ChargebackDesk · Guides · Unrecognized
Responding to a Stripe "unrecognized" dispute
The cardholder looked at their statement and didn't know what your charge was (in our mapping: Mastercard 6321/4863; Visa usually routes these to fraudulent — check the code Stripe shows on your dispute). This category is won by recognition, not argument: remind the cardholder, in plain words, what this charge is and what their connection to it is. Many of these cardholders bought from you and simply forgot — often because of what your statement descriptor says.
Deadline rules
- The authoritative deadline is the evidence due-by date on the dispute in Stripe. If you don't respond by then, you automatically lose the dispute. Submit at least 72 hours early.
- Amex/Discover may start as inquiries (
warning_needs_response); unanswered Discover inquiries can become unchallengeable disputes.
What evidence wins
- A plain-language product description. Words a cardholder recognizes — "Online course: 'Python for Accountants' — 40 video lessons" — never internal SKUs, plan codes, or jargon.
- The receipt showing the statement descriptor exactly as it appears on the card statement — plus DBA documentation if the descriptor differs from your brand name. Your narrative should state it outright: "This charge appears on statements as [DESCRIPTOR], posted [date]."
- Buyer identity on the purchase. The name and email from the charge record — the cardholder's own details, attached to the purchase.
- Welcome and onboarding emails. The recognition trigger: "oh right, that course." The messages the buyer received when they signed up.
- Usage records. A cardholder who completed six lessons recognizes the charge when they see their own activity.
The minimum checklist
- ME-N1 — the product is describable in plain, recognizable terms.
- ME-N2 — the statement descriptor is known and documented.
- ME-N3 — at least one identity tie: buyer name, buyer email, or usage under the buyer's account.
- ME-N4 — receipt/descriptor documentation matches the merchant you actually represent.
Common mistakes that lose winnable cases
- Not knowing your own descriptor. If you can't say what the cardholder saw on their statement, the category's core question is unanswerable — everything else is filler.
- A generic processor descriptor. If your charges show as nothing but the payment processor's name, no packet fixes that. Fix the descriptor in Stripe settings; that's the real remedy, and it prevents the next ten of these.
- The wrong entity's paperwork. If the descriptor belongs to a different merchant entity (a white-label or platform case), the response can't be submitted for the wrong merchant. Sort out whose charge it is first.
- Padding with policies. This category isn't asking about your cancellation or refund policy. Leave them out.
- Speculating about shared cards. "A family member probably bought it" stated as fact is speculation. Show the purchase record and the usage; let recognition do the work.
Answering an inquiry? Amex and Discover can open a case as an inquiry (warning_needs_response) before any chargeback. Answer it with your narrative plus the single strongest exhibit — here, the receipt showing the descriptor, with the plain-language product description in the narrative. Don't leave it unanswered: an unanswered Discover inquiry can escalate into a dispute you can't challenge. If the customer is right, a full refund resolves an inquiry with no Stripe dispute fee; accepting an inquiry doesn't resolve it.