Refund & Dispute Resolution Policy

Refund & Dispute Resolution Policy

Gloseg B2B Limited Effective Date: August 16, 2026 Version: 2.1

Definitions

• "Order" means a binding transaction formed on a buyer organization's acceptance of a seller organization's quotation or listing terms through the platform.
• "Escrow" means the segregated holding of an order's payment by Gloseg pending release conditions being satisfied.
• "Dispute" means a formal claim raised by a buyer organization within an order concerning non-conformity, non-delivery, or a similar failure of the seller's performance.
• "Case Handling" means the Gloseg operations function that reviews evidence and issues a dispute decision.
• "Trade Assurance" means the contractual platform remedy described in the Trade Assurance Policy, available on qualifying orders.
• "Milestone" means a defined point in an order's fulfilment, such as shipment or delivery confirmation, against which escrow release is measured.
• "Inspection Window" means the period after delivery during which a buyer organization may raise a dispute for a given category of defect.
• "Return Freight" means the cost of transporting rejected or non-conforming goods back to the seller or to another destination agreed during dispute resolution.
• "Appeal" means the single further review of a dispute decision available to either party under this policy.
• "Buyer's Remorse" means a change of a buyer's commercial preference unconnected to any non-conformity in the goods or seller performance.

1. Scope and Nature of This Policy

1.1 Business-to-business character

Gloseg B2B Limited operates a business-to-business marketplace. Every order is entered into by organizations acting in a trade or business capacity, and this policy is drafted, and must be read, on that basis. It is not a consumer protection scheme and it does not confer, replicate or imitate any consumer cooling-off right, distance-selling withdrawal right, or similar entitlement that may exist under consumer protection law in any jurisdiction. A buyer organization has no general right to cancel or return conforming goods simply because it has reconsidered the purchase.

1.2 What this policy governs

This policy governs how disputes arising from orders placed on the platform are raised, evidenced, reviewed and resolved, and how any resulting refund is executed from escrow. It applies to all orders regardless of the buyer's or seller's country of incorporation, subject to the mandatory application of any local law that cannot be excluded by agreement.

1.3 Relationship to other policies

This policy operates alongside the Trade Assurance Policy, the Sanctions & Trade Compliance Policy, and the organization's order terms. Where those documents are inconsistent with this policy on dispute mechanics, this policy prevails on matters of process, and the Trade Assurance Policy prevails on matters of remedy scope for orders enrolled in that programme.

1.4 Who may raise a dispute

Only the buyer organization that is a party to the order, acting through an authorised member with delegated authority, may raise a dispute. Sellers may respond to disputes, submit evidence, and propose remedies, but the formal initiation of a dispute is a buyer function, reflecting the fact that the buyer is asserting non-conformity or non-performance.

2. Grounds That Constitute a Dispute

2.1 Recognised grounds

The following categories of failure are recognised grounds for a dispute under this policy:

• 2.1.1 Non-delivery
• Goods not shipped within the agreed or listed lead time and no shipment evidence produced by the seller.
• Goods shipped but confirmed lost by the carrier before reaching the agreed destination.
• 2.1.2 Short shipment
• Delivered quantity materially below the quantity confirmed on the order.
• Partial consignment delivered with no communicated plan for the balance.
• 2.1.3 Quality or specification non-conformity
• Goods failing an agreed technical specification, sample standard, or listing description in a material respect.
• Goods failing a pre-shipment inspection standard that was a condition of the order.
• 2.1.4 Damage in transit
• Physical damage evident on arrival that is inconsistent with the condition described at shipment.
• Packaging failure attributable to the seller's or its nominated carrier's packing standard.
• 2.1.5 Wrong goods
• Delivery of goods materially different from those ordered, including wrong model, grade, size run, or variant.
• 2.1.6 Documentation failure
• Missing or materially incorrect commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, or other document that the order required the seller to provide and that is necessary for customs clearance or acceptance.
• 2.1.7 Unauthorised substitution
• Seller substituting materials, components, or specifications without the buyer's prior written agreement recorded on the order.

2.2 Materiality threshold

A dispute must relate to a failure that is material to the order's commercial purpose. Case Handling assesses materiality by reference to the order specification, the listing description, any inspection reports on file, and ordinary commercial standards for the goods concerned.

3. Matters That Are Not Disputes

3.1 Excluded grounds

The following are not valid grounds for a dispute and will be declined by Case Handling without proceeding to a merits review:

• Buyer's remorse, including a change of mind, a change in the buyer's downstream customer requirements, or a decision that the goods are no longer needed.
• Market price movement, including a fall in the market price of the goods after the order was placed, which is a commercial risk borne by the buyer.
• Import licence failures caused by the buyer, including the buyer's failure to obtain, renew, or comply with an import permit, quota, or licence that was the buyer's responsibility under the order.
• Minor commercial tolerances, including variances in quantity, dimension, colour, or finish that fall within tolerances customary for the trade or expressly stated in the listing, and that do not affect the goods' fitness for the buyer's stated purpose.

