Stores keep hitting “misrepresentation” even after they think they fixed everything. The gap is often between feed data, landing pages, trust signals, returns or contact clarity, and the story the site is telling Google.
Useful Patch can help you get clearer on what is happening. Google still decides approvals and reinstatements.
Google added an in-account identity verification step inside the suspension banner. It is not the same as completing your business profile. It requires submitting ID documents matched exactly to the account registration details. If this step is not completed, appeals will be rejected even when everything else is fixed. See the dedicated walkthrough: "Identity verification needed before review" - what to do.
The verification checks your legal identity against the account registration, Google Ads billing details, and Google Payments profile. All three need to match. A mismatch at any point will block the reinstatement regardless of how clean the rest of the account looks. This step is new since 2025 and many older fix guides do not mention it.
The goal is not to look busy. The goal is to make the account materially cleaner before you ask Google to look again.
The audit turns a vague Merchant Center suspension into a ranked fix order. It identifies what looks product-level, what looks site-level, and what should not be auto-patched because the risk of making it worse is higher than the convenience. It also checks whether the identity verification step has been triggered in your account.
If you want a clearer answer before you spend more time inside Merchant Center, start with the audit.