Dispute, Payout, Refund & Tax Policy

This Policy forms part of the Guruu Terms of Service (“the Platform,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). It explains how payments, booking fees, disputes, refunds, and taxes are handled for transactions processed through Stripe, our third-party payment provider.

1. Pre-Booking Confirmation

Before completing any booking, Buyers must confirm that they understand and agree to Guruu’s refund and dispute rules. This confirmation appears in a pop-up window during the booking process and must be accepted before payment.

By ticking the confirmation checkbox, Buyers acknowledge that refunds are only available if:

• The Guruu did not meet agreed requirements that were clearly written and confirmed before the session;

• The Guruu was a no-show;

• The Guruu breached Guruu’s Community Standards; or

• A technical issue not caused by the Buyer occurred (e.g., the Guruu’s internet failure, hardware malfunction, or a verified outage of Guruu/Twilio).

Refunds are not available for reasons including, but not limited to:

• changing your mind

• personality mismatch

• disliking the Guruu’s delivery style

• not achieving the outcome you hoped for

A timestamped record of this acknowledgement is stored with each booking.

2. Payment Handling

All payments are processed securely through Stripe. When a Buyer books a Service, the full amount is charged immediately and placed in temporary escrow by Stripe on behalf of the Platform.

Funds are released only when:

• The Buyer confirms the Service was completed;

• The Buyer takes no action within a Do Nothing review window (see Section 4); or

• A dispute is raised in accordance with this Policy.

2.1 Session Recordings & Evidence Use

Guruu sessions are automatically recorded for safety, transparency, fraud prevention, and dispute resolution.

By using the Platform, both Buyers and Service Providers consent to Guruu reviewing session recordings for:

• verifying delivery or non-delivery of the session

• resolving disputes (Tier 0, Tier 1, Tier 2)

• safety investigations and policy violations

• fraud prevention and compliance audits

• responding to chargebacks or external payment disputes

Recordings may be reviewed by authorised Guruu staff and may be provided to Stripe or the issuing bank solely for the purpose of resolving a payment dispute or chargeback.

As part of a dispute or chargeback investigation, Guruu may also provide:

• session logs (join/leave times, connection events)

• chat and communication history

• evidence uploads

• fulfilment records

• dispute timeline (Tier 0 → Tier 1 → Tier 2)

• the Buyer’s pre-booking acknowledgement

• proof of delivery or non-delivery

Recordings are never shared publicly and are not used for marketing.

For accounts belonging to minors, only the registered guardian may receive dispute-related notifications, outcomes, or evidence.

3. Platform Commission, Booking Fee & Processing Fees

For each confirmed booking:

• A non-refundable USD $3.00 booking fee is charged. This covers platform operations, fraud prevention, escrow, dispute handling, and AI mediation systems.

• A 15% platform commission is deducted from the gross booking amount.

• Stripe card-processing fees (2.9% + USD $0.30 domestic; 4.4% + USD $0.30 international) are also deducted from payout.

The Service Provider receives the net amount after commission, booking fee, Stripe fees, and applicable taxes.

4. Buyer Review Period

Immediately after the session ends, the Buyer must choose how to finalise the booking.
The Buyer sees three options:

4.1 Pay Now 

Selecting Pay Now means the Buyer confirms the session was delivered.

• The payout is queued and processed to the Service Provider within approximately 24 hours.

• The transaction becomes final for Platform purposes.

• The Buyer permanently loses the right to dispute this booking.

4.2 Do Nothing 

If the Buyer needs time to assess the session, they may select Do Nothing.

• This action creates a 72-hour review window.

• Within those 72 hours, the Buyer may still:

  • select Pay Now, or

  • open a dispute (which immediately freezes funds and moves the booking to Tier 0).

If the Buyer takes no action by the end of the 72-hour window:

• The booking auto-finalises as if Pay Now was selected.

• The payout is processed within approximately 24 hours (around 96 hours after session end).

“Do Nothing” can only be selected once and cannot be extended, restarted, or reactivated.

4.3 Open Dispute

The Buyer may open a dispute immediately after the session ends.

• A dedicated dispute chat is opened.

• Funds remain frozen in escrow.

• Tier 0 negotiation begins.

• The booking enters the full Tier 0 → Tier 1 → Tier 2 process.

5. Internal Dispute Resolution

Disputes may be raised:

• immediately after the session ends, OR

• at any time during a Do Nothing review window, provided Pay Now has not already been selected.

Guruu uses a three-tier dispute process:

Tier 0 — Direct negotiation

The Buyer and Guruu attempt to resolve the issue in a dedicated dispute chat.

