For Lowe’s deductions, it is important to understand that they are not all valid. For this
reason, Lowe’s has built a dispute process into Vendor Inquiry.
Some deductions in the Vendor Inquiry deductions page will have a populated Chargebacks section where suppliers can dispute the individual lines of a deduction.
NOTE: Lowe’s uses the term “chargeback” synonymously with “dispute.” Other retailers will use the term “chargeback” to mean a deduction or a compliance fine sent to the supplier/vendor as an AR charge.
Within each deduction’s Chargebacks section will be a series of lines that can be disputed
(see note about Overages below for an exception to this rule). Each of these lines contains the following information:
- Item #
- Item Description
- Lowe's Quantity
- Vendor Quantity
- Lowe's Cost
- Vendor's Cost
- Quantity Difference
- Cost Difference
- Deduction Amount
- AD Code
Beyond this information is a Chargeback Response field where the dispute can be filled out. Successful disputes will have as much available information as possible. Shortage deductions (and many of the others) should include:
- $ Amount
- Reason
- Display PRC - Price Sheet Attached
- Display QTY - POD Attached
- Freight Charge Valid - LOC / Merchandising
- Fuel Surcharge Valid - LOC / Merchandising
- Good Faith Vendor
- Other (Comment required)
- Pallets
- Price Sheet and POD/POPU Attached
- Rack Vendor - No Store Notification
- Tax Valid Per Lowes Merchandising
- VPXD (CROSSDOCK) - POD/POPU/ ASN Attached
- Comments
- Contact Information (field for user entry)
- Name
- Email Phone (not required)
- Attachment: a maximum of 5 files can be attached and uploaded. Each file should be bigger than 3KB in size and should not exceed 3MB. Accepted file types are PDF, doc,
docx, xls, xlsx, jpg, and tiff.
The Disputing "Happy Path"
By clicking on the most recent check, you will get redirected to the "Invoice List" which
has all deductions and invoices for the time period of that payment.
On this list, if it is a deduction, you will see a negative amount, and the "invoice
number" is the Deduction # or DM Sequence.
Suppliers can also see Return Deductions on this list.
From here, you can take "Invoice Numbers" for deductions from the list (or export) and search them in the deductions list.
The Disputing “Sad Path”: Disputing from the Deductions List
When suppliers go straight to the deductions list to dispute (as is intuitive to most), a few
problems could arise.
For example, it is difficult to know from the disputes list what the particular deduction code is.
It is possible to know what the deduction code is by looking at the first two letters of the DM Sequence plus the source code in the far right column, but this isn’t a guarantee.
Disputing Deductions
Click on the deduction to dispute by clicking on the Deduction # column in the
Deductions page. From there, as with other deductions, you will be redirected to the Deductions details page.
At the top of this Deduction is the Deduction Details section with information that is unique to that particular deduction:
- Tracking #
- Deduction #
- Deduction Date
- Deduction Amount
- Approved Amount
- Invoice #
- Location #
- Purchase Order #
- Freight Type
The middle of the page shows a grayed out section reserved for Lowe’s
Comments. There isn’t usually an abundance of information stored here, but it can be helpful for getting extra context about the deduction.
The “Chargeback” section is where the dispute itself is handled and submitted. For shortages and pricing deductions, there will also be item level information. For each item/line that you want to dispute, you should check the box.
At the very bottom of the page are the contact information and attachments sections,
both of which are helpful for providing context as well. You must then manually
input each dollar amount for the dispute (or “chargeback”) and attach the reason. You can add a maximum of 5 attachments, but each file cannot be larger than 3 MBs.
Following Up on Disputes
Immediately afterclicking submit on a dispute/chargeback, the status on the deduction will be “Vendor.” At some point—usually around 24 hours later—the status will be changed again to “Lowe’s,” meaning that it is awaiting their attention.
From the Deductions tab, you can filter by status. All of the deductions/chargebacks awaiting Lowe’s attention will have that same status. Keep in mind that there will still be a timeframe automatically applied to the group of deductions, and you may have to move it around to find a particular dispute.
Once a dispute has been sent, the attachments will disappear, so if you want to be able to reference dispute attachments later, make sure to keep track of what you’re attaching to each dispute independently.
A note about overages: overages are visible in the app as positive
amounts on a line of a deduction. These are calculated into the net total of the deduction. They cannot be disputed in the app because they are positive numbers. When disputing a deduction with an overage line on it, it is still best to dispute the full amount for the negative lines on the deduction.
Approved and Denied Disputes
After Lowe’s has reviewed the dispute, its status will change from “Lowe’s” to “Resolved.”
Suppliers will know if theirdisputes have been approved if there is a positive dollar amount in the “approved” field on the dispute. After a dispute has been Resolved, the supplier is not allowed to re-dispute.
If something is partially approved, a supplier cannot re-dispute the denied amount on the line.
If a dispute is denied, it will show a $0 in the “approved” field. If the dispute is denied, you can continue to dispute an infinite number of times until it is “Resolved,” as long as the disputes still happen within the dispute window.
If re-disputing, make sure that you re-attach the same relevant dispute documents. Since the original documents are removed from the dispute after a denial, it is still considered best practice to re-attach them to a re-dispute.
Also note, in denial messages it is common for Lowe’s to ask for additional documentation, like a pallet breakdown. Review their request and attach any additional proof on the re-dispute.
Deductions that are not shortages or pricing deductions tend to only have one line to dispute. Most of the same rules apply, but there is less complication involved.