agent merged two different companies with similar names: data error
Repairs and prevents merges of different companies with similar names: require domain or address evidence, and unmerge on error. Use after a bad company merge. Not for contact merges.
TL;DR
Two different companies with similar names got merged on name similarity alone. Require domain or physical-address evidence for company merges, unmerge the bad pair if the platform allows, and restore the data from history. Company merges need stronger evidence than contacts.
Error
Data error: "Acme Industries" merged with "Acme Industrial Supply" - different domains, different addresses.Steps
- Confirm the merge was wrong: compare domains, addresses, and phones of the pre-merge records from history. Expected: clear evidence of distinct companies.
- Unmerge if the platform supports it; otherwise recreate the lost record from history and re-link children. Expected: two companies again.
- Audit what was lost: overwritten fields, re-parented children. Expected: a damage list.
- Restore field values and child links from history or backups. Expected: both records whole.
- Raise the company merge evidence bar: normalized domain match required, name similarity alone never suffices. Expected: no repeat.
When to use
- A bad company merge is discovered.
- An agent merges on similar names.
- After the merge, data looks wrong.
When not to use
- True duplicate companies (merge correctly).
- Contact merges (different evidence).
Tool compatibility
- Salesforce and HubSpot merge/unmerge; field history.
- Agent evidence policies.
Variant phrasings
similar names, different companies merged
Require domain evidence.
bad company merge
Unmerge and restore from history.
Why it happens
Company names are marketing, not identity: similar names are common, and domains and addresses are the real differentiators. Name-only company merging is the fastest path to data destruction.
Edge cases
- Unmerge is not always available; backups and history are the safety net.
- Re-created records get new ids; update downstream references.
- DBA names ("doing business as") legitimately differ from legal names; check both.
Provenance
Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstZV1EExk1i7S3gIuHd6aFw