Refund and Dispute Policy

Every Sigmamarkt transaction follows the same escrow lifecycle:

• Step 1 — Check Accessibility: When the buyer first presses the purchase button, real-time accessibility of the account is verified. If the account is not reachable, the listing is auto-paused and the buyer is informed.
• Step 2 — Buy Now: If the check passes, the buyer ticks the mandatory acknowledgement and pays. The payment is held in escrow.
• Step 3 — Delivery: For accounts, delivery is via Hand-off; for coins/items, the seller performs the delivery step. The delivery event is recorded in delivery_receipts.
• Step 4 — Review Window: 7 days for the account category. During this window the buyer tests the account and may raise a dispute.
• Step 5 — Completion or Dispute: If the window closes without a dispute, or the buyer confirms 'received, correct,' the order completes and funds enter the seller's settlement queue. If the buyer raises a dispute, the order moves to DISPUTED.

The buyer may open a dispute within the applicable review window. When a dispute is opened:

• The seller's 12-hour response SLA starts. If the seller does not respond within that window, the matter is escalated to the buyer and to admin.
• The seller's evidence-upload window is 24 hours. If no evidence is uploaded within 24 hours, the dispute automatically resolves in the buyer's favour (RESOLVED_BUYER).
• Both parties are represented side by side with their evidence, chat transcript, and transaction history visible.

Evidence is limited to: (a) screenshots uploaded directly to the platform, (b) links from recognised third-party hosting (YouTube video, Imgur gallery). Messages from other platforms (Discord, WhatsApp) are not accepted as evidence; those are themselves violations of the off-site transaction rule.

In the account category sellers are strongly encouraged to retain a video recording of the Hand-off transfer moment; that recording is the single strongest defence in friendly-fraud chargebacks raised later.

Once the evidence window closes the dispute passes through the AI Dispute Pre-Resolution layer. The AI takes as input the order details, the listing description, the chat transcript, the buyer's claim, the seller's response, evidence images, and the trust statistics of both parties.

The AI output is: a recommended verdict (full refund / partial refund / seller wins / inconclusive), a confidence score, and a public rationale.

In the first 90 days after launch, every dispute in the account category is reviewed personally by a human (Sigmamarkt operations team/founder); the AI produces only an advisory note.

In high-value disputes the AI does not issue a binding recommendation; it only provides an advisory note to a human admin.

• RESOLVED_BUYER — The buyer is upheld. The buyer chooses between: (a) full refund to the original card (typically 5-10 business days, subject to the processor) or (b) Refund-to-Credit + 5% bonus (instant).
• RESOLVED_SELLER — The seller is upheld. Funds enter the seller's normal settlement queue.
• PARTIAL — A partial resolution. A percentage is refunded to the buyer; the remainder is released to the seller. The buyer may take the refunded portion as card refund or as refund-to-credit + 5% bonus.

Refund-to-credit is the alternative offered to a buyer whose dispute resolves in their favour:

• Bonus rate: 5% of the refunded amount, applied instantly.
• Available only on disputes resolved in the buyer's favour by AI or admin. It is not available for situations such as 'order completed, then changed my mind.'
• Treated as on-platform balance; usable only for future Sigmamarkt purchases. NOT WITHDRAWABLE.
• Validity: 12 months. Reminder emails are sent before expiry.
• Versus card refund: ready for immediate use; no processor delay; no Stripe fee deducted.

The dispute mechanism is for genuine harms. When abuse is detected:

• A buyer who repeatedly raises unfounded disputes will see their trust score reduced, purchase limits applied, and where appropriate the account suspended.
• A seller who repeatedly loses disputes will see their trust tier reduced and rolling reserve increased.
• Wash trading, deliberate false evidence, or organised friendly fraud results in permanent account suspension; existing balances are frozen and, where appropriate, authorities are notified.

Consequence: if a dispute opened after sale resolves in the buyer's favour, Sigmamarkt nonetheless cannot return the account to the seller. The account is locked under the buyer's new credentials. This is a residual risk inherent to digital account trading, and we write it openly.

Because of this limit, dispute decisions are evidence-driven: if the buyer's claim is not supported by concrete evidence, the decision favours the seller (RESOLVED_SELLER). In addition, for the first 90 days after launch every account dispute is reviewed by a human (founder); a first wrong decision can become a reputational crisis.

You are expected to use the Sigmamarkt dispute flow before raising a direct payment chargeback with your bank or card issuer. Where a chargeback is filed:

• Sigmamarkt submits its evidence pack (delivery receipt, IP match, ToS consent timestamp, 3DS success record, chat transcript) into the bank's representment file.
• If the seller is found responsible, the loss order is: (1) offset against the seller's withdrawable balance, (2) offset against the rolling reserve, (3) any remaining shortfall puts the seller into 'suspended' status and is recorded as a negative entry.
• In friendly-fraud cases (the buyer keeps the product/account but claims 'unauthorised'), Sigmamarkt represents with all available evidence; if the outcome is still adverse, the platform absorbs the loss.
• Repeat-chargeback buyer accounts are suspended.

No dispute may be opened after the review window closes. Card refunds appear on the buyer's statement under the processor's standard timeline (typically 5-10 business days); refund-to-credit is applied instantly.