Complaints and Dispute Resolution Policy

This Complaints & Dispute Resolution Policy of QEMBARA EXPERIENCES PRIVATE LIMITED, a company incorporated in Singapore with Company Unique Entity (UEN) Number 202645696M (Qembara, we, us or our), applies to complaints and disputes from Guests, Participants, Hosts and anyone else affected by the Platform, including people without a Qembara account.

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction about an Experience, a Host, a Guest, a Listing, a payment, a refund, a Payout, content, an account decision, privacy, or Qembara’s own service, where a response or resolution is expected. A dispute is a complaint that remains unresolved between two parties, such as a Guest and a Host, or a user and Qembara.

Where another 0901 document sets a specific time limit, remedy or process for a type of complaint, that document continues to apply, and this Policy explains how it fits into the overall process. This Policy uses the defined terms in the Guest Terms, Host Terms and Payment Terms. It is provided in English, and support is available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu and Arabic. This does not limit any language-related right required by law.

Free and accessible: making a complaint is free, and Qembara offers several channels, assisted submission and interpreter support.

Fair: Qembara listens to both sides, considers the evidence and explains its decision. The person who reviews a decision is not the person who made it.

Timely: Qembara acts on urgent problems immediately and meets the published response targets in section 5, or tells you why more time is needed.

No retaliation: a good-faith complaint, report or review will never lead to worse service, account action or retaliation by Qembara, and Hosts are prohibited from retaliating, as stated in the Community Standards and Host Code of Conduct.

No gagging: Qembara will never make a refund, credit or other remedy conditional on withdrawing a genuine complaint, deleting or changing an honest review, or staying silent, and Hosts must not do so either.

Your rights stay intact: using this Policy never removes a consumer, statutory, card-scheme, privacy or court right. You can go to an outside body at any stage under section 7.

Contact Qembara through in-app chat, the Help Centre, the phone or WhatsApp line, or support@qembara.com. Support operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as stated in section 27 of the Guest Terms. For an immediate safety issue, contact local emergency services first (Singapore: 999 police, 995 ambulance and fire; Indonesia: 112; Saudi Arabia: 911; Malaysia: support@qembara.com), then Qembara. If live support is unavailable, use the in-app “Report an urgent issue” form, which time-stamps your report and preserves your position.

To help Qembara act quickly, include: the Booking reference or Listing; what happened and when; the people affected; what you have already tried; the outcome you are asking for; and any messages, photographs, receipts or other evidence. Do not send full card numbers, passwords or identity documents by ordinary email; Qembara will provide a secure route if these are needed. You may complain through a representative, such as a family member or adviser, with your authority.

Please raise a complaint as soon as possible. Specific time limits apply:

Problem during an Experience (Material Issue): report it straight away, preferably while the Experience is still taking place, and request any refund within 72 hours (Guest Terms s.12).

Damage claim by a Host: visible damage within 7 calendar days after the Experience; latent damage within 7 calendar days after discovery and no later than 30 calendar days after the Experience (Guest Terms s.20, Host Terms s.23). A Guest normally has 7 calendar days to respond.

Serious incident report by a Host: within 24 hours (Host Terms s.16).

Chargeback evidence from a Host: within 7 calendar days after Qembara’s request (Payment Terms s.12).

Review of a Qembara determination: within 14 calendar days of the determination (section 6).

Any other complaint: as soon as possible and in any event within 12 months of the event.

These time limits are not an automatic bar where an emergency, incapacity, fear, lack of access, delayed discovery or another reasonable circumstance prevented earlier reporting.

For an ordinary service issue with no safety concern, a Guest may first ask the Host to correct it through Qembara messaging. The Host must respond to a live or same-day issue within 15 minutes and to an ordinary request within three calendar days (24 hours if urgent), as stated in section 15 of the Host Terms. Keep all communication on Qembara so there is a record.

You never have to contact the other party first. If that would be unsafe, inappropriate, or could compromise evidence, or if the issue involves safety, discrimination, harassment, privacy, payment or a Qembara decision, go straight to Qembara. A Host must not ask a Guest to cancel, withdraw a complaint or change a review, and must not offer anything in return for doing so.

Urgent matters: a Host no-show, an Experience starting that day or an immediate safety issue is handled through the urgent route, with a first live response target of 15 minutes. Qembara contacts the Host promptly and explains continuation, replacement or refund options. Ordinary complaint targets never delay urgent action.

Acknowledgement: Qembara acknowledges an ordinary complaint within two business days and gives you a case reference.

Investigation: Qembara may review Platform records and ask both parties for information. Each party is given a reasonable opportunity to respond, usually three calendar days, unless urgent action is needed.

Decision: Qembara aims to give a substantive response within 14 calendar days, or explains why more time is needed and when you can expect an answer. The decision states what Qembara decided, why, the remedy and how to ask for a review.

Refunds: an approved monetary refund is initiated within 2 business days, as stated in section 10 of the Payment Terms, and is never delayed while Qembara recovers money from the Host.

Qembara may make an administrative determination on Platform refunds, credits, Payouts and account action within the authority granted in the Guest Terms and Host Terms. This is a Platform decision; it does not determine criminal, regulatory or civil liability and does not stop either party from using the options in section 7.

If you disagree with a determination, you may request one review within 14 calendar days of the determination, through Qembara Support. A review is available where relevant information was overlooked, material new evidence exists, the process was not followed or the decision appears inconsistent with Qembara’s policies.

