Refund & Payment Policy

This Refund & Payment Policy explains how payments, refunds, cancellations, disputes, and chargebacks are handled on Skillland Nigeria (“Skillland,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

By using Skillland, posting a job, hiring a contractor, paying an invoice, subscribing as a contractor, purchasing points, or making any payment through the platform, you agree to this Refund & Payment Policy, our Terms & Conditions, and any other applicable platform rules.

Skillland is a service marketplace that connects customers with independent contractors, artisans, technicians, and service providers. Except where Skillland expressly states otherwise in writing, Skillland is not the contractor performing the work and is not automatically responsible for the quality, timing, pricing, materials, conduct, or final delivery of services performed by independent contractors.

1. Skillland’s Role

Skillland provides a platform that helps customers find, compare, communicate with, and pay for services from independent contractors.

Skillland may assist with lead matching, contractor discovery, invoicing tools, payment processing, customer communication, dispute review, verification checks, and administrative support.

However, unless Skillland directly accepts responsibility in writing for a specific service, the actual work is performed by an independent contractor, not by Skillland.

Skillland does not guarantee that every contractor will be available, suitable, affordable, responsive, or selected by a customer. Skillland also does not guarantee that every customer will proceed with a contractor’s quote, invoice, or service.

2. Payment Categories Covered by This Policy

This policy applies to the following payments:

1. Customer payments for project invoices.
2. Customer partial payments or milestone payments.
3. Contractor subscription payments.
4. Contractor points/top-up payments.
5. Contractor lead access payments.
6. Contractor commission-related payments.
7. Utility, airtime, data, reward, or support-related payments where applicable.
8. Any other payment made through Skillland or through a payment provider linked from Skillland.

3. Customer Payments for Project Work

Customer project payments may be made through Flutterwave, bank transfer, cash confirmation, dashboard payment report, partial payment, or any other approved method shown on Skillland.

Where a customer pays a project invoice, the payment is linked to the contractor, the project, and the invoice details available at the time of payment.

Skillland may provide invoice records, payment confirmation tools, payment status updates, and administrative review. However, the contractor remains primarily responsible for delivering the agreed work, unless Skillland expressly states otherwise in writing.

4. Direct Flutterwave Payment and Dashboard Payment

Customers may receive two payment-related options:

1. Pay with Flutterwave — for customers who want to pay quickly without creating or logging into a customer dashboard.
2. Open Customer Dashboard — for customers who want to track their request, view invoices, manage partial payments, communicate, or access extra account features.

Creating a customer dashboard account is optional unless a particular service, dispute process, or verification step requires login for security reasons.

5. Refund Eligibility for Customer Project Payments

A customer may request a refund or review where:

1. The customer was charged twice for the same invoice.
2. The payment was made in error and the contractor has not started work or incurred costs.
3. The paid service was not delivered at all.
4. The contractor confirms cancellation and agrees that a refund is due.
5. Skillland confirms that a payment was wrongly allocated.
6. A payment provider, bank, card scheme, regulator, or court requires a refund.
7. Skillland, at its discretion, determines that a refund is appropriate based on the evidence available.

Refund approval is not automatic. Skillland may request evidence, including invoice details, payment receipts, screenshots, chat records, contractor response, customer complaint details, site visit reports, work progress records, or any other relevant information.

6. Non-Refundable or Limited-Refund Situations for Customer Payments

To the fullest extent allowed by law, refunds may be refused or reduced where:

1. The contractor has already started work.
2. Materials have been purchased.
3. Mobilisation, transportation, inspection, consultation, labour, or logistics costs have already been incurred.
4. The customer changed their mind after the contractor started work.
5. The customer chose another quote after approving work or after the contractor incurred costs.
6. The customer provided wrong, incomplete, or misleading job information.
7. The customer prevented access to the site or failed to cooperate.
8. The customer requested extra work outside the original invoice.
9. The dispute concerns workmanship, delay, or service quality that requires contractor correction rather than refund.
10. The payment was made outside Skillland’s approved channels and Skillland cannot verify it.
11. The customer paid the contractor directly outside Skillland without using the platform invoice or payment confirmation flow.
12. The refund request is made after a reasonable dispute period has passed.

Where a partial refund is appropriate, Skillland may deduct completed work value, materials cost, inspection cost, payment processing fees, administrative cost, chargeback cost, and any amount already released or owed to the contractor.

