Following a discussion on Github #307 about how dispute resolution is handled it was agreed that Bisq should create a set of guidelines for how mediation is handled between trades and between mediators.
The benefits of developing a set of guidelines are to:
- Let traders know what to expect
- Enable mediators to be consistent between trades
- Enable arbitration to be consistent between mediators
- Make onboarding of future new mediators easier
It was also agreed that Bisq users and mediators should strive to always suggest fair outcomes.
Fair outcomes were defined as achieving the following for both buyers and sellers:
- Promoting good behaviour from traders
- Penalizing bad behaviour from traders
- Promoting good payment accounts of traders
- Penalizing bad payment accounts of traders
- Put the ‘wrong doer’ in a worse position and the person ‘not at fault’ in a better position
The following table shows the guidelines produced to be fair to both buyers and sellers. Ultimately mediators are still able to decide what they would like to propose, and traders are able to also agree between themselves how they would like to resolve any disputes. In the case where traders cannot agree the dispute will likely be escalated to arbitration.
The tables below are, therefore, to act as a guide for buyers, sellers, and mediators. The idea is to make sure everyone on the same page when it comes to dispute resolution suggestions.
BTC Buyer issues
| BTC Buyer Issues | Suggested resolution |
|---|---|
| the buyer does not respond to the mediator for 48 hours | The buyer loses 25% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| Buyer accepts trade but does not have the payment method needed (eg accepted Zelle trade but has no Zelle account) | The buyer loses 10% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The buyer wants to cancel a trade due to problems with the bank, lack of funds, change of mind, etc | The buyer loses 20% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The Buyer is asking for a selfie, a copy of ID of the seller, home address. | The buyer loses 10% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. The seller can choose whether to provide or not. *Bisq should incentivize accounts that do not ask for any more information than necessary and penalize users that trade with banks that add for more information than necessary. |
| The buyer uses BTC, Bisq, Bitcoin, BTC Tx ID, etc as a payment reference | The buyer loses 25% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| Buyer claims they were unable to pay in time of payment window due to Bisq wallet being corrupted and needing to resync, unable to log into Bisq, other problem. | Buyer provides evidence that they were unable to access Bisq (Git Hub issue / Keybase chat etc). If unable Buyer loses 25% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The buyer uses un-agreed potentially concerning payment reference that such as ‘payment for services’, ‘house rewire’, ‘consultancy’ | The buyer loses 10% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The buyer uses an un-agreed innocuous payment reference that such as holiday fund, flowers without agreement. | The buyer loses 5% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The buyer attempts to debit the sellers account using their bank details. | The buyer loses 100% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| Buyer raises a request for a refund from Revolt / TransferWise due to buyer using their account to sell them Bitcoin. | The buyer loses 100% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The buyer makes payment to the wrong account that has previously used to trade with the seller | The buyer loses 5% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. The seller has the option to refund the buyer. |
| The buyer makes the payment from an account with an account number than their payment methods | The Buyer loses 10% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The buyer makes the payment from an account with a different name | The buyer loses 25% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| Buyer takes SEPA payment and then sends payment via SWIFT, or takes SEPA payment then send via TransferWise etc | The buyer loses 10% of the trade amount. Buyer retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| Buyer takes altcoin offer and then sends altcoin with a low fee that gets held up in the blockchain. | The buyer has the option to do CPFP or similar. If late buyer loses the following; 0-24 hours late: Buyer loses 2.5% of the trade amount., 24-48 hours late: Buyer loses 5% of the trade amount, 48-72 hours late: Buyer loses 7.5% of the trade amount, 72-96 hours late: Buyer loses 10% of the trade amount. Any payment by buyer and seller has the option to refund the buyer. |
