When a vendor overcharges your business

An overcharge rarely arrives as a dramatic event. It sits on a statement someone approved because the vendor name looked familiar and the total was close enough to last month. By the time accounts payable notices the pattern, several invoices may already be paid.

The work is not to argue with the salesperson. It is to put the invoice, the purchase order, the quote, and the signed rate on the same table and write down the gap in language a credit department can check without a phone call.

Telvon does not hold the money. If you authorize an advocate, the work is documentation and direct communication with the vendor.

Start with the purchase order

Pull the signed rate card, the purchase order, receiving records, and the invoice. Work line by line. Circle every SKU, quantity, unit price, freight line, and tax treatment that does not match. A highlighted PDF is more useful than a paragraph that says the bill feels high.

Typical gaps look like this:

A unit price that does not match the signed quote or rate card.
A quantity billed above the purchase order or the receiving log.
A SKU or description that was never ordered.
Freight, fuel, or handling lines that the agreement said were included.
A duplicate invoice for the same delivery or the same period.
A tax or fee treatment that contradicts the signed contract.

If a line is wrong, name the line. Attach the purchase order line, the quote page, or the contract clause that sets the price. Guessing why the vendor billed that way is how a discrepancy letter turns into a complaint and gets closed without a credit review.

Mark every line that does not match

Many vendor agreements put a short window on invoice disputes. Missing it is often treated as acceptance of the invoice, not as a delay you can explain later. Put the printed window on a calendar the day the invoice arrives, even if you are still gathering receiving records.

Track these dates in writing:

The dispute window printed on the invoice, portal, or vendor agreement.
The date you requested a credit memo in writing.
The date the vendor last asked for receiving records or a packing slip.
Who on your team is authorized to approve or reject the invoice.
Where the finished packet lives, with a file name the vendor can open.

Do not wait for a perfect packet if the dispute window is about to close. Send a complete letter with the exhibits you have, note what is still coming, and follow with the missing receiving record only if the vendor asks for it.

Write one discrepancy letter

Vendor credit teams read documents. They do not reconstruct your receiving dock from a voicemail. A numbered packet with the purchase order, the invoice, and the mismatched lines beats a long explanation that never cites a line number.

Collect, in this order:

The invoice, with the same number and amount you are disputing.
The purchase order and any change orders in force on that date.
Receiving records, packing slips, or a signed work order.
The quote or rate card in force on the invoice date.
The contract clause that sets price, freight, and tax treatment.

If a receiving record is missing, say so. Do not invent a packing slip or a signature. A credit reviewer who catches a fabricated exhibit will stop reading the rest of the file.

Attach the agreement, not a complaint

One page of facts, then exhibits. Lead with the invoice number, the purchase order number, and the dollar difference you are asking them to credit. Do not open with how the relationship used to work.

The cover note should answer:

Which invoice and purchase order you are writing about.
Which lines do not match, with quantities and unit prices.
Whether the goods or services on those lines were received.
Whether a credit memo was already issued for part of the bill.
Which exhibit proves each mismatched line.
What you are asking the vendor to do: credit the documented overcharge.
How to reach the person who assembled the file.

Number the exhibits. A reviewer who cannot find the purchase order line in thirty seconds will not hunt for it across a forwarded email chain.

What belongs in the file

Send only records that belong to this invoice. Extra screenshots of unrelated orders, marketing one-pagers, or last year's credits slow the review and suggest you are not sure which bill is wrong.

A copy of the invoice you are disputing.
The purchase order and any signed change orders.
Receiving log, packing slip, or signed work order.
The contract clause that sets the price.
Any credit memo already issued on this invoice.

Do not attach a letter that only says the vendor is overcharging you. Do not attach a competitor's catalog. The file is this invoice, this purchase order, and the clause that sets the price.

Who is allowed to speak for you

One authorized person should speak for the business. Mixed stories from the warehouse, the bookkeeper, and the owner look like confusion, not proof. Credit departments close files that change their ask every week.

Give that person:

A written authorization to contact the vendor on your behalf.
The invoice number, purchase order number, and vendor account number.
A single packet, not a chain of forwarded emails.
A record of every call: date, name, and what was requested.
A rule: no one else calls the vendor about this invoice.

If you hire Telvon, that authorization is the work. You do not sit on hold with a vendor collections queue while the rest of the business is running. Telvon still needs the purchase order, the invoice, and a written mandate to speak for you.

