---
id: KB-TD-009
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/day-to-day/when-a-third-party-replies-on-another-channel
idioma: en
categoria: trabajo-diario
subcategoria: bandeja
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-TD-002, KB-CC-002, KB-TD-004]
citadoPor: [KB-TD-020]
---

# When they reply on WhatsApp instead of using the link

_It happens constantly, and dropping the document into a chat has a cost._

**Responde a:** the supplier sends documents by whatsapp · they reply to my email instead of using the link · documents arriving through another channel · uploading what they send me by chat

You send a link and they reply with a photo on WhatsApp. Or answer your email with the PDF attached. It happens constantly and it is not ill will: they did whatever was easiest for them.

## What is lost if it stays there

| What is lost | And that means |
| --- | --- |
| The real delivery date | There is no record of when it arrived, only when you uploaded it |
| Who delivered it | The record shows you uploaded it, not them |
| The case stays incomplete | Nobody else sees it is resolved |
| The document lives on a phone | And on the sender's, uncontrolled |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The first one is what genuinely matters. If you later have to prove that supplier delivered on time, a document you uploaded two weeks later does not prove it — it proves you uploaded it two weeks later.

## What to do, by case

1. **If it is one-off, upload it and note where it came from** — Worse than the normal circuit, but better than leaving it in the chat.
2. **If it always happens with that person, change their channel** — If WhatsApp is their natural habit, send the request on WhatsApp: the link works the same.
3. **If it happens with many, look at your request** — When most reply elsewhere, the problem is not them: the link is not understood or not visible.

> [!WARNING]
> Be careful with what arrives by chat unchecked. A document arriving on WhatsApp from a number you do not have saved deserves the same suspicion as an unexpected email, more so if it comes with urgency.

> [!NOTE]
> The link working from WhatsApp is exactly what solves this: you do not have to choose between their convenient channel and the circuit that leaves a record.

**Can I forward the document into the case myself?**

Yes, and note that it arrived on another channel and when.

**Can I request via WhatsApp with a link?**

Yes, it is the same link on another channel.

**What if they insist on emailing it?**

Upload it, but check whether your request is understood: it usually is that.

## Ejemplos

**A supplier always sends certificates on WhatsApp and someone uploads them manually days later.**

- Their request channel is switched to WhatsApp

→ They deliver through the link from their phone, and the delivery date is theirs again rather than the uploader's.

**A supplier sends a photo of the certificate on a messaging app and the file stays empty.**

- Uploads the photo to the file on receipt
- Replies with the link for next time

→ The delivery is recorded and the supplier learns the route without argument.

**The photo stays on the phone of whoever received it.**

- Uploads it at the moment, from that phone

→ The record does not depend on a handset.

**It arrives by messaging and nobody knows if it is the requested document.**

- Checks before treating it as delivered

→ The file reflects what is really there.

**The supplier always sends that way because it is what they use.**

- Sends them the link on that same channel

→ They use the channel they know, with the record you need.

**It is accepted by messaging and nothing is recorded.**

- Records which route it arrived by

→ The history reflects what happened.