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Dispute Resolution Service

The Milestone Payment System offers protection to both clients and freelancers by giving equal control over created payments for awarded projects. With that said, in the event that your project does not go as planned, we have a Dispute Resolution Service available to you, which allows contesting the return (for clients) or release (for freelancers) of in progress Milestone Payments (meaning, those Milestones that are not yet released).

 

In all circumstances, we strongly encourage you to resolve project issues or disputes between yourselves rather than use this service. It is provided only as a last resort should you be unable to reach a mutual agreement.

 

If you get to a point where you need to use it, you can find the Dispute option in the dropdown button across the Milestone Payment that you wish to dispute. Clicking Dispute will direct you to the Disputes page where you can specify the exact amount you will be disputing from the Milestone Payment and your reason for filing a dispute.

 

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 4 Dispute Stages

  

We follow a systematic process in resolving disputes. 

 

● Stage 1. This is the stage where the dispute was initiated and you are waiting for the other party to either accept your offer or challenge your claim.

 

● Stage 2. This is when both parties already entered the dispute. During this stage, both are encouraged to negotiate and settle the dispute. The dispute may remain in this stage if neither party is taking any action or communicating. To avoid this, it is crucial to stay in touch with the other party and resolve the dispute as soon as possible. This will help prevent the dispute from lingering on the same stage. 

 

● Stage 3. The dispute enters this stage if either party refuses to settle the dispute and when one pays the arbitration fee. This is your last chance to resolve the dispute between yourselves and also your final chance to submit evidence to support your case.

 

● Stage 4. Once both pay the arbitration fee, the case is transferred to our Dispute team. The team will review the dispute and they will be the ones to issue a final verdict. Dispute verdicts are final and irreversible.

 

Note: Users should continue to be responsive, and both should pay attention to an ongoing dispute as there is a time window set in most stages. If you miss to take action, you will automatically lose the dispute and the amount under dispute will be transferred to the other party’s account.

 

Read more about our Dispute Resolution Service policy here.

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