How does dispute arbitration work on Tattooed?

A Tattooed administrator reviews the case and splits the deposit among you, your client, and the platform. The decision includes a written reason and replaces the deposit's original split.

Arbitration always concerns a deposit held by the platform: either from a client brought to you by Tattooed or from an accepted quote with a deposit.

What opens a dispute

There are two possible causes. Your client disputes the service within the period following the appointment and provides mandatory supporting evidence, either a photo or a PDF. Alternatively, either you or your client reports a no-show and the other party disputes the report instead of acknowledging it.

What the freeze does

As soon as the dispute opens, the deposit is frozen. It is no longer paid out automatically until arbitration has reached a decision. The appointment remains confirmed, and no funds are sent to the tattoo artist while the case is being reviewed.

How the decision is made

The administrator splits the deposit into three shares: yours, the client's, and Tattooed's. Together, they must cover the full amount. A partial split is not accepted. A written reason is required for every decision, and it remains the only enforceable record if the case is reopened later.

A dispute that has already been decided cannot be judged again. The decision is final in the platform. The three shares must total the exact deposit amount, down to the cent. An entry that does not add up is rejected.

Tattooed only arbitrates funds it holds

A disagreement about a session without a deposit, booked through your page without a quote or entered by you, cannot use this process. There is nothing to freeze or split, and no administrator has control over that payment. You and your client resolve the disagreement under your usual terms.

This is the key point: Tattooed only arbitrates money it holds, never the price paid at the studio. See What is the difference between a client brought to you by Tattooed and a client who is already yours?.

Supporting evidence remains confidential

Supporting evidence your client attaches to a dispute, such as a medical leave notice, hospitalization record, or accident document, is only visible to administrators, never to you.

After the decision

If you keep a share, it returns to the normal payout schedule as soon as the decision is recorded, without waiting for a new due date. If the original due date passed while the case was being reviewed, the payout is sent during the next processing run. A dispute decided against you affects your reliability score.

See When do I get paid after an appointment on Tattooed?. If the dispute concerns a reported no-show, see How do I report a client no-show?.