed service.

12. Refund processing

12.1. Refunds are generally processed to the original payment method unless another method is enabled or agreed.

12.2. The time when the refund appears on the Customer’s account depends on the payment service provider, bank or card issuer.

12.3. If the refund relates to a Partner invoice, the Partner issues any applicable credit note, cancellation document or other document. If the refund relates to a Car&Vibe Fee, Car&Vibe issues the relevant document where applicable. Refunds, cancellations, chargebacks or corrections identified after a monthly invoice has been issued may be reflected in a subsequent monthly statement or corrected through a credit note, approval note or equivalent correction document where required.

13. Chargebacks and payment disputes

13.1. Customers are encouraged to contact Car&Vibe support before making a chargeback so the issue can be reviewed using available documentation.

13.2. An unfounded or fraudulent chargeback may result in account restrictions and submission of evidence to the payment service provider or bank, in accordance with applicable rules.

14. Taxes, fiscalization, e-invoicing and VAT

14.1. The Partner is responsible for taxes, invoices, receipts and fiscalization connected with the Underlying Service where applicable.

14.2. Car&Vibe calculates and documents its own Partner-facing fees according to its current tax status and applicable rules. Where required by applicable law, invoices or eInvoices are issued to the Partner’s business/legal entity details and OIB through the applicable invoicing, eInvoice, accounting or information-intermediary channel.

14.3. The company is not in the Croatian VAT system. VAT is not charged pursuant to Article 90(1) of the Croatian VAT Act.

Stripe payment records, payout records, application-fee records, receipts and balance transactions are used for payment processing and reconciliation purposes and do not replace any invoice, eInvoice, fiscalized receipt or other tax document where such document is required by applicable law. Car&Vibe issues and receives invoices in accordance with applicable rules on invoices, e-invoicing, fiscalization and accounting.

15. Contact for payments and refunds

15.1. For payment, invoice and refund questions: finance@carandvibe.com.

15.2. For customer support: support@carandvibe.com. For legal questions: legal@carandvibe.com.

Addendum: model choice does not change total price or refund rules

If the backend displays both models for a listing, the Customer may select `full_online` or `reservation_fee_now`. Both models have the same total price and differ only in payment timing and channel.

The “Recommended” label on `full_online` does not make the other model less safe and does not change applicable cancellation, non-refund or refund rules.

The selection is stored with backend amounts as an immutable booking snapshot. The thirteen structured refund reasons and the existing authorization, capture, release and refund semantics remain unchanged.

Car&Vibe supports `full_online` (“Pay in full online”) and `reservation_fee_now` (“Pay part online, balance at pickup” for Rent or “Pay part online, balance before the experience” for Experiences). The Car&Vibe backend determines which options are available for each listing. If it offers both, the Customer selects one of those allowed options.

The selected model, currency, total price, online amount, balance payable to the Partner and permitted balance payment methods are stored with the booking as an immutable snapshot. A later configuration change applies only to future bookings and does not change an existing booking.

The client does not calculate monetary amounts. The backend calculates all amounts in the smallest currency unit and owns rounding. The invariant is always: `total price = online reservation amount + balance payable to the Partner`.

Authorization is a temporary hold of funds and is not a final charge. Capture occurs only when the authorized amount is successfully charged after Partner acceptance. Release removes an uncaptured authorization and is not a refund. A refund returns an amount that was already captured.

Under `full_online`, 100% of the total price is authorized before Partner acceptance. After acceptance, 100% is captured and the amount payable to the Partner on arrival is EUR 0. Car&Vibe commission is 15% and the Partner is entitled to 85% under the existing payment/payout model. The 15% non-refundable online reservation amount rule does not automatically apply to this model; the existing cancellation and refund rules displayed and accepted for the specific booking apply.

