They ordered the work but deny owing you.

The ordering person and invoiced company disagree

A drainage contractor responds to a supervisor's urgent call at commercial premises. The building company later denies liability, saying the supervisor worked for a tenant and could not order on its account. The contractor can prove the work happened, but the customer identity is uncertain. Pursuing the most visible business could mean pursuing the wrong debtor.

Trace the original instruction

Keep messages, call records, booking details and work orders. Identify the name used, billing information supplied and what was said about payment. Separate a contemporaneous record from someone's later recollection.

Ask the ordering person to explain their role and arrangement. Do not assume they personally owe the amount just because they made the call; capacity and authority need assessment.

Map the parties separately

List the owner, tenant, builder and supervisor's employer. Match their legal names with the records. Sharing a site or trading name does not make every participant responsible for the same account.

Business.gov.au recommends understanding who you are dealing with and reviewing the agreement. Here, that means identifying the ordering relationship before changing the invoice to whichever company appears able to pay.

Source: business.gov.au - What to do when you have not been paid

Connect delivery with the claimed bargain

Preserve access instructions, arrival records, completion reports and communications accepting the result. They may explain the transaction, but useful work alone does not answer every authority question.

Where entities deny responsibility, give a lawyer the complete sequence, including information suggesting a different billing party. An assessment built on only favourable messages may miss the actual issue.

Direct the recovery correctly

Once the debtor is established, reconcile the account and explain the basis to that party. Ask the accountant how to record any necessary invoice correction without duplicating the debt.

If identity remains unresolved, avoid sending escalating demands indiscriminately. Obtain a focused assessment and improve emergency bookings to capture the contracting entity and the authority of the person instructing work.

Establish who contracted for the work

Collect the instruction and map each participant's role.

Have disputed identity and authority checked before directing further recovery action.

Call CRP today about debt recovery and coordinating the appropriate professional support.