HQAV policies

Cancellations, refunds and date changes

Events move. This page says exactly what happens to your money when they do — the same words you see in the app before you confirm anything, because both are generated from the same rules.

When you pay

Crew are paid for work they have done, so nothing is charged before the event.

1
You send a request
Free. You can send several and cancel any of them before a pro accepts.
2
A pro accepts
The date is blocked on their calendar and the price is fixed on the booking. Still nothing charged — there is no deposit to hold a date.
3
The event happens
Your crew turns up and delivers it.
4
The pro marks it delivered
That is what raises the invoice. You pay the agreed amount on Stripe’s hosted checkout, and the pro is paid out after that.

Gear rentals are the one exception. Equipment leaves its owner’s hands, so an owner may ask for a deposit — always shown on the listing before you request anything, and charged when they accept.

If you cancel

Measured in whole days between the day you cancel and the event day. The pro has usually turned other work away for your date, so the closer the cancellation, the more of the fee stands.

Nothing owed

14 or more days before the event

Cancel this far out and you owe nothing at all. If a deposit was taken for gear, it goes back to your original payment method within 5–10 business days.

If anything was already paid: full refund.

50% of the fee

7–13 days before the event

Half the agreed fee is owed — at this range the pro has usually already turned down other work for your date. Anything you have paid is refunded at 50%.

If anything was already paid: 50% refund.

The full fee

Less than 7 days before the event

Inside 7 days the date is gone for the pro, so the full fee stands and any deposit is non-refundable. Proposing a new date instead costs nothing — the booking and its money move with it.

If anything was already paid: no refund.

Cancelling a request a pro has not accepted yet always costs nothing. Cancellation fees are invoiced by hand, so you will get an email rather than a surprise charge — and you can always dispute one by replying to it. A cancellation cannot be undone: the pro is told immediately and their date opens back up.

Changing the date

If the date has moved rather than fallen through, reschedule instead of cancelling. It keeps every dollar on the booking.

Either side can propose a new date and time while the booking is still ahead of the event — before the crew is on site.
The booking, the quote, the deposit and the message thread all move with it. Nothing is refunded and nothing is re-charged.
A proposal is only a proposal: the other side has to accept it before anything changes. Until then the original date stands and stays held.
A new date is only accepted if the pro is genuinely free then — we re-check their calendar at the moment of acceptance and refuse a window that clashes.
One proposal at a time. The side that proposed can withdraw it; the other side can accept or decline.
If you cannot agree on a new date, cancelling falls under the refund table above, measured against the ORIGINAL event date.

Deposits

Crew are paid after the event, so a booking for people never asks for money up front. A deposit only ever applies to GEAR: an owner may ask for one to cover kit leaving their hands.
Where a deposit applies it is shown on the listing before you request anything, and charged when the owner accepts.
A deposit is refunded in full when you cancel 14 or more days before the event.
Between 7 and 13 days it is refunded at 50%, like the rest of the booking.
Inside 7 days the deposit is non-refundable.
Moving the date never touches the deposit — it stays on the booking.

If your pro cancels

You get a full refund. Always — whatever the date, whatever the reason, including the day of the event.
The refund goes back to your original payment method within 5–10 business days, and you get an email as soon as it is sent.
The booking reopens the pro's slot immediately, so the date is bookable again while you look for a replacement.
Tell us if a pro cancels late or repeatedly — reliability is what the marketplace is for, and we act on it.

How refunds are actually paid

Refunds are issued by a person, not by a robot. Allow 5–10 business days.

Payments run through Stripe. Refunds go back to the same card or account you paid with — we cannot send them anywhere else.
Refunds are reviewed and issued by a person, not automatically, so allow 5–10 business days from the cancellation for the money to appear.
You will get an email when the refund is sent, and the booking shows the cancellation in its timeline.
If the refund has not landed after that window, reply to the cancellation email and we will chase the payment record for you.