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[Sun Feb  8 22:42:13 AEDT 2026] CC VPS triggered by Rivet
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Task:
Fix CRITICAL bug: Payment success page (contractor/payment-success/page.tsx:46,51) shows 'success' even when payment status isn't 'charged' or when an exception occurs. Must validate payment status and show error state on failure. Check Stripe payment intent status before showing success UI.
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## Fixed Critical Payment Bug

**The Issue:** Payment success page showed "success" even when payments failed or threw errors (lines 46, 51).

**The Fix:**
1. **Created `/api/payments/verify`** - Server-side route that calls Stripe's API to retrieve actual payment intent status
2. **Updated payment success page** to:
   - Call verification API before showing success
   - Only show success UI when Stripe status is `succeeded`
   - Show error state for `canceled`, `requires_payment_method`, or other failure states
   - Handle `processing` state appropriately
   - Never assume success on exception - show error with support contact message

**Result:** Users now see accurate payment status. No more false success screens when charges fail.

Built, restarted, committed (`44aca31`), and pushed to main.

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[Sun Feb  8 22:44:14 AEDT 2026] Task finished (exit code: 0)