In the case a payment default has been lodged against your business that you believe is incorrect, you have a number of options;
1. Contact the credit provider
If the error relates to a credit facility that you have or have applied for, you should contact the creditor that the default relates to.
You may be able to request for the creditor to investigate the listing and ask that your CreditorWatch commercial credit file is amended if the dispute is genuine.
2. Contact CreditorWatch
For CreditorWatch to open an investigation on your behalf, the defaulted amount must have been in dispute before the lodgement of the default.
Acceptable dispute criteria include:
Incorrect pricing or quantity of goods/services
Discrepancies between the invoice and the purchase order or contract
Late or missing deliveries
Quality concerns with the provided goods or services
Unauthorised charges or additional fees
Payment terms disagreements
Other similar disputes
Step 1: Submit a payment default dispute request
The payment default dispute form can be found here.
Ensure you have supporting documentation related to your dispute ready to submit, as we will request this via email once we begin reviewing your dispute.
You will need to provide a copy of correspondence sent to the creditor before the default was listed, clearly disputing the invoice and outlining the reason for the dispute.
Any supporting documents must be directly relevant to your dispute.
When submitting documents, key details must be highlighted or clearly referenced (e.g., page numbers, sections, or specific clauses) to ensure a smooth review process. Large volumes of documentation may not be reviewed if a clear summary is not provided. Failure to provide clear references may delay the review while we seek clarification.
Step 2: CreditorWatch initiates investigation
Once we receive your dispute form, we will provide you with written confirmation that it has been received. Our Customer Resolutions team will investigate your request within 30 days and provide a response to you in writing. We may, however, notify you that there is a delay and seek to extend this time if we have not concluded our investigation.
Step 3: CreditorWatch contacts the credit provider and reviews their response
If necessary, we will contact the creditor on your behalf to have them verify the accuracy of the listing. CreditorWatch will review the information given by the creditor and make amendments, if any, to your commercial credit report if deemed necessary. If we are satisfied that the listing is valid, it will remain on file as is.
Step 4: CreditorWatch finalises the investigation
Once we have concluded our investigation, we will send you a written communication notifying you of the outcome. If the default dispute received from you cannot be validated and a correction is not made, CreditorWatch will write to you setting out in detail the outcome of its investigation and why the requested correction(s) were not made.