A proof-of-delivery dispute starts when a recipient or shipper says a parcel the courier marked delivered never arrived, arrived damaged or went to the wrong person. Couriers, parcel networks and retailers with their own delivery fleets may decide many of these a year, and most are routine. The useful ones are the exceptions: cases where the proof was ambiguous and someone had to apply a rule.
Which proof-of-delivery dispute records help a company explain how exceptions were handled?
Seven record classes, read in order. Each answers one question an adjudicator, an auditor or a model trained on the history would ask.
| Record class | Question it answers | Typical system |
|---|---|---|
| Route scan with time and location | Was the driver at the address, and when? | Delivery platform |
| Delivery photo or signature | What did the driver capture as proof? | Delivery platform, carrier portal |
| Support ticket or claim | When and how did the dispute arrive? | Ticketing or customer service system |
| Client delivery rule | Which standard applied to this shipper? | Contracts, account notes |
| Adjudication note | How did the reviewer weigh the evidence? | Claims tool, ticket notes |
| Credit, refund or denial | What did the exception cost? | Finance or billing |
| Follow-up check | Did the fix hold on later deliveries? | Route planning, address records |
The first three are common. The last four are what turn a status log into an explained exception, and they are the ones a partner should ask about.
Worked example: a parcel left at a shared reception
Illustrative. A 340-person regional parcel courier delivers a small parcel to an office building where several tenants share one reception desk. Two days later the recipient says it never arrived.
| Step | Record | What it shows | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Delivery | Route scan 11:42, stop inside the building geofence | The driver was at the right address | Delivery platform admin |
| 2. Proof | Photo of the parcel on the reception counter; receiver typed as "front desk" | Handed to a shared desk, not a named person | Delivery platform admin |
| 3. Complaint | Support ticket with the tracking number and the recipient's account | When and how the dispute arrived | Customer service manager |
| 4. Rule | The shipper client's service terms require a named signature at business addresses | Which rule applied to this client | Account manager |
| 5. Decision | Adjudication note: proof valid for location, invalid under the client's rule; credit approved | The reasoning, in the adjudicator's words | Claims lead |
| 6. Outcome | Credit memo for the declared value; driver coached | The cost of the exception | Finance |
| 7. Check | Address flagged "shared reception, named signature"; later deliveries signed by named recipients | The fix held | Route planning |
Steps 4 and 7 are what make this more than a status log. The rule is client-specific and lives outside the delivery system, and the check shows whether the fix worked.
What separates an explained exception from a status log?
Three parts, in order: the initial problem, the authorized action and the checked result. In the example, the problem is a delivery that was correct by location but wrong by rule; the action is a credit approved by the claims lead under the client's terms; the result is a flagged address and signed deliveries afterwards. Remove any one of the three and the case stops explaining itself.
Outside evidence standards show why each part matters. Retailers face the same test when a disputed parcel turns into a card chargeback: Stripe's guidance for product-not-received disputes asks for delivery proof showing the full delivery address, and its sample evidence packets suggest carrier, ship date, delivery date, tracking number and status, plus a delivery photo and signature verification. A company whose records can answer that test case by case holds the kind of outcome-labeled history the logistics exceptions guide describes in general terms.
StripeProof itself is uneven, and the records should show it. FedEx, for example, offers a delivery photo for eligible residential deliveries that do not require a signature, and notes that some deliveries may not include a photo; it says signed proof of delivery letters are available for up to 18 months with FedEx Express. So a dispute history mixes photo cases, signature cases and cases with neither, and the adjudication note is often the only record of how the reviewer handled the gap.
Ask the operations director about coverage and rights
Ask about chains, not files, and write down only the answers:
- Roughly how many delivery disputes a year, and what share needed an adjudicator rather than an automatic credit?
- Do adjudication notes record the reason in words, or only a code?
- Are client delivery rules stored where the claims team can see them, or only in contracts?
- Can a credit or denial be traced back to one tracking number?
- Is there any record of follow-up checks, such as flagged addresses?
- Who owns each system, and do client contracts limit reuse of delivery data?
Partners never ask for photos, tickets or exports. If the company offers documents during an introduction, decline them; should I upload company documents when making an introduction explains why.
Does the company qualify?
Check four things before introducing: 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded, which matters for couriers that rely on independent drivers), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English.
What stays unknown until SourceX reviews it: whether buyers need this record type, how client contracts and recipient personal data affect rights, how much preparation the set needs, and any offer. You must sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions, and the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. The logistics and warehousing industry page lists related record types under the industries hub, and 3PL data ownership covers who owns delivery records when a third party runs the operation.
Go deeper on proof-of-delivery disputes
- Proof-of-delivery disputes records across systems: a system map of the identifiers that join scans, tickets, notes and credits.
- Who can license proof-of-delivery disputes records: a decision tree for which executive to introduce and what needs client sign-off.
- Preserve proof-of-delivery disputes records: a retention timeline of what to inventory before a carrier integration change.
- Proof-of-delivery disputes referral brief template: a fill-in, metadata-only brief for the introduction.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If a client's dispute history still links scan, rule, decision and check for years of exceptions, register as a partner, confirm the company against who qualifies, and read the program terms before sending the handoff note.