Refunds and cancellations

Last updated 22 October 2026

When you book on Servd, your payment is held until the job is done. Here is exactly what happens to your money in each situation.

Full refund, automatically

  • The provider declines your booking.
  • The provider doesn't accept in time (currently within 24 hours of payment, or before the job time if that is sooner).
  • You cancel before the provider accepts. Use "Cancel for a full refund" on your bookings page.
  • Your payment arrives after the booking can no longer happen, for example after the start time.

After the provider accepts

Once a provider accepts, they have set time aside for you, and chefs may already have received the ingredient budget to shop. You can't cancel with one tap at this point. Instead:

  1. Message the provider on the booking to see if a new time works.
  2. If you need to cancel, use "Report a problem" on the booking, or contact our support team. Your payment stays on hold.
  3. Our team looks at the situation and decides how the money held is shared: a full or partial refund to you, payment to the provider, or a split.

For chef bookings, the ingredient budget already sent to the chef is not held by Servd any more, so we cannot refund it directly; we'll sort it out with the chef where the job didn't happen.

If something goes wrong

If the provider doesn't show up, doesn't do what the package says, or something else goes wrong, tap "Report a problem" on the booking before the payment is released. The payment is released when you confirm, or automatically after the release time shown on your booking (currently 48 hours after the provider marks the job done).

While a problem is open, the money stays on hold. Our team reviews what both sides say and the booking messages, then decides to pay the provider, refund you, or split the amount. You'll see the outcome on your booking.

After the payment is released

Once you confirm, or the release time passes without a report, the payment goes to the provider and the booking is closed. If something serious happened, still contact us on the Help and support page, but we can't promise a refund at this point.

Repeat bookings (daily, weekly, every 2 weeks or monthly)

  • You pay for all the visits in one payment. Each visit's payment is held separately and released to the provider only after that visit, under the same rules as a single booking.
  • If the provider declines or doesn't accept in time, every visit is refunded in full.
  • You can stop a plan at any time from your bookings page. Every visit more than 48 hours away is cancelled and refunded in full. Visits within 48 hours go ahead as booked.
  • For chefs, the ingredient budget for each visit is sent to the chef about 48 hours before that visit. Once sent, that part can't be refunded by us.
  • If something goes wrong on one visit, report a problem on that visit. The other visits are not affected.

How refunds are paid

  • Refunds go back to the card or account you paid with, through Paystack.
  • How long it takes to show depends on your bank. Bank transfers and card refunds usually arrive within a few working days.
  • You'll see "Refunded" on your bookings page as soon as we send it.

Gifts, credit and "Pay for me"

  • If you used a gift or credit, that part of any refund goes back to your gift or credit, ready to use again. The rest goes back to the card or account that paid.
  • If a friend paid using a "Pay for me" link, the refund goes back to their card or account.
  • Gifts that aren't used within 12 months go back to the person who bought them as credit.

Unpaid bookings

A booking that hasn't been paid is removed after 2 hours. Nothing is charged. If you sent a "Pay for me" link, the booking waits for up to 48 hours (or until an hour before the job, if that is sooner).

Payments outside Servd

We can only refund money paid through Servd. Never pay a provider directly.

Questions about a refund: message us on the Help and support page with your booking reference.