---
title: Dispute
tags: [data-model, mongoose, postgres]
aliases: [Complaint, IDispute]
---

# Dispute

> **Last updated:** 2026-06-03 — added Postgres / Drizzle schema and migration status (see [Doc vs Code Audit Report](../09%20-%20Audits/Doc%20vs%20Code%20Audit%20Report%20-%202026-05-29.md))

Buyer-raised complaint tied to a [[PurchaseRequest]]. Captures the reason, priority, category, an array of evidence uploads, a chronological `timeline` of actions, an optional resolution, and SLA deadlines. An admin (`adminId`) is assigned during triage and resolves the dispute with a structured action (`refund`, `replacement`, `compensation`, `warning_seller`, `ban_seller`, or `no_action`).

> [!note] Implementation status
> `backend/src/models/Dispute.ts`, `backend/src/services/dispute/DisputeService.ts`, `backend/src/routes/disputeRoutes.ts`, and release-hold helper routes now exist. The remaining gap is canonical state alignment between the full dispute document and the lighter `PurchaseRequest`/`Payment` hold flags used by release gating.
>
> Sources: `backend/src/models/Dispute.ts` (Mongoose schema), `backend/src/db/schema/dispute.ts` (Drizzle/Postgres schema).

> WARNING — The dispute `status` update endpoint and the `resolve` endpoint currently have **no role guards**. Any authenticated user (not just admins) can modify dispute status or submit a resolution. This is a known gap pending a role-guard audit.

## Migration Status

**DUAL-WRITE** — `DualWriteDisputeRepo` + `DrizzleDisputeRepo` + `MongoDisputeRepo`. Writes go to both Mongo and Postgres. Reads still come from Mongo (cutover not yet executed).

## Mongo Schema

| Field | Type | Required | Default | Validation | Index | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `purchaseRequestId` | ObjectId → [[PurchaseRequest]] | yes | — | — | yes | The disputed request. |
| `buyerId` | ObjectId → [[User]] | yes | — | — | yes | Complaining buyer. |
| `sellerId` | ObjectId → [[User]] | no | — | — | yes | Implicated seller. |
| `adminId` | ObjectId → [[User]] | no | — | — | yes (single + compound) | Admin owning the case. |
| `reason` | String | yes | — | trim, maxlength 200 | — | Short reason. |
| `description` | String | yes | — | trim, maxlength 2000 | — | Detailed description. |
| `priority` | String | no | `medium` | enum: `low` / `medium` / `high` / `urgent` | yes | Triage priority. |
| `category` | String | yes | — | enum: `product_quality` / `delivery_delay` / `wrong_item` / `payment_issue` / `seller_behavior` / `other` | yes | Issue type. |
| `status` | String | no | `pending` | enum: `pending` / `in_progress` / `waiting_response` / `resolved` / `rejected` / `closed` | yes (single + compound) | Lifecycle state. |
| `evidence[].type` | String | yes | — | enum: `image` / `document` / `screenshot` / `video` | — | Evidence kind. |
| `evidence[].url` | String | yes | — | — | — | Stored URL. |
| `evidence[].description` | String | no | — | — | — | Notes. |
| `evidence[].uploadedBy` | ObjectId → [[User]] | yes | — | — | — | Uploader. |
| `evidence[].uploadedAt` | Date | no | `Date.now` | — | — | Upload time. |
| `chatId` | ObjectId → [[Chat]] | no | — | — | — | Linked support chat. |
| `timeline[].action` | String | yes | — | — | — | Action label. |
| `timeline[].performedBy` | ObjectId → [[User]] | yes | — | — | — | Actor. |
| `timeline[].performedAt` | Date | no | `Date.now` | — | — | When. |
| `timeline[].details` | String | no | — | — | — | Free-form notes. |
| `resolution.action` | String | no | — | enum: `refund` / `replacement` / `compensation` / `warning_seller` / `ban_seller` / `no_action` | — | Outcome. |
| `resolution.amount` | Number | no | — | — | — | Monetary amount (refund/compensation). |
| `resolution.currency` | String | no | — | enum: `USD` / `EUR` / `IRR` / `USDT` | — | Currency. |
| `resolution.notes` | String | no | — | maxlength 1000 | — | Resolution notes. |
| `resolution.resolvedBy` | ObjectId → [[User]] | no | — | — | — | Admin who resolved. |
| `resolution.resolvedAt` | Date | no | — | — | — | When resolved. |
| `deadline` | Date | no | — | — | — | Overall SLA deadline. |
| `responseDeadline` | Date | no | — | — | — | Response SLA. |
| `tags[]` | String[] | no | — | trim | — | Filter tags. |
| `closedAt` | Date | no | — | — | — | When closed. |
| `createdAt` | Date | auto | — | — | yes (desc) | Mongoose timestamp. |
| `updatedAt` | Date | auto | — | — | — | Mongoose timestamp. |

### Category enum

Valid values: `product_quality` · `delivery_delay` · `wrong_item` · `payment_issue` · `seller_behavior` · `other`

Note: `fraud` is NOT a valid category value. Use `seller_behavior` or `other` for fraud-related complaints.

### Status enum

Valid values: `pending` · `in_progress` · `waiting_response` · `resolved` · `rejected` · `closed`

Note: `under_review` does NOT exist in the schema. The equivalent lifecycle state is `in_progress`.

### Resolution action enum

Valid values: `refund` · `replacement` · `compensation` · `warning_seller` · `ban_seller` · `no_action`

Note: The TypeScript interface mentions an optional embedded `messages[]` array, but the actual Mongoose schema does not declare it — messages live in [[Chat]] via `chatId`.

## Postgres / Drizzle Schema

Source: `backend/src/db/schema/dispute.ts` — migration 0012.

