“Account suspended due to policy violation: Misrepresentation”: your Google Merchant Center email, line by line

An email from Google lands, your products disappear from Google, and the notice reads something like “Account suspended due to policy violation: Misrepresentation”. Google’s help page sums up what that means: your account will be suspended and your products won’t appear across Google. (Google’s page on issues in Merchant Center). The email names the rule you broke, not the page or product that broke it.

Update, 29 October 2026: Google has reworded several of the help pages quoted in this post since it was first published. The quotes are Google’s current wording, checked on 29 October 2026. Where a rule itself is newer than this post, we say so.

This post goes through the notice one part at a time: what it says, what it means, what it doesn’t tell you and what to do next.

A note before we start: Google doesn’t publish the suspension email, and its wording changes over time. The lines below come from Google’s help pages and from how merchants quote the notice in help forums, paraphrased. Your own email may word things a little differently.

If the notice names Misrepresentation, the step-by-step guide to how to fix a Google Merchant Center Misrepresentation suspension covers each trigger and its fix. For the wider picture, what a Google Merchant Center suspension means explains how Google’s review works.

What does “account suspended due to policy violation: Misrepresentation” mean?

It means the problem is at account level. Google has stopped showing every product in that Merchant Center account, not just one listing. Google’s page for Shopify stores puts it this way: If your Merchant Center account is suspended, you’ll receive emails explaining the policy violation and the account suspension.

Merchants paste several versions of the same notice into forums:

• “Account suspended due to policy violation: Misrepresentation”
• Older notices: “Misrepresentation of self or product”, sometimes with a type in brackets such as “Untrustworthy promotions”
• “Your Merchant Center account has been suspended”
• “Fix Misrepresentation issue that prevents your products from showing on Google”, as the issue title inside Merchant Center

They all point to the same thing: an account-level issue under Google’s Misrepresentation policy.

Is it a warning or a suspension?

Read the first line twice. A warning and a suspension are very different weeks.

A warning gives you time. For most violations, Google says it will send a warning email and give you 7 or 28 calendar days to fix your issue. While you’re warned, During the warning period your products will continue to appear across Google, however their performance may be limited. Google also says You can request one courtesy review of your account at any time during the warning period of 7 or 28 days.

Some parts of the policy skip the warning. The Misrepresentation policy has six parts. For three of them (Unacceptable business practices, Coordinated deceptive practices, and Dishonest pricing and transaction conditions), Google says your Google Merchant Center accounts will be suspended upon detection and without prior warning. For the other three (Unavailable offers, Manipulated media and Unreliable claims), A warning will be issued at least 7 days prior to any suspension of your account.

Our reading: if your email says “warning”, your products are still showing and you have a deadline. Use it to fix things before the account is suspended. If it says “suspended” and you never had a warning, the issue may sit in one of the three parts with no warning period.

The notice, line by line

“Account suspended” or “has been suspended”

• What it says: your account is suspended because of a policy violation.
• What it means: the whole account is affected. Google says that once you ask for a review, Keep in mind that the review will apply to all issues for the country, so fixing one item and leaving another won’t pass.
• What it doesn’t tell you: which page, product or sentence Google flagged.
• What to do next: open Merchant Center, not your inbox, to find the issue list (see below).

“Misrepresentation” (the policy name)

• What it says: the name of the rule.
• What it means: the policy covers a wide range of things. Its examples include Present a false identity, business name, or contact information and Not disclosing the total price, including all taxes, fees, and surcharges. Older notices split it into types such as “Untrustworthy promotions”.
• What it doesn’t tell you: which of the six parts applies to your store.
• What to do next: read the whole policy once, then check the store-side basics first: who you are, how to reach you, your policies and the full price a shopper pays.

“Your products won’t appear across Google”

• What it says: your products stop showing.
• What it means: listings that come from this Merchant Center account stop. That includes Shopping ads and free listings.
• What it doesn’t tell you: whether Google Ads campaigns that don’t use your product data keep running. Google doesn’t say on these pages. Check your Google Ads account rather than assuming.
• What to do next: don’t delete your products or your data source. Google says the review button needs at least one product in your data source.

The link to the policy

• What it means: Google’s check isn’t limited to your product data. In its words, Google may review information from multiple sources including your listing, website, accounts, and third-party sources.
• What it doesn’t tell you: what Google saw. That’s why so many merchants say the email gives them nothing to act on.
• What to do next: treat your whole store as the subject of the review, not just the feed.

Where does Google list the actual problem?

In Merchant Center. Google calls these setup and policy issues: Setup & policy issues show in a banner at the top of your Merchant Center. To see the full list, go to Products → Needs attention, then select View setup and policy issues above the summary cards (Google’s page on requesting a review).

Take a screenshot of what you find, with the date. Then look at the product-level issues on the same tab. A run of disapproved products can point you to the cause, and our post on finding the product behind a suspension walks through it.

“I fixed the issue” or “I disagree with the issue”: which button?

From the issue list, Google offers two paths: I fixed the issue or I disagree with the issue, each followed by Request review.

