They issued cancellation in October, before yesterday’s snap.

*Just for some context, I am going to reference the “old company”. My business started during the first lockdown in 2020, when my old boss took the opportunity to shut down the business, but my co-worker and I opened our own business and we took over to continue servicing all the clients. He “sold” it to us for nothing as long as we took over the creditor debt, and we informed every client by email. We opened our own bank account, he was supposed to close his, we are registered as a whole separate business. Clients have been paying into our bank account for years now.

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I posted this post last month:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/174jigc/keep\_suspending\_never\_had\_such\_a\_difficult\_client/
and it was FINALLY resolved yesterday when I discovered the real mistake.

They kept insisting the payment had been made, still no POP, then they started to get mean. Telling us we’re holding their services hostage. Phoning after hours and then using that as leverage that “you never answer your phone to help us resolve this”. Sending the same old unhelpful information over and over. Berating us for not doing our job, etc.

Yesterday, after asking yet again for POP, we got sent the the same unhelpful document type (a batch payment request, with “authorisation recquested” as the payment status) but this time it was one with the status “Fully Processed”.

Then why didn’t we receive the funds? I decided to double check the bank account number and there it was. They paid into the wrong bank account. It’s a similar number, but with a few different digits. They paid to the old company. Why they still have those bank details? I don’t know.

I informed her that the mistake is on their side, and that I trust that this clears us of any wrongdoing and we can expect the funds to be settled. Any normal business owner would accept the mistake is theirs?

Somehow, it was **still our fault** they paid into the wrong account. She phoned again after hours, while I was busy, but I phoned her back and had to endure a 15 minute phone call, when she was properly yelling at me during some parts, and I snapped. I recorded the call in case.

She said that *we* need to sort out the incorrect payment - literally impossible.

That the way we started the business was dodgy - not really.

That she never signed an agreement with us so we *will* release her services tomorrow - but her paying into our account for three years constitutes as acceptance of services, plus it’s literally impossible to release her number today.

(all of a sudden when it was their fault) she said it doesn’t matter who’s fault it was, we didn’t treat them with decency and acted like they were thieves - well, if they had sent the POP two months ago, I would have figured this out sooner, but they were probably hoping I’d give in and just pass a credit on their account. Hence their purposely not sending the POP.

She doesn’t understand why I can’t just go into the bank and sort out the payment - not my mistake, not my responsibility, and also why does she think I can just go and ask for money out of other people’s accounts?

The money wasn’t returned to her account so where is it - ask the old boss.

Etc. But really aggressive about it. She wasn’t looking for answers or a conversation, she was looking for a fight.

She got more and more heated when I kept saying no. Not my error, not my responsibility to sort it out. She again said I haven’t even bothered to allocate their latest payment and as I was trying to tell her I have, and I’ve sent her an updated statement twice, last week and yesterday, she kept on interrupting me and I eventually snapped.

Told her she is very rude and abusive on the phone. She then told me I’m the rudest person she’s ever come across, she is going to tell their HO about this and we will lose all our contracts, that she warned us not to mess with them, how can you just suspend a business, five people from her organisation missed the warning emails I sent but I should have phoned them (they’re lucky I even granted them the courtesy of an email, they get their statement), and that I am an idiot. Yip, she called me an idiot. Then I told her that if she’s going to resort to personal insults I will hang up and continue all communcation in writing.

She then demanded (actually demanded) that I go to their place of business tomorrow and get the outstanding money in cash, to which I declined. We don’t accept cash and why must I drive an hour for their mistake? After I declined she said the money will be deposited in cash, I said that’s fine, and then she hung up on me (not the first time she’s done that either).

So now the question is. Do I apologize or not? It was not my finest hour and I’m disappointed in myself for it, but I don’t think I deserved her yelling at me because they made the mistake. This is a common trend with her, yelling and berating (that we don’t have a big business) and threatening to try get her way. Part of the reason we’re not crying over the loss of her business.

Thank you!