Begin with the actual dispute, not a generic evidence pack
Identify the disputed charge, amount, currency, payment date and subscription reference. Read the customer’s claim and the category shown by the provider. A claim about a charge after cancellation needs a different explanation from a claim that a product was never received.
Check the response deadline and required format in the actual case. Assign an owner to decide whether to accept or challenge it. This checklist organizes a review; it does not determine whether a charge was valid or predict a dispute outcome.
Which subscription records should you gather?
Stripe’s subscription-canceled category asks for relevant cancellation-policy, disclosure and communication evidence. Use that guidance for the actual category and collect only records that help explain the disputed transaction.
- The disputed payment or invoice reference, amount, currency and related service period.
- The offer and cancellation policy available to the customer at the relevant time.
- The source showing how and when those terms were presented, where available.
- The original cancellation request, its channel and time, plus your team’s response.
- Provider actions, any scheduled cancellation and the reported actual end date.
- Relevant renewal messages or acknowledgment, with the source’s reported sending or delivery result.
- Relevant service, access or delivery records when they address the claim.
- Any refund or credit reference and any conflicting source that needs explanation.
Turn the sources into a short timeline
Order the supported events: signup or offer change, renewal message, charge, cancellation request, provider action and any refund. Include a time zone and source reference for each. Do not replace an unknown request date with the subscription end date.
For a fictional example, a customer says they canceled before a renewal. Your review finds a support request on the 3rd, a charge on the 4th and a provider change on the 5th. That sequence identifies a question to investigate. It does not establish that the charge was appropriate or that the customer’s claim is wrong.
Explain what the evidence establishes
Write a brief factual explanation of each relevant source. A saved offer is a copy of terms; a separate source must support any claim that the customer saw or accepted it. A payment shows a payment event. A service log may show recorded account activity without establishing who personally used the account.
Record the limits too. If you have only today’s policy, say the historic wording is unverified. If a message is marked sent, do not describe it as read. Preserve contradictory records and resolve them where possible rather than omitting facts that change the explanation.
Prepare the provider response separately
Use your provider’s current instructions to prepare the response. Stripe advises concise, relevant evidence and readable files. Include the useful policy excerpt and necessary context rather than an entire unrelated terms document. Retrieve the actual supporting records; a list of links in an internal worksheet is not a complete submission.
Review the final response against the claim, deadline and file requirements before sending it through the provider’s process. Keep a copy of what was submitted and the later outcome. A complete internal record does not guarantee a successful challenge.
What can TermWitness help you assemble?
TermWitness brings your supplied customer, offer, subscription, notice and evidence records into a shared workspace. Review one customer’s timeline and export their related records as separate CSV files. Use the source references to retrieve the original messages, checkout records and other supporting material.
It does not submit a chargeback response or choose evidence for a card network. Its Stripe connection reads subscription facts when you press Sync now; it does not import the dispute case or all checkout and payment evidence. Your team still reviews the case and responds in the provider’s system.
Sources and further reading
- Stripe: subscription-canceled dispute category
Category-specific guidance includes the policy shown, disclosure context and relevant customer communications.
- Stripe: evidence best practices
Keep submissions relevant and concise, use readable evidence and check applicable file limits.
- Stripe: respond to disputes
Review the actual claim, response deadline and provider response process.