The review is carried out by a person with sufficient authority who did not make the original decision and has no conflict of interest. Qembara aims to complete an urgent review within 48 hours and an ordinary review within 14 calendar days, as stated in section 12 and section 22 of the Guest Terms, section 15 of the Host Terms and section 14 of the Cancellation and Refund Policy. Urgent safeguards may remain in place during a review. The review decision is Qembara’s final internal decision and will explain the outside options in section 7.

You may use any of these options at any time, including before or instead of Qembara’s internal process, subject to their own rules:

Consumer bodies in Singapore: the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) and the Small Claims Tribunals of Singapore, where eligible (Guest Terms s.29).

Consumer bodies in other markets: the Tribunal for Consumer Claims in Malaysia, the Consumer Dispute Settlement Agency (BPSK) in Indonesia and the Ministry of Commerce consumer complaints service in Saudi Arabia.

Payment disputes: your card issuer or payment provider, subject to scheme rules. Chargebacks are handled under section 12 of the Payment Terms; please do not seek duplicate recovery through both a Qembara refund and a chargeback.

Privacy complaints: Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission (www.pdpc.gov.sg) or the data-protection authority where you live (Privacy Policy s.18).

Host disputes with Qembara: after written notice to support@qembara.com and 20 business days for good-faith executive resolution, mediation under the Mediation Procedure of the Singapore Mediation Centre by written agreement, or the Singapore courts (Host Terms s.31).

Courts: Singapore courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction over disputes with Qembara, subject to mandatory rights. A dispute between a Guest and a Host under the Experience Contract follows the law and dispute route shown in the Booking Confirmation (Guest Terms s.29).

Cancellations and refunds: Cancellation and Refund Policy, including the Flexible and Advance Preparation deadlines and Host cancellations.

Problems during an Experience: section 12 of the Guest Terms and section 7 of the Cancellation and Refund Policy, including failure to deliver a confirmed halal or Muslim-friendly arrangement.

Damage claims: section 20 of the Guest Terms and section 23 of the Host Terms. Qembara will not charge a disputed claim without the Guest’s consent or another lawful basis.

Payments, currency and Payouts: Payment Terms sections 9, 11, 12 and 19, and section 11 of the Currency and Exchange Rate Policy. Holds are limited to 30 days and reviewed every 7 days.

Account restrictions: section 22 of the Guest Terms and section 24 of the Host Terms.

Reviews and content: section 10 of the Reviews & Content Policy.

Listings: section 8 of the Listing & Prohibited Activities Policy.

Safety, safeguarding and misconduct: Safety & Incident Policy and Community Standards. Reports marked “Safeguarding” are handled as a priority.

Privacy and cookies: sections 13 and 18 of the Privacy Policy and section 12 of the Cookie Policy. Access and correction requests are answered within 30 days or you are told when to expect a response.

Discrimination: Community Standards section 3, Host Terms section 11 and Guest Terms section 13.

Qembara considers proportionate evidence from both sides, including Booking records, the confirmed Listing, Platform messages, time stamps, photographs, receipts and safety records. It applies the balance of available evidence as an administrative standard. If a material allegation remains inconclusive, it will not be treated as fraud or intentional misconduct, and the no-fault outcome in the Cancellation and Refund Policy applies, as stated in section 22 of the Guest Terms.

Refund, Payout, safety, content and account decisions are reasoned separately. A complaint, low rating or chargeback does not by itself establish anyone’s fault. Qembara will not base a decision on a protected characteristic, retaliation for a complaint or review, or an undisclosed rule. Failure to provide requested evidence may allow Qembara to decide on the information available, but is not automatically an admission.

Depending on the facts, a remedy may include: an explanation or apology; correction by the Host; continuation, rescheduling or a replacement Experience; a partial or full refund, including the Qembara Guest Service Fee where the Cancellation and Refund Policy provides; release of a hold or Payout; correction or removal of content or a Listing; or account or Listing action. Credit or rebooking is offered as an alternative only; it never replaces a monetary refund that is due unless you choose it. Qembara may also offer a goodwill gesture that it funds itself.

Tell Qembara if you need adjustments to make or pursue a complaint, for example because of disability, illness, language, age, distress or a difficult personal situation. Qembara can take a complaint by phone or chat, accept a complaint through a representative, provide interpreter support in the supported languages, allow extra time, and assign one case owner where a matter is complex or sensitive. Reports involving children or vulnerable people are handled as a priority under the Safety & Incident Policy.

Complaint information is shared only with people who need it to resolve the complaint, such as the other party to the Booking, and only to the extent necessary. Qembara will not reveal a reporter’s identity, location or sensitive information where doing so could put them at risk. Complaint records are kept for the periods in section 11 of the Privacy Policy and handled under the Privacy Policy.

Qembara expects complaints to be made honestly and respectfully. Where a person is abusive, threatening, or repeatedly makes knowingly false or duplicate complaints, Qembara may, after a documented warning where safe, limit how or how often they contact it for a defined period, and will explain how to regain normal access. Qembara will never restrict good-faith safety, safeguarding, legal, privacy or authority reports, or a person’s right to use the outside options in section 7.

Qembara reviews complaints to find and fix the underlying causes, including Listing inaccuracies, Host reliability, payment problems and gaps in its own policies or service. Qembara will publish an annual summary of the number and main types of complaints received, response times and the proportion of decisions changed on review.

Qembara may update this Policy for legal, operational or service changes and will show the new effective date and archive earlier versions. A change does not affect a complaint already being handled unless the new version is more favourable to you. For questions, contact support@qembara.com or the Help Centre.