Terms

Written to be read, not to hide things. Questions to hello@techbud.net.

What Techbud.Net is

Techbud.Net is a referral service. We find, check, and list independent tech support professionals, we introduce them to customers, and we handle the payment for the job.

The pros are independent businesses. They are not Techbud.Net employees, agents, or partners. They carry their own insurance and are responsible for their own work.

How payment works

• The pro quotes the job. Nothing is charged until you accept that price.
• You pay Techbud.Net. We hold the funds.
• When you confirm the work was done, we release payment to the pro, normally within 2 business days.
• If you tell us nothing either way, funds release automatically 3 days after the pro marks the job complete.
• Techbud.Net retains 15% of the job value, or $15, whichever is the larger. This comes out of the pro’s payment and is not added to the customer’s price.
• A technician pays a one-time $45 verification fee when their application is accepted, covering their first background check. It is charged at cost and is not refundable once the check has been run. Nothing is charged to anyone whose application we turn down.

Disagreements

If you raise a problem before funds release, we hold the payment and mediate. We look at what was quoted and what was delivered, and we work toward a fair outcome, which may be a return visit, a partial release, or a full refund.

Our aim is a fair result for both sides. We do not automatically side with the customer, and we do not automatically side with the pro. Techbud.Net’s decision on releasing held funds is final for the purpose of the funds we hold; it does not affect either party’s other legal rights.

Honest information, both sides

Everything you tell Techbud.Net must be true. That applies to customers and to technicians equally.

• Technicians must be truthful about their experience, certifications, insurance, rates, identity, and their account of what happened on a job.
• Customers must be truthful about the problem, about whether work was carried out, and about their account of what happened on a job.

Giving Techbud.Net false information is grounds for being permanently banned from the site, on its own. That includes claiming work was not done when it was, inventing a fault to obtain a refund, and overstating credentials. Where false information was used to obtain money, we may withhold or reverse payment and report the matter.

Other reasons we remove an account

• Selling a customer something they did not need
• Exceeding a quote without the customer’s agreement
• Failing or refusing a background check
• Arranging payment outside Techbud.Net to avoid these protections
• Abusive behavior, in either direction

What we are not responsible for

We check pros carefully, but we do not perform the work and we are not present when it is done. Techbud.Net is not liable for the technical work itself, for damage to equipment, or for data loss. Those are matters between you and the pro, and are why we require pros to tell you about their insurance.

What we are responsible for is the checking we say we do, and the money we hold.

Going around Techbud.Net

You are free to hire anyone you like directly. They are independent businesses. But arranging payment outside Techbud.Net for a job we introduced removes every protection on this site, and doing it deliberately to avoid our fee is grounds for removal for both parties.

Promoted listings

Pros and shops may pay for a promoted position. Promoted listings are always labeled. Payment does not affect vetting, background checks, or the standards we hold pros to, and we do not accept payment to rank a pro above one better suited to a customer’s actual job.

Changes

If we change these terms in a way that affects you, we will say so on this page and email anyone with a job in progress.

Note for Techbud.Net: this page is a plain-language draft written in good faith, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a lawyer. Before taking real payments, have an attorney licensed in your state review it, especially the sections on holding customer funds, which carry money-transmission implications that vary by state.