Under `reservation_fee_now`, the online reservation amount is the backend-calculated 15% of the total price and the balance payable to the Partner is the difference up to the total price, ordinarily 85%. The online reservation amount forms part of the total price and is not an additional fee on top of it. Only the online reservation amount is authorized before Partner acceptance and only that amount is captured after acceptance. The Customer pays the balance directly to the Partner on arrival by card or cash, solely according to the methods stored and displayed for the booking.

When `reservation_fee_now` has been lawfully and technically activated, Car&Vibe receives the online reservation amount in the name and on behalf of the Partner as a limited collection agent. Payment to Car&Vibe discharges the corresponding part of the same total price owed by the Customer to the Partner; the Partner must not collect that part again from the Customer.

After Partner acceptance and successful capture, the online reservation amount under `reservation_fee_now` is non-refundable if the Customer voluntarily cancels, does not appear or fails to meet a clearly displayed and previously accepted requirement such as age, valid driving licence, identification document, deposit or safety requirement. This clause does not limit the Customer's mandatory rights.

The captured online reservation amount under `reservation_fee_now` is refunded in full if the Partner cancels after acceptance; the vehicle or service is unavailable; the Partner confirms that a trip cannot operate due to weather or safety; extraordinary circumstances objectively prevent the agreed service; the Partner materially changes the time, location, vehicle, trip or content and the Customer declines the offered replacement; there is a technical error or duplicate charge; mandatory law requires a refund; or an authorised administrator approves a documented exception.

If the Partner rejects the request or it expires before acceptance, the authorization is released in the first instance. If an amount was nevertheless captured in error, it is refunded in full. If the Customer personally considers the weather poor but the Partner confirms that the service will operate safely and as agreed, a refund is not automatic.

The Partner issues the Customer the required invoice for 100% of the total Underlying Service price. The invoice or related documents should connect the 15% paid online and the balance paid to the Partner. Car&Vibe issues the Partner an invoice for the 15% commission when the agreed commission event occurs. Under `reservation_fee_now`, the collected online reservation amount may be set off against the Partner's commission obligation only where the set-off is expressly agreed, relates to the same booking and is confirmed for accounting purposes.

If the Customer cancels or does not appear after Partner acceptance under `reservation_fee_now`, Car&Vibe retains the captured online reservation amount as the agreed reservation/cancellation commission in its relationship with the Partner. If the Partner cancels or the service cannot be provided without Customer responsibility, the commission is reversed and the captured online reservation amount is refunded to the Customer.

A Stripe confirmation, PaymentIntent, payout, balance transaction or settlement report is used for payment processing and reconciliation but is not a tax invoice. Capture of the online reservation amount does not by itself determine when Car&Vibe recognises revenue. Advance and final invoices, set-off, fiscalization, eInvoicing, VAT, cancellation tax treatment and revenue recognition are handled under applicable law and this contractual model.

Where a contract concerns car rental or leisure services for a specific date or period, the statutory withdrawal right for distance contracts may be excluded under applicable consumer law. That possible exception does not remove the contractual cancellation rules, remedies for non-performance or other mandatory Customer rights.

Before submission, checkout must clearly show the total price, authorization amount, amount captured after Partner acceptance, amount payable to the Partner, model, non-refund conditions and full-refund reasons. The accepted type, version, locale and hash of each legal document are stored with the booking; historical acceptances and the booking snapshot are not amended later.

When both options are actually available, `full_online` is shown as the initially selected and recommended option. That recommendation does not change the total price, Customer rights, the safety of the other model, or cancellation and refund rules.

The Customer client sends only the selected allowed model code and does not send or calculate amounts. At booking creation the backend revalidates model availability and every monetary amount. If the selected model is no longer available, the request is rejected and the Customer must select again; the model is not changed automatically or silently.

Both models have the same total price. Under `reservation_fee_now`, the balance is paid to the provider at vehicle pickup for Rent and before the experience for Experiences, using the methods stored with the booking.

Structured refund matrix for `reservation_fee_now`