Disputing a booking

A dispute is when something went wrong with a specific booking and you want our admin team to look at it. We open disputes most often when:

• The host refused a refund that you think was due under the cancellation policy.
• The host cancelled and never refunded you.
• The class never happened.
• The class happened but was misrepresented in a way that warrants a refund.

If the host is responsive and reasonable, talk to them first. Disputes are for cases where direct resolution failed or was not possible.

Before opening a dispute

Try to resolve directly. About 80% of refund issues are resolved by sending a polite message to the host. Hosts are running a business; an honest "this is what happened, can we make it right?" works more often than people expect.

If you have already tried and the host has either refused or gone silent for more than 48 hours, opening a dispute is the next step.

How to open a dispute

You need to be logged in and you need an account-linked booking (not a guest booking).

1. 1

   Go to your booking

   /my-bookings, find the booking, click into it.

2. 2

   Click 'Open a dispute'

   This button appears on every booking that is not already in dispute. A dialog opens.

3. 3

   Pick a reason

   Short list: "Class never happened", "Cancellation refund refused", "Class was misrepresented", "Other".

4. 4

   Describe what happened

   A required text field, minimum 20 characters, maximum 2000. The more specific, the faster we can resolve.

   Include:

   • What happened, with dates and times.
   • What you have already done to try to resolve with the host.
   • What outcome you are looking for (full refund, partial refund, credit toward another class).
   • Anything you can attach as evidence (screenshots of messages with the host, photos of the venue, etc).
5. 5

   Submit

   The dispute is recorded as OPEN. Our admin team gets an email immediately. Expected response time: one business day.

What evidence helps

We work from what you can show us. Specifically helpful:

• Screenshots of messages with the host. Especially anything where the host acknowledges a refund is due or refuses one. "He said he'd refund and never did" is much weaker without the message.
• Photos. If the venue was wrong, a photo of where you actually arrived.
• Receipts. Stripe receipts, PayPal transaction confirmations, bank statements.
• Time logs. "The class was supposed to start at 7pm, I arrived at 6:55pm, the host arrived at 7:35pm and started at 7:45pm" is concrete.

We can ask the host for their side. If your account is "I waited 30 minutes, the host says they were 5 minutes late", we go with the host on small discrepancies absent other evidence.

What admin does

We read the dispute. We may message you for clarification. We message the host explaining the dispute and ask for their side. We typically resolve in 1-3 business days for routine cases.

Possible outcomes:

We send you an email when the dispute is resolved, including the resolution text. You can read this back at any time on the booking detail page.

When we refuse to take a side

Some disputes are genuinely ambiguous. "I did not like the class" is not a dispute (it is a review). "The teacher was 10 minutes late" is borderline (most students would agree it was annoying but not refund-worthy). We try to apply consistent standards:

• Did the class happen as described? If yes, refunds are not normally warranted.
• Was the cancellation policy clearly displayed and followed? If yes, disputes against the policy are not normally upheld.
• Did the host break the contract you booked? Wrong location, wrong time, wrong teacher, wrong content materially different from the description: refund is warranted.

We do not have a fully published rubric because edge cases need judgment. We do try to be fair in both directions; hosts get refused too.

Disputes and Stripe chargebacks

For card payments via Stripe, you have a separate option: filing a chargeback with your bank. This is the "I do not authorise this charge, my bank should reverse it" mechanism that bypasses MoveMentors entirely.

We strongly suggest you open a dispute with us before doing a chargeback. Reasons:

• A chargeback against a host costs them a $15 chargeback fee on top of the refunded amount. That is unfair if the dispute is borderline.
• A chargeback against MoveMentors can result in your account being suspended if it turns out the chargeback was inappropriate (the class did happen as described).
• Chargebacks take weeks to resolve; our dispute system resolves in days.

If we deny your dispute and you still feel wronged, you can still file a chargeback with your bank as a last resort.

Disputes and reviews

You can do both. The review is your public take; the dispute is the private financial discussion. We do not look at your review when deciding the dispute; the dispute is purely about the booking and the policy.

Common questions

How long do I have to open a dispute? We accept disputes within 60 days of the class date. After that, evidence is harder to verify and we are unlikely to take action.

Can a host open a dispute against me? Hosts do not have a symmetric "dispute the student" button. If you no-showed and the host wants to keep the payment, our cancellation-policy defaults already do that. If something more unusual happened, hosts email support and we handle case-by-case.

Will the host see my dispute description? Yes. We share the dispute text with the host so they can respond. We do not redact your identity; this is by design so the conversation is honest on both sides.

What if the host retaliates with a negative review of me as a student? Hosts cannot review students. The review system is one-directional (students review hosts).

Can I withdraw a dispute? Yes. Email us and we will close the dispute. The booking returns to its original state.

Next steps

• Trying to figure out if your case is a dispute or a review? See Leaving a review for the distinction.
• Looking at the broader trust and safety stuff? See Community guidelines.