When is a no-show fee actually taken?

Only after your team deliberately mark a no-show and choose to charge, then a safety delay — a customer who shows up is never charged.

A no-show fee is only ever taken after a member of your team deliberately marks the booking as a no-show and chooses the charge option (the button names the exact amount, e.g. Charge £10.00 & mark no-show) — the automatic no-show system never charges, and a customer who turned up can never be charged. Even then nothing moves immediately: the fee sits pending through your Safety delay before charging (0–168 hours, default 3), and re-seating the customer or restoring the booking during that window cancels it. Once the delay passes, the saved card is charged, the customer is emailed, and if the card declines the fee isn't collected — you're alerted, and there's no automatic retry. The one exception to the delay is a late-cancellation fee (if you've switched that on): a cancellation is final, so that charge is taken straight away — but never without warning, because a customer cancelling online inside your cancellation window is shown the exact fee on their manage-booking page and must press Cancel and pay the fee before the cancellation (and the charge) goes through. Related: How do I charge no-show fees?