Booking Policy

1. Overview

This Booking Policy explains how Orders are created, confirmed, modified, and cancelled on GatherPlate. It applies to all Customers and Vendors. By placing or accepting an Order on the Platform, you agree to the terms set out below.

This Policy forms part of our Terms & Conditions. Capitalised terms used but not defined here have the meanings given in the Terms & Conditions.

2. How Bookings Work

Placing a booking on GatherPlate follows these steps:

1. Browse & Reserve — Browse vendors, select a package, choose your event details, and reserve it for checkout.
2. Checkout — Review your Order and submit it through the Platform. No payment is taken at this stage. Your Order enters Awaiting Confirmation status and is sent to the Vendor for review.
3. Vendor Confirmation & Payment — The Vendor reviews your Order and has 24 hours to confirm or decline. Once the Vendor confirms, your payment is authorised and processed. You will receive an email notification and the Order moves to Confirmed status.
4. Event Day — The Vendor fulfils the catering services as agreed.
5. Order Completion — Orders are automatically marked as Completed three (3) days after the scheduled event date, unless a dispute has been raised.

3. Order Statuses

4. Vendor Confirmation Window

Vendors have 24 hours from the time an Order is placed to confirm or decline.

• If the Vendor confirms: Your payment is captured and the booking is active.
• If the Vendor declines: Your Order is marked Declined at no charge to you. Any pending authorisation on your payment method will be released automatically — see our Payment Policy for typical timeframes.
• If the Vendor does not respond within 24 hours: Your Order is automatically marked Declined at no charge to you. Any pending authorisation will be released automatically and we will notify you by email.

Package Lead Time

Each package has a lead time set by the Vendor — the minimum number of days you must book in advance of the event date. This gives the Vendor time to prepare. The earliest selectable date in the booking calendar already reflects the lead time, and our system will reject any reservation submitted inside this window.

Lead times vary by package and can be as short as 1 day (next-day booking). Check the booking calendar on each package's page for the earliest available date.

5. Cancellation by Customer

You may cancel a confirmed Order through your account dashboard. The refund amount depends on how far in advance of the scheduled event date you cancel:

Refund timing is subject to our Payment Policy. The refund amount is calculated from the total amount charged at checkout (subtotal minus any applied voucher discount), excluding non-refundable transaction fees where applicable.

6. Cancellation by Vendor

If a Vendor cancels a confirmed Order:

• You will receive a 100% refund of the amount charged to you.
• GatherPlate will impose a cancellation penalty on the Vendor equal to 10% of the total Order value or RM50, whichever is higher. This penalty is deducted from the Vendor's payout and is not paid to the Customer.
• Vendors cannot cancel a confirmed Order within 3 days of the scheduled event date. Once inside this window, the Vendor is obligated to fulfil the Order. If a Vendor is unable to fulfil for exceptional reasons they must contact GatherPlate support, who will handle the cancellation on a case-by-case basis.
• We will notify you by email immediately and encourage you to find an alternative Vendor.

Note: a Vendor declining a request before confirmation is a different action (status Declined, no penalty, no charge to you). The penalty only applies after the Vendor has accepted the Order.

7. Cancellation by GatherPlate

GatherPlate may cancel an Order in exceptional circumstances, including but not limited to: platform-wide technical failures, fraud prevention, regulatory requirements, or a Vendor account suspension. In such cases, you will receive a 100% refund. GatherPlate will contact you as soon as reasonably possible to explain the reason for cancellation.

8. Disputes

A dispute window of 3 days from the scheduled event date is available to Customers who experience service failures (e.g., vendor no-show, significantly incomplete service, or serious food safety issues).

• To open a dispute, contact GatherPlate support within 3 days of your event.
• During a dispute, Vendor payout is placed on hold pending GatherPlate's review.
• GatherPlate will review evidence from both parties and make a resolution determination. Decisions made by GatherPlate in good faith are final.
• Resolution may result in a full or partial refund to the Customer, or a full release of funds to the Vendor.

GatherPlate's dispute resolution service is provided as a convenience. It does not constitute arbitration and does not affect any statutory rights you may have under the Consumer Protection Act 1999 (Malaysia).

9. Dietary Requirements & Allergies

Customers are responsible for communicating all dietary requirements, food allergies, and intolerances to the Vendor at the time of booking via the Order notes field. GatherPlate does not verify or guarantee that Vendors can accommodate specific dietary needs.

If you have a severe food allergy, we strongly recommend confirming accommodation directly with the Vendor via in-platform messaging before placing your Order.