How disputes work

When the provider says the job is done

The provider submits the finished work with a description and photos. You then have 3 days to accept it or report a problem. We remind you 24 hours before the deadline. If you do nothing, payment is released to the provider.

You cannot simply refuse to pay for work that the provider says is finished: to hold payment you open a dispute with a reason and, ideally, photos. While a dispute is open, the payment stays on hold and the booking cannot be auto-accepted.

Who can open a dispute, and when

Customers can report problems while the job is in progress, while it awaits acceptance, and up to 14 days after it is completed. Providers can report a customer who is unresponsive after completed work (after 24 hours), who was not there, or who refuses finished work unfairly. Safety reports go straight to NO-DIY support.

The steps

1. The other side has 72 hours to respond: agree, counter-offer, or disagree.

2. You can negotiate with offers (up to 4). If you agree, the outcome happens immediately.

3. If you cannot agree, or nobody responds, a NO-DIY specialist reviews the evidence and decides, usually within 5 days.

4. Either side can appeal once within 48 hours. A different specialist reviews the appeal and their decision is final within NO-DIY.

5. If nobody appeals, the decision takes effect automatically after the appeal window.

Possible outcomes

Full refund, partial refund (the provider receives the rest), release of payment to the provider, or the provider redoing the work by a deadline. If the provider misses the redo deadline the customer is refunded in full.

Your other options

Using NO-DIY’s process does not remove your right to take a complaint to the Department of Trade and Industry or to the courts. Misuse of the dispute process, such as false claims or fake evidence, can lead to suspension.