Recently we have been getting orders from clients that have not sent us anything for quite some time.  These order come to us, without a prior phone call or any notice.  We usually fax back a receipt of the order with our fee for that order noted.  We complete the order, send back to the client with an invoice attached.  At the end of the month, we send a statement of the work completed & the amount owed. 
At this point inevitably we will have one or two of these clients that will call regarding our fees.  Usually stating "That is not what we have in our system for you."   I give them the benefit of the doubt & usually say that they probably have our old fees in their system.  (however sometimes their fees are so outrageous & I know I have never been that ridiculous).  Whenever we change our fees, we send out notices to all the clients in our database, and some that are not.
Now I don't know what they did with the notices & frankly it doesn't matter.  I tell them these are our fees, this is what you owe.
I feel if you give your client notice as to your fees.  And especially if you send an invoice or note the fee at the time you return the search, you have done your part. 
It also doesn't matter that they don't know who ordered the report.  All these excuses are a problem on their end, not the abstractor.  Believe me the excuses for not paying are going to become more inventive----still not our problem.  The abstractor does the work---the abstractor gets paid!  End of story!!!!

Wanda Steudel
AccuSearch Co