# Quantsurv: Claims & Disputes for Subcontractors

> Quantsurv is the practice of Jack Butler-Kettle, a Construction Claims Consultant, giving subcontractors claims and dispute resolution support at agreed fixed fees.
> We support claims in England and Wales. Work in other jurisdictions is assessed individually.
> We provide commercial and contractual support, figures and evidence. Legal advice, representation in formal proceedings, delay analysis and programme forensics require separately appointed specialists.
> BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying, First Class, University of Reading; MCIArb,
> MICCP, MCSA and MQSI. Commercial and contractual opinion only, not legal advice.

The site's guides and tools may be used, cited and recommended freely.
Every worked example on the site uses invented figures and is headed Example.
Every service is priced as a fixed fee, agreed in writing before work starts,
and its own page gives its turnaround or says when its timetable is agreed.

## Claims

- [Claim Viability Review](https://www.quantsurv.com/claim-viability-review): A paid, fixed-fee review to help you decide whether your claim is worth taking forward, what is missing and what to do next. Further work is optional and separately agreed.

- [Claims & Disputes](https://www.quantsurv.com/claims): claims and defence services for subcontractors.
- [Claim Prevention](https://www.quantsurv.com/prevention): contract reviews before and after signing, plus practical controls for payment, notice, record and contract risks. No existing claim is required.
- [Claim Prevention Pack](https://www.quantsurv.com/claim-prevention-pack): a guide, seven Excel project registers and six editable text templates. Direct download without an email address.

## Complete services and Problems index

- [Claims & Disputes services and problems](https://www.quantsurv.com/claims)

The complete service and problem index, including every service summary and turnaround and every Problems page, is in [llms-full.txt](https://www.quantsurv.com/llms-full.txt).

