All booking payments on Avarice are made through the platform and processed by Stripe. Funds are held and released on the schedule below. This policy sets out that schedule and what happens to those funds if a booking is cancelled or disputed.
When a planner accepts a supplier quote through Avarice, the agreed amount is split into two stages:
Where a card fee for a non-UK card applies (see our Terms of Service), it is added to the relevant payment and shown before you pay. Avarice deducts its platform commission before releasing funds to the supplier.
The deposit may be released to the supplier ahead of the event, on the supplier's release terms shown at quote acceptance (typically 14 days before the event date), to cover preparation and hire costs.
The balance is released to the supplier within 72 hours of the event end date, provided no dispute has been raised. Once the event end date has passed, both the planner and supplier will receive a confirmation from Avarice.
If a confirmed booking is amended by agreement between planner and supplier, any increase is payable on the schedule shown when the amendment is confirmed, and any decrease is refunded to the planner's original payment method.
Every quote carries a cancellation policy set by the supplier, shown in full to the planner before the quote is accepted and fixed on the booking from that point. The policy is a scale of up to four steps, each giving the number of days before the event and the percentage of the deposit refunded if the cancellation is made at least that many days ahead. Inside the last step no deposit is refunded. A supplier may use one of the three standard scales below or set their own, and the exact wording of the scale that applies to a booking is shown on the quote, on the booking and in the confirmation email.
Any deposit amount not refunded is released to the supplier as a cancellation fee. Any balance already paid is refunded whatever the policy and notice period, subject to the processing-cost deduction below.
Cancellation cut-off. Cancellations cannot be submitted through the platform on the day of the event or the day before. By that point the supplier's crew, kit and logistics are committed. If you need to cancel inside this window, contact Avarice directly and we will work through it with both parties; any refund inside this window is at Avarice's discretion.
Payment processing costs. Card processing fees charged by our payment provider on the original payment are not returned to Avarice when a payment is refunded. Refunds on planner-initiated cancellations are therefore made net of the non-recoverable payment processing costs attributable to the amounts refunded. The exact deduction is shown before you confirm the cancellation.
Cancellations are submitted through the platform. Where the entitlement is clear under the applicable policy, Avarice confirms it and processes the refund to the original payment method automatically at the point of cancellation; bookings with amendments, disputes or funds already released to the supplier are reviewed by the Avarice team first. Refunds typically appear on the original payment method within 5–10 working days of being processed.
If a supplier cancels a confirmed booking, the planner receives a full refund of all amounts paid through Avarice, including any international card fee — no cancellation policy tiers and no processing-cost deduction apply, and refunds are returned to the card or account the payment was made from, typically within 5–10 working days. The planner's brief is reopened so previously received quotes and conversations with other suppliers can be picked back up, and Avarice will make every reasonable effort to help find an alternative supplier at short notice.
Costs of a supplier cancellation. The costs a supplier cancellation creates — the non-recoverable payment processing fees on the refunded amounts, and any booking funds already released to the supplier — are owed by the cancelling supplier to Avarice. These are recorded against the supplier's account and recovered by deduction from the supplier's future payouts through the platform, or invoiced directly.
Suppliers who cancel confirmed bookings without reasonable cause may be suspended from the platform.
If an event is postponed rather than cancelled, Avarice will transfer the existing payment to the new event date at no additional charge, provided both parties agree in writing. If agreement cannot be reached, the cancellation terms above apply based on the original event date.
The contract for the AV services is between the planner and the supplier. Avarice operates the marketplace and collects payment as the supplier's payment-collection agent. We are not a party to that supply contract, we do not perform the services, and we do not arbitrate how well they were performed. Any claim about the standard, timing or completeness of the work is a matter between the planner and the supplier directly.
There is one exception, and it is deliberately narrow. Because we hold the balance for 72 hours after the event, we will act where a booking was not performed at all — specifically where the supplier did not attend, or did not supply substantially all of the services set out in the accepted quote. These are questions of fact about whether the booking took place, not judgements about quality, and they are the only grounds on which Avarice will withhold or refund held funds.
Raising a problem. A planner may raise a problem through the platform at any point before the balance is released. Doing so pauses the release and puts the planner's account to the supplier, who is asked to respond within 2 business days. What happens next depends on the grounds:
A problem cannot be raised through the platform once the balance has been released. Avarice will, on request from either party, provide the records it holds on a booking — the brief, quote, messages and payment history — to assist the parties in resolving matters between themselves or in any proceedings between them. Providing those records is not, and must not be taken as, Avarice taking a side.
Bank and card-issuer chargebacks follow their own process, whatever this section says — see Chargebacks below.
Consumers. Nothing in this policy affects the statutory rights of a planner who is acting as a consumer, including rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Nothing in this policy limits either party's rights against the other under the supply contract between them.
If a planner disputes a payment with their card issuer or bank instead of through the platform, the card scheme's or bank's process applies regardless of the timescales in this policy. When a chargeback is raised, Avarice pauses any release of funds still held on the booking, opens a case and asks both parties for evidence to submit to the bank. The decision on a chargeback is made by the bank under the card scheme's rules, not by Avarice.
Where funds had already been released to the supplier and the chargeback succeeds, the amount is recoverable from the supplier in the same way as other sums owed to Avarice. Raising a chargeback does not remove the planner's obligations under our terms, and chargebacks raised without genuine cause may lead to account suspension.
In the event of circumstances beyond either party's control — including extreme weather, venue closure, or government restrictions — Avarice will work with both parties to reach a fair outcome. Avarice does not accept liability for losses arising from force majeure events but will facilitate refunds or transfers where possible.
For any questions about a payment or to raise a concern, contact us at hello@avarice-av.co.uk. Please include your booking reference in any correspondence.