Who do I pay when I book a caterer?
You pay GatherPlate, never a caterer's own bank account. Card payments are held when you book and only charged once the caterer confirms your order. FPX and e-wallet payments are taken when you book, and refunded if the caterer can't take the order.
Payments go through our payment provider, and your card details are never stored on GatherPlate's servers.
When does the caterer get paid?
Caterers are paid in full only after your event, once the window for reporting a problem has closed. Some caterers receive part of their payment as a deposit from your refund deadline, to cover the ingredients and staff they book for your date.
What if I need to cancel?
Cancel by your refund deadline for a full refund. For most caterers that is 7 days before the event, and the exact date is shown at checkout and on your order. After the deadline the caterer has already bought ingredients and booked staff for your date, so there is no refund.
See Cancellations & Refunds for how to cancel and how long refunds take.
What if the caterer cancels?
You get your money back. If your card had not been charged yet, the hold is released straight away. If you had already paid, you get a full refund.
What if the caterer doesn't turn up or gets the order wrong?
Report it within 3 days of your order being completed. You can report a caterer that didn't turn up, food that was spoiled, undercooked or well below what was described, wrong or missing items, damaged packaging and late delivery.
Our team reviews your evidence, the chat on your order and the caterer's side, and can refund the order in full or in part. We can't promise a refund for every complaint, and we explain the outcome either way. See Reporting an Issue With an Order for what to include.
How are caterers checked before they're listed?
Caterers cannot list themselves. Every caterer account is set up or approved by the GatherPlate team before its packages appear.
The halal certified badge appears only after we check the caterer's halal certificate. A caterer without a certificate can call itself Muslim friendly, which means it declares that no pork or alcohol is served and that its suppliers are halal certified.
Why not pay the caterer directly?
Paying a caterer directly usually means a deposit by bank transfer, and no one to turn to if they cancel late or don't turn up. Our catering price index found that caterers who publish a deposit often ask for a large share of the bill upfront, and that few caterers publish their cancellation terms at all.
To compare caterers you can book with this protection, see the best caterers in KL and Selangor, compared.