A short payment threat includes publishing the debt to your customers

The demand threatens more than recovery

A message gives your business a short period to pay and says the sender will tell customers about the debt if you do not. Preserve the whole message and seek advice promptly. Do not respond with your own threats or publish the dispute online. The underlying amount and the proposed public pressure need separate assessment.

Record the threatened audience and content

Keep the exact words, sender details, date and any named recipients or publication channel. Distinguish a threatened disclosure from information already published. If material is visible, preserve a reliable copy and its location without spreading it further. Avoid changing the wording in a summary so that an adviser cannot tell what was actually said.

Ask about appropriate collection conduct

The ACCC says debt collectors must not harass, coerce or mislead people and that laws limit contact with third parties about a debt. Ask a lawyer how those principles and other relevant laws apply to the particular threat. Do not assume every reference to communicating with someone else is unlawful, or that a conduct concern extinguishes a genuine debt.

Source: ACCC: What debt collectors can and cannot do

Consider a hypothetical customer email threat

Imagine a supplier threatening to email your major customers about a disputed account. Provide the lawyer with the proposed audience, any draft text and the existing dispute correspondence. The adviser needs more than a description that the supplier is being aggressive. No outcome is assumed: the appropriate response depends on the facts and applicable rights.

Maintain a measured business response

Identify one authorised person to handle incoming enquiries and agree factual holding language with advice. Do not circulate allegations broadly to get ahead of the story. Continue organising the account records and any required response to formal documents. If the publication risk is immediate, tell the lawyer its timing clearly rather than waiting for ordinary account discussions to finish.

Track what actually happens

Keep later messages and any evidence of publication, correction or withdrawal. Follow advice about requests, complaints or other lawful action. Avoid making a payment solely to silence a threat without understanding its consequences. A controlled response preserves evidence about the pressure while allowing the debt and any genuine legal deadline to be handled on their own merits.