Refund & Dispute Policy
Effective date: February 4, 2026. Last updated: February 4, 2026.
Contents
1. Refund paths
2. How refunds are executed
3. What is refundable
4. Disputes
5. Chargebacks
6. Refund timing summary
1. Refund paths
Refunds happen on Gulf Coast Work in one of three ways: (a) automatic — cancellations executed inside the applicable free window; (b) mutual — both parties agree to a partial or full refund through the workspace; (c) dispute-driven — a moderator makes a determination after both sides submit evidence.
2. How refunds are executed
For payments captured by Stripe, refunds are issued to the original card or payment method via Stripe. Depending on your issuer, funds appear within 5-10 business days. For payments captured via seeded or admin-simulated flows (test-mode only), refunds are recorded locally against the ledger and no card refund is issued.
Partial refunds are supported. When a partial refund is issued (for example, resolving a dispute in favor of the customer by 60%), Stripe processes the exact partial amount and Gulf Coast Work posts corresponding ledger adjustments so the provider net is reduced by the same amount.
3. What is refundable
• Subtotal — refundable in full or partially per the outcome.
• Customer service fee — refundable when the entire transaction is refunded (before the service began); non-refundable when the service was substantially delivered and only a partial refund is issued.
• Processing fees — Stripe fees are passed through and, per Stripe's terms, are non-refundable on refunds initiated after settlement. Cancellations before settlement return the full processing fee.
• Tips — refundable at the customer's request while the tip is in `pending` bucket; irrevocable once released.
• Featured placement purchases — non-refundable once the placement has gone `active`.
4. Disputes
Open a dispute from the workspace (Bookings/Orders → your transaction → "Open dispute") or from Dashboard → Disputes. You'll pick a reason (quality, missed delivery, deadline extension, partial refund, no-show, other), describe the issue, and upload evidence. Once submitted:
• The provider's net amount for that transaction moves to `reserved` and cannot be paid out.
• The provider is notified and has 72 hours to respond with counter-evidence.
• A moderator reviews both sides. Simple cases close within a few business days; complex cases can take longer.
• Possible outcomes: full refund to customer, partial refund, extension of deliverable window, resolution in provider's favor (funds released), or platform credit issued for goodwill.
You cannot open a dispute after 30 days from the last transaction event without special approval, and the parties cannot re-litigate a closed dispute unless new evidence emerges.
5. Chargebacks
If you initiate a chargeback with your card issuer instead of using our dispute flow, Stripe notifies GCW. We immediately freeze the provider's funds for that transaction, gather evidence, and submit a response to your issuer. Repeated fraudulent chargebacks may result in account restriction.
6. Refund timing summary
• In-window cancellation → refund initiated the same day; funds appear on your statement within 5-10 business days.
• Mutual cancellation → refund initiated immediately upon both agreements; funds appear within 5-10 business days.
• Dispute-driven refund → initiated on the day the moderator closes the case; funds appear within 5-10 business days.
Related policies
→ Cancellation Policy — /cancellation-policy
→ Payment Policy — /payment-policy
→ Customer Agreement — /customer-agreement
→ Provider Agreement — /provider-agreement
Questions about this policy? Reach us at legal@gulfcoastwork.com or via /contact.