Dispute & Payout Policy
Version 2026.04.28-v2 · Effective April 28, 2026
How funds move through the platform — held in escrow at booking, released to drivers on delivery, and protected by Motha Rescue when something goes sideways.
This policy describes how Motha Transport™ (the “Platform”) holds funds in escrow, releases payouts, and resolves disputes between bookers, drivers, carriers, and enterprise clients. It is incorporated by reference into the Platform Terms & Conditions. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given in the Platform Terms.
1. Scope & Who This Covers
This policy applies to every paid booking on the Platform: courier sends, on-demand rides, posted routes, instant-match driver bookings, Mother Elite Fleet bookings, enterprise contract jobs, and Motha Rescue dispatches. Free-tier and paid-tier users are bound by the same escrow and dispute rules. Enterprise clients with an executed master contract are additionally bound by their contract, which controls in case of conflict.
2. Fees, Surcharges & What the Booker Actually Pays
At booking the Platform charges (a) the quoted base fare, (b) a 25% gas surcharge calculated from the trip mileage, the vehicle’s rated MPG, and the national average fuel price for the booker’s region, and (c) a 25% toll surcharge calculated at $0.10 per mile when the route crosses state lines. 100% of the gas and toll surcharges flow directly to the driver on completion. The Platform takes its standard fee out of the base fare only. A 10% portion of the base fare is reserved as the Platform fee held in escrow at booking; the remaining 85% (or the higher driver share configured for Elite Fleet jobs) is the driver payout share. Estimates use national/regional averages; the server reconciles to actuals at completion and may charge or refund the difference.
3. Escrow Lifecycle — held → released | disputed | refunded
Funds are placed in escrow the moment the booking is created. The escrow record stores the total held amount, the platform fee, the driver payout, and the gas + tolls surcharge as separate line items so each side can see exactly where every dollar will go. The escrow has four possible states: HELD (default at booking), RELEASED (paid out to the driver), DISPUTED (auto-release paused, no movement until ops decides), and REFUNDED (returned to the booker). State transitions are logged in the audit log and visible to the booker, the driver, and Platform admins on the dispute and admin escrow pages.
4. 24-Hour Auto-Release on Successful Delivery
When the driver marks a job delivered, the Platform sets an auto-release timer of 24 hours on the escrow hold. If no dispute is opened during that 24-hour window, a scheduled job (auto_release_escrow) automatically (i) flips the escrow to RELEASED, (ii) marks the load escrow_status = released, and (iii) creates a pending payout record for the driver’s share + the full gas/tolls surcharge. The booker receives a receipt and the driver sees the payout queued in their dashboard. Bookers may also confirm delivery early to release escrow immediately.
5. Early Release by the Booker
A booker may release escrow before the 24-hour timer if they are satisfied with the delivery. Early release is final, irrevocable, and waives the booker’s right to open a dispute on that booking for delivery-quality issues. Billing-error and fraud disputes are still permitted after release; see Sections 7 and 9.
6. How to Open a Dispute
Either the booker or the assigned driver may open a dispute from their dashboard (Booker → Disputes & Claims; Driver → Disputes). Opening a dispute requires (a) selecting the affected booking, (b) a written description of what happened, and (c) the dollar amount in dispute. Submitting the form (i) creates a record in the disputes table with status = open, (ii) flips the linked escrow hold to status = disputed, (iii) clears any auto-release timer on the load, and (iv) opens an admin task in Motha Rescue / Trust & Safety so ops is alerted in real time. Both parties retain read access to the dispute record under the Platform’s row-level security policies.
7. Dispute States & What Each One Means
Disputes move through six possible states: OPEN (newly filed, awaiting triage), UNDER_REVIEW (assigned to a Motha Rescue admin or supervisor), RESOLVED (closed without monetary movement — both sides agree), REFUNDED (booker is refunded in full from escrow), SPLIT (escrow is divided between booker and driver per the admin’s ruling), and NO_REFUND (driver is paid in full and the dispute is closed). Supervisors may also recommend an outcome (refund, split, no_refund, resolve) without finalizing it; only Founders and Ops Admins can post the final decision.
