What do you mean you can’t guess my name?

Just got off the phone with a customer I have been anticipating hearing from for 3 months now.

That’s how long we have been mailing her checks back to her for, some months we mailed back 2 depending on how fast she mailed us back.

3 months ago we got a check from a customer whose name wasn’t in our system, at an address that wasn’t in our system, referencing an invoice from 2011 for an account in a completely different name that was closed in 2014. Absolutely nothing about this check matched anything about the referenced closed account including the amount on the 2011 invoice.

Called phone # of closed account; it’s out of service. Okay fine. Mail the check back with a letter indicating our issue with names & addy & invoice and asking they clarify the name & address of the account they are paying on.

They send back a new check, I can tell by the date, from the same account as the previous one, with the same info that doesn’t help us at all. I mail that check back with the same note as before.

Wash rinse repeat at least 4 times, the last 2 of which included a request they call us regarding this matter.

Finally someone calls me back!!!

And clearly the problem is mine. I am “Too stupid to figure this simple shit out” per the customer and “If you don’t want my money I don’t have to pay you.” Because if we send the check back with a letter clearly asking for clarification that obviously waives all our rights to payment. Ever.

So just in case anyone else is as stupid as I am… if you get a check from Wrong Individual Customer, at Nonexistant Address, clearly referencing Unrelated Closed Account, it actually goes to Right Company Customer, at Service Address. Not Right Company Customer at Billing Address, though. That is a different account. And they send checks from Right Company Customer at Billing Address so they aren’t a problem.

Questions as to why one Right Company account can send checks from Right Company & the other Right Company account has to send them from an unrelated personal-ish account went unanswered. Same with where the invoice number came from. I am not going to make a note of how this check matches that account. I have better things to do with my time than play “Match the Check to the Customer”. Put the correct info on the check so I can credit your account or it will be sent back & you will be shut off for non-payment.

And they had only called back because Right Company at Service Address were turned off for non-payment.