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Dispute & Refund Policy

What can be resolved, what can be refunded, and what is final.

Last updated

18 August 2026. These are the operator's own terms for using ARC. They are not legal advice, and they do not override rights you have under the law where you live.

Read this before you sign a payout

ARC payouts are direct, non-custodial USDC transfers between wallets. ARC never holds the money, so ARC cannot reverse it. Once the employer signs and the Solana network confirms the transfer, it is final — there is no chargeback, no clawback, and no platform refund button. Release payment only when you accept the delivery.

How a dispute works

  1. Talk first. Most disputes are a scope misunderstanding. Raise it on the contract, state exactly what is missing against the brief, and give a clear deadline for the fix.
  2. Mark the contract disputed. Either side can move the contract to Disputed. This freezes the status trail and timestamps the disagreement, so the record reflects what happened and when.
  3. Report it to ARC. File a report from the contract, or email us, within 14 days of the delivery or the disputed payout. Include the contract, the brief, the deliverables, and the messages.
  4. We review the record. We read the brief, the accepted application, the delivery timeline, the escrow and audit events, and any on-chain transaction. We aim to respond within 5 business days.

Before payout: what we can do

Until funds are sent, nothing is locked and either side can still act. In this window we can help by clarifying the recorded scope, restoring or correcting contract status, releasing a committed budget so the employer can re-post the brief, and closing the contract as cancelled with an accurate record.

  • Worker never started — the employer may cancel and re-post at no cost.
  • Employer went silent after delivery — the worker can dispute; unresponsive employers affect reputation and can be suspended.
  • Partial delivery — we encourage a negotiated partial amount, agreed on the contract before any transfer is signed.

After payout: what refunds actually mean

A refund after a confirmed transfer can only be a voluntary return transfer from the recipient's wallet. ARC can ask, and can record whether it happened, but ARC cannot compel or execute it.

If a worker took payment and delivered nothing, or an employer paid for work they never received, tell us. We investigate, and where the record supports it we apply account outcomes: a permanent note on the reputation profile, restriction from posting or applying, or removal from ARC.

Mistakes we cannot fix

Wrong recipient address, wrong amount, wrong network, or the wrong token — these are unrecoverable on any blockchain. Nobody, including ARC, can retrieve them. Always check the address and amount in your wallet before approving.

What we decide, and what we do not

ARC decides platform outcomes: account standing, reputation notes, listing removal, and access. ARC does not act as an arbitrator of your contract, does not award damages, and does not move anyone's funds. Your legal remedies against the other party are unaffected by this policy.

Abuse of this policy

Filing false disputes, threatening reputation damage to extract payment, or using disputes to pressure free extra work is itself a breach of the Terms of Service and can result in suspension.

Contact

Open a report from the contract in Contracts, or write to legal@arc.market with the contract reference.