This is what happens when a hirer and a worker disagree about a job, and how ProjectMender decides where held money goes. It sits alongside the terms of service.
Most problems are a misunderstanding about what was included. The conversation for the job stays open, and almost everything gets sorted there. ProjectMender can read that conversation if a problem is reported, so keeping the details in the chat helps you later.
When a hirer pays, the money is held: the worker's share sits in the worker's own payment account, locked so it can't be withdrawn, and it isn't released until the job is done. Nobody can quietly take it in the meantime, and the hirer can't claw it back without a decision.
On a job that's under way, the hirer can report a problem instead of releasing payment. That does two things: it stops the automatic release, and it flags the job for ProjectMender to look at. The 7-day countdown that would otherwise release the payment stops as soon as a problem is reported.
If the two of you can't agree, ProjectMender settles it and either pays the worker or refunds the hirer in full. There is no partial split. What we look at, in order:
As a rule of thumb: if the work described in the quote was done, the worker is paid, even if the hirer would have preferred it done differently. If the work wasn't done, or the worker didn't turn up, the hirer is refunded. Disagreements about work that was never written into the quote are usually decided against whoever assumed it was included.
We'll say what we decided and why, in the job's conversation, so you both see the same explanation.
We aim to look at a reported problem within two business days, and to decide within five. Complicated ones take longer, and we'll say so rather than going quiet.
Before the hirer pays, either side can back out; no money has moved. Once it's paid, the hirer can't take the money back on their own. They ask to cancel, and the worker either accepts, which refunds the hirer in full, or declines, and we decide as described above. If the worker doesn't answer within 5 days, the hirer is refunded, so a worker who disappears can't keep the money held. The worker can always cancel, which refunds the hirer. No fee is taken unless a job is completed and released.
If the worker is late. When the final quote has a date and the worker is more than 24 hours past it without marking the job done, the hirer can cancel without asking and is refunded in full. Workers: mark the job done as soon as you finish, and if the date changes, agree a new one in the chat and get the hirer to hold off.
A hirer can dispute the charge with their card issuer. If that happens, the job is frozen: no payment is released and no refund is issued while the bank decides, because the money is out of our hands at that point. Their decision is final and can take several weeks. If you have a problem, reporting it here is faster and we can actually do something about it.
ProjectMender decides where the held money for a job goes. That's all. We can't award damages, settle claims for property damage or injury, or act as anyone's lawyer or insurer. ProjectMender is not a party to the agreement between a hirer and a worker — see what we do and don't check. For anything beyond the money held for the job, you may need to take it up directly, through your insurer, or in small claims court.
A pattern matters more than one bad day. An account with repeated reports against it can be suspended, which stops that person posting, messaging or being hired. Any job already paid for gets settled first, so nobody's money is stranded by a suspension.
To report a problem on a job, open the conversation and use Report a problem. To report someone for behavior rather than a job, use the Report link on their profile or in the conversation.
Anything else, or stuck? Email support@projectmender.com with the job or the person's name, and we'll reply.