How to Handle Completion Disputes on Sharklio

What a completion dispute is

When you reject a task completion, the user sees your reason. If they believe the proof did meet your requirements, they can dispute the rejection: they explain why, and they can add a screenshot to support it. The dispute then comes back to you before anyone else decides.

Disputes exist because the approval model only works if both sides trust it. You get to check every completion before you pay, and users get a fair way to object when a rejection looks wrong. Many disputes trace back to instructions or proof requirements that could be read in more than one way, which is good news: that part is in your hands.

Disputes apply to task campaigns only. Click campaigns are credited automatically once the view timer ends, so there is nothing to reject or dispute.

The dispute timeline, step by step

1. You reject a completion and write a reason. The user sees it right away.
2. The user has 72 hours to dispute. If they do not, the rejection becomes final and the completion is never charged.
3. If they dispute, the completion moves to the Disputes tab of your completions, with the user’s reason and any screenshot they sent, next to the original proof.
4. You have 72 hours to answer. You can choose Accept and pay, or Keep the rejection and explain why it stands.
5. If you keep the rejection, or if you do not answer within 72 hours, the dispute goes to Sharklio staff automatically.
6. Staff reviews the whole thread: your instructions and proof requirement, the proof, your rejection reason, the dispute, and your answer. Their decision is final.

What each outcome costs you

While a completion is still pending, rejected but disputable, or in a dispute, its cost is held from your available balance. It is not charged yet. The hold simply makes sure the money is there if the completion ends up approved. Once the outcome is final, the hold is either charged or released. Your Balance page shows how much is currently set aside. How your balance works covers holds and charges in more detail.

Should you accept or keep the rejection?

Read the dispute as if you were a neutral reviewer, because that is exactly what happens next if you keep the rejection. Ask three questions:

• Did the proof meet the requirement as it was written when the user submitted? Not as you meant it, and not as you would write it today.
• Does the dispute add something new? A second screenshot that shows the missing detail often settles it.
• Was your reason specific? “Invalid” is hard to defend. “The screenshot shows the sign-up page, not the confirmation page” is easy to check.

If the honest answer is that the user did what you asked, accept it. It costs the same bid you were ready to pay, it takes a few seconds, and it keeps good users coming back to your tasks. If the proof clearly fails a requirement that was written down, keep the rejection and explain it.

How to write an answer staff can act on

When you keep a rejection, your answer is seen by the user and by Sharklio staff. It needs at least 15 characters, but a useful answer is usually one or two sentences that point to something checkable:

• Quote the requirement. “The proof requirement asks for the username on the profile page.”
• Say what is missing or wrong. “Neither screenshot shows a username.”
• Give facts you can verify, such as “No account with this username exists on our site.”
• Stay neutral. Accusations and frustration do not help your case. Evidence does.

Do not add new requirements in your answer. Staff judges the completion against the instructions the user saw, so “We also expected a review of at least 50 words” will not hold up if the task never said so.

Do not let the 72 hours run out

If you do not answer a dispute in time, it goes to staff without your side of the story. Staff still reviews the proof carefully, but a short answer from you often makes the decision faster and clearer. Check the Disputes tab whenever you review completions, and treat it like your review queue, with a deadline you can see.

How to prevent most disputes

Disputes are nearly always a sign that a user and an advertiser understood the task differently. You can remove most of that gap before the campaign goes live:

1. Write one clear task with numbered steps. Write instructions that pass review shows how.
2. Describe the proof exactly, including what must be visible in the screenshot or which text to send.
3. Choose the right proof type. A username or email as text proof is easier to check than a cropped screenshot.
4. Reject with a specific reason every time. Vague reasons invite disputes because users cannot tell what went wrong.
5. Never change the rules for users who already submitted. Edit the campaign for future completions instead.
6. Review on time and use completion caps so you are never rushing through a long queue. See Review completions and choose the right approval window.

Why fair rejections protect your account

Rejecting completions is a normal part of a task campaign. Rejecting valid work to avoid paying is not, and repeatedly doing so breaks the campaign rules and can lead to your account being suspended, as the Terms of Service say. A pattern of disputes that staff upholds is exactly what that rule looks for. Fair, consistent reviewing keeps you well clear of it, and it also keeps your tasks attractive to the careful users you want.

Disputes are separate from reversals, where a completion that was already approved is later refunded to you, for example because fraud was found afterwards. Reversals and refunds explains the difference.

Frequently asked questions