Every route has a clock, and the clock does not care how strong the case is
Deadlines are the least interesting part of a dispute and the part most likely to end one. Some run in working days and some in calendar time; some start when you complain and some start when the operator answers; a route can close while you are still politely waiting. This page sets out the clocks in the order they typically start, and the habits that keep a missed reply from becoming a missed deadline.
The clocks in order
The numbers below are the ranges that appear most often. They are not a rule: every one of them is set by the operator's terms or the licence it holds, and they change. Use them to know what to look for, then read the actual figure on your own account.
The moment you send a complaint in writing is the moment a date exists. A verbal contact usually starts nothing.
Many procedures commit to acknowledging within a small number of working days. The acknowledgement is worth chasing because it fixes the start of the substantive clock.
Where a procedure has a two-stage internal process, the second stage normally runs after the first answer. Both stages usually have to be used before the next rung opens.
Most procedures commit to a maximum period for a final answer, or to a shorter period after which you may treat a silence as a final answer. This is the figure to look for in your terms.
Usually counted from the date of the final response rather than from the underlying event. This is the deadline most often missed, because it starts while the complaint already feels finished.
A separate clock belonging to your card issuer, counted in days from the transaction, unaffected by how far your complaint has progressed.
What starts each clock
Three distinctions do the work here, and each one is a common reason a deadline is believed to be later than it is.
| Deadline | Usually counted from | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Operator response | The date the written complaint was received | A complaint sent to the wrong address, or made only in chat, may not start the clock at all |
| Internal escalation | The date of the previous stage answer | Using both internal stages can consume part of the outer limit before the next rung opens |
| Referral to a dispute body | The date of the final response | Not the date of the event, and not the date you first complained |
| Payment-scheme reversal | The transaction processing date | Independent of the complaint, and typically much shorter than a regulated process |
| A civil claim | Defined by the law of the named jurisdiction | Usually long in theory, expensive in practice, and unrelated to the other clocks |
The practical consequence is that "working days" and "calendar days" must be kept separate in your own notes. A four-week window read as working days ends eight days later than the same window read as calendar weeks, and being late by those eight days is a complete defence to your referral.
When no answer arrives
Silence is not a neutral state; it is a deadline running while nothing happens. Three counter-measures, in order:
- Diarise from the date you sent, not from the date they reply. Put the outer limit and the referral deadline in a calendar the moment the complaint goes out, using the terms' own figures.
- Chase in writing, and cite the deadline you are holding them to. One short message, dated, referencing the original complaint and the period the procedure commits to. Keep it factual; the record is the point.
- Look for the clause that lets you move on. Most complaints procedures state a point after which you may escalate if no final response has been given. Find that sentence now, so a silent operator does not become a silent dead end.
Where a referral deadline is running and the operator still has not answered, put the position in writing before the deadline passes: the complaint date, the unanswered chases, the deadline, and a request that the operator confirm whether it intends to respond. A dated record that the deadline was reached without an answer is much stronger than an explanation assembled afterwards.
Four habits that protect a deadline
- One complaint, one channel, in writing. Keep every message in the same thread so the dates sit together, and never let the substantive request exist only in a chat window.
- Write the deadline into the complaint itself. "I am asking for a final response by [date] under clause [x]; I understand the referral deadline runs from that response" creates the timeline you will later rely on.
- Keep the two clocks apart. A payment-scheme window and a regulatory referral deadline are different mechanisms with different start dates; protecting one does not protect the other.
- Treat acknowledgement as a deadline too. If the procedure commits to acknowledging within a set number of working days, a missed acknowledgement is itself a recorded breach and worth noting.
None of that changes a decision on the merits. It only ensures that when the decision comes, it is a decision — rather than a note that the window closed.
This page carries an affiliate link to gamdom.com/r/csgo2026. If you open an account through it we may earn a commission. It costs you nothing extra, it does not change what we write, and no operator, dispute body or regulator pays for a position here. 18+ only. Gambling involves risk and can cause serious financial harm — including debt, damaged relationships and mental-health problems. Nothing about complaints changes that: a dispute can only be about what an operator owes you under its own terms, and money already staked and lost to the game is not recoverable through any route described here. Never fund play with money you cannot afford to lose, never borrow to gamble, and never deposit more to recover a loss. Free, confidential support exists in most countries through national gambling-harm helplines.