Counterfeit & Authenticity Policy

1. Zero-Tolerance Anti-Counterfeit Mandate

Squinted Ltd is built on trust, circular sustainability, and structural integrity. The creation, listing, distribution, or sale of counterfeit goods severely undermines our community and constitutes a direct violation of United Kingdom intellectual property laws.

We maintain a strict, zero-tolerance policy toward counterfeit items, replicas, clones, or unauthorized gray-market reproductions of any brand cataloged on our marketplace. Every seller is required to ensure that every item they list is 100% authentic. This is a condition of using Squinted to sell — it is not a claim that Squinted has independently verified the authenticity of every item on the platform. As set out below, we use a combination of automated tools, community reporting, and manual review to help catch counterfeit listings, but as with any screening system, this cannot guarantee that no counterfeit item will ever reach the marketplace.

2. Verification Vetting and Monitoring

To maintain an uncompromised marketplace catalog, Squinted utilizes a multi-layered ecosystem to review listings before and after they appear live on our platform:

• AI-Assisted Frame Screening: When a listing is created, our automated tools analyse the uploaded photographs — comparing structural frame proportions, logos, hinge design, and inner arm markings against reference data for known brands — to help flag listings that show signs of being counterfeit for closer review. This is an assistive screening tool, not a guarantee of authenticity: like any automated system, it can occasionally miss a counterfeit item or flag a genuine one incorrectly, and flagged listings are reviewed by our team rather than removed automatically on the basis of the AI check alone.
• Community Moderation: Verified community members and internal brand security teams have immediate, direct mechanisms to flag suspicious or mislabeled listings for urgent administrative review.
• Post-Sale Inspection Windows: As outlined in our Buyer Protection framework, funds processed via Stripe Connect are withheld in a secure staging capacity, granting buyers an explicit window upon physical delivery to run cross-checks before any payouts are finalized.

These measures work together to reduce the risk of counterfeit items appearing on Squinted, but they cannot eliminate that risk entirely. If you believe you've received a counterfeit item, our Authenticity Guarantee in the Buyer Protection Policy is there to put things right — see Section 4 below for how to raise a dispute.

3. Seller Infractions and Account Penalty Tiering

If an item listed by a seller is verified to be counterfeit, unauthentic, or significantly misrepresented regarding its structural provenance, Squinted Ltd reserves the absolute right to take immediate, unilateral enforcement action.

Depending on the gravity and frequency of the infraction, actions include:

• Immediate, permanent deletion of the non-compliant product listing from the public marketplace.
• Indefinite withholding or total cancellation of pending Stripe transaction payouts for the disputed order, with funds routed entirely back to the defrauded buyer.
• Immediate, permanent suspension of the seller's account profile and a comprehensive platform ban across our device networks.
• Reporting systemic or commercial-scale fraudulent operations directly to UK Trading Standards and relevant law enforcement frameworks.

4. Buyer Recourse and Dispute Processes

If you purchase a pair of frames on Squinted and possess reasonable grounds to suspect they are not authentic upon physical arrival, you must trigger a dispute within our specified protection window before funds are released.

Buyers will be asked to upload clear, close-up photographs detailing the areas of concern (such as misaligned branding stamps, substandard hinge hardware, or weight anomalies). Our dispute management panel will thoroughly audit the ticket. If the frame is determined to be unauthentic, the transaction will be cancelled immediately, and a full refund will be processed back to your original payment method. Counterfeit items may be ordered to be destroyed or surrendered rather than returned to the seller, preventing them from re-entering circulation.

5. Brand Protection & Intellectual Property Cooperation

Squinted Ltd deeply respects intellectual property rights. We cooperate transparently with designer labels, independent eyewear manufacturers, and trademark owners to protect their brand architecture. If you are an authorized brand representative looking to issue a removal notice regarding an unauthorized use of corporate branding or a suspected replica listing, submit your claim directly to our compliance desk at admin@squinted.co.uk.