7. Contractor Subscriptions

Contractor subscription payments give contractors access to subscription-related benefits for a defined period or plan.

Unless otherwise stated, contractor subscription payments are generally non-refundable once activated, approved, used, or once the contractor has received access to subscription benefits.

A subscription refund may be considered only where:

1. The contractor was charged twice for the same subscription period.
2. Payment was made but the subscription was not activated due to a Skillland system error.
3. The contractor paid for the wrong plan and immediately reports the mistake before using the plan.
4. Skillland decides, at its discretion, that a refund or plan adjustment is fair.

Skillland may offer plan correction, account credit, extension, or points instead of a cash refund.

8. Contractor Points, Lead Access, and Top-Ups

Contractor points and lead access credits are used to access customer leads, unlock opportunities, request access, or use other platform services.

Unless otherwise stated, points, top-ups, and lead access payments are non-refundable once purchased, allocated, activated, used, or credited to the contractor account.

A refund is generally not available where:

1. A contractor unlocked a lead but the customer did not respond.
2. A contractor unlocked a lead but did not win the job.
3. A contractor unlocked a lead but the customer chose another contractor.
4. A contractor’s quote was rejected.
5. The contractor failed to follow up quickly.
6. The contractor selected the wrong lead or category.
7. The contractor’s account was blocked, restricted, hidden, or suspended for policy violations.
8. The lead was validly posted but the customer later cancelled, delayed, changed scope, or stopped responding.

Skillland sells access to opportunities, not a guarantee of job award, customer response, project completion, or income.

9. Lead Quality Review

Skillland may review a lead where a contractor reports that the lead is invalid, duplicate, fake, unreachable, wrongly categorized, or materially inaccurate.

If Skillland confirms that a lead was invalid due to platform error, Skillland may, at its discretion:

1. Restore the point used.
2. Grant replacement lead access.
3. Issue account credit.
4. Provide a partial adjustment.
5. Take no action if the lead is determined to be valid.

Lead quality review does not guarantee a cash refund.

10. Commission Payments

Where Skillland charges commission on completed jobs, the contractor is responsible for paying the applicable commission based on the active plan, invoice value, final agreed amount, or completed project value as determined by Skillland’s records.

Commission payments are generally non-refundable once paid, except where Skillland confirms a calculation error or duplicate payment.

If a customer later disputes, cancels, reverses, or chargebacks a payment, Skillland may adjust contractor balances, commission obligations, escrow records, or future account access.

11. Escrow, Payment Holding, and Release

Where Skillland provides payment holding, escrow-style tracking, milestone review, or admin approval, such features are intended to support safer transactions but do not make Skillland the contractor or guarantor of the work unless expressly stated.

Skillland may delay, hold, reverse, review, or refuse release of funds where:

1. A customer raises a dispute.
2. A contractor raises a dispute.
3. There is suspected fraud.
4. There is a chargeback or bank reversal.
5. Identity, invoice, or payment details do not match.
6. The project status is unclear.
7. Required confirmation is missing.
8. Skillland needs additional evidence.

Skillland may deduct transaction fees, processing charges, chargeback costs, administrative costs, or verified expenses before any refund or release.

12. Payments Made Outside Skillland

Skillland strongly advises customers and contractors to use approved Skillland invoice, payment, and confirmation flows.

Skillland is not responsible for payments made outside the platform, including cash payments, personal bank transfers, private arrangements, WhatsApp-only agreements, or payments sent directly to contractors without platform confirmation.

If a customer or contractor pays outside Skillland, Skillland may be unable to verify, refund, recover, reverse, or resolve the payment.

13. Flutterwave, Banks, and Chargebacks

Skillland may use Flutterwave or other payment processors to process payments.

Refunds and chargebacks may also be subject to the rules of Flutterwave, banks, card schemes, and other payment partners.

Where a chargeback, reversal, processing fee, penalty, or payment-provider deduction occurs, Skillland may deduct the affected amount from the relevant contractor balance, future payout, invoice record, subscription balance, escrow record, or platform account.

14. Refund Processing Time

Approved refunds may take time to process depending on:

1. Payment provider rules.
2. Bank processing timelines.
3. Card network rules.
4. Internal review.
5. Contractor response time.
6. Dispute complexity.
7. Whether funds have already been released.

