What is a true value adjudication?
It is an adjudication that decides what your work is actually worth, for the period or items referred, rather than what the notices fixed.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
The answer
What it covers depends on what is referred. It may cover measurement, variations, deductions or previous payments, but it is not automatically a revaluation of the whole job. Your solicitor should check jurisdiction, and whether it has to follow another payment dispute, such as a smash and grab. Your commercial file should reconcile the gross and net figures, the evidence and any earlier decisions. A well-presented account helps the adjudicator, but it does not predict an award or a repayment.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
Your main contractor says it has paid you more than the work is worth, and wants £26,000 back: the £110,000 paid less £84,000 of measured work. The payment file also shows £12,000 of agreed changes and a £4,000 item counted twice.
What happens
- Each figure is linked to the records behind it.
- The reconciliation is set out from those figures.
- Open questions on the right to repayment, and the order of the disputes, are listed for advice.
The payment file
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Paid | £110,000 |
| Measured work | £84,000 |
| Agreed changes | £12,000 |
| Item counted twice | £4,000 |
The outcome
The reconciliation shows the method. It does not guarantee your main contractor the £26,000 it wants back, and the open questions go to advice first.
If a true value fight is coming, Underpayment Claim prepares the account and the evidence for it.