Troubleshooting
They say they sent it and you have no record
Nearly always you are both right: they sent it and you have no record. What fails is in between.
«I sent you that last week.» And you look, and it is not there. The conversation jams because it seems one of you must be wrong, and almost never is: they sent it, you have no record, and what failed was in transit.
The five reasons, by frequency
| What actually happened | How to spot it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Sent to a person, not via the link | It is in a colleague's inbox | Search by the file name |
| Replied to an old email | It arrived, but hanging off another request | Move it to the right file |
| Forgot the attachment | The message is there and the file is not | Ask again, without making it a thing |
| Uploaded it to another client's place | It appears nowhere of yours | Have them check who they sent it to |
| It is uploaded and you cannot see it | Another name, another phase, another file | Search by date, not by name |
Important
One question settles this in a minute and almost nobody asks it: **ask for the details of the sending, not for the file again**. When they sent it, to which address or via which link, and what they saw afterwards. Those three things reveal in ten seconds which side the problem is on and end the «I sent it» / «well, it is not here» exchange, which goes nowhere precisely because both statements are true.
How to check on your side
- 1
Search by file name and by date
Not by company name: files hardly ever carry it.
- 2
Check whether it landed in another file
Most common when that contact has several open requests.
- 3
Check whether a colleague received it
Email straight to a person is the classic hole.
- 4
And if it is nowhere, say what you looked at
«I searched by date and across the other files» stops them repeating it.
Watch out
What not to do, however tempting it is to avoid an argument: **accepting an «I sent it» with no document**. If that paper supports something —an insurance policy, an authorisation, a permit— what counts on the day you are asked is the document in the file, not what was said on the phone. And that day the conversation will be nowhere to be found. Asking again is not distrust: it closes the point, and whoever really did send it takes a minute to forward it.
What makes it stop happening
Worth knowing
If it is the other way round —you sent something and they say they have no record— exactly the same applies in reverse: what settles it is the detail of the sending, not resending it.
›Can I tell whether they opened it?
Something being sent and someone opening it are different things: do not merge them into one answer.
›What if they say they sent it on WhatsApp?
Have them resend via the link: that puts the document where it will be looked for.
›How long before chasing?
Whatever you stated in the first request. What does not work is never having stated it.
A real case
The situation
A supplier insists they sent their policy and it is nowhere in the file.
What you do
- Asks when they sent it and to which address, instead of asking for the file again
What you get
It turns out it went to a colleague's inbox: it is moved into the file and the request closes that day.
The situation
The supplier sent it to one person's inbox.
What you do
- Tells them to upload it through the link
What you get
The delivery is recorded where the whole team sees it.
The situation
They sent it through a channel nobody checks.
What you do
- Agrees a single channel for deliveries
What you get
Deliveries stop getting lost.
The situation
They sent it and it landed in junk.
What you do
- Checks the folder and confirms receipt
What you get
The doubt closes without accusing anyone.
The situation
They sent it to a different company in the group.
What you do
- Checks with the rest of the group before chasing
What you get
No chase goes out if the document was already inside.
The situation
They say they sent it and cannot show it.
What you do
- Asks them to upload it again through the link
What you get
Next time the delivery evidences itself.
This article answers
- they say they sent it and i do not have it
- supplier insists they sent the document
- cannot find a document they claim to have uploaded
- how to check whether they sent a document