Creator Scout Policies

0Preliminary Definitions

• “Business Day” means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a public holiday declared by the Government of India at the national level, or a public holiday in the state of [Your State], where Creator Scout Technologies Pvt. Ltd. maintains its principal place of business. Business days are counted from 10:00 AM IST of the first qualifying day following the triggering event.
• “Escrow” means the funds deposited by the Brand into Creator Scout’s designated escrow account in connection with a specific campaign, held by Creator Scout or its authorised payment partner pending disbursement.
• “Dispute” means a formal objection raised by either party via the Creator Scout platform’s dispute interface in accordance with this framework.
• “In-Platform Record” means any data generated by and stored within the Creator Scout platform, including campaign briefs, chat logs, deliverable submission timestamps, revision requests, approval records, and escrow transaction logs.
• “Platform Interpretation” means Creator Scout’s reasonable operational interpretation of any ambiguous term, clause, or situation arising under this framework, which shall prevail for the purposes of dispute resolution and escrow disbursement.
• “Ghosting” means the creator’s failure to communicate or deliver for 5 consecutive days after accepting an order, without explanation or an approved extension.
• “Milestone Values” means the proportional campaign value attributed to each stage of work completed: script submission corresponds to 30% of campaign value delivered; b-roll submission corresponds to 60% of campaign value delivered.

1Scope & Nature

This framework governs all disputes arising between Brands and Creators on Creator Scout in connection with campaigns, custom offers, and bid-based collaborations. Both parties agree to this framework as part of their respective platform agreements.

1.1 Mandatory First Step

Creator Scout’s dispute resolution process is the mandatory first step before any external legal proceedings. Parties agree not to initiate court proceedings, arbitration, or any other legal action in relation to a campaign dispute without first exhausting this process, except where a party seeks urgent interim relief from a court to prevent imminent irreparable harm.

1.2 Nature of Decision — Not Arbitration

Creator Scout’s mediation and decision-making process under this framework is not arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Creator Scout’s decisions are operational decisions made in its capacity as a marketplace operator for the limited purpose of escrow disbursement. They do not constitute a legal award, judicial determination, or binding arbitration ruling. Both parties retain full rights to pursue independent legal remedies in a competent court following Creator Scout’s decision. Escrowed funds will be disbursed in accordance with Creator Scout’s decision unless a court of competent jurisdiction issues a restraining order served on Creator Scout prior to disbursement.

1.3 Platform Discretion

Creator Scout reserves the right to make a decision based on fairness and platform integrity in cases that do not fit neatly within the defined dispute types or where the available evidence is ambiguous. Creator Scout’s exercise of this discretion will be documented in the decision record.

1.4 Language & Interpretation

This framework is written in English. In the event of any ambiguity, inconsistency, or dispute regarding interpretation, Creator Scout’s interpretation shall prevail for operational and escrow disbursement purposes. This does not affect either party’s right to seek a different interpretation from a competent court.

1.5 Fraud Override

Creator Scout reserves the right to override standard policy outcomes, freeze escrow, suspend accounts, and reverse disbursements in cases of confirmed or strongly suspected fraud, regardless of which stage the campaign has reached or which policy terms would otherwise apply. This override operates independently of the standard dispute process and strike system. Creator Scout’s exercise of this right will be documented internally and the affected party will be notified of the action taken and the basis for it.

2Dispute Types

The following dispute types are recognised under this framework:

3Raising a Dispute & Deadlines

3.1 Brand Disputes

Brands may raise a dispute from the Order page within 72 hours of deliverable submission. After 72 hours without a dispute being raised, payment is automatically disbursed and no dispute may be initiated for that deliverable. This deadline is strict and will not be extended except in cases of documented platform technical failure under Section 11.

3.2 Creator Disputes

Creators may raise a dispute from the Order page subject to the following deadlines:

• Type B (Off-Platform Instructions): Must be raised before the Creator submits the final deliverable, or within 5 business days of receiving a revision request the Creator believes arises from off-platform instructions.
• Type D (Brief Modification): Must be raised within 5 business days of the modification being communicated.
• Type F (Payment Not Released): Must be raised within 10 business days of the 72-hour auto-approval window closing without disbursement.
• All other Creator dispute types: Must be raised before escrow is released or within 7 business days of the triggering event, whichever is earlier.

