---
id: KB-PR-031
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/troubleshooting/were-asked-for-papers-and-were-not-their-supplier
idioma: en
categoria: problemas
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-TL-025, KB-TL-021, KB-PR-023]
citadoPor: [KB-PR-028]
---

# We're asked for papers and we're not their supplier

_Reply that it is not yours. One line, and it stops someone waiting for something that will never arrive._

**Responde a:** asked for documents belonging to another company · request addressed to the wrong company · mistaken for another supplier · no relationship with whoever is asking

**Reply with one line saying it is not yours and leave it there.** No need to investigate where it came from or to apologise: the sender needs to know in order to fix it, and until they do they will keep waiting.

## The three reasons it reached you

| What happened | What to say |
| --- | --- |
| Similar names got confused | «We are not that company» and, if you know, which one is |
| You worked with them years ago | «We have had no relationship since X» |
| Someone mis-copied a detail from a list | «This is not ours». That is enough |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Even if it is not yours, if the message carries another company's information it is worth saying so.** A list with details that are not yours, an attachment belonging to a third party: that is a mistake they will want to hear about before anyone else does. Saying so costs the same single line and leaves you in a very good light — and saves someone a problem considerably worse than yours.

## What not to do

**En corto**

- Ignore it: reminders will keep coming and someone will keep waiting.
- Reply angrily: it is nearly always a mis-copied detail, not carelessness aimed at you.
- And certainly do not send your own documentation «in case it helps».

> [!WARNING]
> Before writing it off as an error, check one thing: **it may be yours and you not know it**. A client who knows you under another trading name, a site you entered as a subcontractor's subcontractor, an order handled by someone else at your company. A two-minute internal call before replying «that is not us» avoids the awkward case of denying a relationship that does exist.

**Do I have to reply if it is not for me?**

You are not obliged, but one line closes the matter for everyone.

**What if they insist afterwards?**

Repeat it once in writing. That makes it clear and documented.

**They sent me another company's data**

Tell them. It is a mistake they will want to know about at once.

## Ejemplos

**A request arrives addressed to a company with a name similar to yours.**

- Replies with one line saying it is not theirs

→ The requester corrects the recipient and stops waiting for something that was never coming.

**The message has an attached list containing another company's details.**

- Warns them that information not meant for them has arrived

→ The error is stopped before that list travels any further.

**A request arrives from an unknown company.**

- Replies that it does not apply, in writing

→ Nobody keeps waiting for something that will not come.

**It is ignored in case it is important.**

- Answers in one line clarifying the situation

→ The sender fixes their list instead of chasing.

**The request is addressed to a similarly named company.**

- Says so when replying

→ The sender finds who they were actually looking for.

**You were their supplier years ago and no longer are.**

- Explains since when there has been no relationship

→ The other side's list gets updated.