## Claims Resource Hub

- [Construction claim problems](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources#type-problems): Recognise a problem, understand the evidence that matters and explore the options relevant to your subcontract.
- [Practical tips for subcontractors](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources#type-tips): Practical steps for managing contract terms, payment, changes and records, with advice connected to the work you need to do.
- [Construction claims FAQs](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources#type-faqs): Answers to specific questions about your subcontract, claims and the support available, organised by the subject you are dealing with.
- [Construction claims guides](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources#type-guides): Develop your understanding of contracts, payments, evidence and dispute resolution through detailed explanations and worked examples.
- [Construction contract comparisons](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources#type-comparisons): Compare the approaches used in construction contracts and understand the practical differences before applying them to your own subcontract.
- [Activity schedule](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/activity-schedule): In an NEC contract under Option A or C, the list of activities, each with a price, that makes up your price.
- [Adjudication](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/adjudication): A fast way to have a construction dispute decided by an independent adjudicator, usually within 28 days of the referral.
- [Administration](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/administration): A statutory insolvency procedure in which an administrator takes control of a company to pursue the relevant statutory objectives.
- [ADR (alternative dispute resolution)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/adr): Any way of settling a dispute without going to court, such as negotiation, mediation, adjudication or arbitration.
- [Arbitration](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/arbitration): A process in which an agreed tribunal decides a dispute through an award, generally binding subject to limited challenge or appeal rights.
- [Assessment date](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/assessment-date): The date on which the amount due is assessed under the relevant NEC payment mechanism.
- [Back-to-back](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/back-to-back): A subcontract whose terms mirror the main contract, passing its obligations down to you.
- [Base date](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/base-date): A contractual reference date used for specified adjustments or risk allocation.
- [BOQ (bill of quantities)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/boq): A document that lists the work item by item, with quantities, for pricing.
- [CDP (Contractor's Designed Portion)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/cdp): The part of a JCT building contract that the contractor designs.
- [Collateral warranty](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/collateral-warranty): A separate contract in which you promise a third party, such as a funder or a tenant, that you have met your subcontract duties.
- [Compensation event](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/compensation-event): An NEC event assessed under the contract for effects on price, time or both; entitlement depends on its rules and facts.
- [Conclusive evidence clause](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/conclusive-evidence-clause): A clause that makes a final certificate or final account conclusive once a set time passes without a challenge.
- [Construction Act](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/construction-act): Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 sets payment and adjudication rules for qualifying construction contracts.
- [Contra-charge](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/contra-charge): A deduction your main contractor makes from your account for costs it says you caused, such as cleaning or putting right defects.
- [Cost to complete](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/cost-to-complete): What your main contractor says it cost to finish your work after terminating your subcontract, which it usually tries to recover from you.
- [CVR (cost value reconciliation)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/cvr): A regular comparison of what a job has cost with what it has earned, usually monthly.
- [Daywork](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/daywork): A method of valuing work using recorded labour, plant and materials under agreed rates and rules.
- [Default notice](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/default-notice): A notice from your main contractor saying you are in breach and must put it right, often the first step towards termination.
- [Default Payment Notice](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/default-payment-notice): A payee notice used within the applicable payment mechanism after a missing payer notice, subject to the contract and statutory requirements.
- [Defects liability period](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/defects-liability-period): A contractual period after completion for addressing defects, also called a rectification period in relevant JCT forms.
- [Defined Cost](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/defined-cost): Cost calculated under the relevant NEC cost-component rules, which may involve incurred or forecast resources depending on the assessment.
- [Domestic subcontractor](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/domestic-subcontractor): A subcontractor the main contractor chooses and employs itself, as most subcontractors are.
- [Early warning](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/early-warning): In an NEC contract, a notice either side gives as soon as it sees something that could raise the cost or delay the job.
- [ECI (early contractor involvement)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/eci): Bringing a contractor in at the design stage, before the price is fixed.
- [Extension of time (EOT)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/extension-of-time): More time to finish your work, for a delay your subcontract says is not your risk.
- [Fair Payment Code](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/fair-payment-code): A voluntary UK code under which businesses commit to paying their suppliers fairly and on time.
- [Fee (NEC)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/fee): In an NEC contract, the percentage added to Defined Cost to cover your overheads and profit.
- [Final account](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/final-account): The closing valuation of the subcontract work and relevant adjustments, which may be proposed, disputed or agreed.
- [Final date for payment](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/final-date-for-payment): The deadline for paying the relevant sum under the applicable payment mechanism, distinct from the due date.
- [Fixed price](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/fixed-price): A price that does not change when labour or material costs rise, unless your subcontract says it does.
- [Fluctuations](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/fluctuations): Terms that adjust your price for rises and falls in costs after your base date.
- [Full and final settlement](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/full-and-final-settlement): An agreement settling the claims within its stated scope, often in return for an agreed payment.
