Refund & Cancellation Policy

1. How escrow relates to refunds

When an organization books talent on Standby, the organization funds the booking up front and Standby holds that payment in escrow via Stripe. The money is not released to the talent until after the event finishes. Because the funds are held rather than immediately paid out, a refund before completion is usually straightforward: the escrowed amount is returned to the organization's original payment method, minus any fees noted below.

2. Organization cancels before the event

Standby does not currently offer automatic cancellation refunds or a scaled refund schedule based on how much notice you give. If a booking needs to be cancelled before the event, contact Standby through our contact page as soon as possible. We look at the situation and either refund the organization in full, including the 8% platform fee, or release the payment to the talent in full. Partial refunds are not currently offered; every cancellation is reviewed and resolved one way or the other.

3. Talent cancels, no-shows, or fails to deliver

If the talent cancels, does not show up, or does not deliver the role that was booked, contact Standby through our contact page. Because the payment is still held in escrow, no funds are released to a talent who did not perform; once we confirm what happened, we refund the organization from escrow in full.

Standby does not currently source or arrange a replacement for a booking that falls through. If you need a replacement, that is on the organization to find; let us know about the original booking so we can resolve the refund.

4. How to request a refund

To request a refund, contact us through our contact page. Include the booking details and a short explanation of what happened. We read every message, usually within 2 business days. We cannot guarantee a response time. Approved refunds usually take 5 to 10 business days to show up, depending on your bank and card issuer.

Every cancellation and refund request is reviewed individually; there are no automatic tiers. If the two sides disagree about what happened, for example the organization says the talent didn't deliver and the talent says they did, that becomes a contested case and is handled under our Dispute Policy, where both sides submit evidence and Standby makes the final call on how the escrowed funds are allocated: released to the talent in full, or refunded to the organization in full.

5. Chargebacks are separate

Card-network chargebacks are handled by your bank and are separate from this policy. We ask that you use the refund and dispute process above rather than filing a chargeback, since it is faster and keeps the escrowed funds available for a fair outcome. The rules on chargebacks, including that fraudulent chargebacks are grounds for removal, are covered in our Terms of Service.

6. Contact

Questions about a refund, a cancellation, or this policy can be raised through your booking on the Platform or via our contact page.