Just open a dispute with cmd+o and explain the situation to the arbitrator.
Opening a dispute is often a good option if there is nothing else you can from your side.
Yeah, arbitrator for your trade should receive a message now and contact you as soon as he sees it.
Arbitrators usually try to respond at least every 24h so that traders don’t get worried.
Ok, I found a way to send an initial message to the arbitrator, so I did that explaining the situation. I will wait for a reply and then post back here with my results.
The arbitrator has already responded and he/she is going to ask the BTC seller if they want to provide an email address.
I responded with the question: “Why does the Bisq software allow a “mobile phone number” option when some Canadian banks do not support it within their Interac e-Transfer interface?”
It will be interesting to see what I can learn here.
Arbitrators usually just deal with the trades, not really answer usability questions.
This is more something that should be put on GitHub as an issue, perhaps in the payment-methods repo.
I have an update on the progress of this trade. The arbitrator was finally able to obtain an email address from the other party, after the time limit for the trade had already expired. According to the arbitrator, the expiry of the time limit does not affect the trade, because the trade is already in dispute and the arbitrator now controls the payout process (of BTC in my case).
So I sent my Interac e-Transfer to the BTC seller approximately 9 hours ago and my bank sent me an email confirming that the recipient had accepted the funds about a half hour later. I took a screenshot of the bank’s notification email and sent that to the arbitrator via the message interface inside the Bisq software.
At this point I am still waiting for the release of the BTC that I paid my fiat for, as well as the return of my security deposit. I am assuming that the other party is now unresponsive, because the last I heard from the arbitrator (9 hours ago) was that he/she was waiting for confirmation from the BTC seller that they received my fiat. I fear that the other party simply closed their Bisq software, thinking they got what they wanted and that is all they need to do.
So my question is: what is the protocol or official procedure in a case like this? Is there a set amount of time that the arbitrator is required to wait for the other party to respond before releasing my BTC? I thought it more appropriate to ask here rather than ask the arbitrator directly, because my understanding is that the arbitrator is not expected to give wordy explanations within the messaging system as part of the dispute process.
Thanks in advance for any clarification on what I can expect next. Looking forward to finally receiving my BTC after this long process.
Additional update: I just received a message from the arbitrator stating that the BTC seller confirmed receipt of my fiat, and the dispute was closed and BTC released to me. Just waiting for blockchain confirmations now. Still curious to learn more about the arbitration procedure though, if anyone wants to tackle my question above or point me to the best resource where I can learn more.
Bisq is a truly fascinating innovation, despite the frustrations involved during this beta test period. Looking forward to doing more trades and really putting this beast through its paces!