Invoice (Buyer) Beware

Submitted by aisha on September 21, 2009 - 12:00am

A client of ours recently received an invoice to renew their annual listing of their URL, with various inclusions and features, in a member based information search network. They rightfully forwarded the invoice along to us essentially asking, “what the heck is this?”

Turns out it was not an actual invoice, but an *invitation* to sign up for a listing service. It was essentially a opt-in request crafted to look like an invoice.

Long story short, it's probably a good practice to review everything you get that looks like an invoice before you actually pay for it. Also the Better Business Bureau offers advice for situations such as this:

  • It is against US Postal Service regulations to mail an invoice that is actually a solicitation, unless it bears a clear disclaimer that such unsolicited invoice is for information only and not a request to pay.
  • Examine every invoice carefully and establish effective internal controls for the payment of invoices with special attention to any invoices from companies you don’t normally do business with.
  • Photocopy fraudulent or misleading solicitations and post them on office bulletin boards to educate staff. Make sure your receptionist, office manager or accounts payable know how to identify these type of solicitations.
  • If you are not certain if a company is legitimate, ask for business and local bank references and check them out at www.bbb.org.
  • File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau to report false invoices or other fraudulent business practices.

Make sure you know what you're signing up for, and always (as our client did), ask someone you trust to help you, if you can't make heads or tails of it on your own.