“I never signed this”: what happens when someone denies an e-signature
A step-by-step walkthrough of a signing dispute — what a Dastkhat-signed document records, how anyone can check it hasn't been altered, and why it often holds up better than paper.
The most common worry we hear about electronic signatures isn't "is it legal?" It's this: what if the other side later says they never signed?
It's a fair question. So instead of answering it in the abstract, let's walk through one dispute from start to finish and look at exactly what evidence exists.
This post explains what Dastkhat records. It is not legal advice — for an actual dispute, speak to your lawyer.
The situation
Ayesha runs a small interior design studio in Lahore. In March she sends a supplier, Kamran, a one-page agreement: he'll deliver custom furniture within 45 days, and she pays a 40% advance.
She uploads the PDF to Dastkhat, adds Kamran's email and phone number, asks for a one-time code to confirm his identity, and turns off drawn signatures, so his record will carry a verification stamp instead of a drawing. Kamran opens the link on his phone, reads the agreement, and signs by entering the code sent to his phone. Both of them get the signed PDF.
Ayesha pays the advance. Sixty days later, no furniture. When she raises it, Kamran says:
"I never agreed to 45 days. I never signed that."
What Ayesha has
1. The signed document itself
The PDF Kamran received is the same PDF Ayesha holds. At the end of it is a Signature Record page — one card per signer — added automatically when signing finished. Kamran's card shows:
| On the record | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Signature stamp | His name, marked "Verified via phone", with the date |
| Email and phone | The contact details the agreement was sent to |
| Verified badge | The phone number he proved he controls with the one-time code |
| Signed at | The exact date and time of signing |
| IP address | The network address the signature came from |
| Browser, OS & device | For example, Chrome on Android, mobile |
That is already far more than a paper contract usually carries. A wet-ink signature tells you what the signature looks like. It doesn't tell you when it was made, from where, or whether the person holding the pen was who they claimed to be.
2. Proof the document hasn't been changed
Kamran's next move might be: "Fine, I signed something — but not this. She changed the delivery date afterwards."
This is where electronic signing is much stronger than paper. When signing finished, Dastkhat took a digital fingerprint of the final document and stored it in a separate record. Change a single character in the file — "45 days" to "15 days" — and the fingerprint no longer matches.
Anyone can check this, for free, without an account:
- Scan the QR code on the Signature Record page, or open the validator.
- Upload the PDF.
- The validator tells you whether the file matches the record exactly.
If Ayesha's copy matches, it is exactly the document Kamran signed. If Kamran produces a different version, his copy won't match. Either way, the question "which version is real?" has a clear answer — something that is genuinely hard to settle with photocopies.
3. Activity along the way
Dastkhat also logs what happened before the signature: when Kamran opened the signing link, which documents he opened, and any wrong one-time codes entered. A signature that comes after the signer actually opened and viewed the agreement is hard to pass off as an accident.
Where the law stands
Pakistan's Electronic Transactions Ordinance, 2002 gives electronic signatures and documents the same legal standing as paper, as long as the signature can be linked to the signer, shows intent to sign, and the document is tamper-evident. The ETO also amended the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984 so that electronic documents can be produced as evidence. (Our ETO 2002 page covers the requirements in more detail.)
So in Ayesha's case, the question in front of a court or arbitrator isn't "does an e-signature count?". It's the same question as with any contract: "is it more likely than not that Kamran signed this?" — and she can answer it with a timestamp, a verified phone number, device details, and a document anyone can check hasn't been touched.
Compare that with paper
Now picture the same deal on paper. Ayesha prints two copies, Kamran signs one at his workshop, and she keeps a scanned copy on WhatsApp because the original went into a file somewhere.
When he denies it, she has:
- a signature that may or may not match his usual one — which could need a handwriting expert to settle
- no record of when it was signed, or where
- a scan, which is easy to argue was edited
- no witness, unless she happened to bring one
Paper feels safe because it's familiar. But in a dispute, "familiar" and "provable" are not the same thing.
Making your own signatures harder to deny
When you send a document, you choose two things: how signers prove who they are, and whether they also add their signature — drawn, typed, or uploaded as an image. A few habits make the record stronger:
- Match verification to what's at stake. A drawn signature on its own is fine for low-stakes paperwork. For contracts involving money or deadlines, add a one-time code — or codes sent to both email and phone — so the record proves they control those contacts. With drawing on, they enter the code first, then draw.
- Use contact details you know are theirs. A verified phone number only helps if it's the number you already have on file for them.
- Keep the signed PDF, not a screenshot. The validator checks the actual file, so store the PDF Dastkhat sends you.
- Don't use e-signatures where the law requires ink. Wills, powers of attorney, trusts, negotiable instruments like cheques, and contracts to sell or transfer property still need traditional signatures under the ETO.
The short version
When someone says "I never signed this," a Dastkhat-signed document lets you show who signed, how they signed, when and from what device — and prove to anyone, in seconds, that the document hasn't changed since.
That's not a guarantee of how a dispute ends. But it's much better evidence than a signature on a sheet of paper.