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Understanding the community fee

The community fee is a charge added to the rental price at checkout, paid by the renter. It's separate from the security deposit and separate from GearLend's service fee, which is paid by the gear owner. See Understanding GearLend fees for how the two fees relate to each other.

What the fee pays for​

The community fee funds the parts of GearLend that make renting from someone you've never met feel safe:

  • Identity verification for every renter (see How Veriff verification works)
  • Secure payment processing through Stripe
  • Customer support if something goes wrong with a booking
  • Handling disputes between renters and owners
  • Ongoing improvements to the platform

How it's calculated​

The community fee ranges from 5% to 10% of the rental price. Where your booking falls in that range depends on how far in advance you book: the further ahead you book, the closer the fee sits to 5%. The exact percentage for your booking is always shown at checkout before you confirm, so you know the full total before you pay.

When you pay it​

The community fee is charged once, upfront, at the same time as the rental price and the security deposit. It isn't charged again later, and it isn't added to your final payment on return of the gear.

If you cancel a booking​

You can cancel within 2 hours of sending your booking request for a full refund of the community fee, no matter how soon your pickup is. Outside that grace period, the community fee is not refunded, even if part or all of the rental price is refunded based on how close to pickup you cancel. This is because the fee covers verification and support costs GearLend has already incurred once a booking is underway.

If the gear owner declines your request, or cancels a booking they'd already accepted, you'll get a full refund including the community fee, regardless of timing, since the booking wasn't your choice to end. See Understanding cancellation fees for the complete refund schedule.

Questions about a fee you were charged​

If a community fee charge on your account looks incorrect, contact support@gearlend.com.au with your booking reference and the team will look into it.