Complaints & dispute resolution

1Which one you need

• —A disagreement with a client or specialist about whether a milestone was delivered — that is a dispute. File it from inside the project.
• —A problem with the platform, our conduct, or the outcome of a dispute — that is a complaint. Write to info@adstars.app.

2Dispute: how it runs

• —Either party files from inside the project. The milestone freezes immediately and funds neither release nor refund.
• —Both parties submit evidence within a fixed window. The project record — deliverables, chat, files and approvals — is itself evidence.
• —AdSTARS reviews against the signed milestone scope: not against later expectations, and not against what either side wishes had been written down.
• —The outcome is release, split or refund. Partial outcomes are normal, because most disputes are partly right on both sides.
• —The decision and its reasoning are recorded on the project and are visible to both parties.

This is a contractual process operated by the platform under the Escrow terms. It is not arbitration, is not a legal determination, and does not remove either party's rights outside the platform.

3Dispute: what the standard actually is

The question asked is whether what was delivered meets the scope that was signed. It is deliberately not "who is more persuasive", "who spent more", or "who is more likely to churn".

This is why the contract is generated from the brief the client approved, and why an unclear brief is the single biggest predictor of an unfavourable outcome for the party who wrote it.

4Complaint: how it runs

• —Write to info@adstars.app with what happened and what you would like done. You get an acknowledgement with a reference.
• —We aim to acknowledge within 2 working days and to give a substantive response within 15 working days. Where we cannot, we tell you why and when we will.
• —If you are unhappy with the outcome of a dispute, the complaints procedure is how you ask for it to be reviewed. The review is done by someone who did not make the original decision.
• —A review can uphold, vary or reverse the original outcome. Where funds have already moved, we correct the position where it is within our power to do so.

5If we cannot resolve it

Nothing in this procedure limits your right to pursue a matter through the courts, or through any statutory or ombudsman scheme that applies to you.

Where a payment matter is properly a matter for our payment provider, we will tell you so and give you the route to raise it with them.

6Security reports

Security issues go to info@adstars.app rather than through this procedure. They are acknowledged, and you are told what we are doing about the issue. We do not pursue researchers who report in good faith and do not access, alter or exfiltrate other people's data.