Dispute Resolution Policy

1. Purpose

This Dispute Resolution Policy describes how [LEGAL ENTITY NAME] ("Nodal Pay", "we", "us") plans to handle disagreements between buyers and sellers who transact through the Nodal Pay app. The app is currently under development, so everything described here reflects the process we are designing, not a live service.

Nodal Pay is being built around a simple idea: both parties confirm the terms of a deal up front, the buyer's payment is held back from the seller until the agreed work or delivery is completed, and either party can pause the flow if something goes wrong. The final payment and fund handling structure will depend on applicable law and the regulated payment partners we work with, and will be published before launch.

This policy should be read together with our planned Terms of Use, Refund and Cancellation Policy and Grievance Redressal Policy.

2. When to raise an issue

The dispute process is expected to be available whenever a deal has not gone the way the confirmed Deal Card says it should. Typical situations include:

• Before approving release. A buyer should raise an issue before approving the release of payment if the goods or services received do not match what was agreed. Once release is approved, options narrow considerably, so the app is designed to prompt buyers to check carefully first.
• Non delivery. The seller has not delivered the goods or completed the service by the agreed date, or has stopped responding.
• Quality or description disputes. Something was delivered, but it materially differs from the description, specifications or quantity recorded on the Deal Card.
• Non payment claims. A seller believes the buyer is withholding approval without a genuine reason after the agreed work has been completed.

Issues raised promptly are easier to resolve. We plan to set reasonable time windows for raising a dispute after key deal events; these windows will be confirmed in the final version of this policy.

3. How Raise Issue is planned to work

Each active deal in the app is planned to include a Raise Issue control. Using it is designed to do three things:

1. Pause the normal flow. The standard release process for that deal is stopped while the issue is open, so payment is not released in the ordinary course during the review.
2. Record the complaint. The person raising the issue describes the problem, selects a category (for example, non delivery or quality) and attaches supporting material.
3. Notify the other party. The counterparty is informed and invited to respond within a stated period, usually through the same Safe Deal Room where the deal was negotiated.

Raising an issue does not by itself decide anything. It simply holds the deal in place while the matter is looked at, so that neither side is disadvantaged by the passage of time.

4. Evidence we expect to consider

Dispute reviews are planned to rely primarily on records created inside the platform, which are designed so that both parties can see them and neither can alter them after the fact. In rough order of weight, we expect to consider:

• The confirmed Deal Card, the primary record of what was agreed: item or service, price, quantity, delivery terms and deadlines confirmed by both parties.
• Safe Deal Room messages, the conversation between the parties within the app, including any changes discussed after the Deal Card was confirmed.
• Documents and attachments, invoices, specifications, photographs and files shared through the platform.
• Completion proof, delivery confirmations, courier records, handover photos or other evidence of performance uploaded to the deal.
• Timeline events, system recorded events such as when the deal was confirmed, when payment was secured, when milestones were marked complete and when the issue was raised.

Material exchanged outside the app (for example, on other messaging services) may be considered where relevant, but it is harder to verify. We encourage users to keep all deal related communication inside the Safe Deal Room.

5. Review process and indicative timelines

The stages below describe the process we are designing. All timelines in this section are indicative only, may change before launch, and will be confirmed in the final published version of this policy.

Stage	What is planned to happen	Indicative timeline
Acknowledgement	The dispute is logged, the deal is paused and both parties receive confirmation with a reference number.	Within 1, 2 working days of the issue being raised
Information requests	Both parties may be asked for clarification or additional evidence. Failure to respond within the stated window may lead to a decision on the available record.	Response windows of around 3, 5 working days per request
Outcome	A reviewed outcome is communicated to both parties with brief reasons and, where relevant, next steps.	Typically within 10, 15 working days of the issue being raised, longer for complex matters

Some disputes may take longer, for example where third party records are needed or where the matter is referred for escalation. If a review is expected to exceed the indicative timeline, we plan to inform both parties of the delay and the reason.

6. Possible outcomes

Depending on the evidence, a dispute review is designed to end in one of the following ways:

• Release to the seller, where the record shows the deal was completed as agreed, the secured payment proceeds to the seller in the normal way.
• Return to the buyer, where the record shows non delivery or a material failure to perform, the secured amount is returned to the buyer, subject to the fund handling structure and applicable law. See the Refund and Cancellation Policy for how returns are planned to work.
• Partial resolutions, where supported by the deal structure and both the evidence and applicable rules allow it, an outcome may split the amount, for example where part of an order was delivered as agreed.
• Escalation, where the matter cannot be fairly decided on the platform record, it may be escalated internally, referred to the parties for mediation or other agreed resolution, or closed with guidance on external remedies.

Outcomes under this policy address the handling of the secured payment for the deal in question. They are not legal judgments and do not decide wider claims the parties may have against each other.

7. Escalation to the Grievance Officer

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of a dispute review, or with how the process was handled, you will be able to escalate the matter to our Grievance Officer under the Grievance Redressal Policy. The Grievance Officer's name and contact details will be published before launch; escalations are expected to be sent to [GRIEVANCE EMAIL] with your dispute reference number.

8. Mediation, arbitration and governing law

For disagreements that cannot be resolved through the platform process, the final Terms of Use are expected to set out a further resolution route, which may include mediation or arbitration conducted in accordance with Indian law. This policy and any disputes arising from use of the platform are intended to be governed by the laws of India, with courts or arbitral seats at [CITY, STATE], subject to the final Terms of Use and to any non excludable rules of applicable law, including the Information Technology Act 2000 and other legislation that applies to digital platforms in India.

9. Your consumer rights are unaffected

Nothing in this policy limits, excludes or replaces any rights you have under applicable law, including the Consumer Protection Act 2019. You remain free to approach consumer fora, courts or other competent authorities at any time, whether or not you have used the platform dispute process. This process is offered as a faster, structured first step, not a substitute for your statutory remedies.

10. Good faith obligations

The dispute process only works if both sides engage honestly. By using it, both parties are expected to:

• raise issues promptly and describe them accurately;
• respond to information requests within the stated windows;
• provide genuine, unaltered evidence and not withhold material facts;
• refrain from using disputes to pressure, harass or delay the other party; and
• accept that repeated bad faith disputes or fabricated evidence may lead to action under the Acceptable Use Policy, including restriction or closure of the account.

11. Contact

Questions about this draft policy can be sent to [SUPPORT EMAIL]. You can also visit the Help Centre or learn more about how deals are planned to work in the How It Works section of our homepage.