Does This Sound Familiar? Common Issues Subbies Have Over and Over Again
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This week’s blog is about the questions Specialist Contractors ask us over and over again. Here’s a typical example (amended to preserve anonymity); “We have recently completed a contract for the installation of … at a hotel in London. Contract value c £480,000. We have been working as a sub-contractor. The main contractor has been slow in paying our monthly valuations and now at the final account(s) stage they have refused payment for additional labour resources that we have provided over recent months; they have also disputed the quantities of … installed. Currently we are owed some £65k and the main contractor is now refusing to communicate. We are attempting to arrange to meet the main contractor although this is proving difficult with the lack of communication response problem. The contact was agreed by a signed Letter of Intent. There is no form of contract (JCT etc.). The above represents a brief summary of our situation. We would welcome your initial thoughts and an indication of whether you will be able to take action on our behalf to recover the outstanding debt.” So What Can Be Done? Let me answer the Specialist Contractor’s last question first; “will we be able to take action on their behalf?” We most certainly can, and do take action for you guys every day of the week! Our Consultants are experts in taking action to solve this kind of problem and ensure you get paid. Here’s the exact text of an email to me from Mike who is one of our Consultant’s only yesterday. It shows just how effective we can be; “Successful outcome at the meeting today, settled at £472k gross giving a payment of nearly £50k to be paid within 7 days.” I’m sure you will agree that’s a great result. Now let’s take a closer look at the problem above. Breaking The Problem Down Here’s some thoughts on the problem as posed above; 1. The problems always start when the works are complete! Be ready for this and get as much agreed as possible as you go along. If problems still arise at the end, take action and quick! Problems definitely do not improve with time. 2. If the main contractor has been “slow in paying” throughout the job, what have you been doing about it? Don’t procrastinate – escalate! 3.They have “refused payment for additional labour”. If you have been delayed through no fault of your own don’t supply additional labour to “catch up” without a proper agreement. 4. Main contractors that won’t communicate only understand one language. Get tough. Know your rights and apply them – properly applied the threat of adjudication usually gets people talking. 5. The “contract was agreed by a signed Letter of intent” and boy was it fraught with problems! So, the message there is don’t agree to anything you don’t understand. Don’t Suffer – Take Action We have lots of resources at your disposal from the free information on our web site, to our specially written guides for Specialist Contractors, to our exclusive LinkedIn Group of 2,192 Specialist Contractors, right through to our best selling Gold Buddy Membership. (Speaking of which, I’d just like to remind our Gold Buddies to use their free consultancy time to help you resolve any of your problems. We love helping!) Do not suffer alone. Come and find out how we are helping Specialist Contractors of all sizes, in all trades, right across the UK. I hope you enjoyed my post and that it gave you some food for thought, and I sincerely hope to speak with you soon. In the meantime if you need any help with any of your business issues, please don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and give us a call on 01773 712116. StreetwiseSubbie – How Can We Help? The clue really is in our name – StreetwiseSubbie. We specialise in helping Specialist Contractors of all sizes and in all trades, so why not give us a call and see how we can help you and your business? “Improving The Lives Of Specialist Contractors” StreetwiseSubbie.com exists to help all Specialist Contractors regardless of size or specialisation, and remember you can ask for our help on any of your business problems as and when you need it. Our initial advice is free and there’s no obligation just good honest, down to earth advice. You can call us during office hours on 01773 712116 or check out our Gold Buddy support package can help you get paid. |
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