Disputes · Example
Card dispute adjudication
Cadre name · Arbiter
Tracks the supplied timing rules and evidence tests, then returns an internal disposition.
Operating dossier
The job, permitted decisions, and owner
Mandate
Separates configured Reg E and Reg Z timing states from the underlying dispute merits, preserving both.
- Case arrives with
- Dispute ID · As-of date
- Allowed outcomes
- Issue Provisional Credit · Chargeback · Representment Upheld · Deny · Investigation Open
- Where it fits
- Fraud & Disputes
Operating logic
- 01Organizes a cardholder dispute using the supplied Reg E or Reg Z policy configuration without collapsing timing state into the underlying merits.
- 02Checks the configured clock before the merits and records any interim-credit action identified by that policy while the evidence review continues.
- 03On the merits it applies the evidence tests in the supplied policy: address and card-code results, delivery evidence, prior undisputed use, and matching device or network context inform the review without deciding it automatically.
- 04Records the interim action, timeline status, and merits status separately. A ruling or liability party appears only when the evidence supports one; the record itself moves no money.
Decision logic
- 01Organizes a cardholder dispute using the supplied Reg E or Reg Z policy configuration without collapsing timing state into the underlying merits.
- 02Checks the configured clock before the merits and records any interim-credit action identified by that policy while the evidence review continues.
- 03On the merits it applies the evidence tests in the supplied policy: address and card-code results, delivery evidence, prior undisputed use, and matching device or network context inform the review without deciding it automatically.
- 04Records the interim action, timeline status, and merits status separately. A ruling or liability party appears only when the evidence supports one; the record itself moves no money.
- Must not
- Invent missing evidence or act outside the permitted outcomes.
- Human owner
- Conflicting evidence and exception handling
- Evidence retained
- Structured outcome, observed path, and the source evidence used.
Case and record
One case, from supplied evidence to recorded decision
Supplied case
- Dispute ID
- D1
- As-of date
- 2026-06-24
View the case data
Case key clear-unauthorized-chargeback
{
"disputeId": "D1",
"nowTs": "2026-06-24"
}Evaluation and limits
Evaluation coverage and stopping points
Published evaluation map
Expected decisions, boundaries, and costly failure modes.
These cases show what the pack is asked to decide, when it should stop, and which plausible errors the evaluation is meant to expose. They are not a reliability score or independent validation.
Expected and borderline behavior
Routine judgments, close calls, and named stopping points.
Reg E card-not-present fraud, AVS+CVV fail, no merchant evidence
chargeback, cardholder wins.
Case key
clear-unauthorized-chargebackReg E non-receipt with strong merchant compelling evidence
deny / representment-upheld, cardholder liable.
Case key
friendly-fraud-strong-evidence-denyReg Z defective-goods billing error, merchant rebuts, no evidenced defect
deny with documented basis.
Case key
ambiguous-regz-deny-with-basis
Boundary and misuse cases
Plausible inputs that could produce a costly or overconfident decision.
Reg E initial period missed
issue provisional credit, continue reviewing the same merchant evidence, and keep the merchant-supported merits result separate.
Case key
provisional-credit-preserves-merchant-meritsProvisional credit, open investigation
the Reg E initial period has expired while the outer period remains open. Interim credit is now due, and the incomplete merits record stays under investigation.
Case key
provisional-credit-keeps-investigation-open
Operating fit
Workflow placement and validation
Operating pattern
Decide, refer, or stop
Give the pack a short list of permitted decisions and require referral when the evidence cannot support one.
Decision sequence and workflow placement
- 01Receive the case
- 02Gather named evidence
- 03Apply the decision rules
- 04Decide or refer
- 05Record the decision and owner
Wider workflows
Institution-specific validation
These questions shape how the example fits an institution.
Validation questions
- Policy and legal interpretation
- Source coverage, quality, and freshness
- Thresholds and exception calibration
- Integration and degraded-mode behavior
- Human approval and escalation design
- Performance on the institution’s own case mix
Inputs, actions, and outcomes
- Dispute ID
- As-of date
- Get disputeget_dispute
- Get transactionget_transaction
- Get cardholder historyget_cardholder_history
- Get merchant evidenceget_merchant_evidence
- Check timelinecheck_timeline
- Adjudicatecommitadjudicate
- Issue Provisional Credit
- Chargeback
- Representment Upheld
- Deny
- Investigation Open
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