3.2 Effect of an excluded ground

Where Case Handling determines that a submitted dispute falls within section 3.1, the case is closed, escrow is released to the seller in the ordinary course, and the buyer may pursue any remedy it considers available only through direct negotiation with the seller outside the platform.

4. Inspection and Acceptance Windows

4.1 Purpose of the window

Each dispute category carries a defined inspection window measured from confirmed delivery, within which the buyer must raise the dispute in the order. Disputes raised after the applicable window has closed will ordinarily be declined, save where the defect was latent and could not reasonably have been discovered within the window, in which case Case Handling may extend time on a case by case basis.

4.2 Deadlines by dispute type

4.3 Effect of silence

Where no dispute is raised within the applicable window, the order is treated as accepted and escrow is released to the seller in the ordinary milestone or delivery confirmation flow.

5. Evidence Standards

5.1 General principle

The party asserting a fact bears the burden of evidencing it. Case Handling will not make findings on unsupported assertions from either side, and weak or generic evidence, such as a single unclear photograph unaccompanied by context, will typically be insufficient on its own.

5.2 Evidence types and expected use

5.3 Submission requirements

Evidence must be uploaded within the case in the order and must be dated, legible, and, where applicable, attributable to an identifiable inspection body, laboratory, or carrier. Case Handling may request supplementary evidence from either party and may draw an adverse inference from an unexplained failure to provide requested evidence within the time allowed.

6. The Dispute Lifecycle

6.1 Stage one: raising the dispute

The buyer raises the dispute within the order, selecting the applicable ground under section 2 and stating the outcome sought. Escrow is placed on hold automatically on submission.

6.2 Stage two: seller response

The seller is notified and has a target response window of 3 business days to submit its position and any evidence. Non-response within this window does not close the case but is a factor Case Handling weighs in reaching a decision.

6.3 Stage three: evidence exchange

Both parties may continue to submit evidence for a further period of up to 5 business days, or until Case Handling closes evidence submission, whichever is earlier.

6.4 Stage four: case handling review

Case Handling reviews the order record, listing terms, and all submitted evidence, and targets issuing a decision within 5 business days of evidence closing. Complex cases, including those requiring independent verification, may take longer, and the parties are notified if the target is not met.

6.5 Stage five: decision and remedy

Case Handling issues a written decision identifying the outcome and, where applicable, the remedy under section 7. The decision is communicated to both parties within the order.

6.6 Stage six: appeal, if invoked

Either party may appeal once under section 8. If no appeal is filed within the appeal window, the decision becomes final and is implemented.

6.7 Summary of target timing

7. Escrow Behaviour During a Dispute

7.1 Automatic hold

Raising a dispute automatically suspends any pending escrow release for the disputed order or, where the order is milestone-based, for the affected milestone. Funds already released for prior, undisputed milestones are not clawed back through this process.

7.2 No unilateral release during review

Neither party may cause escrow to release while a dispute is open. Release resumes only on a Case Handling decision, an appeal outcome, or the parties' joint written settlement submitted within the case.

7.3 Partial escrow arrangements

Where an order has multiple milestones and only one is disputed, escrow attributable to undisputed milestones continues to be released in the ordinary course, subject to those milestones' own confirmation conditions.

8. Remedies Hierarchy

8.1 Available remedies

Case Handling selects the remedy that most proportionately addresses the established non-conformity, ordinarily applying the following hierarchy, though it is not bound to move through it sequentially in every case:

• 8.1.1 Repair or replacement, where the seller can cure the defect or supply conforming replacement goods within a commercially reasonable time acceptable to the buyer.
• 8.1.2 Price adjustment, where the goods have some value to the buyer but at a reduced level reflecting the non-conformity.
• 8.1.3 Partial refund, where part of the order is affected, such as a short-shipped quantity or a defective sub-batch.
• 8.1.4 Full refund, where the non-conformity substantially deprives the buyer of the benefit of the order, or the goods were never delivered.
• 8.1.5 Return with allocation of return freight and duties, where physical return of the goods is practicable and appropriate, with Case Handling allocating responsibility for return freight and any import or export duties between the parties by reference to fault.

8.2 Allocation of return costs

As a starting position, return freight and associated duties are borne by the party found responsible for the non-conformity. Case Handling may apportion these costs where responsibility is shared or where practical constraints, such as customs treatment at the return destination, make full allocation to one party unreasonable.

8.3 No punitive awards

Remedies under this policy are compensatory and limited to the value of the order affected. Case Handling does not award consequential losses, lost profits, or punitive amounts, which remain, if pursued at all, a matter for the parties' direct legal recourse.

9. Execution of Refunds

9.1 Source of funds

All refunds under this policy are executed from escrow. Gloseg does not operate a card chargeback subsystem, and buyers cannot obtain a refund by disputing a charge with their card issuer or bank in respect of an order placed through the platform; the exclusive route to a refund is the dispute process described in this policy.

9.2 Method and destination of refund

Refunds are returned to the original payment method used to fund escrow for the order, and, where the original method cannot receive funds, to an equivalent account nominated by the buyer organization and verified by Gloseg operations.

9.3 Timing

Gloseg targets initiating a refund within 3 business days of a final, unappealed or appeal-concluded decision. Receipt timing thereafter depends on the buyer's payment provider and is outside Gloseg's control.

