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Pay a deposit when booking
Some businesses ask for a deposit to hold an appointment. When yours does, the booking has a fifth step, Deposit, between your details and the review. This article explains what you are paying, how the card is handled, and what happens to the deposit afterwards.
When the step appears
The Deposit step shows up as soon as you leave Your Details, and only for a business that asks for one — if you have never seen it, the business does not take deposits and there is nothing to pay in advance. The step is priced for the services and the address you chose, so it can only appear once those are known.
Pay the deposit
- Read the amount under Due now. The step says what share of your total it is — This business asks for a … deposit to hold your appointment.
- Enter your card under Card details. The fields belong to the card processor: as the step says, Your card details go straight to our payment processor. They never touch this site.
- Choose Continue. It stays greyed out until the card details are complete.
- On Review & Confirm the summary repeats it as Deposit due now. Choose Confirm Booking — that is the moment the card is charged, not before.
The confirmation page states what was taken: We took a … deposit, which goes toward your final bill.
What the deposit does
- It is a payment on your final bill, not an extra charge. When the work is done, your invoice shows it already paid and only the rest is due.
- The rest of your bill can be charged to the same card once the work is done, with your OK — the business will ask, not simply charge.
- Nothing about it moves on its own if plans change. If you need to cancel, contact the business; they handle deposits case by case, and whether any of it is refunded is their call. See Change or cancel a booking.
If the card is refused
- We could not read that card. Please check the details and try again. — the card details did not go through. Nothing was booked; fix the details and choose Continue again.
- Your deposit could not be taken, so nothing was booked. Please try another card. — the charge was declined at confirmation. The portal brings you back to the Deposit step; nothing is held and nothing was charged.
- That time is no longer available. Please choose another. — the slot went while you were entering the card. Nothing was charged. Pick a new time, then enter the card again — a card is entered once per attempt.
- We cannot take card details right now, so this appointment cannot be booked online. Please contact the business. — the card form could not load. Call or email the business to book instead.
Good to know
- The deposit is a percentage the business chose, worked out on your total with tax. A business can set it to nothing and still ask for a card; you will see Due now as a zero amount.
- The card does not appear under Saved cards in Your details — that list is for cards you keep on file for a plan — but the business can still charge the rest of the bill to it with your OK, as above.
- The confirmation page states the amount taken; the invoice after the work shows it applied.