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Ask for the build-up behind every contra-charge

A round-sum contra-charge is an assertion, not a cost, and one that cannot be built up usually shrinks or goes once you ask. Ask who did the work, when, where, for how many hours, at what rate and on whose invoice.

Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.

Why it matters

Your main contractor's surveyor often prices a contra-charge from a description, not a cost. That means a day's labour for a snag that took an hour, or a whole floor's cleaning for one room. Once you accept the figure, nobody tests it again. Asking for the build-up puts the burden on the charge. It now has to show the hours, the rate and the invoice, and any credit for work you would otherwise have done yourself. It also shows up duplication, such as the same cost charged as attendance and again as supervision. You only see that once both are broken down.

How to do it

  1. Ask in writing, for each charge, for the labour hours and rates, the materials, any other contractor's invoice and where the work was done.
  2. Ask what credit has been given for anything you would otherwise have had to do or supply yourself.
  3. Set each build-up beside earlier deductions, and look for the same cost charged twice under different names.
  4. Accept in writing what the build-up supports, so the disputed balance is clear.

Example

Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.

The facts

A mechanical subcontractor is charged £6,500 for making good ceilings. The main contractor says the subcontractor's pipework installation damaged them. The charge is one line: making good ceilings, level 3.

What happens

  1. The subcontractor asks for the build-up, the invoice, the dates and the rooms.
  2. The ceiling contractor's invoice covers 14 rooms. The subcontractor's records show it worked above four of them.
  3. The ceiling contractor's day sheets show 2 days on those four rooms, at a cost of £1,600.

The outcome

The main contractor reduces the charge to £1,600, and the subcontractor accepts it. The other £4,900 was for work in rooms its operatives never entered.

To have this done for you, see our Contra-Charge Claim service.