8. Evidence the Platform Considers
When deciding a dispute, ops reviews: pickup and dropoff timestamps, GPS tracking pings (tracking_pings), in-app messages between the parties, mileage start/end photos and AI mileage review, delivery proof images (delivery-proof bucket), the booker’s and driver’s strike history, ratings, prior disputes, and any internal admin notes. Photos uploaded at pickup and dropoff are strongly recommended and often determinative. Evidence sent outside the Platform (text messages, email screenshots) may be considered but is given less weight than in-app records.
9. Motha Rescue — When a Driver Cancels Mid-Trip or No Driver Accepts
If a driver cancels after pickup, the system automatically (i) flips the escrow to REFUNDED, (ii) returns funds to the booker, and (iii) opens an urgent Motha Rescue admin task to reassign coverage. If the 5-minute offer broadcast window closes with no driver accepting, the load is marked offer_status = expired, escrow remains held, and a rescue task is opened so a Trust & Safety admin can manually dispatch a replacement driver or cancel and refund. The booker is not charged a cancellation fee in either of these cases.
10. Cancellations & Cancellation Fees
A booker may cancel a posted load any time before a driver is matched at no charge — the escrow is refunded in full. After a driver is matched but before pickup, a cancellation fee may be charged to the cancelling party (booker or driver) per the per-booking cancellation_fee_booker_cents / cancellation_fee_driver_cents rules. After pickup, cancellations are treated as disputes and routed to ops. Drivers who repeatedly cancel after acceptance receive strikes and may be downgraded, throttled in dispatch, or removed from the Platform.
11. Founder Escalation
Any party — booker, driver, or admin — may escalate a dispute to the Founder once the dispute exceeds $500, involves alleged fraud, alleged safety violations, alleged discrimination, or has stalled in UNDER_REVIEW for more than 72 hours. Escalation flips escalated_to_founder = true and bumps the linked admin task to founder visibility. Founder decisions are final and binding on the Platform’s side of the dispute.
12. Driver Payouts & Hold Reasons
When escrow releases, a payout record is created in PENDING status. Payouts are issued on the regular Platform payout schedule via the connected payment processor (Stripe). A payout may be placed on ON_HOLD by ops when (i) a related dispute is open, (ii) a background-check or insurance document has expired, (iii) suspected fraud is being investigated, or (iv) the CFO requires manual review. Drivers can see their pending and held payouts in their Payments dashboard. Holds are documented with a hold_reason so the driver knows what to fix.
13. Booker Reconciliation & Account Balance
If actual gas or toll costs at completion exceed the booker’s estimated 25% surcharge, the difference is added to the booker’s balance_owed_cents on their profile. The booker has a grace window to settle before their account is temporarily blocked from posting new jobs. If actuals come in lower than the estimate, the difference is refunded. Bookers can review every reconciliation in their Receipts page.
14. Mother Elite Fleet & Enterprise Add-On Fees
Elite Fleet bookings carry a 10% Elite Usage Fee on top of the base rate, billed to the booker and reflected in escrow. Enterprise add-ons (starter, business, enterprise) are billed per the elite_settings configuration in effect at the time of booking. These fees are not refundable on a successful delivery; they may be partially or fully refunded as part of a dispute split or full refund ruling.
14a. Subscription Billing, 30-Day Lock & Free Until First Event
Paid plans run on a 30-day cycle and are dormant until the User completes their first qualifying event. At signup the Platform places a $1 verification hold on the User's saved card (this $1 is credited toward the User's first booking) and stores the card on file via Stripe's setup_future_usage flag so subsequent subscription, surcharge, and add-on charges can be made off-session. The first qualifying event triggers the first 30-day cycle and the full plan price is charged to the saved card. Once a cycle is in progress the plan is LOCKED IN for the full 30 days; UPGRADES take effect immediately with a prorated charge; DOWNGRADES are scheduled to take effect at the end of the current cycle and NO REFUND is issued for the unused portion of the higher tier. The locked-in window, the next billing date, and any scheduled downgrade are visible at /dashboard/subscription.
