QLD Is Bank Statement Sufficient Proof of Payment to Debt Collectors?

[Reba]

Hello everyone,

I have been contacted by a company claiming I have not paid an invoice from several years ago. I have a bank statement which I can show them where the transaction is listed with their name and amount. I will be contacting them in the coming days to provide this statement to them, but I am wondering if that is sufficient proof of payment to provide the debt collectors?

Can they ask or force me to provide anything further such as a trace from the bank?

Not sure who is responsible - I have paid it, they say they never received it.

 

[Tim W]

If you have in fact paid the invoice in full, and
the original transaction and invoice are in all other respects undisputed, and
you have provided them a copy of the bank statement* or
any relevant payment reference numbers, receipt numbers etc,
then it's a matter for them to pick the fight they think they have.

A couple of other questions -

• By "a company", do you mean a phone carrier?
  (I ask this based on your other post in here)
  
  
• When you say "contacted", do you mean by letter or some other way?
  
  
• Are you quite sure that it's not a scam?
  
  
• If not, is the company a going concern?
  Or is it in liquidation?
  
  
• If the former, could you in fact be hearing from a debt collector or a receiver/ liquidator?
  
  
• How old is the invoice?
  
  
• Is it for a trivial amount, such that the easiest and quickest and
  least-fuss way to get it out of your life, is just to pay it?

You may also care to ask them for (as lawyers say) "further and better particulars"...
such as the details of the account into which the payment was meant to be made.
I suggest this to rule out the possibility that you mistakenly paid into the wrong account.


_______________________________________________

* perhaps suitably edited to conceal irrelevant transactions

 

[Reba]

Hi Tim

Thank you for the quick reply. The previous post from some time ago is all fixed, not related.

I can confirm I have been corresponding via email with the director of the company/business a few times, and I know the company well - I engaged their services on a regular basis over a period of several years, back in around 2010-2012.

The business is still up and running, and no form of liquidation or similar that I know of is in place.

It started a week ago, when out of the blue, the director has called me ( then I asked him to email me ) saying there was an invoice remaining unpaid to this day and would I please pay it. There was a series of invoices over the years, all paid into the same account and no problem with any of the others. He did email through a copy of the invoice for me.

Each amount was different as the services engaged were not a standard set rate each time, the price ranged from $50-$650. For the purpose of anonymity, let say it was a cleaning business - where I pay them to provide a service, and each time the service was shorter or longer as per my requirements, and I was invoiced accordingly.

I have of course been through my accounts, and I can find the correct line on my bank statement with their name, and the matching amount they claim is the missing figure. As the amounts were always different, I have spotted the transaction fairly easily.

I am happy to provide them with the statement, but I do plan to remove as many non-relevant transactions on the page as well for my own privacy.

I just want to ensure that a bank statement is enough proof. If I really have to I guess I can trace it, but I shouldn't have to in my opinion.

Thanks in advance if you have any other comments that would help.