Shyld protection
What happens when someone stops responding?
An unanswered invite, delivery claim, review window, and service preview have different consequences. Check which step your Deal has reached.
Start with the step your Deal has reached
Silence does not have one meaning across SHYLDA. What happens depends on the action being awaited and the conditions already accepted. An unanswered invitation, a delivery claim, and an expired review window are different situations.
For example, a Seller may be waiting for the Buyer to review a parcel. Before expecting release, check whether receipt was confirmed through the delivery code. A message saying the parcel was delivered is not the same event.
What if a Deal invite is unanswered?
An unanswered invitation has not established the shared agreement needed for protection. A pending draft can expire; it does not activate Shyld protection because someone waited long enough.
Check the invitation's status before following up. If you still want to proceed after it expires, use the available Deal Draft flow and review the terms again. Sellers should not begin fulfillment while they are still waiting for the Buyer to Secure with Shyld.
What if the Seller says it arrived, but the code was not used?
A delivery claim asks the Buyer to respond to the Seller's account of what happened. The claim alone does not confirm receipt or start the ordinary review-and-release window. Ignoring that claim does not turn it into confirmed receipt.
Answer through the delivery response shown in the Deal. If the item did not arrive, say so. If there was a handoff problem, record it accurately. Do not reveal a delivery code for an item that is not present just to clear the notification.
What if the goods review window expires?
In the receive-and-review journey, the Seller's successful confirmation of the delivery code starts the agreed verification window. If no Dispute is open when that window ends, the accepted automatic release condition can apply.
Inspect the item within the deadline shown in the Deal. If something is wrong, open a Dispute before the window ends; an unanswered message elsewhere does not pause release. Final release cannot be reversed through a new Dispute afterward.
What if a service preview or completion review is unanswered?
An unanswered preview is not approval. For Buyer-reviewed completion, a review deadline passing does not replace the Buyer's release authorization. The work may become overdue for review, and the participants need to follow the next step shown in the Deal.
This is different from a Buyer who has already approved a preview with their release passcode under an agreement that releases funds at final handover. That approval can authorize release when the final agreed work is handed over. Check whether approval happened and what it authorized.
A return can have its own deadline consequences
Opening a Dispute pauses ordinary release. It does not erase a return policy's accepted responsibilities. An active return can require a response, receiving instructions, dispatch, or confirmation by a particular deadline.
For example, missing required receiving instructions can lead to the item amount being returned, while a missed Buyer return-dispatch deadline can lead to item funds being released to the Seller. Apply only the consequence recorded for that Deal; do not assume every unanswered concern stays paused forever.
Respond in the Deal, not only in a separate conversation
Check the current action, deadline, and stated consequence. Add the relevant facts, complete the step available to you, and create a Support Request if you need help understanding it. Support assistance does not itself change the agreed financial outcome.
