Refund & Cancellation Policy

Last updated: 19 September 2026 · Version 2026-09-19

This page explains what happens if you cancel a delivery, if a courier lets you down, or if something goes wrong with a parcel. It is general information, not legal advice.

1. Your legal rights come first

This policy is in addition to your legal rights and never reduces them. In particular, if you are a consumer:

Consumer Rights Act 2015. Services must be carried out with reasonable care and skill. If a service isn't, you can ask for it to be repeated or for a price reduction.
Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. For a service you buy online you normally have 14 days from the day the contract is made to cancel without giving a reason. You lose that right once the service has been fully carried out. If you ask for the service to start straight away, for example by choosing pickup "Now", and then cancel, you must pay for what has already been provided.

[SOLICITOR TO CONFIRM: whether the sign-up and posting flow asks for the express "start now" request and the acknowledgement that the 14-day right is lost on full performance. Without it, we may not be able to rely on this]

If you use Vendaru for business rather than as a consumer, some of these consumer rights may not apply.

2. What happens in each situation

Situation	What happens
You cancel before any courier has accepted (job is Open)	Automatic full refund, or nothing is charged if you haven't paid.
You cancel after a courier has accepted, before collection	The Cancel button is locked at this point, because cancelling incurs a cancellation fee. Open Help in the app, go to Orders, and use "Contact support to cancel" on that order, and an administrator will cancel it for you and apply the fee. Whatever is not kept as the fee is refunded to you. If the courier let you down, no fee applies. [OWNER TO CONFIRM: the cancellation fee: a fixed amount, or how it is worked out]
No courier accepts your job in time	If nobody has accepted a job by 30 minutes after its pickup window ends (24 hours after the start time unless you set otherwise), it is cancelled automatically and you get a full refund, or are not charged.
The parcel has been collected	You can't cancel in the app. Use "Report a problem" or ask for a refund, and an administrator looks at it case by case.
The courier cancels or doesn't turn up before collection	The job goes back on the marketplace automatically and you aren't charged extra. If nobody delivers it, you get a full refund.
The parcel is lost or not delivered	Full refund.
The parcel is damaged	An administrator decides the refund amount, using evidence such as the proof photos and chat. A partial refund is possible.
You were charged the wrong price	We refund the difference.

These are our current default rules. They are drafts and may change. [SOLICITOR TO CONFIRM: the default rules, in particular the deduction and case-by-case decisions]

3. Asking for a refund

Damaged
Not delivered
Courier didn't turn up (no-show)
Wrong price
Other

Describe what happened in as much detail as you can. The proof photos and the order chat are taken into account. You can see the status of each request in the app:

Pending: waiting for us to look at it.
Approved: refunded in full.
Partially approved: refunded in part. We say how much and why.
Denied: not refunded. We give a written reason.
Auto-approved: approved automatically because a rule applied (for example, you cancelled before a courier accepted).

An administrator can approve a request in full or in part, or deny it with a written reason. You can also ask for help through Help, for example if you can't sign in.

4. How refunds are paid

Payment is currently tracked in the app and settled by hand, so refunds are also settled by hand by Vendaru. A job's payment status shows as unpaid, paid, partially refunded, refunded or void.

If you haven't paid yet: nothing is charged for a job that is cancelled or refunded in full.
If you have paid: we refund to the account or method you paid from. [OWNER TO CONFIRM: how refunds are paid]
How long it takes: [OWNER TO CONFIRM: how quickly refunds are paid once approved]

5. If a courier lets you down

If a courier cancels, hands the job back or doesn't collect the parcel, it goes back on the marketplace and another courier can accept it. You aren't charged again. If in the end no one delivers it, or the parcel is lost, you get a full refund. If a courier's behaviour worries you, see "Report a problem" or Help.

6. If you're unhappy with a decision

Tell us through Help or the contact details on our Contact page and we will look at it again. Our complaints process is:

We acknowledge your complaint within [OWNER TO CONFIRM: proposed: 2 working days].
We aim to give you a full reply within [OWNER TO CONFIRM: proposed: 14 days].
For complaints about personal data, you can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office.
Whether we offer an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme: [OWNER TO CONFIRM: decision on ADR]

Emergency? If someone is in danger, call 999. Vendaru can't respond to emergencies.