You were charged for a Local Services Ads lead asking for a job you don't do, or from a town you don't serve, and there's no longer a way to argue it back. A local services ads lead dispute used to be the fix for that. Google removed manual disputes in July 2024 and made "job type not serviced" and "geo not serviced" leads non-refundable from early 2025, so the only protection left is setting up the account so fewer of those leads reach you.
This hits every contractor on LSA, and hardest the ones whose job types are easy to confuse: remodelers who get small repair calls, plumbers who get calls from the edge of their area, HVAC companies who get install requests they can't take in peak season.
Below is what changed and when, what can still be credited, and the account settings I change first so less of your budget goes on leads you'll never be refunded for.
How the local services ads lead dispute process changed
The clearest timeline I've found is Footbridge Media's summary of the LSA changes for contractors. It lines up with what contractors describe in PPC forums.
| When | What changed | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| July 2024 | Manual lead disputes removed | You can no longer file a dispute on a lead you think was bad |
| Early 2025 | "Job type not serviced" and "geo not serviced" became non-refundable | Leads for work you don't do, or from outside your area, are billed |
| November 7, 2025 | The $2,000 guarantee was eliminated | Don't promise customers that Google backs your work |
Footbridge estimates the lost credits at $750 to $1,250 a month on $5,000 of spend. That's their estimate, not a figure from Google, but it's in line with what I'd expect for a contractor whose leads were regularly the wrong job or the wrong town. If you used to get a steady trickle of credits and they've stopped, this is why.
Which LSA leads can still be credited
Here's the honest answer: you don't decide any more. Credits, where they happen, come from Google's own automated review of the lead, and you can't file an argument for one. The two reasons contractors used most, wrong job type and wrong area, are exactly the two that are now non-refundable.
So I plan every LSA budget as if every lead inside the job types and area you've selected will be billed. If a credit shows up, that's a bonus. Budgeting for credits that may never arrive is how owners end up paying more per real job than they thought.
What you still control is the record on your side. Keep updating each lead's status in the account and keep your own log of what every lead was. That log is what tells you whether the channel is still worth it, whatever Google credits.
Set up your account so fewer non-refundable leads come in
If you can't get money back for wrong leads, the fix is not to be shown for them. This is the order I work through with clients on LSA.
- Switch off every job type you don't want to pay for. Go through the job types one by one and turn off anything you don't do, or don't want at your cost per lead. A remodeler who leaves small repair job types on will pay for those calls, and they're now non-refundable.
- Cut the service area to where you'll actually drive. Remove fringe ZIP codes and towns you'd turn down. A lead from outside the area you've selected is one thing, but a lead from inside it that you won't take is simply a paid lead you wasted.
- Set your hours to when someone answers. If nobody picks up after 6pm, don't run ads after 6pm. I explained how Google handles local services ads missed calls in a separate post, and it's another reason to keep your schedule honest.
- Answer fast and log every lead. For each lead, note the date, the job asked for, the town, whether you reached them and whether it booked. It takes a minute per lead and it's the only data you'll trust later.
- Review the log every week. Sort leads into good, wrong job, wrong area, spam and unreachable. If the same wrong job type keeps coming in, go back to step 1. If wrong-area leads cluster in one town, remove it.
- Budget on your real cost per good lead. Divide what you spent by the good leads only. If a fifth of your leads are waste, your real cost per lead is a quarter higher than the one in the dashboard. Compare that number with your max cost per lead calculation before you add budget.
If your trade was added to Local Services Ads recently, some of the rules for newer categories work differently, which I covered in a post on local services ads new categories.
What's different for remodelers, plumbers and HVAC companies
Remodelers
Remodelers feel this most because their jobs are large and their leads are few. One wrong lead costs more as a share of the month, and the calls that don't fit, small repairs and handyman-size jobs, look similar to real ones on the job type list. Keep only the job types that match the projects you want to sign. I'd rather see fewer leads at the right size than a busy phone full of work you'll turn down.
Plumbers
For plumbers the waste usually comes from the edges: calls from towns just outside where you want to drive, and after-hours calls nobody answers. Trim the area first, then match the ad schedule to the hours your on-call person actually covers. If emergency work is only worth it inside a short radius, keep the whole area tight rather than hoping to sort calls by phone.
HVAC companies
HVAC demand swings with the weather, and so does the mix of leads. In a heat wave you may be booked out on repairs and still paying for install enquiries you can't schedule for weeks. Review job types at the start of each season, and don't let a busy month hide a rising share of leads you can't serve. Contractors in a Reddit PPC thread about LSA leads and budget changes describe how unpredictable the lead flow gets, which is one more reason to watch your own log instead of the dashboard alone.
What not to do
- Don't keep waiting for credits that used to come. If your budget assumed refunds on wrong-job leads, it's wrong now. Rework it on what you actually pay.
- Don't widen the service area to get more volume. More area means more leads you'd turn down, and those are exactly the ones that are no longer credited.
- Don't raise the budget to make up for waste. Extra budget buys more of the same mix. Fix the mix first. If leads have dried up altogether, read why local services ads leads stopped before spending more.
- Don't let calls go to voicemail. A lead you didn't answer is paid for and gone.
- Don't tell customers Google guarantees your work. Footbridge reports the $2,000 guarantee ended on November 7, 2025.
Questions contractors ask about LSA refunds
Can I still dispute an LSA lead?
Not manually. Manual disputes were removed in July 2024. Any credit now comes from Google's automated review, and wrong job type and wrong area leads are no longer refundable.
Is LSA still worth it without refunds?
It can be, but only if your cost per good lead, after waste, sits below what a lead is worth to you. Many contractors I speak to have never worked that number out. Do it before you decide.
Should I switch to regular Google Ads instead?
Not automatically. Search ads let you control keywords and negative keywords more tightly, but you pay per click, not per lead. The right choice depends on the same break-even number.
Where to go from here
With disputes gone, LSA rewards the contractors who set the account up carefully and check it every week. If you'd rather have someone do that, it's part of our local services ads management. We also look at the organic side, because the jobs that come through your Google profile and website don't carry a per-lead charge at all. That's the core of our home renovation SEO, plumbing SEO and HVAC SEO work.
Written by Saifur Rifat, Founder & SEO Lead at SERP Squad.