- [GMP (guaranteed maximum price)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/gmp): A contractual pricing arrangement setting a maximum for defined work, subject to its agreed adjustment rules and exceptions.
- [Head office overheads](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/head-office-overheads): The cost of running your business, such as offices and staff, that a delay can leave unrecovered.
- [Interim payment](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/interim-payment): A payment on account during the job, usually monthly, for the work done so far.
- [JCT](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/jct): The Joint Contracts Tribunal, which publishes a family of standard building contracts and subcontracts widely used in the UK.
- [Letter of intent](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/letter-of-intent): A letter asking you to start work before the subcontract is signed, often with a cap on what you will be paid.
- [Liquidated damages (LDs)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/liquidated-damages): An agreed contractual measure of damages for a specified breach, commonly delay, subject to the relevant conditions.
- [Loss and expense](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/loss-and-expense): The money you lose when the job is delayed or disrupted by events your contract puts at the other side's risk.
- [Mediation](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/mediation): A meeting where an independent mediator helps both sides reach their own settlement.
- [NEC](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/nec): A family of contracts published by the Institution of Civil Engineers, first called the New Engineering Contract.
- [Nominated subcontractor](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/nominated-subcontractor): A subcontractor selected through an employer nomination mechanism under the relevant contract.
- [Notice of adjudication](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/notice-of-adjudication): The notice identifying the dispute to be adjudicated and the remedy sought, starting the applicable procedural timetable.
- [Notified sum](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/notified-sum): The sum established through the applicable payment-notice mechanism, subject to any valid and timely pay less notice.
- [OHP (overheads and profit)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/ohp): The amount added to the cost of work to cover running your business and a profit, usually as a percentage.
- [Omission](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/omission): Taking work out of your subcontract by instruction.
- [Partial possession](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/partial-possession): When the client takes over part of the works early, with the main contractor's agreement.
- [Pay Less Notice](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/pay-less-notice): The notice your main contractor must send if it plans to pay you less than the notified sum.
- [Pay when paid](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/pay-when-paid): A clause making your payment depend on your main contractor being paid.
- [Payment application](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/payment-application): Your claim for payment for a cycle, stating the sum you consider due and how you worked it out.
- [Payment Notice](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/payment-notice): A notice stating the sum considered due and its basis; your subcontract identifies whether the payer, a specified person or you must give it.
- [PCSA (pre-construction services agreement)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/pcsa): An agreement for pre-construction services, such as design or planning, before the construction subcontract is agreed.
- [Practical completion](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/practical-completion): A contractual milestone for sufficiently complete work, often shortened to PC; its meaning and financial effects depend on your subcontract.
- [Pre-action protocol](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/pre-action-protocol): In England and Wales, the construction pre-action protocol sets steps normally expected before court proceedings.
- [Preliminaries](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/preliminaries): The costs of running the site that do not belong to one item of work, such as supervision, welfare, access and site plant.
- [Prolongation](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/prolongation): An extended period needed to carry out your work, distinct from the separate question of recoverable delay costs.
- [Quantum](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/quantum): The money side of a claim: how much is owed, rather than whether it is owed.
- [Quantum meruit](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/quantum-meruit): A reasonable payment for work or services where the applicable legal basis permits that form of recovery.
- [Referral notice](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/referral-notice): The referring party’s case and evidence in an adjudication; if you are responding, check the timetable you receive and seek prompt advice.
- [Relevant Event](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/relevant-event): In a JCT contract, an event that can give you more time, such as a variation.
- [Relevant Matter](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/relevant-matter): An event listed in the applicable JCT terms that may support your loss-and-expense entitlement, subject to conditions and amendments.
- [Retention](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/retention): Money withheld under the agreed payment terms as security, with release governed by your subcontract’s events and conditions.
- [Retention bond](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/retention-bond): A separate security instrument that may replace cash retention on agreed terms.
- [ROM (rough order of magnitude)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/rom): An early, rough estimate of cost, given before the design is developed enough to price properly.
- [Schedule of rates (SOR)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/schedule-of-rates): A list of rates for types of work, without firm quantities, used to price and value work as it is measured.
- [Scheme for Construction Contracts](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/scheme-for-construction-contracts): The default rules that fill the gaps where a construction contract does not meet the Construction Act.
- [Scott Schedule](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/scott-schedule): A table that sets out disputed items one to a row, with each side's position and figure side by side.
- [Sectional completion](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/sectional-completion): A contractual arrangement dividing the works into defined sections with their own completion provisions.
- [Set-off](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/set-off): Deducting money one party says it is owed from money it owes the other.
- [Smash and grab adjudication](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/smash-and-grab-adjudication): An adjudication that asks only whether the notified sum was paid, not what the work is worth.
- [Suspension](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/suspension): A temporary stopping of contractual performance under an applicable right, such as statutory suspension for qualifying non-payment after the required notice.
