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How-To Guides

It's Your Word Against Theirs — Unless You Document the Dispute Like This

Disputes are usually won by the person with the clearest record, not the loudest voice. Here is how to document one properly from the start.

By Logic16 May 2026 2 min read

Whether the disagreement is with a landlord, a tenant, a builder, an employer or an online seller, the outcome usually depends on what can be shown rather than what can be said. Good documentation turns "your word against theirs" into a clear timeline that anyone reviewing it can follow.

Step 1: Start a timeline immediately

Write down what happened, when and who was involved, as soon as possible. Memory fades quickly, and a note written at the time carries more weight than a reconstruction weeks later. Update it every time something new happens.

Step 2: Keep communication in writing

  • Prefer email or messages over phone calls
  • After a call, send a short message confirming what was agreed
  • Stay factual and polite — your messages may be read by someone deciding the dispute
  • Never delete conversations, even unpleasant ones

Step 3: Collect the right kinds of evidence

  • Agreements: contracts, tenancy agreements, quotes, booking confirmations, terms and conditions
  • Payments: receipts, bank statements, invoices
  • Condition: dated photos and videos, inventories, inspection reports
  • Communication: emails, messages, letters, call logs
  • Third parties: witness statements, expert reports, repair quotes

Step 4: Preserve it properly

  1. Keep original files — screenshots are useful, but originals preserve dates and details.
  2. Back evidence up in more than one place.
  3. Name files clearly with dates, such as 2026-05-14 kitchen ceiling leak.jpg.
  4. Do not edit photos in ways that could look like manipulation.

Step 5: Ask witnesses to write it down early

If someone saw what happened, ask them to write a short, dated account in their own words while it is fresh. Independent witnesses carry more weight than friends or family, but any honest account helps.

Step 6: Give the other side a fair chance to respond

Set out the problem, your evidence and what you are asking for, and give a reasonable deadline. Many disputes are resolved here. Even if not, showing that you acted reasonably strengthens your position with any mediator, adjudicator or court.

Step 7: Present evidence clearly

  • Lead with a one-paragraph summary of what happened and what you want
  • Follow with a dated timeline
  • Number each piece of evidence and refer to it in the timeline
  • Deal with each disputed point separately

Step 8: Record the outcome

When a dispute ends, write down how: payment made, claim withdrawn, partial agreement. Outcomes are the part most often lost — and the part most useful to the next person who deals with either party.

Evidence that stays with the record

On RRSource, a report is structured so evidence, witness statements and the other side's response sit together, and the Resolution is recorded when the dispute ends. That keeps a fair outcome visible — including outcomes where neither side completely wins. Read more about evidence verification.

Evidence rules and dispute processes differ between countries and between courts, tribunals and schemes.

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