refund policy

Operator: SKILLS AND BIDS, INC.
Registered address: 2401 NW 19 Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311, USA
Support contact: support@skillsandbids.com
Legal contact: legal@skillsandbids.com
Effective date: October 18, 2026
Last updated: October 18, 2026

This Refund Policy explains when payments made through Skills & Bids may be released, refunded, partially refunded, reversed, credited, or remain payable.

It forms part of the Skills & Bids Terms of Service and should be read together with the Marketplace Agreement, Cancellation Policy, Client Agreement, Freelancer Agreement, and the accepted contract, booking, order, milestone, timesheet, subscription, or other transaction-specific terms.

Nothing in this Policy limits a refund, cancellation, cardholder, or consumer right that cannot lawfully be limited.

1. General principles

Skills & Bids supports different marketplace transaction types. Refund eligibility therefore depends on the transaction involved, its current state, the terms accepted for that transaction, the evidence available, and applicable law.

A refund is not automatic merely because:

• a user is dissatisfied;
• a user changes their mind after work has begun;
• a client ends a contract;
• a freelancer has already performed authorized work;
• a payment-provider dispute has been opened; or
• a payment is still subject to settlement, transfer, payout, or financial reconciliation.

Likewise, a freelancer is not automatically entitled to keep an amount merely because a payment was authorized, captured, transferred, or displayed as pending or available if the amount is later subject to a valid refund, reversal, dispute, chargeback, correction, or recovery.

Skills & Bids may issue a full refund, partial refund, payment release, authorization release, adjustment, or other remedy where permitted by the applicable transaction terms and law.

2. Authorization release is not the same as a refund

Some Skills & Bids transactions, including certain service bookings, may authorize a payment before the payment is finally captured.

If an authorized amount is cancelled before capture:

• Skills & Bids may cancel or release the authorization rather than issue a refund;
• the client may temporarily continue to see a pending authorization until the card issuer or payment provider removes it; and
• no captured funds may have moved even though the client temporarily saw the amount reserved.

The timing for an authorization to disappear is controlled by the payment provider, card network, and issuing bank.

3. Service-booking refunds

Service bookings may have booking-specific cancellation terms shown before the client confirms the booking. The applicable cancellation policy is recorded with the booking so later changes to a service listing do not retroactively alter the agreed cancellation terms.

3.1 Before the freelancer accepts

If a client cancels a booking request before the freelancer accepts it:

• an uncaptured payment authorization will normally be released; or
• if a payment was captured due to the applicable payment flow, the amount attributable to the unaccepted service will normally be refunded.

No freelancer cancellation compensation may be imposed unless it was clearly disclosed and lawfully applicable before the client submitted the booking.

3.2 After acceptance but before the service starts

Once the freelancer accepts, the cancellation terms displayed and accepted for that booking control.

Depending on those terms and the booking state, Skills & Bids may:

• release the entire authorization;
• capture only an agreed cancellation amount and release the remainder;
• issue a full refund;
• issue a partial refund; or
• leave an agreed non-refundable amount payable to the freelancer.

Skills & Bids will not impose an undisclosed cancellation fee merely because a freelancer later changes their listing.

3.3 After the service starts

After a freelancer begins performing the service, the client does not automatically receive a full refund simply by cancelling.

A refund decision may take into account:

• the portion of the service completed;
• materials, add-ons, travel, or other approved amounts already incurred;
• whether the freelancer materially failed to perform;
• whether the client prevented completion;
• the accepted cancellation terms;
• safety or legal circumstances;
• evidence submitted by the parties; and
• applicable law.

A partial refund may be used when that fairly reflects the portion of the service not provided.

3.4 Freelancer cancellation or provider no-show

If a freelancer cancels a service booking or fails to appear and no service was provided, the client will normally be entitled to release or refund of the amount attributable to the unperformed service, subject to applicable law and any separate amount the client validly owes for an independently completed item.

Skills & Bids may also apply account, ranking, reliability, or other marketplace consequences to repeated or abusive freelancer cancellations.

3.5 Client no-show or inability to receive the service

Where the accepted booking terms contain a client no-show, late-cancellation, access, or attendance rule, the snapshotted booking terms govern the financial result.

