Two different “stops” exist. Mixing them is how chasing keeps running after a portal ask — or how a text keyword is treated as a staff decision. You remain the creditor. The customer asks; you decide, except when a mobile carrier already blocked the number.
Portal request vs carrier SMS STOP
| Portal Ask them to stop chasing | Carrier SMS STOP | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it starts | Customer portal → that link (they may edit the wording) | They reply STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, or QUIT, or the carrier sends 21610 |
| Who decides | Your staff — Accept or Decline | Automatic product + carrier |
| Where you see it | Activity → Stop Requests, and a banner on the customer | Not this queue. The number is suppressed |
| Does Workflow email keep going? | The portal message is also an inbound reply, so the next send is held until Replies triage. After triage, email can continue until you Accept or suppress it. The invoice is not automatically paused. | Email is unchanged by SMS STOP. SMS to that number stops immediately |
| Sets Never chase? | Only if an Admin Accepts Never follow up or Both | Never |
There is no email List-Unsubscribe path today. A portal request is not a marketing opt-out and is not a substitute for one. Confirm email and SMS rules with your own advisor for the US, UK, Ireland, or Australia — this article describes the product, not a legal conclusion.
What the customer is told
- On their invoice portal they press Ask them to stop chasing.
- The note says this asks your business to stop, that you decide, and that reminders may continue until you act.
- They press Send message. Confirmation: Request sent — you have the request; reminders may continue until you review it.
That submit writes a Stop Requests row and an inbound message. It does not pause invoices, write suppressions, or turn on Never chase.
Accept or Decline (staff)
- Open Activity → Stop Requests (or the customer record). Empty copy: follow-up continues until you accept or decline.
- Read the quote (their wording). Badge is always Still chasing. Note: Chasing continues until you accept or decline — nothing was muted automatically.
- On the customer card the heading is Stop request — still chasing, with Accept, Decline, and All stop requests →.
- To honour the ask: Accept → What to stop:
- Suppress email and SMS (default) — mutes the email and mobile destinations on file.
- Never follow up with this customer — Admin only. Same rail as Never chase.
- Both — never follow up and suppress — Admin only.
- To keep chasing: Decline → optional Why → Decline — keep chasing.
Accept flash names what changed (never chase on, and/or how many addresses were suppressed). Decline flash: Stop request declined — chasing continues until you change it.
Expected result
An open request stays in Needs you and on Stop Requests with Still chasing. The portal message that created the request is also an inbound reply, so the next scheduled email waits on Replies triage (EXC-005) until you handle that reply — that is a send hold, not a mute and not a pause of the invoice. After Accept → suppress, those destinations stop receiving chase email and SMS. After Accept → never follow up, that customer is off chasing. After Decline, destinations are not suppressed; triage the reply if sends are still held. Carrier STOP still blocks that phone even if you later Decline a portal request.
If something goes wrong
- Standard users who pick Never follow up or Both see: Only an Admin can set Never chase. Choose “Suppress email and SMS” or ask an Admin.
- Already handled: That stop request is not open.
- A second portal ask from the same customer refreshes the open request. There is only one open row per customer.
- A later ad-hoc send from the customer record can treat some inbound wording (for example a bare “STOP” or “opt out”) as an opt-out phrase and then suppress those addresses. That is not Accept, and it is not carrier SMS STOP. Sequence chasing still ignores the open request until you Accept or that separate suppression exists.
What this does not do
- It does not auto-mute when they press Ask them to stop chasing.
- It does not pause the invoice. Use Pause chasing or a dispute if you need the invoice off.
- It is not “This isn’t me” (wrong-person) and not a formal dispute — those are other portal actions.
- It does not unsubscribe a marketing list. PayBlah is accounts-receivable automation, not a collector and not a mailing list.