When booking a court, players can share the cost by each paying their own part. The player who creates the booking is called the lead booker. Other players can join the booking and pay their own share.
When the lead booker creates a court booking, Nettla reserves the full court cost on their card — even if other players are expected to join and pay their part.
This is because, at the time of booking, neither the club nor Nettla can know whether other players will join. Reserving the full amount ensures that the club's income is secured no matter what happens.
For example: if a court costs £40 in total, £40 is reserved on the lead booker's card at the time of booking. If 3 other players join and each pay £10, those amounts are reserved on their respective cards separately.
Nettla calculates each player's final payment amount 4 hours after the session ends. This gives time for last-minute players to be added to the booking, for example someone who joined at the club in the moment.
After the session ends and the final calculation is done, the lead booker is charged only their own share. Any amount covered by joining players is returned to them.
How this works in practice depends on when the booking was made:
Booked less than 6 days before the session: The reserved amount is simply adjusted. For example, the lead booker's £40 reservation becomes a £10 charge and the rest is released. This usually happens quickly and no separate refund is issued.
Booked more than 6 days before the session: Because card scheme rules (Visa and Mastercard) require reservations to be either charged or released within 7 days, Nettla captures (charges) the full reserved amount on day 6. After the session ends and the final split is calculated, the joining players' portions are refunded back to the lead booker. This may take 2-3 business days.
Yes, temporarily. In the scenario above, a lead booker may see a charge of £40 on their card, and then later receive a refund of £30. This is expected behaviour and not an error. The timing of the refund depends on the 6-day rule described above.
If no other players join the booking, the lead booker is responsible for the full court cost. No refund is issued in this case.