Where the price itself is disputed, reconstruct how it was communicated. The invoice shows your claim; earlier records may explain the bargain.
Corporate Recovery Partners
01 / 06
The customer recalls a different pricing conversation
A mobile mechanic repairs a truck after an urgent phone call. The mechanic remembers discussing an hourly rate and parts estimate. The customer says no total was authorised and rejects the invoice. Both agree repairs occurred, but they disagree about the pricing basis. Before escalating, the mechanic needs to organise what was said and what can be supported.
Identify whether the discussion concerned a fixed total, rate, spending limit or provisional estimate. Note conditions about extra work. Those descriptions can create materially different expectations.
Write a dated recollection while details remain available, marking it as a later note. Do not present a reconstruction as a record made before the job. Preserve uncertain points for the adviser to assess.
Collect booking notes, texts, parts approvals and messages sent while work continued. Preserve complete exchanges, including objections. Ask staff what they personally heard rather than giving them an expected answer.
Business.gov.au identifies emails and texts as possible evidence of a verbal agreement. The useful question is which records show agreement to the pricing method, rather than merely knowledge that repairs were happening.
Show labour, parts and additional scope separately. Match each component to supported instructions. Correct arithmetic or duplicate charges without assuming that correction resolves the whole disagreement.
Where extra work became necessary, record when it was discovered and what permission was sought. Technical necessity and authority to incur the cost are different matters.
Send a concise explanation with relevant records and ask what alternative pricing basis the customer relies upon. Consider negotiation or dispute assistance if evidence remains mixed.
For future urgent repairs, confirm the rate, estimate and approval limit in writing before the cost grows. Make the confirmation practical enough for staff to use during a genuine emergency.
