Escrow & Payment Policy

This policy describes how payments are collected, held, and released on the Chartrr platform, operated by Driftline Ventures LLC. It summarizes Section 8 of the Chartrr Terms of Service, which governs in the event of any conflict.

For Payment Protected Bookings, the full trip price, plus the angler service fee, is charged at the time of Booking. Funds are held securely and released to the Captain after the trip completes. There are no additional platform charges before or after the trip.

Chartrr does not charge Captains any commission or Platform Fee on bookings. Captains keep 100% of their booking revenue. A service fee (15%) is charged to Anglers on each Booking. This fee is disclosed to the Angler before payment confirmation and is separate from the Captain's listed price.

Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc.; Payment Protected payouts use Stripe Connect. By making a payment, you agree to Stripe's Terms of Service. Chartrr does not store credit card numbers or full payment card details on its servers. All payment data is handled by Stripe, which is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant.

Funds for a Booking are held from the time of payment until the trip is completed and verified. A trip is considered complete when the Captain marks it complete or it is automatically confirmed 24 hours after the scheduled trip end, provided no valid dispute has been raised. Once the trip completes without dispute, the payment is released to the Captain.

For Payment Protected Bookings, Captain earnings (the full trip price) are paid out through Stripe Connect to the Captain's designated bank account. No commission is deducted from Captain payouts. Payouts are Captain-initiated: Captains may request a payout from their available balance at any time after trips are completed and verified. Standard payouts typically arrive within 2-3 business days; instant payouts are also available. To receive payouts, Captains must maintain accurate and verified payout information.

Payment Protection. When a Captain completes a trip in accordance with the platform's verification protocol — including completing GPS check-in at departure and the trip being confirmed (or auto-confirmed) without a valid dispute — the Captain's payout for that trip is protected. If the Angler's payment is later reversed through a payment dispute or chargeback despite a protocol-compliant, verified trip, Chartrr will absorb the loss and will not reverse, offset, or reclaim the Captain's payout for that trip.

Protocol Non-Compliance. If a chargeback or payment dispute is lost on a trip for which the Captain did not follow the verification protocol (for example, no check-in was completed and no reasonable evidence of trip completion exists), Chartrr may recover the disputed amount from the Captain, including by offsetting future payouts through its payment processor.

Anglers may have the option to add a tip for the Captain or crew through the platform. Tips are paid in full to the Captain and are not subject to the Platform Fee. In cases of trip cancellation due to bad weather or qualifying extenuating circumstances, tip amounts will be refunded in full to the Angler.

Refunds are governed by the Chartrr Cancellation Policy. When a refund is issued, it is processed to the original payment method. Captain cancellations and qualifying weather or extenuating-circumstance cancellations are refunded in full, including the service fee. Angler-initiated cancellations are refunded per the Cancellation Policy tiers: everything back, including the service fee, 7 or more days before the trip; the charter price only between 7 days and 24 hours before departure; nothing inside 24 hours.

All transactions on the Service are conducted in U.S. Dollars (USD). You are solely responsible for determining and paying any applicable taxes. Captains are solely responsible for reporting and remitting all applicable taxes on their earnings. Chartrr may issue tax reporting forms (e.g., IRS Form 1099-K) as required by applicable law.

A captain may elect to be paid at the dock. Chartrr then collects only its service fee online and holds no charter-price funds for that booking. The listing and checkout state this before you book.

For questions about this policy, contact support@chartrr.com.