Safe Repair

Helpan's trust program

Relax. Every repair through Helpan is covered by support.

Safe Repair is Helpan's trust program. Every repair ordered and paid for through our platform is covered by it automatically and free of charge. You don't buy a policy and you don't pay a premium. It's not insurance or a Helpan guarantee, but the way we make sure your rights as a driver are respected and that you're never left alone with the garage.

Three promises of the program

1. Garage guarantee

The garage that carries out the repair issues your invoice and is responsible for its work, for the parts and for the labour. It's the garage that guarantees the repair by law, not Helpan.

2. Helpan support

If you have reservations about the repair, you report them in the app and Helpan handles the case free of charge: it provides the complaint tool, mediates and, in the situations described below, makes a platform decision. You're not left alone with the garage.

3. Secure payments

You pay through Helpan. If a refund is due, it comes back the same way you paid, on the basis of a corrective invoice.

What the 15-point Check covers

When your car is taken in, the garage carries out a free, preliminary 15-point Check and records its result in the app as a report. That way nobody diagnoses your car remotely, and the estimate is based on what the garage has actually checked.

Brake discs and pads
Battery
Engine and drivetrain for leaks
Gearbox operation
Fluids (brake, coolant, power steering)
Windows, wipers and washer nozzles
Play in the suspension and steering
Tyres and tyre pressure, including the spare wheel
Shock absorber tightness (visual inspection)
Lights
Reading fault codes from the on-board computer
Suspension
Steering
Underbody
Air conditioning

The Check is informational: it's a visual assessment and standard inspection steps, with no disassembly of components. It's not a full diagnosis, an expert opinion or a repair, and it doesn't commit you to anything.

If the Check finds faults, the garage presents an estimate for fixing them with a description and price for each item. You make the decision before anything starts. If the car is fine, you get the report and drive on. If you want paid diagnostics beyond these 15 points, the garage prices it separately in the estimate.

What a complaint covers and when you can file one

You file a complaint through Helpan for a job that has been completed and paid for in the app when:

the fault results from the repair carried out (a faulty part, poorly done labour),
the repair was not completed in full despite payment,
the scope of the work carried out differs from the approved estimate.

You have:

24 months from the completion of the job if the repair invoice is issued to a private individual (a consumer),
12 months from the completion of the job if the invoice is issued to a company.

The deadline is shown on your job. After it passes, you can no longer file a complaint through the app; external routes remain open to you (the consumer ombudsman, the courts). These deadlines don't limit your statutory rights against the garage.

If a new problem with the same job arises within the deadline, you can file another complaint. The history of previous complaints stays in the chat.

What Safe Repair doesn't cover:

breakdowns unrelated to the repair carried out and random events (theft, collision, flooding),
repairs settled by an insurer (third-party or comprehensive cover); you handle these directly with the insurer, under its procedure,
repairs arranged or paid for outside Helpan.

Matters concerning the voucher, the appointment booking or withdrawal from the contract follow a separate path described in the Terms of Service, not a repair complaint.

How to file a complaint

You open the completed job, tap “File a complaint”, describe the problem in your own words and say what you expect. You can add photos or a video. There's no rigid form.

From that moment you talk to the garage in the complaint chat. The garage has 24 hours to respond. It may ask for details, invite you for a free inspection or propose a solution right away.

The garage responds with one of three decisions, always with a justification: a full refund, a partial refund with a stated amount, or rejection of the complaint. You choose:

“I accept” closes the case and triggers the refund, if one has been granted,
“I don't accept” passes the case to a Helpan administrator.

If you reach an agreement in the chat, you tap “Problem solved” and the case is closed. Most cases end right here.

You can also ask for an administrator to join at any time, without waiting.

