Case files.

What happened

A quote, a start date, and three change orders — all agreed to in phone calls and driveway conversations. Nothing in the signed scope.

What went wrong

When the invoice came in higher and the deadline slipped, there was no written record of what was actually promised.

Receipt move

Send a same-day recap email after every call listing scope, price, and date, and ask for a written confirm or correction. Log every call in the call log with date, time, and who spoke.

What happened

Three agents, three stories: the credit was issued, the credit was pending, the credit was never approved.

What went wrong

No ticket numbers, no agent names, no timestamps — so every call restarted the conversation from zero.

Receipt move

Capture agent name, ticket number, and time on every contact in the escalation tracker, then convert the phone call into an email that repeats what you were told.

What happened

A loan for a car repair that everyone remembered differently six months later. Gift or loan? Which amount? By when?

What went wrong

Nobody wanted to make it formal, so it stayed verbal — and “that’s not what I meant” did the rest.

Receipt move

One short, kind, non-accusatory recap message at the moment of the agreement. Keep it in a dedicated folder with the transfer confirmation attached.

What happened

Cancelled in the app. Charged anyway. Chat support said it was “processing,” then the next month billed too.

What went wrong

The cancellation confirmation lived in a screenshot buried in the camera roll, with no date and no order number attached.

Receipt move

Screenshot the confirmation with the date visible, rename the file with date and vendor, and file it before the next billing cycle. Then dispute in writing, not by phone.