Disputes and resolution
When agreement is not reachable: how to open a dispute, what evidence counts, and what we can and cannot decide.
A dispute is the mechanism for the case where two reasonable people disagree and neither will move. It is not an accusation and not a punishment. Either party can open one, and escrow stays held while it is reviewed — nobody gains an advantage by being the one who escalated.
Raise it in the Project first
Either party
Request a refund, or propose cancelling
Client
Accept, or reject and escalate
Expert
Both sides submit evidence
Both
We decide what happens to held funds
AutoGineer
Try the cheaper routes first
Most disagreements are not disputes. They are a missing requirement, an unstated assumption, or a deadline nobody renegotiated. A dispute is the slowest instrument available, so reach for it after the others.
Say the specific thing in the workspace
Name the requirement you think is unmet, or the change you need. A surprising share of disputes are two people describing different problems.
Use a revision, an extension, or a new milestone
Wrong work is a revision. Late work is an extension. Extra work is a new milestone or offer. Picking the right one usually ends it.
Propose a cancellation or refund
If it should not continue, propose the outcome you think is fair — including a partial release where partial work was delivered.
Open the dispute
If that is declined or ignored, escalate. Add your evidence when you open it, not later.
What counts as evidence
We can read this
- The agreed scope on the contract or offer.
- Requirements as submitted in the workspace.
- Project messages, with their timestamps.
- Milestone submissions and deliverables.
- Revision history and what was asked each round.
- Time logs on hourly contracts.
We cannot act on this
- An email thread we have no access to.
- A call where "we agreed" something.
- Files sent through a personal drive link.
- Screenshots of an off-platform chat.
- Work delivered outside the workspace.
Evidence means project evidence
Requirements, messages, milestones, deliverables, revision history and time logs are what we can read. Work agreed by email or delivered outside the platform leaves us very little to act on, however genuinely you did it.
Possible outcomes
| Outcome | When | Money |
|---|---|---|
| Released to the expert | Work meets the agreed scope | Escrow releases, minus the platform fee |
| Refunded to the client | Work was not delivered, or misses the scope materially | Held escrow returns to the client |
| Split | Part of the work was genuinely delivered | Divided proportionally to what was delivered |
Open a dispute here before going to your card issuer. It is faster, it can split funds proportionally rather than all-or-nothing, and unlike a chargeback it does not put either account at risk.
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