Version 2.0 · Last updated 18 August 2026
We would rather be blunt about this before you pay than argue about it afterwards.
The retainer is the price of the search work itself: requirement assessment, sourcing, preliminary screening, candidate coordination and profile presentation. It is not a deposit held against a future service, and it is non-refundable once the search is activated.
The retainer entitles you to up to three profiles over 30 days. There is no fourth profile under a single retainer. To continue searching, you may open a new mandate with a fresh retainer and updated terms.
The placement fee — one month of the professional's agreed salary, less the ₹10,000 already paid — falls due once she completes ten service days, and is not refundable once paid. If a placement subsequently ends, your remedy is the replacement assurance below, not a refund.
If you end the arrangement after she has begun work, you remain responsible for her salary for all days worked, any agreed notice or compensation, approved travel or joining expenses, and Dear One's placement fee where the placement is treated as confirmed under our Terms.
If a confirmed professional voluntarily leaves, or is dismissed for substantiated serious misconduct, within 30 calendar days of confirmation, Dear One will conduct one replacement search at no further placement fee.
The replacement search runs for 30 days, includes up to two additional profiles shared one at a time, is offered once per original placement, and is a replacement search rather than a cash refund.
If the replacement professional's salary is higher, you pay the difference in the placement fee. No refund is issued if her salary is lower.
Salary you pay a professional is paid to her, by you, for work she performed. It is hers. It is not recoverable from Dear One and is not credited against any fee. This includes the first ten service days, which are paid work and not a trial.
Approved refunds are processed within seven working days of approval, to the original payment method or the bank account from which payment was made. Any bank or gateway charges are borne by us. GST already remitted is refunded in accordance with applicable law.
Write to hello@dearone.in with your name, the date of payment and what went wrong. We will acknowledge within two working days and give you a decision within ten. If you disagree, clause 18 of our Terms of Service sets out how disputes are resolved. Nothing in this policy restricts your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.