Guide

Responding to a Stripe “service not received” dispute

This guide covers disputes where the customer says they did not receive a service you sold (Stripe reason product_not_received, product type: service). It summarizes Stripe’s published guidance as of November 2026. Always check what your Stripe Dashboard shows for your dispute.

What evidence to gather

• Proof the service was provided (Stripe type service_documentation): appointment records, work logs, check-in confirmations, a signed contract or work order. Card network guidance for “services not provided” disputes asks for proof of service completion.
• Service date (text field service_date): the date the customer received or began receiving the service.
• Receipt (receipt): the receipt or message that notified the customer of the charge.
• Customer communication (customer_communication): relevant messages with the customer. For long email threads, include only the relevant excerpts and remove duplicated quoted text.
• Terms and policies (refund_policy, cancellation_policy): the relevant section as shown to the customer, and their agreement at checkout, if it bears on the dispute.
• Anything else relevant (uncategorized_file and the additional-information text).

Stripe’s file rules

• Only PDF, JPEG or PNG files are accepted.
• The combined size of all files can’t be more than 4.5 MB.
• The combined page count must be less than 50 pages. Mastercard evidence is limited to 19 pages combined. Stripe notes the applicable limit can vary by dispute.
• For legibility, Stripe recommends 12 pt text or larger, US Letter or A4 portrait pages and no color highlighting. DisputePacket’s generated pages follow this.
• Don’t include audio or video, links to click, or requests to call or email you: banks won’t review external content.

Uploading in the Dashboard

1. Open the dispute in the Stripe Dashboard and start your response.
2. For each file you upload, Stripe asks which type of evidence it satisfies, and you can submit only one file per type. If you have several files of one type, combine them into one multi-page file. DisputePacket’s category PDFs do exactly that.
3. Upload each category PDF under its matching type. The “Other evidence” PDF starts with the summary, ordered timeline and evidence index.
4. Upload either the category PDFs or the single combined packet, not both, so you stay within the size and page limits.
5. Fill in the text fields, such as the service date, the product description and additional information. DisputePacket gives you this text to copy.
6. Stripe puts your evidence into a format accepted by the issuing bank and submits it.

Submission is final, and the deadline is firm

In the Dashboard you have one opportunity to submit: once submitted, you can’t edit the response or add files. If you don’t respond before the deadline (usually 7 to 21 days depending on the card network), the dispute is lost automatically. Review the combined packet before you submit.

Keep it factual and relevant

• Keep evidence relevant to the dispute reason and to the point; factual, professional and concise.
• Upload relevant subsections of terms, not whole documents, and crop screenshots to the area of interest.
• Redact information that isn’t needed, such as full card numbers, bank details, passwords and unrelated personal data.
• Only include what your records show. DisputePacket never adds facts, and nothing in it guarantees an outcome.

Sources

• Stripe: Respond to disputes
• Stripe: Best practices for responding to disputes
• Stripe: Dispute reason codes and defense requirements
• Stripe API: Update a dispute (evidence fields)

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