How to handle a vendor dispute at a gas station.

What counts as a vendor dispute

A vendor dispute is any disagreement between you and a vendor about an invoice, a delivery, or a credit. The most common categories at a gas station or convenience store:

• Short-ship. The invoice lists 10 cartons. You received 9. Document and dispute.
• Wrong SKU. The invoice lists Marlboro Red Box. You received Marlboro Light Box. Either return or accept with a substitution credit.
• Damaged on arrival. Items arrived broken, leaking, or with damaged packaging. Refuse at delivery if possible.
• Wrong cost on invoice. Vendor invoiced you at $24 per case for a SKU that was quoted at $22. Catch at invoice review.
• Missing credit memo. Vendor issued a credit for a previous return that did not appear on this invoice. Cross-reference your records.
• Duplicate invoice. Same invoice sent twice and accidentally paid twice. Common at high-volume vendors.

Step by step: handling a vendor dispute

Step 1. Catch it at delivery if possible

The cleanest dispute is the one you catch when the driver is still at your station. The receiving clerk counts the delivery against the BOL, finds the discrepancy, and flags it before the driver leaves. The driver acknowledges the discrepancy on the delivery receipt, the dispute is documented from the first moment, and the vendor cannot dispute the timing.

Train your receiving process to:

• Count cartons before signing the BOL.
• Check at least a sample of SKUs against the line items.
• Inspect for visible damage.
• Flag discrepancies on the driver's copy of the BOL before signing.
• Take photos if anything is unusual.

Step 2. Document everything

If you do not catch it at delivery, document as soon as you discover the issue. Capture:

• The invoice (the version the vendor sent).
• The BOL or delivery receipt.
• Photos of the actual product received (or not received).
• Any communication with the driver at delivery.
• Your POS or back-office record showing what you sold or have on hand.
• Date and time you discovered the issue.

Step 3. Contact the vendor directly

Call or email your direct rep at the vendor, not the corporate customer service line. Your rep wants clean territory and faster dispute resolution than the official process. State the issue, attach the documentation, and ask for resolution by a specific date.

Step 4. Use the formal dispute portal if needed

Major distributors (McLane, Core-Mark, Eby-Brown, Altria, RJR, Coca-Cola, Pepsi) have formal dispute portals or processes. If your rep does not resolve quickly, file through the portal with all the same documentation. Get a case or claim number.

Step 5. Follow up weekly in writing

Dispute resolution can take 2 to 8 weeks. Follow up weekly in writing (email, not phone). The written follow-up creates a paper trail and signals you will not let the dispute drop.

Step 6. Escalate or chargeback as last resort

If a vendor refuses to resolve a documented dispute, you have two escalation paths:

• Through your jobber or master distributor.If the disputed vendor sells to you through a jobber, the jobber wants the relationship and may mediate.
• Chargeback through your card or banking channel. If you paid by card, dispute the charge with your card issuer. If by ACH, your bank can sometimes reverse. This is last resort and damages the vendor relationship.

Worked example: a McLane short-ship

Monday delivery from McLane:

BOL says:
  Marlboro Red Box:        12 cartons
  Newport Box:              8 cartons
  Camel Crush:             10 cartons
  Skoal Cans:               6 sleeves
  ... (42 more line items)
Total invoice value:    $12,847.32

Receiving clerk count:
  Marlboro Red Box:        12 cartons ✓
  Newport Box:              8 cartons ✓
  Camel Crush:              9 cartons (1 SHORT)
  Skoal Cans:               6 sleeves ✓

At delivery, clerk notes on BOL:
  "Camel Crush received 9, invoice shows 10. Driver
  acknowledged. Driver signed."
Driver leaves with both signed copies.
Clerk photographs the partial pallet for evidence.

Same afternoon:
  Owner emails McLane rep with subject line:
  "Short-ship Aug 12 invoice 2024-08-12-3892:
   Camel Crush 1 carton, $112"
  Attachments: BOL with annotation, photo of pallet
  Owner asks for credit by next invoice cycle.

3 days later:
  McLane rep replies: "Credit approved for $112,
  will appear on August 19 invoice."

Aug 19 invoice arrives:
  Includes credit of $112 against Camel Crush.
  Owner verifies, approves, posts.

Outcome:
  Total dispute time: ~5 days
  Money recovered: $112 of $112
  Owner-side time: ~30 minutes total

What strong documentation looks like

Common vendor dispute mistakes

• Signing the BOL without counting.Once you sign the BOL, the vendor's position is "you accepted what we delivered." Disputes get harder from that moment.
• Waiting until month-end to discover the issue. A 30-day-old short-ship has lower recovery than a same-day short-ship. Invoice review weekly catches issues while they are still fresh.
• Calling the corporate line instead of the rep. Reps want to keep your business and resolve quickly. Corporate lines route to support tickets that take weeks.
• Disputing in conversation without writing it down. Verbal agreements with vendor reps disappear at the next price change. Get everything in writing.
• Going to chargeback first.Chargebacks damage the vendor relationship and may get you placed on a different credit tier. Use chargeback as last resort, not first move.
• Not tracking dispute outcomes.Vendors with a pattern of disputes (same vendor, same SKU, recurring short-ships) need a separate conversation. Track to see the pattern.