Terms of Service

theroundone.com is a peer-to-peer mock interview marketplace operated in India. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of theroundone.com and all related services. By creating an account or using the platform you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform.

Last updated: June 2026.

To use The Round One you must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of India, and hold a valid Indian mobile number and UPI ID. You may create only one account per person. Providing false or misleading information during registration — including a false name, mobile number, or UPI ID — may result in immediate account suspension and forfeiture of any pending payouts or refunds.

The Round One is an aggregator marketplace. We do not employ, engage, or contract with interviewers. We connect candidates (“Interviewees”) with independent professionals (“Interviewers”) for 30-minute one-on-one sessions.

Interviewers self-verify their LinkedIn profiles during onboarding. We make no guarantee as to their expertise, qualifications, suitability, or any particular session outcome. Sessions are for practice purposes only. The Round One does not guarantee any employment outcome, job placement, or interview success as a result of using the platform.

Each Interviewer sets their own session fee (minimum ₹500, in multiples of ₹100). The total price shown to the Interviewee is the Interviewer's fee plus a platform fee retained by The Round One. Payment is made in advance via UPI to The Round One's UPI account.

Advance booking requirement: Sessions must be booked at least 24 hours before the scheduled start time. Slots within 24 hours of the current time are not available for booking.

Bookings are confirmed only after manual payment verification by our team, which may take up to a few hours. Submitting a false or incorrect UPI transaction ID is a breach of these Terms and may result in account suspension.

When an Interviewer has no available slots, Interviewees may click “Ask for slots”on the Interviewer's profile card. This sends the Interviewer a notification email informing them that a named candidate is interested in booking a session.

This feature is a non-binding expression of interest only. It does not constitute a booking request, a reservation, a confirmed session, or any form of contractual commitment. The Interviewer is under no obligation to add slots in response to such a notification. The Round One makes no representation or guarantee that the Interviewer will add slots or that a booking will result.

By clicking “Ask for slots”, the Interviewee consents to their name being shared with the Interviewer solely for the purpose of this notification. No other personal data is shared.

The following refund rules apply:

• Cancellation 48 or more hours before the session:full refund of the amount paid, processed within 5–7 business days to the UPI ID provided by the user.
• Cancellation within 48 hours of the session: no refund.
• Interviewer no-show: if the Interviewer does not join within 5 minutes of the scheduled start time, the Interviewee may raise a dispute directly from their dashboard. Upon verification of attendance records, a full refund of the amount paid will be processed.
• Interviewee no-show:no refund. The Interviewer's time is reserved and they are entitled to their payout.

Refunds are processed to a UPI ID provided by the user. To raise a refund request, email support@theroundone.com with your registered email address, session date, interviewer name, and the UPI ID you would like the refund sent to.

All participants agree to the following:

• Recording prohibited. Recording of sessions in any form — audio, video, or screen capture — is strictly prohibited without the explicit written consent of all parties.
• Both parties must join on time via the video link provided in their booking confirmation email.
• Do not share or use any external meeting links outside of the one provided in the booking confirmation.
• Any harassment, discrimination, abuse, or inappropriate behaviour may result in permanent account suspension without refund or payout.

Interviewers agree to:

• Conduct sessions professionally and provide honest, constructive feedback.
• Submit structured candidate feedback via the dashboard after each session. Feedback submission is mandatory for payout release.
• Repeated no-shows or sessions shorter than 25 minutes without a valid reason may result in account suspension and forfeiture of the payout for the affected session.

Interviewers earn their set session fee per completed session. Payout is released once the Interviewer submits their candidate assessment and both parties confirm no dispute. If either party does not respond within 72 hours, payout is released automatically provided no dispute has been raised. Payouts are sent to the UPI ID registered on your profile.

No-dispute confirmation is permanent and cannot be edited after submission. Once confirmed, neither party can raise a dispute for that session.

Sessions shorter than 25 minutes due to the Interviewer's own actions are not eligible for payout. The Round One is not liable for delays caused by incorrect payout details provided by the Interviewer.

