Dispute policy — TakeTheme Services Marketplace

1. Before you open a dispute

This policy applies to merchants and developers on the TakeTheme Services Marketplace and is read together with the Developer Terms and the Services Refund Policy.

Start with the order messages, a revision request (if one is included), an extension request or a mutual cancellation proposal. A dispute is the last step when both sides can't agree.

2. Who can open a dispute, and when

• The merchant or the developer can open a dispute on an active order — in progress, delivered or in revision — before it completes. An order not yet accepted cannot be disputed (the merchant can cancel it with a full refund instead), and neither can an order completed by the merchant's approval or automatically.
• Only one dispute can be active per order.
• On milestone orders, a dispute covers the current milestone only.
• For monthly support subscriptions, the merchant can dispute a paid cycle at any time until 3 days after it ends.
• Reasons: not delivered, late, quality, not as described, scope, communication, requirements, payment, or other.

3. What opening a dispute does

• The order moves to "Disputed", the escrowed amount is frozen and all timers (including auto-completion) stop until a decision.
• Any store access the merchant granted the developer on this order ends.
• When opening a dispute on a card-paid order, the merchant can choose whether any refund goes to their card or their TakeTheme balance.

4. Evidence and standard of review

• The merchant, the developer and TakeTheme staff can add messages and files as evidence until the decision, up to 50 items per dispute.
• Order messages, the delivery and revision history and the store-access log on the platform are also considered. What happens off-platform may not be taken into account, because it cannot be verified.
• Staff measure the delivered work against what was agreed on the platform: the package or custom offer description, paid extras, the requirements agreed in the order messages, the due dates and the number of revisions.
• Evidence must be truthful and not misleading (section 9).

5. Review and timing

• A TakeTheme staff member takes the dispute under review (it may be re-assigned) and may ask either side for more information. The decision is made by TakeTheme's operations team and both sides are notified.
• TakeTheme aims to decide within a reasonable time, depending on the complexity of the dispute and how quickly both sides respond.
• Both sides must answer requests for information within the time staff set in the request. If a side doesn't answer, the decision may be made on the evidence available.

6. Possible outcomes (orders)

• Full refund: the escrowed amount goes back to the merchant in full and the order is cancelled.
• Partial refund: less than the escrowed amount goes back to the merchant (including its share of VAT); the rest is released to the developer less the platform fee on their share, and the order completes.
• Release: the full amount is released to the developer (less the platform fee) and the order completes.
• Amounts released to the developer go through the usual holding period (currently 7 days) before they can be withdrawn.
• If TakeTheme staff cancel an order with an open dispute, the dispute is closed with a full refund of what is still in escrow.
• Where needed, the decision also settles the rights in the delivered work, under section 20 of the Developer Terms.

7. Milestone order disputes

• The decision only covers the current milestone's share of the escrow: milestones approved earlier stay with the developer, and later milestones stay in escrow.
• The outcome can be a full or partial refund of that share or its release to the developer; work then continues on the next milestone.
• Staff may instead end the order, in which case the shares of all later milestones are refunded to the merchant too.

8. Subscription cycle disputes

• The disputed cycle's payment is frozen until a decision.
• The outcome is either a refund of the whole cycle to the merchant's TakeTheme balance, with a credit note, or its release in full to the developer less the platform fee. There is no partial refund of a subscription cycle.

9. Misleading evidence and abuse

Submitting forged or misleading evidence, repeatedly opening bad-faith disputes, or using a dispute as leverage outside the order's scope is a violation. The dispute may be decided against the side responsible, and it may lead to a warning, suspension or closure of the account under the Developer Terms and the general Terms.

10. After the decision

TakeTheme's decision is final on the platform and is applied to the escrowed amount; there is no internal appeal stage. This is without prejudice to any rights under applicable law, including going to the competent court (section 12).

Disputes may affect a developer's level (levels require no open disputes, and a dispute rate of 2% or less for Top).

11. TakeTheme's role and liability

• TakeTheme decides disputes as the marketplace operator and the party holding the payment. It is not a party to the service contract and does not guarantee the result of the work.
• TakeTheme is not liable for any indirect, consequential or incidental damages, or loss of profit, arising from a dispute decision, and its total liability for one is limited to the amount held in escrow for the order, milestone or cycle in dispute. This does not limit liability that cannot be limited by law.
• Dispute data and evidence are kept for as long as needed to resolve the dispute and meet legal obligations; the order chat is currently deleted 2 years after the order closes (unless a dispute or chargeback is still open), as described in the Privacy Policy.

12. Changes, governing law and contact

We may change this policy, giving notice of material changes currently at least 14 days in advance and showing the new effective date. An open dispute follows the version in force when it was opened.

This policy is governed by the laws of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the courts of Cairo have jurisdiction, as in section 9 of the general Terms and Conditions, without prejudice to any mandatory rights you have under applicable law. The Arabic version prevails over any translation.

Complaints: send yours from the contact page or to Main@taketheme.com with the order number, and we reply within a reasonable time. This does not affect your right to go to the consumer protection authority, the data protection authority or the competent court.

Questions: contact us or email Main@taketheme.com.