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Avoid Deposit Disputes: 7 Step Deposit Policy for Irish Tradespeople

August 31, 2026
Avoid Deposit Disputes: 7 Step Deposit Policy for Irish Tradespeople

Whether a deposit comes back to you depends on what you and the seller actually agreed. If the seller breaks the deal, you can usually get it back. If you simply change your mind, you usually can't unless the terms say otherwise. Before you do anything else: dig up the written terms, save your receipt, and note your payment method.

TL;DR:

  • Refundable security deposits are returned if the landlord's conditions are met, but rental deposits cannot exceed one month's rent under RTB rules.
  • Always obtain written confirmation of deposit details, including amount and cancellation policies, before making any payment, preferably paying by card for chargeback options.
  • Disputes arise chiefly when businesses fail to deliver or breach agreements, and quick action like chargebacks or small claims are essential for recovery, especially if the company becomes insolvent.
  • Tradespeople should implement a clear, automated deposit collection process with timestamped confirmations and tiered cancellation fees to reduce disputes and build trust.
  • Vague deposit terms are a leading cause of conflicts; structured documentation and digital receipts through platforms like Query Trade significantly lower the risk of misunderstandings.

Table of Contents

What Is a Deposit Policy, and What Counts as a Deposit?

A deposit isn't just a goodwill gesture. Under CCPC guidance, a deposit is a percentage of the total price that confirms your intent to buy and becomes part of the contract itself. Once you pay it, you and the seller are both bound by whatever terms came with it, written or not.

Not every deposit works the same way, though. Three types show up most often:

  • Refundable security deposit: held against damage or non-performance, returned once conditions are met (common in rentals).
  • Part-payment: counts toward the final price of goods or services, usually non-refundable if you cancel.
  • Holding fee: pays to reserve a slot, date, or item, and is often explicitly non-refundable.

Knowing which one you paid changes your entire dispute route. A part-payment dispute is a contract argument. A tenancy deposit dispute goes through an entirely different process.

What Should You Check Before You Pay a Deposit?

Get this in writing before money changes hands, not after. Citizens Information recommends confirming these details up front:

  1. The total agreed price and the exact deposit amount.
  2. The completion or delivery date.
  3. What happens if either side cancels, and whether any part is stated as non-refundable.
  4. Who to contact if something goes wrong.
  5. How and when you'll receive written confirmation.

Pay by card where you can. It gives you a chargeback option a bank transfer or cash payment doesn't. And always get a receipt, even an emailed one, since CCPC's advice is clear that written confirmation of refund conditions and non-refundable amounts protects you if a dispute arises later.

Pro Tip: Screenshot the confirmation the moment you get it. Businesses update websites and email templates constantly, and the version you agreed to might not be the version live a month later.

When Can You Get a Deposit Back?

Refunds usually follow one simple rule: if the business fails to deliver what was promised, or breaches the agreement, you're generally entitled to your money back. If you simply change your mind and the terms clearly stated the deposit was non-refundable, you're on weaker ground.

Here's how the two main recovery routes actually work:

  • Chargeback: contact your bank or card provider with your receipt, written terms, and proof the business didn't deliver. Most providers want this raised within a defined window after the transaction, so don't sit on it.
  • Small claims: for amounts within the court's limit, this route works when a business won't budge but you have solid paper evidence.

One detail trips people up constantly: banks treat timing literally. Deposits paid outside normal banking hours are often processed as received the next business day, according to AIB's fixed term deposit terms. If your dispute hinges on an exact date, that gap matters.

How Do Security Deposits Work for Rentals?

Rental deposits play by a different rulebook than retail or service deposits. Under RTB rules, a landlord cannot ask for more than one month's rent as a security deposit, and there are formal requirements around when and how it must be returned.

Before you move out, protect yourself:

  • Get a written record of the deposit amount and who's holding it.
  • Take dated photos of the property's condition at move-in and move-out.
  • Request an itemized list if any deduction is proposed.
  • Keep every email exchange with the landlord in one folder.

If deductions seem unfair, the RTB has a dispute resolution process specifically for tenancy deposits. Treat it as a separate legal lane from general consumer complaints. Applying consumer-deposit logic to a rental dispute (or vice versa) is one of the most common mistakes renters make.

What If the Business Goes Out of Business or Won't Refund You?

Insolvency changes the math fast. The longer you wait, the further back you sit in the queue of people the business owes money to.

Move quickly:

  • Send a formal written demand for the refund, dated and specific.
  • Contact the CCPC for guidance on your options.
  • File a chargeback if you paid by card, since this route doesn't depend on the business still existing.
  • Consider small claims if the amount justifies the time.

If the business has genuinely collapsed, full recovery isn't guaranteed. But documentation still matters. It's often what determines whether a chargeback succeeds even after a company disappears.

How Should Tradespeople Handle Deposit Collection?

A clear deposit process protects your cash flow and your reputation at the same time. Here's a workflow that holds up under scrutiny:

  1. Send an intake form that states your terms before any conversation starts.
  2. Set a fixed deposit policy (a percentage or flat fee) and apply it consistently.
  3. Collect the deposit by card so there's a digital trail.
  4. Generate an automatic receipt with a timestamp.
  5. Log the job and payment status in your pipeline.
  6. Send a confirmation message restating the agreed date and terms.
  7. Automate a reminder before the job, with your cancellation terms attached.

Tiered cancellation charges tend to hold up better than flat ones. A small non-refundable amount for cancellations far in advance, rising closer to the job date, reads as fair and is easier to defend if a customer disputes it. QueryTrade's own workflow guide walks through exactly this structure for trades businesses handling dozens of enquiries a week.

Pro Tip: Timestamped confirmations do double duty. They're evidence if a customer disputes a charge, and they're a paper trail if you ever need to prove a no-show wasn't your fault.

Why Clear Deposit Terms Protect Everyone

Vague deposit terms cause more disputes than bad intentions do. Most conflicts start because nobody wrote anything down, not because either side acted in bad faith. Structured intake and automated receipts remove that ambiguity before it becomes a problem.

Tradespeople who document terms upfront spend less time chasing no-shows and more time working. That's the whole case for a structured intake process over a text message and a handshake.

— Query Trade

Collect Deposits Without the Paper Chase

Query Trade is the alternative to a text-message-and-a-handshake deposit process. It turns a customer inquiry into a documented, timestamped job record in one step. The intake form captures the job details and terms before you ever quote a price, and deposit collection runs through Stripe, so every payment carries a receipt and a timestamp automatically.

Query Trade

That combination matters more than it sounds. When a customer disputes a charge or cancels last minute, you're not digging through old texts for proof. Your job pipeline already shows when the inquiry came in, when the deposit was paid, and what terms were agreed. Explore the full feature set or set up your account and start collecting deposits properly on your next job.

This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Consult a qualified legal professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.

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