How to Dispute Bad Local Services Ads Leads: The 2026 Rate This Lead Method

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Summary: There is no separate dispute button in Google Local Services Ads anymore. You dispute a bad lead with Rate this lead: open the lead, give it a low rating, pick the reason that fits and describe what was wrong in plain words. Google may then credit it, and credits land on your account balance within 30 days, although the original charge still appears on your invoice. Google also skips charging for many invalid leads and credits some low-quality ones on its own. Some leads are never credited, such as calls outside your business hours or requests for a job you don't do under a service you listed. Here is the step-by-step, what gets credited, and how to stop most junk arriving at all.

Every Local Services Ads account gets junk: robocalls, sales pitches, wrong numbers. Plenty of owners pay for it month after month because they never rate a single lead. Rating takes under a minute per lead, and doing it every week is one of the cheapest ways to bring your real cost per lead down.

How credits work now

• Some junk is never charged. Google assesses leads when the customer first makes contact, and leads it judges invalid or low quality aren't charged.
• Some charged leads are credited automatically. Google reassesses charged leads over time and can issue credits on its own.
• You flag the rest with Rate this lead. The separate manual dispute option was retired in 2024, so your rating and reason are how you ask for a credit.
• Credits land within 30 days. They're applied to your account balance. The original charge still shows on your invoice, which confuses a lot of people.

Dispute a bad lead in under a minute

1. Open the lead. In the Local Services Ads dashboard, go to your leads and open the call or message. If your account has already moved into Google Ads, go to Goals, then Conversions, then Leads.
2. Click Rate this lead. Give it a low rating.
3. Pick the reason that fits best. Choose the closest option Google offers.
4. Say exactly what was wrong, briefly. Specific beats long. Examples are below.
5. Rate the good leads too. Give real customers a high rating. Your ratings are feedback on the leads you want more of.

Short, specific reasons that work:

• "Spam. Robocall, no customer on the line."
• "Solicitation. Caller was selling to us, not a customer."
• "Wrong number. Caller wanted a different business."
• "Job seeker. Caller was looking for work, not a service."

Leads Google won't credit

Google's rules say these aren't eligible for a credit, so don't waste time on them:

• A valid lead that came in outside your business hours
• A request for a specific job you don't do, when you listed the general service
• Work you're temporarily unable or unwilling to take on
• A customer who asked for advice on a project
• A booking the customer cancelled
• A customer researching projects or prices
• A customer who didn't respond when you called or messaged back

Notice that three of these are settings problems, not customer problems. You can fix them.

Stop most junk before it arrives

• Tighten your job types. Switch off work you don't want. Google treats a request that matches a service you listed as your choice, not a bad lead.
• Set business hours you actually answer. Leads outside your hours can't be credited, and from October 1, 2026 some missed calls during your hours are charged. Read what changes with missed call charges.
• Keep your service area to where you'll drive. A lead an hour away that you'll never take is still a lead you paid for.
• Call back fast. A customer who doesn't respond to your return call can't be credited, and the faster you call, the more of them pick up.

The 15-minute Monday routine

• Go through every lead from last week.
• Rate the junk low with a clear reason, and the good ones high.
• Leave a short note on each lead: what the job was, whether it booked, and what it was worth.
• Check last month's credits against your balance.
• Fix any setting that let junk through: job types, hours or service area.

Rating leads is one of the three levers in our free guide, How a local service business can spend $1,000 and make $60,000 in a month. The guide shows how paying less per lead, booking more of your calls and winning bigger jobs multiply together.

Local Services Ads pricing by trade: Google Local Services Ads cost for plumbers · Google Local Services Ads cost for HVAC companies · Google Local Services Ads cost for electricians · Google Local Services Ads cost for roofers · Google Local Services Ads cost for landscapers · Google Local Services Ads cost for pest control companies

FAQ

Is there still a dispute button in Local Services Ads?

No. The separate manual dispute option was retired in 2024. You now use Rate this lead on each lead.

How long do Local Services Ads credits take?

Google applies credits to your account balance within 30 days. The original charge still appears on your invoice.

Will Google credit every lead I rate low?

No. A credit is never guaranteed, and some leads, such as calls outside your business hours or cancelled bookings, aren't eligible at all.

Where do I rate leads after my account moves into Google Ads?

Go to Goals, then Conversions, then Leads, open the lead and rate it there.

Can I get a credit for a customer who never answered my callback?

No. Google lists a customer who didn't respond to your return call or message as not eligible for a credit.

Opus Group runs Google Ads, Local Services Ads and high-converting landing pages for local service businesses. See how it works.

Opus Group is a marketing agency for HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical, landscaping, tree service and pest control companies.

Theo Prada is the founder of Opus Group, which runs Google Local Services Ads and Google Ads for local service businesses.