Refunds and cancellations
Last updated October 15, 2026
YardHound sells one thing: a marketplace that connects homeowners with independent workers for individual yard jobs, and handles the payment between them. This page explains exactly where the money goes in every case. The same rules are shown in the app, with the actual amounts, before anyone confirms a cancellation.
When you're charged
- Posting a job, taking bids and closing a post are free.
- The homeowner's card is charged when they pick a worker. The charge is the job price plus a 10% service fee, plus sales tax if it applies.
- The payment is held until the homeowner approves the work, or until 72 hours after the worker marks the job done, whichever comes first. Then the worker is paid.
- If the card is declined when you pick a worker, nothing is confirmed to anyone until a payment goes through.
Every outcome
Amounts below are for a $40 job, where the homeowner paid $44.
| What happened | Worker is paid | Homeowner refund | $40 job |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved, or 72 hours pass after the worker marks it done | Full job price, less 10% | None | Worker $36.00 |
| Homeowner cancels before the worker checks in | Nothing | Everything paid, less 3% | Refund $42.68 |
| Worker doesn't check in by the scheduled time (no-show) | Nothing | Everything paid, in full | Refund $44.00 |
| Worker backs out after being picked | Nothing | Everything paid, in full; or repost in one tap with the other responses still attached | Refund $44.00 |
| Homeowner cancels after the worker checks in, but before work starts | 25% of the job price, less 10% | The rest, less 3% | Worker $9.00 Refund $32.01 |
| Worker turned away at the door: locked gate, loose dog, nobody home when needed, after a message and a 20-minute wait | 25% of the job price, less 10% | The rest, less 3% | Worker $9.00 Refund $32.01 |
| Homeowner cancels after work has started | Full job price, less 10% | None | Worker $36.00 |
| Worker stops early (weather, equipment, unsafe conditions) | A share set by YardHound from the photos, in 10% steps | The rest, less 3% | At 60%: worker $21.60, refund $17.07 |
| Dispute | Released, refunded or split in 10% steps | Depends on the decision, less 3% | Full refund: $42.68 |
Why 3% is kept on refunds
Card processors don't return their fee when a payment is refunded. Keeping 3% of the refunded amount covers that cost. When a worker doesn't show up, we absorb the fee ourselves and refund everything.
Disputes
- A homeowner can dispute a job in the app within 72 hours of the worker marking it done, with a reason, a short description and photos.
- The worker has 24 hours to respond. A person at YardHound reviews the job's photos, hazard walk and messages and decides: release the payment, refund it, or split it in 10% steps. Both sides get a one-line reason.
- Unless the record clearly shows the work wasn't done as posted, or a hazard that was disclosed and acknowledged was damaged, the payment is released to the worker. Ties go to the worker.
- Either side can contest a decision once, within 7 days. A different person reviews it, and that decision is final. The money stays held until then.
- A turn-away the homeowner neither confirms nor disputes stands after 24 hours.
Tips and the verification fee
- Tips are optional and go 100% to the worker. Tips are not refundable once sent.
- The one-time $13 verification fee is refunded in full if your background check is denied. Otherwise it's returned as a $13 credit, applied automatically to your second job within 120 days of being issued. The credit has no cash value.
How long refunds take
Refunds go back to the card you paid with and usually appear in 5 to 10 business days, depending on your bank.
Questions, or a charge you don't recognize
Email support@yard-hound.com. Please contact us before disputing a charge with your bank. We can usually fix it faster, and a bank dispute freezes the payment for both sides while it's open.