Disputes raised outside these windows will not be accepted. Creator Scout will reject out-of-time disputes automatically and notify the raising party.

3.3 Escrow Freeze on Dispute Initiation

Upon a dispute being formally submitted and accepted by the platform, the relevant escrow amount is immediately and automatically frozen. No auto-disbursement, manual release, or wallet credit will occur while the dispute is active. The escrow freeze takes effect at the moment of dispute submission, regardless of whether the 72-hour auto-approval window has or has not elapsed. Escrow remains frozen for the entire duration of the dispute — through mediation, any secondary review, and until the final disbursement instruction is issued.

4Evidence Rules

4.1 Evidence Priority Order

The following evidence hierarchy applies. Higher-ranked evidence prevails in the event of conflict:

1. 1In-Platform Records — Campaign brief versions with timestamps, in-platform chat logs, deliverable submission timestamps, revision request records, approval and rejection records, and escrow transaction logs. These are automatically available and constitute the primary record.
2. 2Platform-Generated Metadata — IP logs, login timestamps, file upload records, and notification delivery confirmations.
3. 3Contemporaneous Third-Party Records — Bank statements, payment gateway confirmations, and social media platform analytics exports where relevant and verifiable.
4. 4Screenshots and Off-Platform Communications — WhatsApp, email, SMS, or DM screenshots. Admissible but carry significantly lower weight than In-Platform Records. Where an In-Platform Record contradicts a screenshot, the In-Platform Record prevails unless the screenshot demonstrates a clear and unambiguous instruction that cannot be reconciled with the platform record.
5. 5Witness Statements — Written statements from third parties. Accepted at the mediation team’s discretion and carry the lowest evidentiary weight.

4.2 Evidence Submission Limits

Each party may submit a maximum of 10 files per dispute, with a maximum file size of 25MB per file. Accepted formats are PNG, JPG, PDF, MP4, MOV, DOCX, and XLSX. Links to external hosted content such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or YouTube are accepted as supplementary references but Creator Scout does not guarantee access or preservation of external content.

4.3 Submission Deadline

All evidence must be submitted within the deadlines specified in Section 5. Evidence submitted after the deadline will not be considered unless the submitting party demonstrates documented platform technical failure under Section 11.

5The Dispute Process

6Partial Deliverable Disputes

6.1 Multiple Deliverables

Where a campaign specifies multiple deliverables, a dispute may be raised per deliverable or across the entire campaign. Where raised per deliverable, escrow is partially released for approved deliverables and frozen only for the disputed portion. Where raised campaign-wide, the entire escrow is frozen pending resolution. The raising party must specify at the time of raising whether the dispute is per-deliverable or campaign-wide. Creator Scout will not convert one type to the other after submission.

6.2 Partial Completion Assessment

Where a creator has submitted some but not all agreed deliverables, or deliverables are partially compliant, the mediation team will assess using the following framework in order of priority:

1. 1Percentage of deliverables completed as a proportion of the total agreed list.
2. 2Usability — whether completed deliverables are independently usable by the Brand for their stated campaign purpose.
3. 3Adherence to brief — degree to which completed deliverables meet the agreed brief.
4. 4Stage of work — whether incomplete deliverables had reached script, b-roll, or final stage at the time of dispute, assessed against the Milestone Values defined in Section 0.

The mediation team’s proportional award will be expressed as a percentage of the total escrow held for the campaign.

7Possible Outcomes

8Conduct During Dispute

8.1 No Parallel Negotiation

While a dispute is active, neither party may attempt to negotiate a private settlement, apply pressure, or communicate with the other party regarding the dispute outside of the Creator Scout platform. All communications must occur through the platform’s dispute interface or via Creator Scout’s mediation team. Off-platform coercion, threats, or settlement pressure during an active dispute constitutes bad faith conduct and will result in a strike being issued regardless of the financial outcome.

