1. Wallet top-ups
Amounts are in NGN. A short-stay proposal itemises the hourly rate × booked hours, a ₦750 service fee, and any short-notice premium and transport charge. Initial estimates can change during review; you must accept the current proposal before confirmation. Scheduled requests are not made emergency-priced just because staff review took time. Existing bookings keep their previously agreed prices.
Parents add funds through Paystack; our server verifies the payment before crediting a wallet. A browser redirect alone is not confirmation of credit, and a wallet top-up is not a confirmed care booking.
If you were debited without credit or suspect a duplicate, contact hello@auntynow.com with the payment reference. Do not send card numbers, PINs or OTPs, or repeatedly pay just to test whether a debit worked. Refund rights are not limited by a blanket “non-refundable” top-up rule.
2. Booking holds
No money is held when a new request is submitted. After staff review and caregiver acceptance, you must accept and fund the current proposal before its displayed expiry. That confirmation moves the full agreed total from your available wallet ledger to a booking hold. A declined, expired or cancelled unconfirmed request has no new booking hold to release. Overnight, extended, multi-day and recurring enquiries cannot be funded or confirmed in the app.
The app uses the term “escrow” for the hold; it is not a promise of an independent trust or deposit insurance. On recorded completion, care pay, the agreed caregiver premium share and transport amount move to the caregiver’s earnings wallet, less any late-arrival credit. The service fee and platform premium share remain with the platform. A premium share is not an additional charge beyond the accepted total.
3. Parent cancellation
Use Cancel for an unconfirmed request or enquiry, a legacy matching request, or a confirmed booking before arrival, including while the caregiver is en route. New unconfirmed requests normally have no held funds. Where funds are held, the full amount—including the service fee, premium and transport charge—returns to your available AuntyNow wallet. For arrived, in-progress or completed bookings, contact support for review; there is no automatic partial-refund calculation.
Repeated cancellation, a complaint or an account restriction does not automatically forfeit your money. Any proposed charge or adjustment must have a lawful basis and be explained. A wallet credit is not a substitute for an original-method refund where the law requires one.
4. Caregiver cancellation and no-shows
If a caregiver withdraws in the app from a confirmed booking before starting the journey, the booking is cancelled and all held funds return to your wallet. Withdrawal from an unconfirmed offer returns the request to review; it does not guarantee another caregiver. Contact support for replacement assistance. A platform- or caregiver-caused replacement should not add a new emergency premium merely because the original arrangement failed.
If a caregiver does not arrive or care ends early, report it promptly with the booking reference and the service actually received. Do not mark undelivered care complete. There is no automatic no-show refund timer or guaranteed replacement; support must review the records and applicable remedy. Completion does not waive your right to dispute defective or missing service.
5. Late-arrival service credit
When recorded arrival is more than 10 minutes after the scheduled start time, one booked hourly-rate amount is returned to the Parent's available wallet when the booking completes, and the Caregiver release is reduced by the same amount. This is wallet credit, not an automatic reversal to the original card or bank method.
6. Disputes and chargebacks
For a refund of unused funds, an erroneous payment or an amount due for failed care, email hello@auntynow.com with your account email, booking/payment reference, amount and reason. The current app has no self-service withdrawal or automatic original-method refund. Active holds, previous credits and provider records need reconciliation; support should confirm the decision and processing route rather than promise an unverified bank-processing time.
Caregiver release also means credit to an in-platform earnings wallet, not an automatic bank payout. Contact support for payout assistance.
You may use your bank’s dispute process. A good-faith chargeback or complaint is not, by itself, a reason for a penalty or retaliation. Tell support about an existing bank dispute so the same payment is not refunded twice. Use Complaints & Dispute Resolution to request review. Statutory rights remain available.