Extenuating Circumstances Review

Afto can record a cancellation as a neutral external event and apply an approved waiver when the circumstances and evidence support it. A waiver is reviewed, not automatic.

Prelaunch: Live trips are not open yet. The current product does not have a dedicated self-service extenuating-circumstances claim form.

Situations to report

Contact support when an unexpected event outside the traveler or host's reasonable control prevents the trip, such as:

  • Serious illness, injury, or a death affecting the trip
  • A government restriction that prevents the handoff or travel
  • A natural disaster affecting the pickup or return area
  • Another documented safety or legal event that makes the trip impossible

This list is guidance, not an automatic approval table. Afto reviews the trip timing, who caused the cancellation, supporting evidence, and the terms attached to the booking.

Current process

  1. If the trip can still be canceled safely through its normal action, review the cancellation breakdown before confirming.
  2. Contact support from the trip or email [email protected] and ask for an external-event or waiver review.
  3. Include the trip, what happened, when it became known, and appropriate supporting evidence.
  4. Wait for written confirmation of the classification and any refund, penalty, credit, or account-standing adjustment.

The current product does not enforce a special Help-only 14-day upload flow or show a dedicated Request extenuating circumstances review button. Submit the request promptly because trip and payment actions become harder to change after they are finalized.

Possible result

An approved waiver can change the guest cancellation charge, host penalty, or account consequence stored with the cancellation. It does not create a guaranteed refund amount or automatically override every other trip term.

For a host cancellation, the guest's trip still follows the host-cancellation and Trip Rescue rules that apply to that record. For an emergency during an active trip, contact support immediately; the pre-trip cancellation calculator and Trip Rescue flow may no longer apply.