Advisor & Provider Network Terms

1. Independent Status

• Advisors and Providers are independent professionals. They are not employees, partners, agents, or franchisees of DefamationLock, Inc.
• DLOCK does not direct, supervise, or guarantee the work of any Advisor or Provider.
• Any attorney-client, doctor-patient, fiduciary, or other privileged relationship is formed solely between the Member and the Advisor/Provider they engage.

2. Provider Eligibility & Verification

• Providers must maintain all required licenses, registrations, insurance, and good standing in every jurisdiction where they offer services.
• Providers authorize DLOCK to verify credentials, run background checks, and re-verify periodically. Providers must update their profile within 30 days of any material change (suspension, lapse, discipline).
• Certified DLOCK Advisors complete the Academy track for their discipline and pass DLOCK's Advisor exam before listing. Certification can be revoked for cause.

3. Provider Membership Fees

• Provider membership tiers (Starter, Growth, Pro, Elite) are billed monthly or annually as stated at checkout. Fees are non-refundable after the first 7 days and renew automatically until cancelled per the Cancellation Policy.
• Membership does not guarantee a minimum number of leads, ranking position, or revenue.
• Tier benefits (badge visibility, response-time SLA, exclusive verticals, lead-credit included amounts) are documented in the Provider Console and may change with reasonable notice.

4. Lead Credit System

4.1 What a lead is

A "Lead" is a Member-initiated assessment, intake form, consultation request, or matched engagement that DLOCK routes to a Provider based on category, jurisdiction, availability, and tier.

4.2 Pricing

• Lead credits are sold in packs ($150–$1,500 range) or included with certain membership tiers. The credit cost of each lead is shown before you accept it.
• Pricing varies by category, urgency, exclusivity (single-Provider vs. shared), Member spend tier, and jurisdiction. Premium and Emergency leads cost more credits.

4.3 Acceptance & charging

• You see the credit cost, lead category, jurisdiction, and a redacted preview before acceptance.
• Credits are deducted when you click Accept. Acceptance opens contact details and a 60-minute first-response SLA.
• Declining or letting a lead expire does not deduct credits.

4.4 Lead credit refunds

Lead credits are refundable in the following cases:

• The Member contact information is provably invalid (bad number, undeliverable email) and DLOCK cannot reach them within 48 hours.
• The Member is outside your stated service area or category and was misrouted by DLOCK.
• The Member explicitly cancels before any consultation or work begins, within 24 hours of routing.
• Documented fraud or duplicate submission.

Refund requests must be filed within 7 days of lead acceptance through the Provider Console. Approved refunds return credits — not cash — except for unused credit packs covered by the Refund Policy. Decisions are at DLOCK's reasonable discretion.

4.5 Non-refundable circumstances

• Member did not retain you after a delivered consultation.
• Member chose a competing Provider.
• You missed the response SLA.
• Disagreement over fee quote between you and the Member.

4.6 Expiration

Lead credits expire 12 months from purchase unless a longer term is stated at checkout. Expired credits are not refundable.

5. Member Assessment & Consultation Fees

• Paid Professional Assessments and Certified Advisor consultations are billed in advance at the price shown at checkout.
• DLOCK retains a platform fee from each paid Member engagement to cover routing, identity verification, payment processing, and vault recordkeeping. The Provider receives the balance per the Provider payout schedule.
• Refund eligibility for Member-side purchases is governed by the Refund Policy.

6. Off-Platform Solicitation

Providers may not, during an active routed engagement or for 12 months after, solicit the same Member off-platform for services within the same category that originated from the lead. This protects Members from fee evasion and preserves the audit trail tied to the DLOCK Code™.

7. Conduct, Confidentiality & Recordkeeping

• Providers must comply with applicable professional-conduct rules, confidentiality obligations, and conflict-of-interest checks.
• Every transaction generates a DLOCK Code™ recorded in ProofVault™. Providers consent to this recordkeeping for trust, dispute resolution, and compliance.
• Providers must respond to Member messages within the SLA for their tier.

8. Ratings, Reviews & Discipline

• Members may rate completed engagements. DLOCK does not edit honest reviews but may remove content that violates the AUP.
• DLOCK may suspend, demote, or remove Providers for repeated SLA failures, verified complaints, license issues, fraudulent leads, or AUP violations.

9. Indemnification & Liability

Providers indemnify DLOCK against claims arising from their professional services, advice, conduct, or breach of these terms. Members acknowledge that DLOCK's liability for the actions of independent Providers is limited as set out in the Terms of Service and the Legal Disclaimer.

10. Termination

Either party may end a Provider relationship per the Cancellation Policy. DLOCK may immediately remove a Provider for cause (license issues, fraud, serious AUP violations) and may withhold pending payouts pending investigation.

11. Contact

Open the Request Center and choose Provider network — for Provider onboarding, lead disputes, and credit questions. Routes to support@defamationlock.com.