Paying someone you've just found online is the awkward part of booking a local service. Service Connect is built to make that bit simple: nothing is charged when you send a request, your card is only charged once a provider accepts, and Stripe holds the money until the job is done. Here is exactly how it works, step by step.
1. You send a request: nothing is charged
Browse providers in your county, or post a job and let providers come to you. Once you find someone, pick a day and a time, settle the price in chat, and send the request. At this point nothing is charged. You can ask questions, get a custom offer and agree the details, all in the same thread, before any money moves.
2. The provider accepts: your card is charged
Your card is only charged once the provider accepts the job. Stripe processes the payment inside the app, and Service Connect never sees your card number or stores your card details.
3. Stripe holds the money until the job is done
Once you've paid, the money doesn't go straight to the provider. Stripe holds it until the work is finished. That gives both sides a reason to sort out any problems in chat rather than argue over a payment that's already gone.
4. Job marked done: you confirm, or it confirms itself after 7 days
When the provider marks the job as done, it's your turn to confirm it, which releases the payment to them. If you don't do anything, the booking confirms itself automatically 7 days later, unless a dispute is open. So if you're happy with the work, confirming promptly gets your provider paid sooner. If you're not happy, that's the point to speak up.
5. Something wrong? A dispute keeps the money held
If there's a problem, opening a dispute keeps the payment held while it's looked at, instead of it releasing on the 7-day timer. You can raise a dispute for reasons like the provider not showing up, the job not being finished, something being damaged, the price changing, or something else. The Service Connect team looks into every dispute. If something goes wrong on the day, email support@serviceconnect.ie.
Changed your mind? Cancelling before work starts
If either you or the provider wants to cancel before work starts, the booking is cancelled once the other person agrees, or automatically after three days if they don't respond. Either way, your full payment is refunded, fee included. Nothing is lost for changing your mind early.
The buyer protection fee, explained
Buyer protection costs €0.90 plus 5% of the first €500 of the job, and 3% of anything above that. On a €60 job that comes to €3.90, on a €100 job it's €5.90, and on a €350 job it's €18.40. Whatever the figure, it's shown on screen in full before you confirm, and there's nothing else to pay.
What buyer protection does, and doesn't, cover
Buyer protection means your card isn't touched until a provider accepts, your money sits with Stripe rather than the provider until the job is done, you get a say before it's released, and you get a full refund, fee included, if a booking is cancelled before work starts.
It's worth being clear about what it isn't. Service Connect doesn't inspect providers' qualifications or insurance documents itself, and doesn't run background checks. Providers verify their identity through Stripe with a government-issued ID, an address and bank details, and they declare whether they hold public liability insurance, but that declaration isn't independently checked. It's worth reading a provider's profile, checking their reviews and asking about insurance and qualifications in chat before you book, especially for gas, electrical or childcare work. A provider who breaks the rules is removed from the marketplace.
Reviews are only left by someone who actually completed a booking with that provider, so a recommendation on a profile comes from real work rather than a favour from a mate.
Try it for your next job
Whether you need a plumber, an electrician, a cleaner or something more unusual, you can browse categories, post a job for free and pay with the same buyer protection on every booking. See the full breakdown at buyer protection, check the steps at how it works, or get the Service Connect app to get started.