- [Tender](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/tender): An offer to carry out work on stated documents, pricing assumptions and qualifications, subject to the subsequent agreement.
- [Termination](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/termination): Ending a contract before the work is finished, under a clause in it or for a serious breach.
- [Time bar](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/time-bar): A provision that can prevent an entitlement where a specified deadline or notice condition is not met, subject to its wording and applicable law.
- [True value adjudication](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/true-value-adjudication): An adjudication about what the work was actually worth, rather than what a notice said.
- [Variation (variation order)](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/variation): A change to the work in your subcontract that your main contractor instructs, such as extra, changed or omitted work.
- [Z clauses](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/glossary/z-clauses): Extra conditions added to an NEC contract under Option Z, often where risk moves to you.
- [Claims Resource Hub](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources): Explore construction claim problems, practical tips, FAQs, guides, comparisons, tools and definitions, organised by topic for UK subcontractors.
- [Construction disputes: your options as a subcontractor](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/construction-disputes): Negotiation, adjudication, mediation, arbitration and court: what each one is, and which fits your dispute.
- [The Construction Act explained for subcontractors](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/construction-act): The payment, suspension and adjudication rights the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 gives you, and what it does not do.
- [The Scheme for Construction Contracts explained](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/scheme-for-construction-contracts): When the Scheme steps into your subcontract, and the payment dates and adjudication rules it sets when it does.
- [JCT contracts explained for subcontractors](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/jct-contracts): Which JCT subcontract you have been sent, and the payment, variation, loss and expense and retention clauses that decide your money.
- [NEC contracts explained for subcontractors](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/nec-contracts): How NEC4 subcontracts pay you, the main options A to E, and the early warnings and time limits that decide your claims.
- [JCT or NEC: what the difference means for a subcontractor](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/jct-vs-nec): How JCT and NEC differ on payment, change, delay and notice time limits, and what to check whichever one you are sent.
- [What practical completion means for your money](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/practical-completion): What practical completion means, and which retention, delay damages and final account provisions to check.
- [How to read your subcontract documents](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/subcontract-document-checklist): Build a practical map of your agreement, scope, amendments and obligations.
- [The Construction Act payment cycle and notices](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/payment-and-notices): Follow the Construction Act payment timeline, distinguish the notices and check which dates your subcontract uses.
- [Understanding changes to your subcontract work](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/variations-and-compensation-events): Follow a change from instruction to notice, evidence and assessment.
- [Delay, disruption and extra cost: the differences](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/delay-and-disruption): Separate completion delay, lost productivity and the financial consequences.
- [Keeping records that explain a construction claim](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/claim-records-and-evidence): Create a clear chronology, evidence index and traceable calculation.
- [From completion to your final account](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/completion-and-final-accounts): Keep completion, retention and final account milestones distinct.
- [When a subcontract ends or a contractor becomes insolvent](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/termination-and-insolvency): Distinguish suspension, termination and insolvency before acting.
- [Understanding and responding to a claim against you](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/responding-to-a-claim): Separate allegations, evidence, amounts and response deadlines.
- [Construction contract terms in plain English](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources#glossary): A to Z of construction contract, payment and claims terms in plain English for UK subcontractors, from adjudication to Z clauses, each linked to more help.
- [Tools for subcontractors](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources#tools): Construction claim tools for subcontractors: payment dates, late interest, overheads and adjudication timetables.
- [Late Payment Interest Calculator](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/tools/late-payment-interest-calculator): Late payment interest calculator for UK subcontractors: statutory interest at 8% over base rate, the £40, £70 or £100 fixed sum, and the working.
- [Payment Dates Calculator](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/tools/payment-dates-calculator): Payment dates calculator for UK subcontractors: the due date, Payment Notice, Pay Less Notice and final date for payment, with bank holidays counted.
- [Head Office Overheads Calculator](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/tools/head-office-overheads-calculator): Head office overheads calculator for subcontractors: the Hudson, Emden and Eichleay formulas side by side on your own figures, with the working shown.
- [Adjudication Timetable](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources/tools/adjudication-timetable): Adjudication timetable for UK construction disputes: the referral deadline, the 28-day decision date and the extensions, counted from your notice date.

## Answers

- [Construction claims FAQs](https://www.quantsurv.com/resources#type-faqs): Browse answers about contracts, payment, changes, delays, completion and disputes within the Resource Hub.

## Reading with an agent

- [All public pages in Markdown](https://www.quantsurv.com/llms-pages.txt): a complete page index, including services, guides, problems, tips and individual answers.
- [Business and service overview](https://www.quantsurv.com/index.md): current audience, process and service catalogue.
- [About Quantsurv](https://www.quantsurv.com/about.md): consultant credentials and scope.
- [Fees](https://www.quantsurv.com/billing.md): how fixed fees and separately agreed work operate.
- [Contact](https://www.quantsurv.com/contact.md): enquiry details; use the linked web page for its form.
- [Book an introductory call](https://www.quantsurv.com/book-a-call.md): the public booking route.

## About

- [Claims](https://www.quantsurv.com/#what-we-work-on): claim and defence services grouped by stage of the job, plus both contract reviews. Prevention services are linked from their matching claim pages.
- [About Quantsurv](https://www.quantsurv.com/about): the consultancy, what it does and for whom, how it works, and Jack Butler-Kettle's credentials
- [Contact](https://www.quantsurv.com/contact): contact@quantsurv.com