Skills & Bids may consider evidence such as:

• booking time and location;
• messages;
• check-in, start, or completion records;
• service evidence submitted through supported features; and
• reasonable evidence that the freelancer was ready and able to perform.

A no-show charge will not be created from a cancellation term that was not disclosed for the booking.

3.6 Completed service

Completion does not eliminate legitimate dispute or statutory rights, but a completed and accepted service is not automatically refundable because the client later changes their preference.

Claims involving non-performance, material defects, misrepresentation, unsafe conduct, unauthorized charges, or other serious issues should be raised through the supported dispute or support process promptly.

4. Fixed-price and milestone refunds

For fixed-price or milestone work, refund eligibility is assessed at the applicable milestone or funded-work level where possible.

4.1 Unfunded or uncaptured amounts

If no amount was captured, there may be no refund to issue.

A payment authorization may instead be cancelled or released.

4.2 Work not yet earned or approved

An amount associated with work that has not been performed, delivered, approved, or otherwise become payable under the accepted contract may be eligible for full or partial refund when the contract is cancelled or a dispute is resolved.

4.3 Delivered or approved work

Amounts for work that was properly delivered and approved are not automatically refundable because:

• the client later changes strategy;
• the client no longer needs the work;
• the client independently modifies or stops using the work; or
• the contract is later ended for future work.

A refund may still be appropriate where evidence establishes material non-performance, fraud, duplicate payment, unauthorized payment, or another valid ground under the accepted terms or law.

4.4 Partial refunds

Where part of the scope was properly completed and part was not, Skills & Bids may support a partial refund or other allocation rather than treating the entire contract as all-or-nothing.

5. Hourly-work refunds

Hourly payments are based on authorized work and the applicable timesheet/billing process.

5.1 Draft or unsubmitted time

Draft time that has not become billable does not create a refund right because it has not yet been finally charged.

5.2 Submitted, approved, or captured time

A client who believes recorded time is inaccurate, duplicated, unauthorized, fabricated, or outside the accepted scope should use the available review or dispute process within the deadline displayed for that billing period.

Where a claim is upheld, the remedy may include:

• removal of unapproved time before charge;
• reduction of the billable amount;
• partial refund;
• full refund for the affected time;
• reversal or recovery from a freelancer where permitted; or
• another appropriate adjustment.

5.3 Ending an hourly contract

Ending an hourly contract stops or limits future work according to the applicable contract flow. It does not automatically cancel amounts already earned for authorized work or erase submitted, approved, disputed, or pending billing periods.

Outstanding periods remain subject to their normal review, payment, dispute, refund, and reconciliation lifecycle.

6. Custom quotes and other marketplace transactions

For a custom quote or another transaction type not specifically described above, the accepted transaction terms, displayed payment state, Marketplace Agreement, and applicable law determine refund eligibility.

Skills & Bids may apply the closest relevant marketplace workflow where reasonably necessary and consistent with the accepted terms.

7. Subscription refunds

This section applies to subscription fees paid directly for Skills & Bids plans, not to payments between clients and freelancers.

7.1 Cancelling a subscription

A user may cancel a subscription using the cancellation method provided for the account.

Unless the checkout or applicable law states otherwise:

• cancellation stops future automatic renewal;
• access to paid features may continue until the end of the already-paid billing period;
• cancellation does not normally create a prorated refund for the unused portion of the current billing period; and
• unused plan entitlements do not have cash value.

7.2 When a subscription refund may be appropriate

Skills & Bids may issue a full or partial subscription refund where appropriate, including for:

• a duplicate charge;
• a verified unauthorized charge;
• an incorrect amount caused by a Skills & Bids billing error;
• a charge after a cancellation that should already have taken effect;
• a legally required refund; or
• another exceptional circumstance approved by Skills & Bids.

A refund or service credit offered as a customer-service accommodation does not require Skills & Bids to provide the same discretionary remedy in every future case.

7.3 Plan changes

Upgrade, downgrade, monthly/annual interval changes, credits, proration, or immediate plan replacement are governed by the price and effective-date information displayed when the change is confirmed.

8. Platform fees, processor costs, taxes, and foreign exchange

The refund treatment of fees, taxes, processor costs, foreign-exchange amounts, or other transaction components depends on:

• the transaction’s agreed fee snapshot;
• the payment provider’s treatment of those amounts;
• whether the amount is recoverable;
• applicable card-network rules; and
• applicable law.

