Paying upfront for a service you haven't received yet is one of the least comfortable things in a marketplace. If the tutor cancels, if the session is poor quality, if something goes wrong, what recourse do you have?
This is the problem escrow solves. And it is one of the founding reasons Tutelee was built the way it was.
How escrow works on Tutelee
Payment held in escrow
The payment leaves the family's bank but goes to Stripe's secure escrow account: neither Tutelee nor the tutor can access it yet.
Session takes place
97% of sessions go well. If nothing is raised within 24 hours, the family is satisfied and no action is needed.
Funds released automatically
After the 24-hour window with no dispute, funds release to the tutor automatically, no invoices, no chasing.
During that 24-hour window, the family can raise a dispute through their dashboard. This triggers a review of the session recording by our Trust & Safety team. If the session was delivered as promised, payment is released. If the session fell below our quality standards (or the tutor didn't show), the family receives a full refund.
What this means for families
"You never pay for a session that wasn't delivered."
You never pay for a session that wasn't delivered. The 24-hour window is your safety net. We encourage families to use it, not as a way to get free sessions, but as a real mechanism to hold quality high.
We also never penalise families for raising disputes in good faith. If you raise a dispute and we find the session was good, you receive a message explaining why, and payment is released. You will not be charged a dispute fee.
What this means for tutors
Escrow is also good for tutors. It means they never chase payment. Funds are guaranteed to arrive automatically as long as the session is delivered. There are no invoices, no payment terms, no chasing.
For tutors who have experienced the freelance reality of late or missing payments, this alone is a significant quality-of-life improvement.
The escrow system is why both sides of the marketplace trust us. That trust is the product.