Skillland does not guarantee instant refunds.

Where payment provider charges are non-refundable, such fees may be deducted from the refund amount unless the law requires otherwise.

15. Dispute Resolution Process

Before a refund is approved, Skillland may require the parties to go through a dispute review process.

This may include:

1. Customer complaint submission.
2. Contractor response.
3. Review of invoice and payment record.
4. Review of chat, photos, documents, and agreed scope.
5. Review of work progress or completion status.
6. Attempted correction, replacement, continuation, or partial settlement.
7. Final administrative decision by Skillland where applicable.

Skillland may encourage correction, rework, replacement, completion, partial refund, account credit, or settlement instead of full refund.

16. Time Limit for Refund Requests

Customers and contractors should report payment or refund issues as soon as possible.

Unless a longer period is required by law or payment provider rules, refund requests should be submitted within 7 days of payment or within 24 hours of discovering the problem, whichever is earlier.

For completed services, refund requests should be submitted before confirming completion, before funds are released, or as soon as a dispute becomes known.

Late refund requests may be rejected if funds have been released, work has progressed, evidence is unavailable, or the delay prejudices the other party.

17. Account Credit Instead of Cash Refund

Where appropriate, Skillland may issue account credit, replacement points, plan extension, lead replacement, or service credit instead of a cash refund.

This may apply especially to contractor points, subscription adjustments, duplicate lead issues, platform errors, promotional credits, or administrative goodwill adjustments.

Account credit has no cash value unless Skillland expressly states otherwise.

18. Promotions, Bonuses, Free Access, and Rewards

Free points, bonus points, promotional access, referral rewards, utility rewards, discounts, free subscription periods, trial access, or goodwill credits are not refundable, transferable, or redeemable for cash.

Skillland may withdraw, modify, suspend, or expire promotions at any time.

19. Fraud, Abuse, and Policy Violations

Skillland may refuse refunds, suspend accounts, restrict access, reverse credits, withhold payouts, or report activity where there is suspected:

1. Fraud.
2. Fake payment confirmation.
3. False refund claim.
4. Chargeback abuse.
5. Duplicate account abuse.
6. Misuse of customer information.
7. Misrepresentation of work.
8. Fake contractor profile.
9. Fake customer request.
10. Attempt to bypass Skillland fees, commission, or payment channels.
11. Abuse of promotions, points, or lead access.

20. Limitation of Skillland’s Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Skillland’s liability for any payment, refund, dispute, contractor service, customer transaction, lead access, subscription, points purchase, invoice, escrow record, or platform issue shall be limited to the amount actually paid to Skillland for the specific transaction giving rise to the claim.

Skillland shall not be liable for:

1. Loss of profit.
2. Loss of business.
3. Loss of opportunity.
4. Loss of income.
5. Loss of goodwill.
6. Loss of data.
7. Indirect loss.
8. Consequential loss.
9. Special damages.
10. Punitive damages.
11. Contractor negligence.
12. Customer non-payment.
13. Customer cancellation.
14. Customer non-response.
15. Contractor non-response.
16. Delay caused by third parties.
17. Bank or payment provider delay.
18. Failed, reversed, or disputed transactions outside Skillland’s control.

21. Independent Contractor Responsibility

Contractors are independent service providers. They are responsible for their own quotes, invoices, site visits, workmanship, materials, employees, assistants, safety procedures, taxes, permits, warranties, customer communication, and service delivery.

Where a refund claim arises from contractor conduct, poor workmanship, failure to attend, failure to complete, or disagreement over work quality, Skillland may assist with dispute review but the contractor remains primarily responsible.

Skillland may recover from the contractor any refund, chargeback, penalty, dispute cost, or customer compensation caused by the contractor’s act, omission, misrepresentation, or failure to deliver.

22. Customer Responsibility

Customers are responsible for providing accurate project details, location, access, contact information, budget, service scope, and timely responses.

Customers should review contractor profiles, quotes, invoices, work scope, and payment details before making payment.

Customers should not pay outside the approved Skillland payment flow unless they understand that Skillland may be unable to verify or assist with such payment.

23. Changes to This Policy

Skillland may update this Refund & Payment Policy from time to time.

The updated version becomes effective when posted on the Skillland website or app. Continued use of Skillland after an update means the user accepts the revised policy.

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