While payments are not yet available in Cotra, there is no in-app dispute feature. Until it launches alongside payments, raise a complaint or dispute by email — hello@cotraofficial.co.uk for anything ordinary, safety@cotraofficial.co.uk for a safeguarding concern. The response times below apply either way. Sections 3 and 4 describe how it will work once the in-app flow is introduced.
1. About this policy
This policy explains how to raise a complaint or dispute about a coach, an athlete/guardian, a session or a payment on Cotra, and what happens after you raise it.
Cotra is a coaching management platform, not the coaching provider. The coaching relationship is between the coach and the athlete or their parent/guardian, and during this early stage of Cotra, coaches are managing athletes they already coach and already know. Because of that existing relationship, we expect most issues to be small and to sort themselves out quickly through direct conversation — this policy is here for the times that doesn't happen.
2. Try to resolve it directly first
Most issues — a missed session, a scheduling mix-up, a charge that looks wrong — are fastest to sort out by messaging the coach or guardian directly through Cotra. Please try this first wherever it's safe and appropriate to do so.
If the issue involves a safeguarding concern, or you don't feel comfortable raising it with the other person directly, skip straight to Section 5 — report it to Cotra instead.
3. Raising a dispute through Cotra
If direct conversation doesn't sort it out, either the coach or the athlete/guardian can raise a dispute through Cotra against a specific session or booking. When you raise a dispute, you'll be asked to:
- select the booking or charge it relates to;
- choose a reason (for example: incorrect charge, session didn't go ahead as booked, cancellation disagreement, or conduct concern); and
- add any relevant details or evidence, such as messages or screenshots.
4. What happens next: accept or decline
Once a dispute is raised, the other party is notified and can accept or decline it.
- If they accept — the dispute is resolved on the terms raised. Where money is involved, the coach actions any agreed refund or adjustment from their own Stripe account, since coaches hold their own payment balances on Cotra.
- If they decline, or don't respond within 3 business days — the dispute is automatically escalated to Cotra for review (Section 5). A missed response is treated the same as a decline, so a dispute can't stall indefinitely.
Safeguarding-relevant disputes skip this accept/decline step entirely and go straight to Cotra — see Section 6.
5. Cotra's review
Once a dispute is escalated to us, we will:
- acknowledge it within 2 business days;
- review the booking, messages and any evidence provided by both sides; and
- respond with an outcome or next steps within 5 business days of acknowledging it.
Possible outcomes include a mediated resolution, a recommendation that the coach issue a refund or adjustment, a formal warning, or suspension or removal of a coach's account. Because coaches hold their own funds and are the merchant of record for their sessions, Cotra cannot directly issue a refund on a coach's behalf — our role is to review the evidence and help the two of you reach a fair outcome, and to take action against a coach's account where that's the right response.
6. Safeguarding concerns
Any concern about a young athlete's safety or wellbeing is treated as a safeguarding concern, not a standard dispute, and follows a faster track:
- acknowledged the same day it's raised; and
- escalated to our safeguarding lead within 24–48 hours.
Report a safeguarding concern straight to us at safety@cotraofficial.co.uk rather than raising it as an in-app dispute, especially if contacting the other person directly wouldn't be safe or appropriate.
See also the Safeguarding Policy.
7. Payments and refunds
Where payments run through Cotra, they're processed by Stripe. Each coach holds their own Stripe account and is responsible for the sessions they deliver and charge for; Cotra provides the payment technology and takes a platform fee, but doesn't hold or move your money directly. This means:
- refunds and adjustments are issued by the coach, from their own account;
- if a payment is disputed directly with your card issuer or bank rather than through Cotra, that dispute is handled between you, the coach's payment account and your bank; and
- Cotra can still review the booking record to support that process where needed, and will treat any safeguarding-relevant payment dispute with the same urgency described in Section 6.
The applicable refund amounts are set out in the Refund and Cancellation Policy.
8. What Cotra can and can't do
Cotra can:
- review evidence and mediate between a coach and an athlete/guardian;
- request information from either party;
- issue a warning, or suspend or remove a coach's account; and
- escalate safeguarding concerns, including to external authorities where required.
Cotra can't:
- issue a refund directly on a coach's behalf;
- guarantee a particular outcome; or
- act as a formal arbiter, mediator or legal adviser for either party.
9. If you're not satisfied
If we can't resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, we'll point you to a relevant certified alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider. You're not obliged to use it. Nothing in this policy affects your right to bring a claim through the UK courts, or to raise a dispute directly with your card issuer.
10. Contact us
Cotra Limited, Company No. 17285541 65 Burgoyne Road, Sunbury-On-Thames, England, TW16 7PS
Email: hello@cotraofficial.co.uk