Escrow Disputes: File, Evidence Timeline, Resolve

Most escrow flows close cleanly: deposit → ship → accept → release. Disputes are the small percentage where one side disagrees with what arrived, what was sent, or how the transaction should settle. The dispute flow exists to keep that disagreement structured instead of turning it into an email thread that nobody can reconstruct six weeks later.

Filing

A buyer or seller files from the escrow detail page while funds are held. The form captures the claim type, a specific explanation, and any evidence packages already generated for the transaction. Filing pauses auto-release immediately: funds stay held while the dispute is open.

Evidence timeline

Every dispute has a party-bound evidence timeline. The opening claim is recorded first. Evidence from the opener is tagged as buyer or seller evidence. A response from the counterparty is tagged as counter-evidence. Extra uploads, reviewer notes, the final decision, and the settlement impact are separate entries, each with its own timestamp and source role.

Source links and downloads

Evidence entries link back to their source records, such as an evidence package or uploaded document. Downloads continue to use signed links and audit logging. For compliance-critical document and evidence access, ReVend fails closed: if the access event cannot be logged, the download should not be treated as successful.

Adjudication

A ReVend compliance officer reviews the claim, the buyer evidence, the seller counter-evidence, the escrow context, outbound history, and event log. Reviewer notes can be added to the timeline without overwriting either party's statement.

Resolution

For escrow disputes, the decision is one of three money outcomes: Release to seller, Refund to buyer, or Split between both sides. The decision writes a timeline entry and, where money moves, a settlement-impact entry showing seller release and buyer refund amounts. The escrow row then transitions to released, refunded, or split.

Non-escrow disputes

Waived Market deals and certain Auction-lot cases can still have a formal dispute without funds flow. Their outcomes are acknowledged, agreed remediation, or rejected. Those outcomes affect trust attribution, but no escrow money moves.

Mediation versus support

Support tickets can clarify operational questions and attach context, but they are not the dispute case file. A future mediation chat would need message visibility rules, deadlines, settlement offers, transcript retention, and a clear conversion into a formal decision. The evidence timeline is the authoritative record for the current flow.