Dispute Resolution Policy

This Dispute Resolution Policy governs disputes between Homeowners and Contractors regarding milestone tasks, held deposits, and milestone payments on the JobDeposit Platform operated by [COMPANY LEGAL NAME] ("JobDeposit," "we," "us"). It is part of the Terms of Service and incorporates the Payment & Funds-Holding Terms, AI Photo Verification Disclaimer, Contractor Agreement, and Acceptable Use Policy. Disputes between a user and JobDeposit itself are governed by Section 14 (Arbitration) of the Terms of Service.

1. Who may file a milestone dispute and when

• Homeowners may open a dispute on any milestone (before or after a milestone payment is released or paid out) within [30] days after milestone release, or within any longer period permitted by the Project Contract or applicable law for latent defects.
• Contractors may request human review of an automated AI photo rejection, an escalated low-confidence inspection result, a payment hold, or a Homeowner dispute.

2. Eligible grounds for a dispute

Valid dispute grounds include:

• incomplete: milestone checklist tasks were not completed as required by the agreed milestone scope;
• poor_quality: visible workmanship defects, code violations, or property damage;
• false_images: false, altered, staged, reused, duplicate, or off-site photos or manipulated EXIF/GPS metadata; or
• Wrongful rejection or hold on a properly completed milestone.

3. How to file a dispute

A Homeowner files a milestone dispute in the Platform by selecting the affected milestone, choosing the dispute reason (incomplete, poorquality, or falseimages), describing the issue, and uploading at least one supporting photo of the job site. Submitted dispute photos are evaluated using our photo integrity checks and reviewed by a human JobDeposit dispute reviewer.

4. Effect of filing on held deposits and milestone payments

• Before payout (released or earlier): the disputed milestone payment is immediately placed in "disputed" state and daily payout (paid_out) is blocked while the dispute is open.
• After payout (paid_out): if the milestone payment was already transferred or paid out, JobDeposit instructs the Processor to initiate a transfer reversal (reverseTransfer), hold an equivalent amount from the Contractor's connected account or pending milestone payments, or recover funds from the Contractor's approved business bank account under the Payment & Funds-Holding Terms.
• Other milestones: unaffected milestones may continue unless the dispute involves abandonment, safety, or whole-project termination.

5. Review process and timeline

1. Notice and Contractor response (5 business days): both parties are notified immediately; the Contractor may submit response notes, permits, or additional on-site photos.
2. Cure / remediation window (up to [10] business days): where appropriate, the Contractor may cure the issue on site and upload new task photos for re-verification.
3. Human determination: if not resolved by cure or agreement, a human JobDeposit reviewer examines the milestone scope, task checklist, Contractor and Homeowner photos, EXIF/GPS and duplicate check logs, and AI inspection notes, and issues a determination either:

- upheld (resolved_upheld): work matches the agreed milestone scope and the milestone payment is released/re-released to the Contractor; or

- refunded (resolved_refunded): the dispute is sustained and the held milestone amount is refunded to the Homeowner's original payment method.

1. Appeal: either party may request one re-review within 5 business days of the determination by submitting new material evidence to [SUPPORT EMAIL].

6. Nature and limits of a JobDeposit determination

A JobDeposit dispute determination governs only how held deposit and milestone payment funds processed through our Payment Processor are instructed to be released, refunded, or reversed. It is not an arbitration award, court judgment, building-code ruling, or legal determination of liability, and it does not restrict either party from pursuing claims under their Project Contract, in small-claims or civil court, or before a state contractor licensing board. [ATTORNEY: confirm state-law treatment of marketplace payment-direction determinations.]

7. Independent third-party site inspection

For complex technical disputes, JobDeposit may permit or require a written report from an independent licensed inspector at the requesting party's initial expense, which may be reallocated in the final payment determination.

8. Bad-faith disputes and fraudulent evidence

Submitting fabricated disputes or manipulated photos violates our Acceptable Use Policy and may result in immediate account suspension, forfeiture of dispute protections, and recovery of review/reversal costs.

9. Interplay with payment card chargebacks

If a Homeowner initiates a credit/debit card chargeback with their card issuer while a Platform dispute is pending, our internal dispute process is paused for those funds and the card network's chargeback rules govern the card transaction (see Section 10 of the Payment & Funds-Holding Terms).