How to organize an evidence packet

Define the packet’s purpose and destination

Write one sentence describing why the packet exists and who will review it. A customer support team, insurer, landlord, bank, employer, or adviser may each ask for different material. Follow the destination’s official instructions, required forms, file limits, and deadlines.

Keep the goal factual: explain the record you are presenting and the response you are requesting. Do not build the packet around assumptions about what a reviewer will decide.

If your packet is about one purchase and a requested refund, use the narrower refund evidence guide and printable checklist.

Preserve the original files

Start from the files you actually received or created: original PDFs, full screenshots, photographs, receipts, exported messages, and emails. Keep an untouched copy before cropping, highlighting, renaming, or converting anything for presentation.

Create one source inventory

List every file once. Give each item a short neutral label, record its date when known, note where it came from, and remove exact duplicates. Do not infer a date or source when the record does not show one; mark it as unknown and return to it during review.

Build a factual chronology

Order the key events by date and time. Each entry should say what happened in plain language and identify the source that supports it. Separate what the record directly shows from your interpretation of it.

If two records conflict, keep both and describe the conflict instead of silently choosing one. If a date is approximate, label it as approximate.

Group and label exhibits consistently

Place related records together and give every group a stable exhibit label, such as Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and Exhibit C. Add a short description and page range to the packet index. The same label should appear in the index, chronology, and exhibit pages.

• ✓Use one label per exhibit
• ✓Keep pages in a deliberate order
• ✓Include the complete source when context matters
• ✓Avoid decorative formatting that hides the record

Connect every important statement to a source

A reviewer should be able to move from a chronology entry to the supporting exhibit without guessing. Use the source ID, exhibit label, and page number where possible. If a statement has no supporting record, flag the gap instead of presenting it as verified.

This traceability is also a quality check: it reveals unsupported claims, duplicate material, missing pages, and chronology entries that need clearer wording.

Review privacy, relevance, and missing context

Before sharing, inspect every page for unrelated personal information, account numbers, addresses, health information, details about other people, or anything the recipient did not request. Redact only a copy and keep your original separately.

Then look for gaps: missing pages, cropped timestamps, screenshots without surrounding context, inconsistent totals, or references to attachments that are not actually included.

Verify the final PDF from start to finish

Open the exported packet on a second screen if possible. Confirm that the cover identifies the packet, the index matches the page order, chronology links point to the right sources, every page is readable, redactions are complete, and the file opens after sharing.

Keep the sent version and note when, where, and how you submitted it. If the destination provides a confirmation number or receipt, preserve that record too.