diff --git a/scripts/taler-monitoring/check_goa_ladder.sh b/scripts/taler-monitoring/check_goa_ladder.sh
index 24e52ca..ea3767e 100755
--- a/scripts/taler-monitoring/check_goa_ladder.sh
+++ b/scripts/taler-monitoring/check_goa_ladder.sh
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ for AMT in "$@"; do
   # Server-side auto-confirm only watches landing withdraw-watch.ids — ladder must confirm itself.
   bank_st() {
     curl -sS -m 8 "${BANK}/taler-integration/withdrawal-operation/${WID}" 2>/dev/null \
-      | python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get("status",""))' 2>/dev/null || true
+      | python3 -c 'import json,sys; print((json.load(sys.stdin).get("status") or "").strip())' 2>/dev/null || true
   }
   do_confirm() {
     curl -sS -m 15 -o "$SCRATCH/conf-$tag.json" -w '%{http_code}' -X POST \
@@ -416,8 +416,12 @@ else:
         "${BANK}/taler-integration/withdrawal-operation/${WID}" 2>/dev/null || echo "000")
       info "force-select" "HTTP ${code_fs} rpub=${rpub:0:12}…"
     else
+      _rpub_empty=no
+      [ -z "$rpub" ] && _rpub_empty=yes
+      _epayto_empty=no
+      [ -z "$epayto" ] && _epayto_empty=yes
       warn bank "force-select skipped" \
-        "problem: missing reserve_pub or exchange payto (rpub_empty=$( [ -z "$rpub" ] && echo yes || echo no ); cannot move bank status pending→selected)"
+        "problem: cannot move bank pending->selected (reserve_pub empty=${_rpub_empty}, exchange payto empty=${_epayto_empty})"
     fi
   }
 
@@ -457,26 +461,16 @@ else:
     sleep 0.4
   done
   ms_confirm=$(elapsed_ms "$t0")
+  st=$(printf '%s' "${st:-}" | tr -d '\r\n' | sed 's/^[[:space:]]*//;s/[[:space:]]*$//')
   if [ "$conf_ok" != "1" ]; then
     note="${note:-confirm timeout last=${st:-empty}}"
-    # Soft: stuck pending is often force-select/rpub or bank lag — do not kill whole ladder
-    if [ "${st:-}" = "pending" ] || [ -z "${st:-}" ]; then
-      status="SKIP_CONFIRM"
-      warn bank "confirm $AMT skipped" \
-        "problem: bank withdrawal stayed '${st:-empty}' (not selected) after ${LADDER_CONFIRM_POLLS} polls — reserve may not have been attached; ladder continues. detail: $note"
-      ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_rung")
-      echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
-      continue
-    fi
-    err bank "confirm $AMT" "$note"
-    status="FAIL_CONFIRM"
-    STOP_REASON="$note"
-    STOP_AMOUNT="$AMT"
+    # Soft: not confirmed after polls — WARN and continue (pending/select lag or force-select issues)
+    status="SKIP_CONFIRM"
+    warn bank "confirm $AMT skipped" \
+      "problem: bank status='${st:-empty}' after ${LADDER_CONFIRM_POLLS} polls (want selected/confirmed); ladder continues. detail: $note"
     ms_total=$(elapsed_ms "$t_rung")
-    printf '%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\t%s\n' \
-      "$rung" "$range_note" "$AMT" "$status" "$ms_mint" "$ms_accept" "$ms_confirm" "$ms_settle" "$ms_total" "$WID" "$note" >>"$TSV"
-    FAIL_N_L=$((FAIL_N_L + 1))
-    break
+    echo -e "${rung}\t${range_note}\t${AMT}\t${status}\t${ms_mint}\t${ms_accept}\t${ms_confirm}\t${ms_settle}\t${ms_total}\t${WID}\t${note}" >>"$TSV"
+    continue
   fi
   ok "confirm $AMT ${ms_confirm}ms (client, on selected)"