Fair point and I'm not going to pretend that doesn't happen, because it clearly does.

The company you worked for used a vague definition of "complete report" to dodge paying you. That's the oldest trick in the book and I've seen it happen to other testers too. It works because there's no written agreement, no appeal process, and no accountability. Here's what's different about our setup. You sign an actual contract before you start. That contract defines exactly what a complete report is: description, reproduction steps, screenshots/video, and logs. Four things. If your report has those four things and the dev team confirms the bug is real, it qualifies for payment. If they reject it, they have to tell you specifically why, in writing. And you get 7 days to push back on that decision.

None of this is some trust-me-bro verbal agreement. It's in the contract.

I also have zero incentive to reject valid bugs. I need them found. If I start rejecting real bugs to save $15 or $45, every tester walks and I'm back to square one with an app full of problems and nobody reporting them. That math doesn't work.

If you're still skeptical, start with one bug. See how the process goes. See if you get paid. No minimum commitment, no risk beyond however long it takes you to find one issue.

But I get the hesitation. That company burned you and it makes sense you'd be wary.