The refund confirmation should show the amount Skills & Bids instructs the payment provider to return.

A client’s final bank-account or card-statement amount may differ from the original converted amount because of exchange-rate movements or fees applied by the client’s bank or payment provider. Skills & Bids does not control third-party exchange rates.

Nothing in this section permits Skills & Bids to retain an amount that applicable law requires to be returned.

9. Refunds after freelancer transfer or payout

A client refund can occur after an associated freelancer earning has already become transferable, been transferred to a connected payment account, or been paid out.

Where permitted by law and the applicable payment agreements, Skills & Bids may:

• reverse an unpaid transfer;
• reverse or recover all or part of a prior transfer;
• offset a recoverable amount against future freelancer earnings;
• create or maintain a negative freelancer balance;
• request repayment;
• place a reasonable transaction-specific hold or reserve; or
• use another lawful recovery process.

A freelancer must not treat transfer or payout as making an otherwise valid refund, reversal, or chargeback impossible.

10. Chargebacks and payment disputes

A payment-provider dispute or chargeback is separate from the Skills & Bids marketplace dispute process.

A chargeback:

• does not automatically prove that the freelancer breached the contract;
• does not automatically entitle a client to recover twice;
• may cause a payment provider to debit disputed funds and fees;
• may require Skills & Bids or the freelancer to provide evidence; and
• may result in recovery, reserve, offset, or account action where permitted.

Users must not knowingly use both a Skills & Bids refund and a bank/card dispute to obtain duplicate recovery.

Nothing in this Policy prevents a user from exercising non-waivable rights with their card issuer, bank, regulator, or court.

11. Duplicate, erroneous, or unauthorized payments

If you believe a payment was duplicated, processed for the wrong amount, or unauthorized:

1. report it promptly through payments@skillsandbids.com;
2. identify the transaction;
3. do not publicly post full card, bank, identity, or authentication credentials; and
4. provide reasonable information needed to investigate.

Skills & Bids may correct erroneous ledger entries and payment states and may issue or request a refund, reversal, or other adjustment where supported by the evidence and permitted by law.

12. Refund method and processing time

Refunds are normally returned through the original payment method or another method supported by the payment provider and permitted by law.

After Skills & Bids submits or confirms a refund:

• the refund may be pending before it succeeds;
• card, bank, wallet, or payment-provider processing time may vary;
• a replaced or expired card may be handled by the issuer according to its own process; and
• Skills & Bids cannot guarantee the date on which the receiving financial institution posts the credit.

The Platform may display refund status where supported.

13. Disputes, evidence, and finality

Where a transaction supports a Platform dispute process, users should submit the dispute within the deadline shown for that transaction or billing period.

Skills & Bids may consider:

• accepted scope and transaction snapshots;
• messages and change requests;
• deliverables;
• time records;
• booking, attendance, and service evidence;
• payment events;
• approvals, revisions, cancellations, and prior refunds;
• reports of fraud, safety, or policy violations; and
• other relevant evidence.

Skills & Bids may resolve a Platform remedy as a full refund, partial refund, no refund, payment release, work-completion remedy, cancellation, or another supported outcome.

An internal payout-protection or transfer-delay period does not create an additional refund right unless that right is actually displayed to the user or required by law.

14. Abuse of refund processes

Users may not:

• falsely claim non-delivery;
• fabricate evidence;
• request a refund after intentionally receiving and retaining paid work while concealing acceptance;
• coordinate duplicate refunds;
• use threats, reviews, reports, or chargebacks to obtain money unrelated to a legitimate dispute; or
• repeatedly exploit cancellation or refund systems in bad faith.

Skills & Bids may restrict or terminate accounts for serious or repeated refund abuse, subject to applicable law and appeal rights where provided.

15. Changes to this Policy

Skills & Bids may update this Refund Policy prospectively.

A material policy change will not retroactively alter a transaction whose refund/cancellation terms were already snapshotted and accepted, except where required by law or agreed by the parties.

The version effective when the relevant transaction was entered will ordinarily govern that transaction.

16. Contact

Payment and refund support: payments@skillsandbids.com
General support: support@skillsandbids.com
Legal notices: legal@skillsandbids.com