Trust & safety

Surrounders is a real, Cyprus-based services marketplace, launched in 2026 and starting in Limassol. It connects customers with independent local professionals across 10 categories - cleaning, tutoring, fitness, beauty, photography, and more - through request-based booking: you ask for a time, the pro confirms.

The structural reason there is no scam potential in signing up: Surrounders never touches money. There are no fees, no subscriptions, no card on file - the platform has nothing to charge you. Payment happens directly between you and the professional, after the service, in whatever form you two agree.

What the platform does hold itself to: reviews can only be written after a completed booking, your exact address is shared with a pro only after a booking is confirmed, and anyone can be blocked or reported to a team that reviews every report.

Questions or doubts about anything specific, write to [email protected] - a direct answer beats speculation.

Booking through Surrounders is designed to be safer than finding a stranger through a classified ad or a group chat, and it is worth being precise about why. Four mechanisms do the work: reviews that can only be written after a completed booking, address privacy that keeps your exact location hidden until you confirm, one-tap blocking, and a report system where every report is reviewed by our team.

What that means in practice: a pro with 15 reviews has verifiably completed at least 15 real bookings for real customers - that history cannot be bought or faked with friendly comments. Before any booking is confirmed, a pro sees only your general area, never your address. Every account must verify its email before it can book or message anyone.

What Surrounders honestly does not do: run background checks. No verification of that kind exists on the platform today, and we will not imply otherwise.

Sensible habits for a first booking with anyone new: read the recent reviews, ask a question or two in chat first (how someone communicates tells you plenty), and for at-home services consider having someone else around the first time. The same habits you would use anywhere - here they just come with better information.

Surrounders protects you with 5 real mechanisms rather than promises: every account must verify its email before booking or messaging, reviews can only be written after a completed booking, exact addresses stay hidden until a booking is confirmed, anyone can be blocked in one tap, and every report is reviewed by our team. Background checks are not on that list, because none exist.

What each mechanism does:

• Email verification. Nobody can message or book without a verified email, which filters out drive-by accounts.
• Booking-gated reviews. A rating is built only from completed bookings, so review history cannot be faked with friendly comments. Pros review customers too.
• Address privacy. For at-home services a pro sees only your general area until you confirm; pros' own home addresses are protected the same way.
• Blocking. Silent, mutual, and instant: no messages, bookings, or friend requests in either direction.
• Reporting. Use the three-dot menu anywhere in the app or email [email protected]. Accounts that break the rules can be suspended.

One more default worth knowing: phone numbers are never shown to other users. What you share beyond that is your choice.

And the honest limits: Surrounders does not run background checks, and it does not insure or guarantee the work, because your payment goes directly to the pro. The mechanisms above give you real information and real controls; sensible first-booking habits do the rest.

Every review on Surrounders is written by someone who completed a real booking with that professional - the review form only exists after a booking reaches "completed", and each booking allows exactly one review. There is no way to rate a pro you never hired, which removes the two classic fake-review sources: purchased ratings and supportive friends.

A few more rules keep the system honest:

• Reviews must be written within 90 days of the completed booking, while the experience is fresh.
• A review cannot be edited or deleted after posting - so people write them carefully, and a pro cannot pressure someone into quietly changing one.
• Professionals cannot remove reviews. They can post one public reply, which is often the most informative part of a profile - how someone answers criticism tells you a lot.
• Anyone can report a review that crosses a line (personal data, abuse), and reports are reviewed by our team.

The honest limitation: a new pro with 0 reviews is not a bad pro, just an unreviewed one. Their chat responsiveness and how they answer your questions are your best signal until the first reviews arrive.

No, not in the way a card marketplace protects a purchase. Surrounders never touches money: you pay the professional directly in cash, by bank transfer, by Revolut, or by card if they accept it, and the platform holds nothing on either side. There is no deposit, no card on file, and nothing for us to intercept, hold, or return.

That is a deliberate trade-off, and it is why the platform is free with 0% commission. It also means your protection comes from habits, not from an escrow:

• Pay after the service, not before. That is the norm for these services in Cyprus, where cash is the most common method for home services. A pro who insists on a large upfront payment before ever meeting you is a red flag anywhere.
• Agree the method and the amount in chat before the first session. The listed price is the whole price, and the chat record means both sides remember the same deal.
• Read the reviews. They can only be written after completed bookings, so a pro's history is made of real customers.

Treat a booking like any direct arrangement with a local professional, because that is what it is. If something goes wrong: talk to the pro first, leave an honest review, block if you want no further contact, and report to [email protected]. EU consumers can also use the European ODR platform for disputes with traders.

Four patterns cover most service-booking scams anywhere, not just on Surrounders: pressure to pay a large amount upfront, redirection to an unfamiliar payment link or app, a quote far below every other offer, and manufactured urgency. All four collapse against one habit: slow down and pay after the work is done, not before.

How each one works, and why it struggles here:

• Upfront payment pressure. A "materials deposit" or "booking fee" demanded before you have ever met. On Surrounders there are no deposits and no card on file; paying after the service is the norm, so an upfront demand stands out immediately.
• Payment link redirection. You are hurried onto a link or app you have never heard of. A real local pro takes cash, bank transfer, or Revolut, and agreeing the method in chat leaves a record.
• The too-cheap quote. A price far below every comparable listing, with the real cost appearing mid-job. Comparing listings takes a minute, and the listed price on Surrounders is the whole price.
• Urgency. "Only today", "someone else wants the slot". Real availability sits on a calendar you can see, and genuine pros do not need panic.

To be clear about proportion: the overwhelming majority of people offering services are simply local pros doing work. These habits are cheap insurance, not a reason to suspect everyone. If someone does try a pattern like these, block them and report to [email protected]; every report is reviewed.

Start with the professional - most problems are misunderstandings about time, scope, or price, and most pros would far rather fix something than collect a bad review. The chat thread keeps that conversation, and your photos, in one place.

If talking does not resolve it, you have three tools:

1. Leave an honest review. It is the mechanism that makes quality visible on the platform. Be specific and factual - reviews from completed bookings are permanent and carry real weight with future customers.
2. Block the person. One tap, and they can no longer message you or book with you.
3. Report serious behavior to [email protected] or through the report option. Every report is reviewed by our team, and accounts can be suspended.

To be straightforward about the boundaries: payment happens directly between you and the pro, so Surrounders cannot refund money it never held, and there is no arbitration service that rules on disputes. What the platform does is keep the record - chat, booking history, reviews - honest and visible, which resolves more disagreements than you might expect. For consumer disputes with a professional, EU consumers can also use the official European ODR platform.