Follow the vendor's dispute window

Sending the letter is not the end. Vendors ask follow-up questions, request receiving records, or issue a partial credit that still does not match the purchase order. Silence is often read as acceptance of whatever they last offered.

Keep a log of:

The date the letter was emailed, uploaded, or mailed.
Confirmation numbers from the vendor portal, if any.
Any request for more documents, with the due date.
The written reply, even if it is a refusal.
Whether a remaining balance on that invoice is still open.

Store the log with the packet. If you later hire an advocate, that log is the first thing they need.

If the vendor ignores the letter

A refusal is not always the last word. It is also not a cue to invent a new story about the order. Read the written reply. If they credited the wrong line, say which line remains open and attach the same exhibit again.

Read the vendor's written reply, not the one you hoped for.
Check whether the dispute window still allows a second letter.
Send only the missing exhibit, not a rewritten argument.
If the window is closed, stop calling. Document the outcome and keep the packet.
Keep the packet. Patterns across invoices matter more than one refused credit.

Telvon will not tell you a vendor always credits the difference. Some files close with the invoice standing. Volume discounts, promotional pricing that expired, and freight terms that were never in writing are common reasons a credit is refused.

Volume discounts versus billing errors

Vendors look for a dated, specific discrepancy letter. Vague complaints about being overcharged rarely move a credit department. The letter should name the invoice, the purchase order, the mismatched lines, and the credit you are requesting.

Keep:

The invoice number and the vendor's account or customer number.
Each mismatched line, with the purchase order line next to it.
The invoice date, the delivery or service date, and the date you wrote.
The billed amount, the purchase order amount, and the difference you are requesting.
The dispute window printed on the invoice or in the agreement, on a calendar.

Treat the file as a calendar problem first. Dispute windows expire whether you feel ready or not. A complete letter sent on time is stronger than a perfect packet that arrives after the vendor has booked the invoice as accepted.

Do not invent a refund amount

A complete vendor discrepancy file usually includes:

The original invoice.
Proof of delivery, service, or attendance.
The purchase order or signed quote.
The dispute or payment terms as they stood on the invoice date.
Correspondence that shows you raised the discrepancy in time.
A short cover note that states the credit you are requesting.

None of this guarantees a credit. It puts the vendor in a position to review documented facts against the agreement they signed. Results depend on the contract, the receiving records, and whether the dispute window is still open.

A short vendor discrepancy checklist

A volume discount that was never written into the purchase order is not the same thing as a billing error. If the lower rate lived only in a sales conversation, say that honestly. The letter should still ask for the rate that appears on the signed document, not the rate you remember being promised.

After you send the letter, document:

The date and channel you used to send the letter.
The exhibit list you attached.
Any items you could not produce in time.
A copy of the full PDF stored outside the vendor portal.
The confirmation or ticket number the vendor gave you.
The next date you are expected to hear back.
Who on your team owns follow-up if the file is silent.

Do not pad the request with a round number that looks like a negotiation. Ask for the arithmetic difference between the invoice and the purchase order. If freight was billed in error, ask for that line. Inflated asks make a real overcharge look like a shakedown.

After you send the letter

Keep a log of:

Dates: every notice, call, and upload.
Names: who you spoke with and what they asked for.
Status: open, submitted, or closed.
Owner: the person authorized to speak for the business.
Next date: the next deadline or expected reply.
Ask: what you want the vendor to credit.

What Telvon will not do

Hold, manage, or transfer funds.
Process payments or serve as a financial institution.
Provide legal advice or appear as counsel.
Promise a recovery amount, outcome, or timeline.
Replace your bank, processor, or insurer.
Send promotional text messages.

Telvon is an advocate. You remain the customer of record with the vendor. Telvon does not hold funds, does not issue the credit memo, and does not practice law. The vendor still has to post the credit on their side.

When to hand the vendor file over

If you are missing the calendar, the exhibits, or the time to write a letter the credit department will read, that is the point to authorize an advocate. Hand over the purchase order, the invoice, receiving records, and a written mandate.

Telvon investigates the discrepancy, assembles the packet, and communicates with the vendor on your behalf. You stay the business named on the purchase order. Telvon does not hold the money and does not replace your accountant or counsel.

Start a case when the overcharge is large enough, or repeated often enough, that sitting in a vendor portal is costing more than the work of handing the file over. Telvon will not promise a recovery amount or a timeline.

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