### `disputes` table

| Column | PG Type | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `id` | `uuid` PK | Generated UUID primary key. |
| `legacy_object_id` | `text` | Mongo ObjectId bridge; partial-unique WHERE NOT NULL. |
| `purchase_request_id` | `text` | Stored as text (not uuid FK) to accommodate Mongo ObjectIds and PG UUIDs during cutover. No hard FK. |
| `buyer_id` | `text` | Same cutover reason — text, no hard FK. |
| `seller_id` | `text` | Optional; text, no hard FK. |
| `admin_id` | `text` | Optional; text, no hard FK. |
| `reason` | `text` | Short reason. |
| `description` | `text` | Detailed description. |
| `priority` | `text` | No DB-level enum; app-layer validated. |
| `category` | `text` | No DB-level enum; app-layer validated. |
| `status` | `text` | No DB-level enum; app-layer validated. |
| `evidence` | `jsonb` | Array of evidence objects (serialized). |
| `chat_id` | `text` | Optional; text reference to Chat. |
| `messages` | `jsonb` | Embedded messages blob (conservative shim; normalization pending). |
| `timeline` | `jsonb` | Array of timeline action objects. |
| `resolution` | `jsonb` | Resolution object when resolved. |
| `deadline` | `timestamptz` | Overall SLA deadline. |
| `response_deadline` | `timestamptz` | Response SLA. |
| `tags` | `jsonb` | Array of tag strings. |
| `created_at` | `timestamptz` | Auto-managed. |
| `updated_at` | `timestamptz` | Auto-managed. |
| `closed_at` | `timestamptz` | Set when status reaches `closed`. |

> [!note] ID columns as `text`
> `purchase_request_id`, `buyer_id`, `seller_id`, and `admin_id` are all stored as `text` (not `uuid` with a FK) to accommodate both legacy Mongo ObjectIds and PG UUIDs transparently during the cutover window. No referential integrity constraints exist at the DB layer for these columns.

> [!note] `messages` jsonb column
> The Postgres schema includes a `messages jsonb` column that is absent from the Mongo schema (where messages live in Chat via `chatId`). This is a conservative shim added during migration scaffolding. Full normalization of chat/messages is flagged as an open blocker.

### Postgres Indexes

| Index | Type | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `(legacy_object_id)` WHERE NOT NULL | partial-unique | Idempotent backfill upserts. |
| `(purchase_request_id)` | regular | Lookup by request. |
| `(buyer_id)` | regular | Buyer's disputes. |
| `(seller_id)` | regular | Seller's disputes. |
| `(admin_id)` | regular | Admin workload. |
| `(status)` | regular | Lifecycle filtering. |
| `(priority)` | regular | Priority filtering. |
| `(category)` | regular | Category filtering. |
| `(created_at)` | regular | Time-ordered listing. |
| `(status, priority)` | compound | Admin queue sort. |
| `(admin_id, status)` | compound | Per-admin workload view. |

Mirrors the Mongo index set exactly.

## Virtuals

None defined.

## Mongo Indexes

Defined at `backend/src/models/Dispute.ts`:

- `{ purchaseRequestId: 1 }`
- `{ buyerId: 1 }`
- `{ sellerId: 1 }`
- `{ adminId: 1 }`
- `{ status: 1 }`
- `{ priority: 1 }`
- `{ category: 1 }`
- `{ createdAt: -1 }`
- `{ status: 1, priority: -1 }` — admin queue
- `{ adminId: 1, status: 1 }` — per-admin workload

## Pre/Post Hooks

| Hook | Behaviour |
| --- | --- |
| `pre('save')` (`backend/src/models/Dispute.ts`) | On new documents pushes a `dispute_created` entry into `timeline` attributed to `buyerId`. |

## Instance Methods

None defined.

## Static Methods

None defined.

## Relationships

- **References**: [[PurchaseRequest]] (`purchaseRequestId`), [[User]] (`buyerId`, `sellerId`, `adminId`, evidence and timeline contributors, `resolution.resolvedBy`), [[Chat]] (`chatId`).
- **Referenced by**: none directly.

## State Transitions

```mermaid
stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> pending
    pending --> in_progress : admin assigned
    in_progress --> waiting_response : awaiting party
    waiting_response --> in_progress : response received
    in_progress --> resolved : action applied
    in_progress --> rejected : invalid
    resolved --> closed
    rejected --> closed
    closed --> [*]
```

## Common Queries

```ts
// Admin queue (Mongo)
Dispute.find({ status: { $in: ['pending', 'in_progress', 'waiting_response'] } })
       .sort({ priority: -1, createdAt: 1 });

// Buyer's disputes (Mongo)
Dispute.find({ buyerId }).sort({ createdAt: -1 });

// Seller's open disputes (Mongo)
Dispute.find({ sellerId, status: { $nin: ['resolved', 'rejected', 'closed'] } });

// Append timeline entry atomically (Mongo)
Dispute.updateOne(
  { _id },
  { $push: { timeline: { action, performedBy: adminId, performedAt: new Date(), details } } }
);
```

```sql
-- Admin queue (Postgres)
SELECT * FROM disputes
WHERE status IN ('pending', 'in_progress', 'waiting_response')
ORDER BY priority DESC, created_at ASC;

-- Buyer's disputes (Postgres)
SELECT * FROM disputes WHERE buyer_id = $1 ORDER BY created_at DESC;

-- Seller's open disputes (Postgres)
SELECT * FROM disputes
WHERE seller_id = $1 AND status NOT IN ('resolved', 'rejected', 'closed');
```

Related: [[PurchaseRequest]], [[User]], [[Chat]], [[Payment]].