Three documents. Different company names.
Your contract may name one company, the invoice another, and the payment instructions a third. A trading name, affiliate, payment agent or other arrangement may explain the difference. The explanation and its supporting records need examination; a name mismatch by itself does not establish wrongdoing or identify who owes a repayment.
Map the entities and the instructions
List the exact names on the contract, business licence, invoice and payment record. Preserve the original payment instructions and the messages in which they were given or changed. Chinese legal names and registration identifiers are useful where available.
Points for review include:
- Who asked you to pay the different entity, and in what capacity?
- Is there a written explanation or authorisation for the arrangement?
- Who acknowledged receiving the funds, and what did that acknowledgment say?
- Is the payment connected to the same order, amount and currency?
- Did the bank details change during the transaction?
Keep records from each source separate. Do not replace the original documents with a summary of what you believe the relationship to be.
Before and after payment
Before a payment, China Company Verification can help identify the relevant Chinese entity and questions raised by the documents. It is not a guarantee of account ownership or payment safety. A China Contract Review can also examine how the proposed payment arrangement is recorded in the agreement.
If you have already paid and a dispute has arisen, a China Supplier Dispute Assessment is a more appropriate way to examine the transaction, available evidence and possible responsible parties together. The correct recipient of a demand or proposed respondent should not be chosen solely from a bank-transfer name.
What to put in your first email
Provide the company names, whether payment has occurred, the amount, who sent the instructions and the problem you are trying to resolve. State any urgent date. Do not include bank passwords, complete card details or unnecessary personal documents. We will agree any further material needed after initial checks.
This page helps organise an enquiry. The relationship between the companies and the legal consequences of the payment require a case-specific review.