9.4 Currency and foreign exchange treatment

Refunds are issued in the currency in which escrow was funded. Where currency conversion occurred on funding, any refund reflects the amount held in escrow and does not compensate for foreign exchange movement between funding and refund; Gloseg does not underwrite or guarantee exchange rates in either direction.

9.5 Payout implications for sellers

Where a refund is decided after a payout has already been operator-triggered to the seller, Gloseg will seek recovery from the seller's available balance or future payouts in accordance with the seller's organization agreement, and may suspend further payouts pending recovery.

10. Appeal Process

10.1 Single appeal per dispute

Either party may appeal a Case Handling decision once. A second appeal of the same dispute is not available, and the outcome of the appeal is final between the parties on the platform.

10.2 Grounds for appeal

An appeal must identify new evidence not reasonably available during the original review, or a material error in how the original decision applied this policy to the evidence submitted. An appeal that simply repeats the original submission will be declined without a substantive re-review.

10.3 Appeal review

A different member of Case Handling, or a senior reviewer, considers the appeal and may confirm, vary, or reverse the original decision. The appeal decision is communicated in writing within the order.

10.4 Finality

Once the appeal window closes without an appeal, or an appeal decision is issued, the outcome is final for the purposes of this policy and is implemented under sections 8 and 9. This finality does not prevent either party from pursuing legal recourse under section 13, but the platform's own remedy process is exhausted at that point.

11. Abuse of the Dispute Process

11.1 Buyer-side abuse

Repeated raising of disputes that are declined under section 3, submission of falsified or manipulated evidence, or use of the dispute process to extract concessions unrelated to a genuine non-conformity, are treated as abuse of the dispute process and may result in restriction of the buyer organization's ability to raise future disputes without enhanced evidence, suspension of Trade Assurance eligibility, or account-level enforcement.

11.2 Seller-side abuse

Persistent failure to respond to disputes, submission of falsified evidence, repeated adverse dispute outcomes indicating a pattern of non-conformity, or attempts to pressure buyers to withdraw legitimate disputes outside the platform, are treated as abuse and may result in listing restrictions, payout holds pending review, or account-level enforcement under the organization agreement.

11.3 Investigation

Suspected abuse by either party may be investigated independently of, and in parallel with, the underlying dispute, and does not delay the underlying dispute's own timeline under section 6 save where the abuse itself affects the evidentiary record.

12. Interaction With Trade Assurance and Insurance

12.1 Trade Assurance orders

Where an order is enrolled in Trade Assurance, this policy governs the dispute mechanics, and the Trade Assurance Policy governs the scope of coverage and any additional qualifying conditions. Trade Assurance is a contractual platform remedy provided by Gloseg's dispute and escrow mechanism; it is not insurance and is not underwritten by a regulated insurer.

12.2 Insurance claims

Where a buyer or seller holds separate cargo, marine, or trade credit insurance, a claim under that insurance is independent of, and not a substitute for, the dispute process under this policy. Case Handling decisions and any resulting escrow refund are without prejudice to either party's rights under its own insurance arrangements, and Gloseg takes no role in adjudicating or supporting third-party insurance claims.

13. Record Keeping and Audit Trail

13.1 What is retained

Gloseg retains the order record, all evidence submitted within a dispute, Case Handling and appeal decisions, and escrow movement records for the retention period set out in the Privacy Policy, and in any event for as long as necessary to meet applicable legal, accounting, and regulatory obligations.

13.2 Access to records

A party to a dispute may request a copy of its own case record. Records are not shared with the counterparty beyond what was already visible to it during the case, and are not disclosed to third parties except as required by law or as necessary to respond to a regulator, court, or arbitral tribunal.

13.3 Use in later proceedings

The audit trail maintained under this section may be relied on by either party, or by Gloseg, in any subsequent negotiation, mediation, or arbitration arising from the same order.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

14.1 Governing law

This policy and any dispute concerning it, or concerning an order to which it applies, are governed by the laws of the Republic of Ghana, without prejudice to any mandatory local consumer or trade law that cannot lawfully be excluded, which does not in any event apply to the business-to-business orders addressed by this policy.

14.2 Escalation path

Before either party escalates a disagreement about the operation of this policy to formal proceedings, the parties agree to attempt good-faith negotiation, followed if unresolved by platform mediation offered by Gloseg operations.

14.3 Arbitration

Any dispute not resolved through negotiation or mediation is referred to and finally resolved by arbitration seated in Accra, Ghana, under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798), in English, before a single arbitrator unless the parties agree otherwise.

14.4 Preservation of platform remedies

Nothing in this section prevents a party from using the dispute process in this policy as the first route to resolution; the escalation path in this section applies to disagreements that remain after the platform's own dispute and appeal process under sections 6 and 10 has concluded.

Contact

Legal notices, questions about this document, data protection requests and compliance enquiries: legal@gloseg.com

Data subject requests may also be submitted through the Privacy & My Data surface at /privacy/my-data.

Gloseg B2B Limited Accra, Ghana, West Africa