How Holler keeps work on the platform

This is how the product works today: verification, payments held by Holler, cancellations, reporting a problem, and a few practical tips for meeting in person. It is not a separate set of legal promises. The terms of service and privacy policy are the agreement.

A verified badge is turned on by the Holler team after a verification call, and it can be turned off the same way. The call is scheduled by emailing support@goholler.co. The in-product copy describes it as a quick call of about five minutes that confirms it's really you. You can use Holler before that call. The badge applies to the person, so a client profile and a creative profile on the same login are verified together. It is not a rating of anyone's work, and it is not an endorsement.

On the call, a member of the Holler team checks three things:

• You're a real person and you match your profile. We see you on video and compare you with your profile photo and name.
• You control the accounts you list. You show us you're signed in to the social accounts or portfolio on your profile, by opening the account on your phone or by sending us a message from it.
• Your basics are accurate: your name and the city you work in.

We don't check follower counts, the quality of your work, or run a background check. The badge shows what we confirmed on the day of the call. If an account changes hands later, we can remove the badge.

For projects started after payments launched, the client funds the agreed price plus a 5% service fee through Stripe when the project begins. Holler holds that money. The creative keeps 90% of the price. The rates are fixed at the moment the project is funded and are not recalculated later.

The payout is sent to the creative's Stripe account when the client confirms the work is complete. If the client does neither — confirm, nor report a problem — the project completes on its own 3 days after the work was marked delivered, and the payout is sent then. Two days after delivery, the client gets one reminder email. If the creative has not finished Stripe payout setup, the payout waits and a daily job retries it.

Projects that began before payments launched are not held by Holler. Those are settled directly between the two people, the way they were before.

While a project is still in progress, either person can end it from their dashboard. If the client had already funded it, Holler refunds the full amount they paid, back to the original payment method. An ended project does not count as a completed job on the creative's track record, and it does not ask for a review.

After the creative marks the work delivered, the dashboard no longer offers End project. From there the client can confirm it complete, or report a problem (below). There is no self-serve partial refund.

When Holler issues a refund, it goes back to the card or account you paid with. Refunds usually show up within 5 to 10 business days, depending on your bank. Holler keeps no fee on a refund: you get back the full amount you paid.

Holler doesn't split payments for partly finished work. A project that ends before delivery is refunded in full. Once the work is delivered, the client can confirm it, or report a problem within 3 days.

If delivered work isn't right, the client uses Report a problem on that project. They pick a reason and can add a note. The project is marked in dispute, which pauses the 3-day automatic release, and Holler keeps holding the payment. Support and both people are emailed. The creative sees the reason. The optional note goes to support and back to the client, not to the creative.

Support resolves a dispute by hand. Releasing pays the creative and marks the project complete. Refunding returns the full amount to the client and marks the project ended. There is no button in the product for either of those; they are an admin step.

You can also report a person or a conversation:

• Report this profile, on a creative's public profile. Signed-out visitors can file one. The creative is not shown who reported them.
• Report, in a message thread. Same reasons, same support inbox, and only someone in the conversation can file it.
• Block, in a message thread. New messages stop in both directions until the person who blocked unblocks. A quote that is already in the thread can still be accepted or declined.

Every report is stored and emailed to support@goholler.co. The profile-report screen says the team usually reviews within 24 hours.

When a problem is reported on a project, we reply to both of you within 2 business days and aim to settle it within 10 business days. Please send:

• Clients: what was agreed (the quote or the brief) and what's wrong with the delivery.
• Creatives: what you delivered and any messages showing what was agreed.

We go by what's on Holler: the quote, the brief, the messages, and the delivered work. That's one more reason to keep everything in Holler messages.

A dispute ends one of two ways: the creative is paid in full, or the client is refunded in full. A problem has to be reported before the payment is released, within 3 days of delivery. After the creative has been paid, Holler can't take the money back.

Holler does not supervise the shoot. These are the practices we ask both sides to follow when the work is in person:

• Share the exact address or meeting spot only after the booking is confirmed.
• Either person can bring someone with them.
• Keep the plans, and anything about payment, in Holler messages. Phone numbers, emails, and social handles in a conversation stay hidden until that hire is paid on Holler, so the money stays in escrow.

Holler connects people. We don't employ either side, and we don't provide insurance or background checks. If you're in danger, call your local emergency number first. Afterwards, report the person from their profile or your conversation, or email support. We may suspend or remove accounts while we look into it. Any injury, damage, or loss is between the two people involved and their own insurance. We recommend creatives carry their own liability insurance.

Verification calls, reports, and disputes all go to support@goholler.co. For a project that is already in dispute, reply to the email you received so it stays on the same thread.