Moderation, Disputes & Appeals Policy

This policy explains how content is moderated on Varde Index, how a person or organization named in content can dispute it, and how contributors can appeal moderation decisions. It supplements the Terms of Service and the Content & Community Policy. Our aim is a process that is fair to the people and companies discussed on the platform without allowing anyone to suppress legitimate first-hand contributor experiences.

1. How moderation works

• Automated screening first. Every contribution passes automated screening before publication. Content containing accusatory or prohibited language, personal attacks, threats, spam, or potential conflicts of interest is held unpublished for human review — screening errs toward holding, not publishing.
• Human review. Held or reported content is reviewed by a moderator, who may publish, keep, hold, or remove it. Moderators review provenance and policy compliance; they do not adjudicate the underlying commercial truth of a contributor’s account.
• Traceability. Removal hides content; it does not destroy it. Moderation decisions, the acting moderator, the time, the recorded reason, and a snapshot of the affected content are written to an append-only audit log. Nothing disappears without a record.
• Structured concern reports (payment, dispute, communication, contract-performance concerns) are never published without prior administrator review, and always publish as attributed contributor reports — never as Varde Index findings.

2. Reporting content (notice & takedown)

Anyone — member or not — who believes content on the Service is false, defamatory, confidential, infringing, or otherwise unlawful may send a notice to contact@vardeindex.com with “Content notice” in the subject line. To be actionable, a notice should identify:

• the exact content complained of (URL and quoted text);
• who you are and your relationship to the content (e.g. the named company);
• the specific ground of complaint (e.g. factual inaccuracy, confidentiality, unlawfulness) and, where the complaint is factual inaccuracy, the facts said to be wrong and any supporting documentation; and
• the outcome sought (correction, response, removal).

We acknowledge complete notices within 5 business days and aim to resolve them within 14 business days. While a notice is under review we may temporarily restrict the visibility of the content concerned. We may ask the original contributor for supporting information; contributors who cannot or do not substantiate a disputed submission when asked may have it unpublished. Submitting knowingly false notices is itself a violation of the Terms. Copyright complaints follow the notice process in the Terms of Service.

3. Rights of companies and persons discussed on the platform

• Claim. An organization may claim its profile at no cost.
• Respond. A verified representative may post one official, publicly displayed response per review.
• Correct. Companies may submit corrections to factual directory information (address, capabilities, contacts) at any time.
• Dispute. Companies and individuals may dispute any contribution or contributor-reported concern through the notice process in section 2, with documentation.
• Removal where legally required. We remove content where a competent authority requires it or where our review concludes it violates the law or our policies. Disagreement with a genuine, policy-compliant first-hand experience is not, by itself, grounds for removal.

4. Appeals

Any of the following may be appealed by emailing contact@vardeindex.com with “Appeal” in the subject line within 30 days of the decision:

• removal or continued holding of your contribution;
• rejection or suspension of your account or verification;
• a decision to keep content you dispute after a section 2 notice;
• publication or dismissal of a structured concern report.

Appeals are reviewed by someone other than the original decision-maker where staffing allows, against the record in the audit log. You will receive a reasoned outcome. Each decision may be appealed once; new evidence reopens review.

5. Corrections and retractions by contributors

Contributors may edit a review within 14 days of submission; after that, material corrections and retractions are made on request via contact@vardeindex.com. A retracted contribution is unpublished and excluded from metrics. Prior versions remain in the internal record for traceability.

6. Record-keeping and identity

Every contribution is linked internally to an identity-verified account, including contributions displayed with the contributor’s name withheld. We preserve moderation records, decision reasons, and content snapshots so that decisions can be reviewed and, where the law requires, disclosed to competent authorities under due process. Requests from law enforcement or courts should be directed to contact@vardeindex.com.

7. What this process is not

Moderation review, screening, and publication decisions are content-governance processes, not investigations, audits, certifications, or verdicts about any company or person. Publication of content does not mean Varde Index has verified it; removal does not mean Varde Index has found it false.