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS):The Round One does not currently deduct TDS. However, if your cumulative earnings on the platform exceed ₹30,000 in a financial year (April–March), we are required under Section 194J of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to deduct TDS at 10% on payments made to you and furnish your PAN and earnings details to the Income Tax Department. You will be notified before any deduction is made. It is your responsibility to ensure that the PAN and date of birth on your profile are accurate. Providing false information is a criminal offence under Section 277 of the Income Tax Act and you shall bear sole liability for any tax consequences arising from incorrect details.

PAN and identity details are optional at sign-up but become mandatory before any payout is processed where cumulative earnings exceed ₹30,000 in a financial year(April–March). Interviewers are encouraged to submit this information in advance to avoid payout delays. The following details are required:

• PAN number (Permanent Account Number)
• Date of birth
• A clear photograph of their PAN card
• A signed declaration confirming the accuracy of the above

Once submitted, PAN details and the profile photo are locked and cannot be changed. This information is collected solely for income tax compliance and identity verification. It is kept confidential and is not shared with any third party other than tax authorities as required by law. The Round One reserves the right to suspend payouts or pause a profile where KYC information is incomplete, unverifiable, or found to be false.

After a session is completed and the Interviewer has submitted their assessment, Interviewees may voluntarily opt in to publish their assessment on the Talent Pool — a publicly accessible directory visible to all logged-in users of the platform, including recruiters and hiring managers.

By enabling the Talent Pool toggle, you explicitly consent to the following being displayed:

• Your name and the domain(s) in which you were assessed.
• The expert's structured assessment — including strengths, areas to improve, overall assessment, and verdict.
• Your registered email address, so that interested parties may contact you directly.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by toggling off the Talent Pool option on your dashboard. Once disabled, your entry will be removed from the Talent Pool immediately. However, The Round One is not responsible for any information already viewed or noted by third parties prior to withdrawal.

The Round One does not sell, rent, or otherwise transfer Talent Pool data to third parties. Contact details displayed are solely for the purpose of enabling direct communication between candidates and interested recruiters.

Any dispute regarding a session — including session quality, attendance, or conduct — must be raised within 72 hours of the session end time using the “Raise Dispute” option on your dashboard, or by emailing support@theroundone.comif you are unable to access your dashboard. Disputes raised after this window will not be considered. A party who has already confirmed “No Dispute” on their dashboard cannot subsequently raise a dispute for the same session.

The Round One will attempt to resolve all disputes informally within 7 business days of receiving a valid complaint. If the dispute cannot be resolved informally, it shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (India), as amended from time to time. The seat and venue of arbitration shall be New Delhi, India. The arbitration shall be conducted by a sole arbitrator appointed by mutual agreement of the parties, or failing agreement, by the competent court. The language of arbitration shall be English. The arbitral award shall be final and binding on both parties.

You agree that any dispute shall be resolved on an individual basis only. You waive any right to participate in a class action, collective arbitration, or representative proceeding.

The following are strictly prohibited:

• Creating fake or fraudulent bookings or submitting false payment information.
• Using the platform to solicit direct engagements with Interviewers or Interviewees outside of The Round One, thereby circumventing platform fees.
• Sharing login credentials with any third party.
• Scraping, automated access, reverse-engineering, or any attempt to compromise the platform's integrity or security.
• Creating multiple accounts to circumvent a suspension or ban.

All content on theroundone.com — including text, graphics, logos, and software — is owned by or licensed to The Round One. You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works without our prior written consent. Candidate feedback reports generated through the platform are for your personal use only and may not be shared or published without the consent of the Interviewer.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, The Round One is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform. Our maximum total liability for any claim arising from these Terms is limited to the amount you paid for the specific session giving rise to the claim. We do not guarantee any employment outcome, job placement, or career advancement as a result of using the platform.

We may update these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated via email or a notice on the platform. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the platform.

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Subject to the arbitration clause in Section 9, any disputes that are not subject to arbitration shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in New Delhi, India.

For any questions regarding these Terms, please contact us at: support@theroundone.com.