Photograph and list what is yours on site the same day
Arguments over who owns materials are won by whoever can prove what was on site and when, so photograph and list what is yours the day you hear. Then tell the administrator or liquidator in writing, and take nothing without its consent.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
Why it matters
Whether unfixed goods are still yours depends on your terms. Whether you can prove which goods they are depends on what you record in the first days. A replacement contractor can start using a compound's contents within a week. Once goods are fixed into the building, the argument is usually over. Photographs taken on day one and matched to delivery tickets and invoices are evidence an administrator or a replacement contractor will accept. Photographs taken a fortnight later only show what was left.
How to do it
- Send whoever is nearest to site to photograph every item of yours. Take a wide shot to show where it is, then close-ups of labels, marks and serial numbers.
- List each item with its quantity, location and the delivery ticket and invoice it matches.
- Separate what is fixed into the works from what is loose, because the two are treated differently.
- Send the list and the photographs to the administrator or liquidator in writing the same day. Agree any collection rather than taking anything.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
A fire-stopping subcontractor has £9,400 of boxed product in a site container when its main contractor enters administration. The employer brings in a replacement contractor within a week.
What happens
- The container is photographed on the morning of the appointment, box by box, with batch labels visible, and each batch is matched to a delivery ticket.
- The list goes to the administrator that afternoon. It claims the product under the subcontract's retention of title condition, which keeps the goods the subcontractor's until paid for.
- A fortnight later the replacement contractor is found to have used £6,100 of it.
The outcome
With the dated photographs and the tickets, the replacement contractor pays £6,100 for what it used. The remaining £3,300 is collected by agreement.
To have this done for you, see our Insolvency Claim service.