14b. Failed Subscription Charges & Dunning
If a subscription renewal or upgrade charge fails, the Platform follows Stripe's standard retry schedule (multiple attempts over several days). During retry the User's account remains active but a billing banner is shown; if all retries fail the account is moved to past_due, posting and dispatch are paused, and the User is blocked from new bookings until a valid card is saved. Repeated chargebacks or recovered fees may result in account suspension per Section 15.
14c. Driver Payout Schedule & Methods
Released payouts are paid to drivers via the connected payment processor (Stripe) on the regular Platform payout cadence. Drivers must maintain valid payout details (bank account or supported equivalent) inside their Payments dashboard. Payouts may be paused if the driver's tax onboarding (W-9 or international equivalent) is incomplete. Payout history, hold reasons, and tax-year totals are visible to the driver year-round at /dashboard/driver/payouts.
14d. Tax Classification — 1099 Independent Contractor (NOT W-2)
Drivers and carriers operate on the Platform as independent contractors and are reported on IRS Form 1099-NEC (or successor) when annual net earnings on the Platform meet or exceed the IRS reporting threshold ($600 net paid, aggregated by tax-year, per the aggregate_tax_year_earnings job). Drivers and carriers are NOT W-2 employees of the Platform or its parent LLC. The Platform does not withhold income tax, FICA, or unemployment, and does not provide W-2 wages, employee benefits, workers' compensation, paid time off, or unemployment insurance. Drivers are responsible for their own self-employment taxes, estimated tax payments, deductions, and recordkeeping. Tax forms are surfaced annually inside the Driver Settings page; corrections must be requested before the IRS filing deadline.
14e. Add-On Billing & Auto-Renewal
Optional add-ons (e.g., elevated visibility, premium routing, private load board, fleet seats) are billed at checkout when first enabled and renew alongside the base subscription on the same 30-day cycle. Add-ons are governed by the same 30-day lock; cancellation of an add-on takes effect at the end of the current cycle. Add-on credits earned through promotions are non-transferable and have no cash value.
15. Chargebacks & External Card Disputes
Filing a card chargeback or bank dispute outside the Platform before opening a Motha Rescue dispute is a violation of these terms and may result in account suspension and recovery of the chargeback amount plus the processor fee from the booker. The Platform will cooperate with legitimate fraud investigations. Bookers are required to attempt resolution through the in-app dispute flow first.
16. Appeals & Reopening
A closed dispute may be reopened by ops within 14 days if material new evidence is provided. After 14 days the decision is final and the dispute is archived. Founder-decided disputes may not be reopened by lower-rank admins.
17. Standard Timeframes
Triage of a new dispute: within 1 business day. Initial response from ops: within 2 business days. Final resolution target: within 7 business days for routine disputes, 14 days for evidence-heavy or escalated disputes. Auto-release after delivery without dispute: 24 hours. Cron jobs that drive these timers (auto_release_escrow, expire_load_offers, refresh_admin_tasks) run on a fixed schedule and are visible to ops in the admin tasks page.
18. No Guarantee of Outcome
The Platform’s dispute process is a good-faith ops review, not a court of law. Decisions are made on the available evidence and at the Platform’s reasonable discretion. The Platform’s total monetary liability for any single dispute is capped at the amount actually held in escrow for that booking. Section 14 (Limitation of Liability) of the Platform Terms applies in full.
19. How to Reach Trust & Safety
Use the in-app Disputes page or the Motha Rescue button on any active booking. For founder-level escalations, mark the dispute as escalated and a Founder will be notified through the admin tasks queue. The Platform does not accept dispute submissions by email, text, or phone for record-keeping reasons — all disputes must run through the in-app flow so they are auditable.
By using the Platform you agree to this Dispute & Payout Policy and to resolve booking disputes through the in-app flow described above before pursuing any external remedy.
This document is the platform's plain-language operating policy. It is not legal advice. Specific local, state, or federal regulations may apply and prevail where they do.