This period lasts up to 72 hours, unless escalated earlier.

If a dispute is opened during a Do Nothing review window, the window immediately ends and funds remain frozen.

Tier 1 — AI Mediation

If Tier 0 fails, or after 72 hours automatically, Guruu’s AI mediation system assists with:

• summarising issues

• analysing fairness

• suggesting settlement percentages

• clarifying missing information

AI does not make decisions or process payments.

Tier 2 — Human Review 

A dispute automatically escalates to Tier 2 if:

• negotiation and AI mediation fail, or

• video evidence is provided or required, or

• safety or policy concerns are detected.

A Guruu specialist reviews:

• all chat messages

• logs and timestamps

• evidence uploads

• session recordings

• relevant platform data

The Platform’s internal decision is final for Platform purposes.
Buyers retain the right to seek a bank-level chargeback (see Section 6).

For minor accounts, only the registered guardian may participate in or receive dispute outcomes.

6. Card Disputes and Chargebacks

A Buyer may dispute a charge directly with their bank.

If a chargeback occurs, the booking enters External Dispute status, and:

• Stripe withdraws the disputed amount from the Platform;

• All related payouts are frozen;

• Guruu submits evidence including:

  • the Buyer’s pre-booking acknowledgement

  • session recordings

  • session logs

  • chat and dispute-room history

  • any evidence uploaded by either party

  • fulfilment records

  • Tier 0 / Tier 1 / Tier 2 timeline

  • proof of delivery or non-delivery

If the account belongs to a minor, only the registered guardian receives chargeback-related communications.

Buyers who bypass Guruu’s internal dispute process may face account restrictions or be required to use verified payment methods.

Once the issuing bank makes a decision:

• If the Platform wins, funds are restored;

• If the Platform loses, the Buyer is refunded;

• Guruu may recover losses from the Service Provider if the cause was their non-performance.

7. Refunds

Refunds are assessed case-by-case and must fall under the valid reasons listed in Section 1.

If approved:

• Refunds are processed minus Stripe’s non-refundable processing fees and the USD $3.00 booking fee.

• Stripe does not return processing fees to the Platform.

• The Platform may retain its commission to cover administrative and operational costs.

Example:
If you paid USD $100.00 and Stripe fees were USD $3.20, your refund would be USD $96.80.

If the Buyer is a no-show, the Guruu may receive the full payout according to the cancellation policy.

8. Cancellation by Service Provider

If a Guruu cancels a confirmed booking, the Buyer receives a full refund, including the booking fee and card-processing fees.
Additional penalties or restrictions may apply to the Guruu’s account.

9. Cancellations 

Refunds depend on the Guruu’s cancellation policy, which is displayed at the time of booking.

Refunds under the cancellation policy exclude:

• the non-refundable USD $3.00 booking fee

• Stripe’s non-refundable processing fees

10. Taxes

The Platform may be required to collect and remit taxes (sales tax, GST, VAT, etc.) depending on location.

Collected taxes:

• are held on behalf of tax authorities

• are not Platform revenue

• may affect displayed prices

10.1 Service Provider Tax Responsibilities

Service Providers on Guruu act as independent contractors, not employees, agents, or representatives of Guruu Labs LLC.
Each Service Provider is solely responsible for:

• declaring and paying their own income tax, GST, VAT, or other applicable taxes;

• maintaining any required business registrations;

• complying with local tax laws in their country or region;

• keeping appropriate financial and tax records; and

• understanding their own tax obligations in relation to earnings received through the Platform.

Guruu does not withhold income tax on behalf of Service Providers and does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice.

Where required by law, Guruu may collect, withhold, or remit transactional taxes (e.g., GST/VAT on services or platform fees), but this does not affect the Service Provider’s responsibility to declare their own earnings.

11. Fraud and Unauthorized Payments

Stripe provides fraud screening and authentication tools.
The Platform is not responsible for fraudulent or unauthorized card use beyond protections provided by Stripe and card networks.

12. Finality of Payouts

Once a Buyer selects Pay Now, or a Do Nothing review window expires and the booking auto-finalises, the payout is processed within approximately 24 hours.

After payout is released, the transaction is considered final for Platform purposes, unless reversed by a valid card-network chargeback.

13. Acceptance

By using the Platform, Buyers and Service Providers acknowledge and agree to this Policy, including the pre-booking confirmation requirement in Section 1.

For assistance, contact: help@guruu.co

Last updated November 27, 2025.