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Put deadlock in front of a decider, calmly

When one head of your final account will not move, adjudicate that head alone rather than argue the whole account forever. A narrow, well-evidenced referral often unlocks the wider settlement, and the right to adjudicate stays open for as long as the underlying claim is alive.

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

Why it matters

An account stuck on one head tends to stall on every head. Neither side will close the rest while the big item is open, and every month costs both sides in fees, interest and attention. Referring the whole account puts every item at risk and takes longest. A referral on the one deadlocked head is cheaper to prepare and easier for the adjudicator to follow. It gives both sides a decision to build the rest of the settlement around. So pick the head, evidence it fully and refer that alone, without heat.

How to do it

  1. Pick the head where you genuinely disagree, and note the gap between the two positions.
  2. Check with your solicitor that the head is a dispute that can be referred, and that the route under the subcontract is open.
  3. Gather the evidence for that head only: instruction, records, build-up, correspondence and the other side's stated position.
  4. Write to your main contractor setting out the head and the sum, and say you will refer it if it is not resolved by a stated date.
  5. Refer that head alone, and keep negotiating the rest alongside it.

Example

Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.

The facts

A final account has been open for 9 months. Everything is agreed except one head: a £140,000 loss and expense claim for a period of suspended access. The main contractor values it at £20,000 and the subcontractor at £140,000.

What happens

  1. The subcontractor's surveyor gathers the records for the access period: diaries, allocation sheets, cost ledger and the correspondence around the suspension.
  2. The subcontractor writes giving 14 days to agree the head or receive a referral on that head alone.
  3. The main contractor offers £70,000 on day 11, with the rest of the account agreed as it stands.

The outcome

After a short further exchange, the account closes at the agreed heads plus £85,000 on the disputed one. The referral is never served. The real prospect of a narrow decision moved a head that 9 months of meetings had not.

To have this done for you, see our Final Account Claim service.