Contra-Charge Claim
ClaimTimetable agreed at scoping
Deductions for cleaning, damage or defects? We test each charge and pursue the amounts the evidence does not support.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
Get a free report on your claim. About three minutes; no obligation.
The problem
Your payment notice includes charges with little supporting detail, or you have been charged without a chance to repair alleged defects. The deductions may be duplicated, unexplained or attributed to work you did not carry out.
Late-completion charges? See Delay Damages Claim. Your work valued too low? See Underpayment Claim.
The solution
We check urgent notice deadlines, then test every charge against your subcontract, records and the sums claimed. You choose what to dispute and approve the response in your name.
We negotiate or prepare adjudication figures. Your solicitor handles legal questions.
What you get
You receive a line-by-line response showing which charges to accept or challenge, with supporting calculations and negotiation records. The final record identifies refunds and settlements, alongside charges still open or held for the final account.
Includes a Handover Pack: key dates and sources, next steps, likely responses, scope limits and any ready-to-send letters.
Fee: Fixed fee agreed in writing after we see the charges. Each later stage, including adjudication support, has a separate fee agreed first.
Turnaround: the timetable is agreed in writing at scoping and then kept.
How it works
Claim stage: Event
You tell us what was taken off
Start with a free call. Agree the scope, fixed fee and timetable in writing, then send the records listed below.
What you get: A written scope, fixed fee and timetable
- A
The signed subcontract
A complete PDF with all schedules and amendments.
Where to find it: The commercial folder or the order email.
Why we need it: The subcontract sets its own conditions for set-off, notice, timing and evidence. A deduction that fails them may fall before anyone argues the merits.
How we will use it: We test every deduction against those clauses before any argument about the merits starts.
- B
The deduction or contra-charge schedule
As issued, ideally as the original Excel file so we can see how each line is made up. Otherwise, the PDF you were sent.
Where to find it: Attached to the Pay Less Notice or the assessment email it arrived with.
Why we need it: The schedule is the case against you, and each line has to be answered on its own facts rather than met with a general protest.
How we will use it: It becomes the structure of the response: every line gets its own answer, evidence attached.
- C
The notices relied on, with proof of when they arrived
The email that actually carried the notice, timestamp intact, not the notice document alone.
Where to find it: The sent or received folder around the date the deduction says the notice was given.
Why we need it: A deduction from an interim payment needs a valid notice given in time. Without proof of when it arrived, that point cannot be tested at all.
How we will use it: We test each notice for timing and content before looking at the substance of the charge.
- D
The correspondence
Everything around each deducted item, forwarded as the original emails, dates and attachments intact.
Where to find it: Search the project inbox for each deduction's subject: the snag lists, the notices to remedy, the complaint threads.
Why we need it: Deductions often appear months after the event with no complaint or notice to remedy behind them, and that absence is part of the answer.
How we will use it: We check each item's paper trail for the notice and the chance to put things right that the subcontract requires.
- E
Every valuation and payment notice for the same period
Each valuation and notice as issued at the time, not reconciled afterwards into one summary sheet.
Where to find it: The run of valuations, Payment Notices and Pay Less Notices for the account, back to the first one.
Why we need it: A charge taken twice, or taken and never credited when withdrawn, is easy to miss if only the latest valuation is checked.
How we will use it: We trace every deduction to the notice it came out of and check the history for duplication.
- F
The site records
The diaries, handover sheets, photographs, delivery tickets and signed sheets that show what was actually done, as they are kept.
Where to find it: The site office files and the team's phones.
Why we need it: Against a back-charge, the record of what happened on the day carries more weight than an assertion written months later.
How we will use it: They evidence the line-by-line answers and set each line's evidence rating.
Copies are fine. Send what you have and we will tell you what's missing.
- A
Claim stages: Notice, Entitlement, Evidence, Quantum and Assembly
We test every charge
We read your subcontract and check each charge's notice, evidence and sums, asking for any missing proof. Then we set out which to dispute and the sum you want back.
What you get: Your answer to every charge, with the sum you want back
You approve what goes out
You decide which charges to dispute and which to accept. Nothing goes to your main contractor until you have said yes, and it goes in your name.
Claim stage: Resolution
We chase the reply and negotiate
We check the reply line by line, answer each reason with the evidence and negotiate the rest. Anything agreed is put in writing.
What you get: A written record of each charge agreed, and the options on those still open
We prepare for adjudication, if it comes to that
If charges still will not move, you choose: settle, go to adjudication or carry them into your final account. We prepare the figures and check the money comes back.
What you get: The figures and evidence for the adjudication
We hand over every deduction settled or answered
Get a free report on your claim
Answer the questions below for a free PDF report by email. Allow about three minutes; choose “Not sure” where needed.
Your report explains where you stand, the next steps to take and the records to gather. It also sets out how we could help for a fixed fee, with no obligation.
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Prevent it next time
Put a routine in place to reduce the risk of this happening again. Contra-Charge Prevention.