# Dispute resolution timeline

How long do disputes take? Here is what the system does and when.

## What happens, in order

| Step                                                                         | Time                                       |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Debtor submits dispute → placement moves to `disputed`, outreach pauses      | Immediate (within the same DB transaction) |
| Evidence packet assembled (invoice, proof of service, SOL check, audit tail) | Synchronously after the dispute is filed   |
| Auto-response email sent (if matrix routes to auto-respond)                  | Same flow                                  |
| Dispute routed to human reviewer (if matrix says escalate)                   | Same flow                                  |

The platform does not run a creditor-response SLA clock today; auto-close on creditor non-response is planned but not yet available.

## Related SLA for data-subject requests

If you submit a Data Subject Access Request (CPRA/DSAR), the platform's response SLA is **45 days** (`dsar_response_sla_days`). That's separate from dispute handling.

## What slows things down

* **Missing evidence.** If proof of service isn't on file, the dispute is routed to a human reviewer instead of being auto-responded.
* **Ambiguous reason.** If the dispute reason doesn't match any of the known buckets (`no_invoice`, `already_paid`, `wrong_amount`, `service_not_rendered`, `wrong_party`), it falls through to `unknown` and goes to a human.
* **`already_paid` and `wrong_party` disputes.** These are always escalated to a human, regardless of evidence.

## What about disputes during a payment plan

The current platform does not have an automated dispute-pauses-payment-plan flow. This is planned but not yet available.

## Timeline transparency

The dispute status (`open`, `reviewing`, `upheld`, `denied`, `withdrawn`, `auto_responded`, `awaiting_human`) is visible in the portal. Audit events for each state change are written to the append-only audit log.

***

Last reviewed: 2026-05-12 by Compliance Lead.


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