| The buyer does not make payment in the trade window | If late, the buyer loses the following; 0-24 hours late: Buyer loses 5% of the trade amount., 24-48 hours late: Buyer loses 10% of the trade amount, 48-72 hours late: Buyer loses 15% of the trade amount, |
| The buyer made a mistake they actually meant to sell not buy BTC. | The buyer has the option to complete the trade within the trade window. If they fail to do this Buyer loses the following; 0-24 hours late: Buyer loses 2.5% of the trade amount, 24-48 hours late: Buyer loses 5% of the trade amount, 48-72 hours late: Buyer loses 7.5% of the trade amount, 72-96 hours late: Buyer loses 10% of the trade amount. Any late payment by buyer and seller has the option to refund the buyer. This is to prevent option buying. |
| Buyer sends random/incorrect payment amount. | The buyer has the option to send the correct amount within the trade window. If they fail to do this Buyer loses the following; 0-24 hours late: Buyer loses 2.5% of the trade amount, 24-48 hours late: Buyer loses 5% of the trade amount, 48-72 hours late: Buyer loses 7.5% of the trade amount, 72-96 hours late: Buyer loses 10% of the trade amount. Any late full payment by buyer and seller has the option to refund the buyer. |
BTC Seller issues
| BTC Seller Issues | Suggested resolution |
|---|---|
| Seller does not respond to the mediator for 48 hours | The seller loses 25% of the trade amount. Seller retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The seller does not have the payment method needed (eg accepted Zelle trade but has no Zelle account) | The seller loses 10% of the trade amount. Seller retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The seller wants to cancel a trade due to problems with bank | The seller loses 20% of the trade amount. Seller retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The seller is asking for a selfie, a copy of the ID, home address, etc. | The seller loses 10% of the trade amount. Seller retains the rest of their security deposit. The seller can choose whether to provide or not. *Bisq should incentivize accounts that do not ask for any more information than necessary and penalize users that trade with banks that add for more information than necessary. |
| The seller claims they were unable to release BTC in time of payment window due to Bisq wallet being corrupted and needing to resync, unable to log into Bisq, other problem. | Seller provides evidence that they were unable to access Bisq (Git Hub issue / Keybase chat etc). If unable Seller loses 25% of the trade amount. Seller retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The seller attempts to debit buyer’s account using their bank details. | The seller loses 100% of the trade amount. Seller retains the rest of their security deposit. |
| The seller raises mediation in error then completes the release of BTC outside of trade window | The seller loses the following; 0-24 hours late: Seller loses 5% of the trade amount., 24-48 hours late: Seller loses 10% of the trade amount, 48-72 hours late: Seller loses 15% of the trade amount, 72-96 hours late: Seller loses 20% of the trade amount. The seller loses 20% of the trade amount, Over 96 hours late: Seller loses 25% of the trade amount. |
| The seller accepts SEPA instant trade but is unable to receive a SEPA Instant payment at they only have a SEPA account | If BTC release occurs outside of payment window, Seller loses 2.5% of the trade amount., 0-24 hours late: Seller loses 5% of the trade amount., 24-48 hours late: Seller loses 10% of the trade amount, 48-72 hours late: Seller loses 15% of the trade amount, 72-96 hours late: Seller loses 20% of the trade amount. The seller loses 20% of the trade amount, Over 96 hours late: Seller loses 25% of the trade amount. |
| The seller does not release BTC in the trade window | If late, The seller loses the following; 0-24 hours late: Seller loses 5% of the trade amount., 24-48 hours late: Seller loses 10% of the trade amount, 48-72 hours late: Seller loses 15% of the trade amount, 72-96 hours late: Seller loses 20% of the trade amount. The seller loses 20% of the trade amount, Over 96 hours late: Seller loses 25% of the trade amount. |
| The seller made a mistake they actually meant to buy not sell BTC, but the offer was taken. | The seller has the option to complete the trade within the trade window. If they fail to do this Seller loses the following; 0-24 hours late: Seller loses 5% of the trade amount., 24-48 hours late: Seller loses 10% of the trade amount, 48-72 hours late: Seller loses 15% of the trade amount, 72-96 hours late: Seller loses 20% of the trade amount. The seller loses 20% of the trade amount, Over 96 hours late: Seller loses 25% of the trade amount. |
The above is pretty comprehensive with the aim of covering as many scenarios as possible. Hopefully, this will improve consistency, user experience and allow all traders to know what to expect when entering mediation.