Report a participant

Panel participants (from Respondent or User Interviews) are paid automatically once their interview completes, so there's no payout button to click. If someone turns out to be fraudulent or low quality, you have a short window to report them, which stops the payout and flags them with the panel.

How auto-payment works

When a panel participant finishes their interview, Strella schedules their incentive payout automatically. Strella does not pay right away. It waits out a review window first, which gives you time to check the interview and stop payment if something is wrong.

If you do nothing, Strella pays the participant at the end of the window. Reporting them before the window closes cancels that scheduled payout. (Participants you bring in yourself with a share link aren't paid through this flow.)

The review window

You have 3 business days from when the interview completes to report a participant. The window counts business days, so weekends don't count: an interview that finishes on Friday can be reported through the following Wednesday.

Once the window closes, Strella pays the participant and you can no longer report them. In the Participants table the Report participant action is disabled after payout, with the tooltip "Participant has already been paid out". While the window is open, the tooltip shows the deadline date.

Report a fraudulent participant

Report a participant from the Completed tab of the Participants table, which lists finished interviews.

1. Open Recruit → Participants → Completed

   Find the participant whose interview you want to review. Click the row to open the detail panel, or use the row's action menu.

2. Choose Report participant

   In the row's action menu (or the detail panel's menu), choose Report participant. The action is available only while the participant is inside the 3 business day window.

3. Pick a reason

   Select a Reason for reporting. For a fraudulent participant, choose Suspected fraud or misrepresentation, the only reason that files a permanent report against their panel account. The other reasons (low-quality responses, didn't follow instructions, and so on) remove the participant from your study without a panel-level report.

4. Add details and confirm

   Add specifics in Additional details, tick the confirmation box, and click Report & Delete Interview.

What happens when you report

Reporting is final. When you submit a report:

• The interview recording is permanently deleted.
• The participant isn't paid for the interview, and Strella cancels the scheduled auto-payment.
• The recruitment slot is freed on the panel, so it can be filled by someone else.
• Strella's support team investigates the report.
• For Suspected fraud or misrepresentation, a permanent strike is filed against the participant's panel account.

Reject vs report

• Reject happens before the interview, on the Qualified tab. It disqualifies a candidate who doesn't fit. No interview has happened and no payment is involved. See Approve, reject & invite.
• Report happens after the interview, on the Completed tab. Use it when someone has already completed an interview and you need to stop their payout and flag fraud.

Tips

• Watch for the reminder email. The business day before a participant's payout is due, Strella emails you so you can review and report anyone who needs it before end of business.
• Report as soon as you spot a problem. The window is only 3 business days. Once it closes, the payout can't be reversed.
• Reserve "Suspected fraud or misrepresentation" for genuine fraud. It files a permanent strike on the participant's panel account. For an interview that was simply weak, pick a quality reason instead.

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