The signals that show up before the problem
Refusing to give a price before travelling out. Pushing to move the conversation off the platform’s chat. Asking for a large advance “for materials” before having seen the job. A profile with no reviews and a photo that looks like stock. Any one of these can have an explanation. Two or more together mean you are better off choosing someone else — and there are eight more.
Never pay the full amount up front
Paying through the platform handles this automatically: the sum is reserved on confirmation and released to the provider only after you validate that the work is done. If someone insists on the full amount in cash before starting, you have given up the only leverage you had. A reasonable advance for expensive materials, with a receipt, is a different matter — and it also goes through the platform.
Photograph before and after
Two minutes of photos before the work starts settles 90% of later arguments. Photograph the state of the room, the wall, the item being repaired. If a dispute arises, support looks at evidence, and your evidence beats anyone’s memory. Send the photos into the job chat, not just your phone gallery — there they carry a date and time.
Keep the conversation in the job chat
It is tempting to move to the phone or WhatsApp, but everything agreed there does not exist for anyone else. The price, the time, what the job includes, what was promised on top — if it is written in the job chat, support can read it. If it was a phone call, it is your word against theirs.
What to do if the work is bad
Do not confirm completion. That is the only button that matters: once pressed, the money is gone. Open a dispute, attach the before and after photos, and describe concretely what does not match what was agreed in the chat. Support reviews the evidence before releasing payment. Write the review afterwards, and write it factually — a calm description of what happened helps the next client far more than a one-star rating with no explanation.