8.2 No Parallel Legal Notice

If either party sends a legal notice or initiates court proceedings while a dispute is active, Creator Scout will continue the dispute resolution process uninterrupted. Escrow will not be released until Creator Scout’s process is complete or a court order restraining disbursement is served on Creator Scout. Parallel legal proceedings do not pause the dispute timeline.

8.3 Frivolous Dispute Penalty

Disputes found to be without merit, raised primarily to delay payment, or raised in bad faith will result in the following consequences applied cumulatively:

• First frivolous dispute: formal warning recorded on account.
• Second frivolous dispute within 12 months: one strike issued.
• Third frivolous dispute within 12 months: temporary platform restriction of 30 days plus one additional strike.

A dispute is classified as frivolous where the raising party has submitted no substantive evidence, the claim is clearly contradicted by In-Platform Records, or the mediation team finds the dispute was raised solely to delay escrow release.

9Strike System

9.1 Strike Thresholds

• 1 strike: Formal warning. Account flagged for monitoring.
• 2 strikes within 12 months: Account suspension review. Creator Scout may restrict specific platform features pending review.
• 3 strikes within 12 months: Permanent account suspension with no reinstatement.

9.2 Strike Expiry

Each strike expires 12 months from the date it was issued, provided no further strikes are issued during that period. A strike that has expired is removed from the active count but remains in the account’s permanent audit log for internal reference.

9.3 Strike Types

Strikes may be issued for the following conduct:

• Bad faith dispute conduct
• Off-platform coercion during a dispute
• Frivolous disputes as defined in Section 8.3
• Chargeback initiated in breach of the Brand & Advertiser Agreement
• Repeated bad faith revision conduct
• Deliberate submission of low-quality, incomplete, or token work with the intent to trigger the 72-hour auto-approval window and lock escrow disbursement rather than genuinely fulfilling the campaign brief
• Creator abandonment after partial work as defined under Type K where abandonment is confirmed by the mediation team

9.4 Strike Notification

The party receiving a strike will be notified via platform notification and email at the time the strike is issued, including the reason and the expiry date.

10Escrow & Interest

10.1 Escrow Holding

Escrow funds are held by Creator Scout or its authorised payment partner in a designated account. Funds held in escrow during a dispute are not commingled with Creator Scout’s operating funds to the extent required by the payment gateway’s terms.

10.2 Interest on Escrow

No interest accrues to the Brand or Creator on funds held in escrow, regardless of the duration of the dispute. Any interest, float, or benefit earned on escrow balances by Creator Scout’s payment gateway partner is retained by Creator Scout or the payment gateway as applicable. By depositing funds into escrow, the Brand expressly waives any claim to interest on the held amount.

11Technical Failure Clause

Creator Scout is not liable for disputes, missed deadlines, or procedural failures caused by technical issues including platform outages, notification delivery failures, file upload failures, or payment gateway errors. However, where a technical failure is documented and attributable to Creator Scout’s platform, Creator Scout will extend the affected deadline by a period equivalent to the duration of the failure, up to a maximum of 3 business days.

Parties claiming a technical failure extension must notify support@creatorscout.in within 24 hours of the failure with documentation including screenshots, error messages, and timestamps. Creator Scout’s determination of whether a technical failure occurred and its duration is final.

12Binding Nature, Survival & Legal Recourse

12.1 Binding for Escrow Purposes

Creator Scout’s mediation decision is final and binding for the purpose of escrow disbursement. It is not an arbitration award under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, and does not prevent either party from pursuing legal remedies independently.

12.2 Legal Recourse

Both parties retain the right to pursue claims in the courts of [Your City, State], India following Creator Scout’s decision. Filing a court case does not entitle either party to a freeze on escrow disbursement unless a court order to that effect is served on Creator Scout before disbursement is processed.

12.3 Survival

The obligations under this framework — including the evidence tampering clause (Section 4.2), the fraud override clause (Section 1.5), the no parallel negotiation clause (Section 8.1), the strike system (Section 9), and the binding nature clause (Section 12.1) — survive termination of either party’s account on the Creator Scout platform.