Disputes.
How a problem with a deal is raised and settled, and what happens to the money.
Effective date: [EFFECTIVE DATE]
1. What this covers
A problem between a brand and a studio about a deal they made on Synthicate: a draft that doesn’t follow the brief or the product pack, a post that went up wrong or not at all, a label left off.
Something else goes elsewhere. A post or a creator that breaks the rules, or a creator that uses your face, voice, name or work, can be reported by anyone, with or without an account: Report a problem.
2. Before it’s a problem
Most things are settled in the deal’s thread. A brand can ask for changes to a draft twice. After the brand pays and before the first draft is sent, either side can cancel, and the brand is refunded in full.
3. Raising a problem
Raise it in the deal: choose Raise a problem and say what’s wrong. Who can, and when:
| Where the deal is | Who can raise a problem |
|---|---|
| Paid, no draft sent yet | No one: either side can cancel instead, and the brand is refunded in full |
| A draft in review | The brand or the studio |
| The draft approved, not live yet | The brand or the studio |
| Live, within 72 hours of the link | The brand |
| Released, refunded or closed | No one: the deal is finished |
What you write goes on the deal’s thread, the record both sides see.
4. What happens next
- The deal’s timers stop: nothing is approved or released while the problem is open. The 90-day limit doesn’t stop (section 7).
- The money stays held by the payment provider.
- Synthicate staff see the problem in their queue.
5. Who settles it
Synthicate staff. They read the deal’s record: the thread, the brief, the locked product pack, the drafts, the live post and the studio’s label ticks. They may ask either side for more.
6. The two ways it ends
- For the studio: the payment is released, less Synthicate’s fee.
- For the brand: the full price is refunded, with nothing taken.
Synthicate decides only where the held payment goes. It can’t split it, award more than the price, decide a claim by anyone outside the deal, or make a platform restore or remove a post. The staff member’s reason is written on the deal, and both sides read it.
7. How long it takes
Synthicate aims to settle a problem within [TIME TO SETTLE: Adam to set]. A payment can’t be held past 90 days: on day 80 both sides are told, and a problem still open on day 89 ends with the brand refunded in full, automatically.
8. If you disagree
A settlement takes away no rights either side has at law. Write to [CONTACT EMAIL], saying which deal.