Support
Stuck on a booking, a payment or a handover? Most answers are below. If yours isn't, email hey@davidferreira.dev and include the listing or rental it's about. We usually reply within 2 working days.
How does booking work?
Pick your dates and send a request. Your card is authorised for the rental price but not charged. The owner has 72 hours to accept. If they accept, you are charged and the exact pickup point unlocks in your rental. If they decline or don’t answer, the authorisation is released and you pay nothing.
Are there any fees for renters?
No. You pay the rental price shown before you book, with no service fee on top. Velko’s commission is paid by the owner out of the price, so nothing is added for you.
How does the deposit work?
If a listing has a deposit, a hold for that amount is placed on your card from about 24 hours before pickup. It is not a charge. It is released when the owner confirms the gear came back as expected, or automatically 24 hours after the return if the owner doesn’t make a claim. For rentals longer than about 5 days, the hold is renewed before it expires, so you may briefly see a new hold replace the old one. If the hold can’t be placed, update your card before pickup.
Can I cancel?
A request can be cancelled at any time for free. After the owner accepts, cancelling is free until 48 hours before pickup and you get a full refund; after that, the rental price isn’t refunded. The app shows the exact refund before you confirm. If an owner cancels, you are always refunded in full.
Why do I have to take photos at pickup and return?
They are the shared record of the gear’s condition, and they protect both of you. Both of you can see them. A handover can’t be confirmed until the photos have finished uploading, so keep the app open for a moment on a weak connection.
The gear came back damaged. What happens?
As the owner, open a claim from the rental before you confirm the return: describe what happened and how much of the deposit you’re asking for. The renter has 48 hours to accept or dispute it. If they accept, that amount goes to you and the rest of the hold is released. If they dispute it or don’t answer, the deposit stays on hold while Velko reviews the handover photos and your messages, then decides how much goes to the owner and releases the rest. Both of you are told the outcome and the reasons in the rental’s conversation, and either of you can ask for a review within 14 days.
How do I get paid for lending gear?
Go to Profile → Payments & payouts and set up payouts with Stripe. You need this before you can accept a booking. Your share of each rental is paid to your Stripe account when you accept the booking, and Stripe pays it out to your bank on Stripe’s payout schedule. Velko’s commission and the amount you’ll receive are shown before you publish a listing and on every booking.
How much is the commission, and which tier am I on?
Every owner starts as a Standard Partner, at 12% of the rental price. Volume Partners pay 10% and Founding Partners 8%; both are by approval. Your rate and exactly what you’ll receive are shown before you publish a listing and on every booking. On a €100 rental, a Standard Partner receives €88, a Volume Partner €90 and a Founding Partner €92.
When is the commission charged?
Only when a rental goes ahead. The renter’s card is authorised when they send a request and charged when you accept it; Velko’s commission is deducted from that payment before your share is paid out. If the renter ends up with a full refund, Velko gives back its commission too, so you pay nothing on that rental.
How do I become a Founding or Volume Partner?
Email hey@davidferreira.dev with a few words about you and your gear, and Velko will review it. The Volume Partner rate is for qualified high-volume partners such as rental businesses, schools, clubs and frequent equipment owners. The Founding Partner programme is open to new owners, by approval, and owners who already list on Velko keep 8% as Founding Partners. Its eligibility and duration are set by the published programme terms. Until a tier is approved, you are on the Standard rate.
Who qualifies as a Founding Partner?
Existing owners with at least one published listing or a booking as owner before the activation cutoff qualify for Founding Partner commission. This applies to private owners, schools and shops. Accounts with only drafts and no bookings default to Standard. Founding Partner applications are open to eligible early partners, including owners joining the Ericeira and Peniche launch. New owners default to Standard; the 8% rate requires approval from Velko.
When do the new rates start, and what about my existing bookings?
Until the new pricing model activates, every owner pays the current 8% commission. Already-confirmed bookings keep their original commission. The new rates apply to future bookings after activation. The rate for each booking is fixed when it is made and shown before you accept it.
Someone is being abusive. What can I do?
In the conversation, tap the menu at the top and choose Report or Block. Once you block someone, neither of you can message or book the other, and they are not told. You can also report a listing from its page, or a user from a completed rental. Reports are reviewed by a person, usually within 2 working days. If someone is in immediate danger, call 112 first.
How do I delete my account?
Go to Profile and tap Delete account. If you have a rental in progress, finish or cancel it first. If you can’t use the app, email us from the address on your account with the subject “Delete my Velko account”, and we’ll delete it within 30 days. Your login and personal details are removed; records of past rentals stay for the other person, shown as “Deleted user”, for as long as the law requires. The Delete account page explains exactly what is kept and for how long.
Can I get a copy of my data?
Yes. Email us from the address on your account with the subject “Velko data export”. We’ll send you a copy of your account, listings, bookings, messages and other data in a machine-readable format within a month, as the GDPR requires. You can also ask us to correct or delete anything.
Contact
Email hey@davidferreira.dev. We usually reply within 2 working days. For anything about your data, see the Privacy Policy; to close your account, Delete your account; for the rules of renting and lending, the Terms of Service.
Not happy with how we handled something? You can also use theelectronic complaints book (Livro de Reclamações), or, as a consumer, take a dispute to CNIACC, a consumer arbitration centre. Velko is operated by David Miguel Ferreira Unip. Lda, Rua das Escolas 26, 3840-065 Calvão, Portugal.
If someone is in danger on the water or on land, call 112 (the EU emergency number) or your local emergency services first.