Refund Policy Last update 4 days ago
This Refund Policy explains when an order placed on Xp Freelancer can be refunded, how to request a refund, how long each stage takes, and how the money reaches you. It forms part of our Terms of Service and should be read together with it.
Last updated: 7 August 2026
1. How payments are held
Xp Freelancer is a marketplace. When you place an order, your payment is taken immediately but it is not paid to the seller straight away. Funds are held by Xp Freelancer while the work is carried out, and are only released to the seller after the order completes.
This means that while an order is in progress, or while a refund request is open, the money is still under our control and can be returned to you if the request is approved.
2. The order lifecycle
Every order moves through a defined set of stages, and your refund rights depend on which stage the order has reached:
- Pending — you have paid, but the seller has not started. Requirements may still be outstanding.
- In progress — the seller has accepted and is working on your order.
- Delivered — the seller has submitted the work and the review window has opened.
- Completed — you accepted the delivery, or the review window expired.
- Cancelled / Refunded — the order was ended early and funds were returned.
3. Key timeframes
| Stage | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Review window after delivery | 7 days — after this the order completes automatically |
| Seller response to a refund request | Expected within 48 hours |
| Escalation to Xp Freelancer support | Available once the seller rejects, or does not respond |
| Seller earnings clearing period | 12 days after the order completes |
The 7-day review window matters: if you take no action, the order completes automatically and the seller becomes entitled to payment. If you are not satisfied, raise the issue before that window closes.
4. When you can request a refund
You may request a refund where:
- The seller did not deliver by the agreed delivery date.
- The work delivered does not match the gig description or the agreed requirements.
- The delivery is materially incomplete, unusable, or empty.
- The work is plagiarised, infringes third-party rights, or is generated in breach of our rules.
- The seller stopped responding and did not deliver.
- The order was placed in error and the seller has not yet started work.
- The transaction was unauthorised (for example, your account or payment method was used without permission).
5. When a refund will normally be declined
Refunds are not a substitute for changing your mind. A request will normally be declined where:
- The work was delivered as described and simply does not match your personal taste.
- You are asking for changes beyond the scope you originally ordered and paid for.
- You have already used, published, or commercially benefited from the delivered work.
- You supplied incorrect or incomplete requirements, and the seller worked to what was provided.
- You failed to respond to the seller's reasonable questions, preventing delivery.
- Revisions included in the package have not yet been used.
- The request is made after the order completed and the review window has long expired, other than in cases of fraud.
Where a delivery is close to acceptable, we encourage using the revisions included with your package first. Most disputes are resolved faster this way than by cancelling.
6. How to request a refund
- Talk to the seller first. Open the order and explain precisely what is wrong. Many issues are resolved in one message.
- Open a refund request. Go to the order and submit a refund request, stating a clear reason and attaching evidence — screenshots, the brief, or the delivered files.
- Wait for the seller's response. The seller may accept or reject the request.
- Escalate if needed. If the seller rejects the request or does not respond, you can request review by Xp Freelancer support.
- Decision. Our team reviews the order, the brief, the delivered files and the message history, and issues a final decision.
Requests that contain no reason, or that are submitted without any attempt to contact the seller, may be returned to you before review.
7. Review by Xp Freelancer
When a case is escalated, we look at the objective record: what the gig promised, what the buyer's requirements asked for, what was actually delivered, when it was delivered, and what both parties said in the order chat.
We may ask either party for additional information, and may request a reasonable extension so the seller can correct the work. Our decision on an escalated case is final within the platform.
8. Possible outcomes
- Full refund — the entire order amount is returned.
- Partial refund — where part of the work was delivered and is usable, an amount proportionate to what was delivered may be returned.
- Redelivery — the seller is given a defined period to correct or complete the work.
- Request declined — the order stands and the seller is paid.
9. How refunds are paid
Approved refunds are credited to your Xp Freelancer account balance by default. Funds in your balance can be used immediately for any other order on the platform, with no waiting period.
Where a refund to the original payment method is required or requested, it is returned to the card, wallet, or account used for the original payment. Please allow 5–10 business days for it to appear, depending on your payment provider and bank. Payment processor fees may not be recoverable, and any non-refundable gateway charges may be deducted where permitted by law.
Refunds are always issued to the original buyer's account. We cannot redirect a refund to a different person, card, or account.
10. Cancelling before work starts
If the seller has not yet started, you may ask to cancel and, where the seller agrees, the order is cancelled and the full amount returned to your balance. Once a seller has begun work, cancellation is at the seller's discretion or subject to the refund process above.
11. Effect on sellers
Sellers are paid after an order completes, and earnings become withdrawable once the 12-day clearing period has passed. If a refund is approved before earnings clear, the amount is reversed from the pending balance. If it is approved after funds have cleared and been withdrawn, the amount may be recovered from future earnings.
Repeated refunds arising from non-delivery or misrepresented gigs affect a seller's standing and may lead to gig removal or account suspension.
12. Custom offers, tips and add-ons
Custom offers and gig extras follow this same policy and the same review window. Tips are voluntary payments made after satisfactory delivery and are non-refundable, other than where they were made in error or without authorisation.
13. Chargebacks
Please raise a refund request with us before contacting your bank or card issuer. A chargeback filed without first using this process may result in your account being suspended while the claim is investigated, and can take considerably longer to resolve than a refund request.
Where a chargeback is filed on an order that was properly delivered, we reserve the right to recover the amount and any associated fees, and to restrict the account involved.
14. Abuse of this policy
Requesting refunds for work you go on to use, repeatedly filing unfounded requests, or attempting to obtain work without paying is a breach of our Terms of Service and may result in the loss of refund rights, removal of content, and permanent account closure.
15. Your statutory rights
Nothing in this policy limits any rights you have under the consumer protection laws that apply to you. Where those laws grant you stronger rights than this policy, those rights prevail.
16. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The version published on this page at the moment you place an order is the version that applies to that order. Material changes will be announced on the platform.
17. Contact us
Questions about a specific order are best raised through the order page so our team can see the full history. For anything else, contact us at support@xpfreelancer.com.