Press “I disagree” only if you’re sure Google is wrong. Google warns: You may only have one chance to disagree with the issue. It also says Make sure you understand the policy and can support the request before you disagree with the issue.

“I fixed the issue” has limits too. Google says If your issues aren’t resolved by the second review attempt, a one-week cool down period may begin. And Google support can’t bypass or shorten the cool down period. Each review you use too early is one you can’t get back.

Why identity verification may come first

Some merchants can’t find the review button at all. Often the reason is that Google wants to verify who you are first. Google says If these buttons aren’t active, ensure you have completed merchant verification and have at least one product in your data source. For Misrepresentation suspensions it adds, about merchant verification, This must be done before requesting a review. Look in Needs attention for a verification request.

Our reading: the name and address you enter should match your documents, your Merchant Center business information and what your store shows. A mismatch there is the kind of thing the Misrepresentation policy is about.

What not to do this week

1. Don’t open a new Merchant Center account. Google’s page on deleting an account says It’s not recommended to delete your suspended account and create a new one for the same business. It adds that the new account may be suspended too.
2. Don’t request a review after a half-fix, and don’t press “I disagree” to buy time. The review covers every issue for the country, and early failures can lead to a cool-down.
3. Don’t change your business name or address in Merchant Center to something your store and documents don’t show. Everything Google reads should tell the same story.

A plan for your first two days

1. Read the notice for two things: warning or suspension, and the date. If it’s a warning, note your deadline.
2. Open Products → Needs attention → View setup and policy issues. Screenshot the account-level issue and any product disapprovals.
3. Look at your store as a shopper would, signed out, on a phone and a computer. Can you find your business name, a way to contact you, and your refund, shipping and privacy policies? Is any placeholder text left from your theme?
4. Follow a product to checkout. Is the full price, with shipping and any fees, clear before payment? Do price and stock on the page match what Merchant Center shows?
5. Complete identity verification if Merchant Center asks for it, with documents that match your business details.
6. Write down every change and the date you made it. You’ll want that list for your review request. Our appeal letter template shows how to set it out.

If you’d like a second pair of eyes on the basics, a free store check reads your store’s public pages for contact details, policy pages and checkout information. The Misrepresentation fix guide has step-by-step fixes for each common cause.

On Shopify, WooCommerce and other platforms

The issue list lives in Merchant Center whatever you sell on, but where you request the review can differ.

Shopify

Google’s page for the Google & YouTube app says the suspension also shows on the app’s Overview page. To ask for a review from Shopify, go to Sales channels → Google & YouTube → Settings and select Request review under your Google account. For help, the app has Get support in its 3-dot menu (Google’s page for Shopify merchants).

WooCommerce

With Google for WooCommerce, reviews can be requested from Marketing → Google for WooCommerce → Product Feed. WooCommerce’s documentation notes a limit: Requesting a review through the extension is only available to merchants who created their Merchant Center account during the extension setup. If you linked an account you already had, request the review in Merchant Center. The same page says If your account is suspended, you’ll have two opportunities to request a review. (WooCommerce’s page on Google reviews).

Other platforms

Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce and other platforms connect to the same Merchant Center. Google says If you use a third-party platform to list your products, you may request a review directly through their application. If your platform has no review button, use Needs attention in Merchant Center.

What we see in real cases

From public forum threads (paraphrased, no names):

• “I fixed everything” is the most common post. Merchants add every policy page and their contact details, then get another rejection with no new reason.
• The fix was often something the owner thought was already there. In one thread, a screenshot showed that footer policy links the owner believed were live weren’t visible to shoppers. In another, the store address had the postcode and city swapped, and fixing it was what finally worked.
• Hidden technical blocks. One merchant found their robots.txt file was stopping Google from reading their policy pages.
• New accounts made it worse. Several merchants opened a second or third Merchant Center account after a suspension. Helpers pointed to Google’s rule on new accounts, and some of those merchants ran out of reviews.
• Fear of the last review. Merchants with one review left ask strangers to look over their store first. Check everything before that point, not after.

FAQ

Does “account suspended due to policy violation: Misrepresentation” mean my account is closed for good?

Not necessarily. Google lets you request a review once you’ve fixed the issues, or disagree if you think the decision is wrong. For its most serious categories Google says Accounts are only reinstated in compelling circumstances, and it promises no outcome.

Why doesn’t the email say what’s wrong with my store?

The notice names the policy, not the page or product. Google says Google may review information from multiple sources including your listing, website, accounts, and third-party sources. Start with Needs attention in Merchant Center, then check your own store as a shopper sees it.

Should I press “I disagree with the issue”?

Only if you’re sure Google is wrong and you can show why. Google says You may only have one chance to disagree with the issue.

How long does a review take after a Misrepresentation suspension?

Google’s review page now says The review may take up to 2 weeks to complete. Other Google pages still say up to 7 business days. Google doesn’t say whether the review will succeed, and failed reviews can lead to a cool-down before you can ask again.

Can I open a new Merchant Center account instead?

Google’s page on deleting an account says It’s not recommended to delete your suspended account and create a new one for the same business. Fix the store and request a review on the account you have.