This Refund Policy explains when and how refunds are issued for payments made through Pagawa. It works alongside our Terms and Conditions, and the two should be read together — where this policy is silent, the relevant sections of the Terms and Conditions apply.
Refunds on Pagawa work differently from a typical online store, because you are not buying a physical product — you are booking a service from an Expert. There is nothing to package up and return. Instead, refunds are tied to whether an order was cancelled, disputed, or otherwise did not go ahead as agreed.
How Payment Is Held
When a Requester books a Service listing or accepts an Offer on a Task, the agreed amount is charged and held by Pagawa’s payment provider. It is not released to the Expert until the Requester confirms the work is complete, or until the order is cancelled or a dispute is resolved. This hold is what makes a refund possible: as long as a payment has not yet been released to the Expert, it can still be returned to the Requester.
When You’re Eligible for a Refund
You may be eligible for a full or partial refund when:
- An order is cancelled by mutual agreement between the Requester and the Expert before the work is completed.
- An order is cancelled by Pagawa where these Terms or applicable Philippine law allow it, for example if an Expert account is suspended before work begins.
- A dispute is opened on a completed order and Pagawa’s review finds in the Requester’s favor, in full or in part.
Cancelling an Order
Either a Requester or an Expert can propose cancelling an order before it is marked complete. Once both sides agree, the amount held for that order is refunded to the Requester. Any fee handling specific to that cancellation is shown at the time of cancellation.
If you need to cancel an order, the fastest way is to message the other party directly through Pagawa and confirm the cancellation on the order page.
Disputing a Completed Order
If a Requester is not satisfied that the work was completed as agreed, they can open a dispute instead of confirming completion. Once a dispute is open:
- The payment held for that order stays with Pagawa’s payment provider while the dispute is reviewed.
- Both the Requester and the Expert can submit evidence, such as messages, photos, or a description of what was delivered.
- Pagawa reviews the evidence and decides, at its reasonable discretion, whether to release the payment to the Expert, refund it to the Requester, or split it between the two based on what the evidence supports.
Full details of the dispute process are set out in Section 9 of our Terms and Conditions.
How Refunds Are Paid
Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method used at checkout — for example, the same GCash account, card, or e-wallet. Pagawa does not issue refunds to a different account or payment method than the one used to pay.
Refund Processing Time
Once a cancellation is confirmed or a dispute outcome is decided, Pagawa initiates the refund promptly. From there, how quickly the funds appear depends on your payment method and provider — e-wallet refunds are typically fastest, while card refunds can take longer to post depending on your bank’s own processing times. If a refund has not arrived after a reasonable time, contact us and we will check its status with our payment provider.
What’s Not Covered
This policy covers the amount paid for an order held by Pagawa. It does not cover:
- Any arrangement made or payment sent outside the Pagawa platform, which Pagawa cannot trace or refund.
- Dissatisfaction with an Expert’s work raised after an order has already been confirmed as complete without going through the dispute process — once completion is confirmed, the payment has already been released.
- Fees, where a specific cancellation or dispute outcome states that fees are non-refundable.
How to Request a Refund
Most refunds happen automatically once a cancellation is agreed or a dispute is resolved — you do not need to file a separate request. If you believe a refund is owed and has not been processed, contact us and include your order number so we can look into it.
Changes to This Policy
Pagawa may update this Refund Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the platform or applicable law. Where a change materially affects your rights, we will provide notice through the platform before it takes effect.