Confirm that the records are truly duplicates
Published September 9, 2026.
Matching names are not enough. Compare approved identifiers and ask only the verification questions required by policy. Shared households, recycled phone numbers, and company accounts can look duplicated while belonging to different people.
Choose the least disruptive correction
A merge may affect orders, subscriptions, loyalty balances, preferences, and deletion requests. Map those dependencies before changing either record. When a merge is not supported, explain which account will remain active and how the customer can access needed history.
Leave an auditable trail
Record the verified owner, systems checked, fields moved, fields intentionally left alone, and any follow-up owner. Never paste authentication answers into free-text notes. Report recurring creation paths so product teams can reduce duplicates at the source.
Combine this process with a case notes standard and customer preference handling. Follow the organization's approved identity and privacy policies for every merge.