What Helpan does in your case

The Helpan administrator sees the whole conversation history, the estimate, the invoice and the photos. They don't impose a solution straight away; their role is support, mediation and keeping the process on track. Specifically, the administrator:

keeps an eye on deadlines: if the garage doesn't respond within 12 hours, it gets a reminder; if it doesn't respond within 24 hours of the complaint, the administrator joins the case automatically. You don't have to ask,
when you don't accept the garage's decision, leads negotiations: contacts both sides, moderates the correspondence, proposes solutions and works towards an agreement,
in clear-cut cases that don't require a technical assessment, makes a platform decision without an expert,
in technically disputed cases, when negotiations haven't led to an agreement, may refer the case to an independent automotive expert, whose opinion becomes the basis for the decision,
justifies every decision and delivers it to you and the garage in the app and by e-mail. Helpan doesn't pretend to be a court: the administrator's decision doesn't replace a court ruling and doesn't limit your rights.

Independent expert

In cases where the dispute comes down to a technical assessment (whether the fault results from the repair carried out or from another cause), the administrator may refer the case to an independent automotive expert.

Worth knowing:

The expert only comes into play once the negotiations led by the administrator haven't produced an agreement.
Before the case goes to the expert, the administrator informs you and the garage, including about how the cost of the opinion will be settled.
The cost of the opinion is borne by the side whose position the opinion doesn't confirm. If you don't want to take that risk, you can choose an external route instead (the consumer ombudsman, the courts).
The administrator decides in line with the opinion: a full refund, a partial refund or rejection of the complaint.
The expert's opinion is strong evidence, but not a court judgment. If you disagree with it, you have the right to pursue your claims outside the platform.

Refunds

If the garage grants a refund and you accept it, or the administrator decides on a refund:

after the administrator's decision the garage has 48 hours to appeal; if it appeals, the administrator reviews the appeal and upholds or changes the decision,
after that time, or immediately after a decision accepted by both sides, a corrective invoice is issued against the repair invoice,
the money goes back to the same card or account you paid from; how long it takes to arrive depends on your bank or card provider.

Helpan doesn't pay out money from its own funds. A refund is a reversal of the payment made to the garage. It's the garage that returns the money, and we run the process and make sure it happens.

The 12, 24 and 48 hour deadlines are counted in calendar hours, as shown in the app.

What else Safe Repair gives you

Every complaint runs in the job chat, and the administrator's decisions are justified and delivered to both sides. You also receive the final outcome of every complaint by e-mail. As a result:

garages on Helpan know that their work is reviewed, which motivates them to keep up quality,
recurring problems with a particular garage are picked up by the platform's administrators,
you can be sure your case doesn't vanish into a void; someone at Helpan has it on their screen.

What Safe Repair is not

Safe Repair is not insurance or a guarantee provided by Helpan. We don't sell you a policy, we don't collect a premium, and the program doesn't cover breakdowns unrelated to the repair carried out or random events (theft, collision, flooding).

Safe Repair is a mechanism that supports you in exercising the consumer rights you have by law, independently of Helpan. Helpan makes sure they're respected, mediates between you and the garage and helps reach a quick resolution. For free.

Independently of the statutory warranty, the garage or the parts manufacturer may give you their own guarantee on parts or on the service. That's a separate agreement between you and the garage or manufacturer, which you use directly with them.

Your external rights

Regardless of the path within Helpan, you keep the full right to:

contact the municipal or district consumer ombudsman (free advice),
report the matter to the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK),
pursue your claims in court, at any time, including after a Helpan administrator's decision,
refer the case (as a consumer) to the Permanent Consumer Arbitration Court at the Provincial Inspectorate of Trade Inspection in Warsaw, in accordance with its rules; this route requires the garage's consent (details: uokik.gov.pl/stale-sady-polubowne),
use legal assistance of your own choosing.

If your reservations concern the Helpan platform itself rather than the repair, write to us via the “Report a problem” tab in the app or at kontakt@helpan.eu. We respond within 14 days.

Helpan administrators' decisions are platform decisions within our procedure. They don't replace court rulings and don't limit your rights.