It's the one thing people ask about most, so here's the whole story.
A consultant might drive an hour or two, with a chair or bed in the van, to reach you. When someone isn't home, that's a wasted afternoon and it pushes up the cost for everyone. The hold is simply a way of confirming you'll be there.
A hold is not a payment. Your bank sets $25 aside as pending, but nothing leaves your account. It's the same thing hotels and petrol stations do. It shows on your statement as "pending" and disappears when released.
Only if nobody's home at the booked time and we haven't heard from you. That's it. Even then, if there was a genuine emergency, email us — we're not unreasonable.
As HOMETRIALS, for $25.00, marked pending. Some banks take a few days to clear a released hold from the display; your available balance is unaffected.
Card details are entered directly into Stripe, the same payment system used by most Australian online shops. HomeTrials never sees or stores your card number.