Verified service history
Anyone can type "new roof 2020" into a listing. The entire value of a Proven record comes from the fact that its history is verified — each record carries evidence, and the platform is honest about which records have it.
How a record becomes verified
A service record can enter the system three ways, and each one leaves a different evidence trail:
- Provider-confirmed. The service provider logs the visit or confirms the owner's record. This is the strongest form: a named business standing behind a dated claim about specific work.
- Document-backed. The owner uploads the invoice or receipt, and Proven's extraction ties the vendor, date, and work performed to the record. The paper is attached and inspectable.
- Self-reported. The owner states it happened. The record exists, but it's labeled exactly what it is — unverified — until paper or a provider confirms it.
The report never blurs these together. A verified badge means verified; a self-reported entry reads as a claim. Buyers learn quickly that the distinction is real, which is exactly why the verified entries carry weight.
Disputes keep it honest
Verification isn't one-directional. If a provider disputes a record — wrong date, work not performed, scope inflated — the dispute is arbitrated against the documents on file, and outcomes feed both sides' credibility. Providers build a truth score from their confirmed-versus-disputed ratio; a provider whose records consistently hold up is visibly more credible than one whose don't. The same mechanism protects honest owners from sloppy provider records.
Why this matters more than condition
Condition fades; history compounds. Two identical 2014 heat pumps are not worth the same if one has eleven documented, provider-confirmed service visits and the other has a shrug. Inspection reports describe a moment; a verified history describes a pattern — and the pattern is what predicts the next five years.
When the Proven Report shows a timeline with verified badges down the margin, that's not decoration. It's the difference between a homeowner's memory and a record that survives cross-examination.