What card payments can cost you: cancellations and chargebacks
Card payments are optional, and they come with a few costs that you need to know about before you take your first deposit. None of them are hidden. Here they are in plain English, along with how to avoid the ones you can.
Check the booking before you press Accept & capture
When an owner sends a request with a card deposit, their card is held, not charged. The booking is not confirmed and no money moves until you have reviewed the request and accepted it. When you press Accept & capture, the deposit is charged and the booking is confirmed.
So take a moment first. Check the dates, the dog and the price. If anything is not right, message the owner or decline the request. Declining, or letting a request expire, only releases the hold on the owner’s card, so no payment is taken.
The reason to check is what happens if the booking is cancelled afterwards.
What happens to the fees if a booking is cancelled
If you accept and the booking is then cancelled, by you or by the owner, the deposit can be refunded to the owner (see how deposits and cancellations work for who decides). Here is what happens to the fees:
How to avoid it
- Check every request before you accept it, and decline if you are not sure.
- If an owner cancels too late, you can keep the deposit, which covers the fee. Read the chargebacks section first, so you know the risk.
- Charge a balance once rather than in pieces. See keep card fees low.
What Stripe charges per payment
The charges you see will depend on which card the dog owner uses at booking, so here is the range.
Chargebacks
A chargeback is when an owner disputes a card payment with their bank and asks for the money back. Because you are classed as The Merchant of Record (see control your own card payments), a chargeback is between you, the owner and Stripe. The DoggyDesk is not a party to it.
What happens in a chargeback
- Stripe reverses the payment. The money is taken back from your Stripe balance while the dispute is decided.
- You can respond. Stripe gives you tools to send evidence to the owner’s bank, such as the booking details, your messages and your cancellation policy. We can pass on booking details from our records to help, but the response is yours to make.
- The bank decides. If it is decided in your favour, Stripe returns the payment to your balance. If it is decided against you, the reversal stands.
Repeated chargebacks against your account may lead to it being suspended, by Stripe or by us.
How to avoid chargebacks
- Set a cancellation period that suits you, and agree the details clearly. The owner sees your policy before they book and it is saved with the booking.
- If you agree that a refund is the fair outcome, giving it yourself is usually simpler than waiting for a dispute.
- Keep your messages and records with each client.
Questions and answers
If I cancel a booking, do I get my fees back?
Our platform fee, if you pay one, is returned to you. Stripe keeps its own processing fee, currently 1.5% + 20p on a standard UK card, even when a payment is refunded.
Why do I lose a small fee when I refund?
When you refund a card payment, Stripe keeps its card processing fee. Our platform fee, if you pay one, always comes back to you. This only applies once you have accepted a booking, which is why every request waits for you to review it before any card is charged.
Is anything charged if I decline a request?
No. Declining, or letting a request expire, simply releases the hold on the owner’s card. No payment is taken from them.
What is a chargeback?
It is when an owner disputes a card payment with their bank. Stripe takes the money back from your Stripe balance while the dispute is decided, and usually charges a dispute fee.
Does The DoggyDesk deal with chargebacks for me?
No. You are the merchant of record, so a chargeback is between you, the owner and Stripe. We can pass on booking details from our records to help your response.
