If things go wrong

Jobs fall over. Vans break down, customers vanish, someone's idea of "a small garden" turns out to be an acre. This page is what to do — and, more importantly, what it costs you.

If you need to cancel a job you've accepted

You are never charged a fee for cancelling. There is no cancellation charge at any stage and nothing is ever taken out of your account or your bank.

But "no fee" is not the same as "free", and the difference depends entirely on one thing: have you tapped "I'm on my way"?

Before you set off

The job goes back out to other Jobbers. The customer keeps their booking as long as somebody else takes it. You've earned nothing yet, so there's nothing to lose financially.

The only cost is to your reliability score, and that depends on notice — cancelling a job booked for next Tuesday costs you close to nothing; cancelling twenty minutes before the start costs you a lot. See below.

After you've set off, or after you've arrived

This is the one to understand before it happens.

Cancelling from here ends the job completely. We do not find the customer a replacement — your travel and your check-in can't be transferred to someone else. The customer is refunded in full, and you are paid nothing for the travelling or the work you've already done.

The app tells you this in red before you confirm. Believe it.

After you've marked the work finished

You can't cancel. The job is with the customer to confirm and release your money, and cancelling would refund them in full for work you actually did.

If something has genuinely gone wrong at that point, email jobbers@bob-o-job.com and we'll sort it with you.

On a team job

Cancelling only releases your place. It goes back out to other Jobbers, your teammates carry on, and the customer keeps their booking. You're paid nothing for it.

How to do it

Open the job, tap through to Cancel, and write a reason — it's required. Read the card at the top of that screen: it tells you exactly what will happen in your specific situation before you confirm.

Your reliability score

This is separate from your star rating, and it's the one that can eventually get an account reviewed.

Your reliability score protects customers, who plan their day around a confirmed booking. It is only reduced when you cancel a job you had already accepted — and the closer to the booked start time you cancel (or once you are en route, checked in, or have started), the bigger the impact, because that is when a customer is left waiting. Cancelling well ahead of time has little or no impact. Declining job offers, going offline, your working hours, and how many jobs you take on never affect it. There is no minimum acceptance rate and no requirement to be available at any time.

Only these four things reduce it:

1. Cancelling an accepted booking close to its start time (the closer, the bigger the impact)
2. Cancelling after marking yourself en route
3. Cancelling after checking in at the job
4. Cancelling after the job has started

Everyone starts at the top. If your score drops low enough, you are not automatically suspended — a person reviews it, and you can carry on taking jobs while they do. We think decisions that affect your income should be made by a human.

If the customer cancels on you

Depending on how far along you were, you may be compensated:

• You hadn't set off — no compensation, but nothing lost either.
• You were on your way — a share that rises with the minutes you actually spent travelling, capped at 15% of the job price. Below a pound it's waived.
• You'd arrived and checked in — you receive 75% of the job price.
• You'd marked the work finished — they can't cancel at all; it goes to a dispute.

Compensation is worked out on the full agreed price of the job and on the same basis as your normal earnings. If the customer used a discount or promotional credit, we absorb that — it never reduces what you're paid.

The full rules are in the Cancellation & Refund Policy.

If the customer swaps to a different Jobber

You'll get a Job reassigned message. You're free to take other work, this doesn't affect your reliability at all, and if you'd already set off you're compensated for it.

If the customer doesn't turn up

Wait, and try to reach them — call and message through the app, and give it a fair go for about 15 minutes from when you arrived.

If they're genuinely not there, use Customer didn't show up on the job screen. This ends the job, you're compensated for your time, and the customer is charged a no-show fee.

Only use it if they really aren't there. It's a serious call and it costs them money.

Very occasionally you'll see a message that your compensation is on hold — that means their card failed and we're chasing it. We'll be in touch; you're not being ignored.

Disputes

If a customer raises a problem, the job goes to Disputed and your payment is held while it's looked at. You'll get a message thread where you can put your side and add evidence.

This is what the photos are for. A before-and-after set usually ends a dispute in minutes. Without them it's one person's word against another's, and that's a much worse position for you.

You can raise a dispute yourself too — from the job screen. The options are:

• Payment isn't right
• Unfair review
• Customer didn't show
• Safety concern

A human reads every one. Email disputes@bob-o-job.com if you'd rather start there.

If your account is suspended

You'll be told why. Go to Account → Appeal, write what happened and why you should be reinstated, and a person will review it. One open appeal at a time. Or email appeals@bob-o-job.com.

Safety

If you feel unsafe on a job: leave. Then tell us. You will never be penalised for walking away from a situation that felt wrong, and nobody here will interrogate you about it.

• In immediate danger — 999. The Emergency button on the job screen dials it and alerts our team at the same time.
• Anything else safety-related — safety@bob-o-job.com.
• Something that suggests someone is being harmed — domestic abuse, modern slavery, a child at risk — police first, then safety@bob-o-job.com.

You can also block a customer so you're never matched with them again. No explanation needed.

Who to email

There's also an assistant in the app under Account → Help that answers most questions instantly, and Account → Support if you'd rather raise a ticket and track it.

Back to the Jobber Guide · the formal rules are in the Jobber Terms