Underpayment Claim
Claim
Paid less than you applied for? We check the notices, value the shortfall and challenge unsupported reductions.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
Get a free report on your claim. About three minutes; no obligation.
The problem
You have been paid less than you applied for, or the work and variations have been undervalued in this or earlier payment cycles. The Pay Less Notice may be missing, late or appear incorrect.
Nothing paid? See Late Payment Claim. Deductions for damage or defects? See Contra-Charge Claim.
The solution
We test the notices and value the work from your records, then pursue the appropriate payment route. You approve submissions in your name and decide whether to settle or escalate.
We handle valuation and evidence, including adjudication figures; your solicitor handles legal issues and you or your representative run the adjudication.
What you get
You receive a notice review and an evidenced calculation of the shortfall, followed by your payment challenge and support through negotiations. The final record identifies the result, outstanding sums and gaps to address.
Includes a Handover Pack: key dates and sources, next steps, likely responses, scope limits and any ready-to-send letters.
Fee: Fixed fee agreed after we see the notices, before work starts. Adjudication support has a separate fixed fee agreed first.
Turnaround: an urgent notice check the same day where you instruct by early afternoon; otherwise the timetable is agreed in writing at scoping and then kept.
How it works
Claim stage: Event
You tell us what happened
Start with a free call. Agree the scope, fixed fee and timetable in writing, then send the records listed below.
What you get: A written scope, fixed fee and timetable
- A
The signed subcontract
A complete PDF or scan, every schedule and amendment included.
Where to find it: The order email or the job's commercial folder normally holds the signed copy; if it was never signed, send the last version exchanged and say so.
Why we need it: The notices are tested against its payment terms, and every date that decides whether a notice worked comes from it.
How we will use it: It anchors the triage: every notice and every head is tested against the clause it relies on.
- B
Each application as it was sent
As originally issued, forwarded as the original email or as dated PDFs, with proof of when and how it was sent.
Where to find it: The sent items of whoever issues your applications; forwarding the original emails carries the send dates with them.
Why we need it: Whether a notice was in time, and whether your application can stand as the notified sum, turns on when each application was actually served.
How we will use it: Each becomes the starting point of a rebuilt payment cycle, laid against the contract's dates to the day.
- C
Every Payment Notice and Pay Less Notice received
As received, with the date and route it arrived by, including the ones that came late or say nothing useful.
Where to find it: The email trail with the main contractor's commercial team, and any project portal; the cycles where nothing came back are exactly the ones to flag.
Why we need it: A notice that was late, came from the wrong person or stated no basis may not have fixed the lower figure, so each one has to be tested.
How we will use it: We test each notice for sender, timing, sum, basis and service, and mark every cycle where the notice may have failed.
- D
The payment history
What was certified and paid, and when, as your records hold it: certificates, remittances and bank receipts.
Where to find it: Your accounts package or bank statements show what landed and when; the certificates come from the main contractor's emails.
Why we need it: The underpayment is the gap between what was payable and what was paid, so both numbers need proving.
How we will use it: It fixes the sums in dispute, cycle by cycle, and reconciles the cumulative position so nothing is counted twice.
- E
Your figures and valuations
The build-up behind each application, as the working Excel files, not PDF printouts.
Where to find it: The working files of whoever values your account each month.
Why we need it: A figure whose build-up can be opened, traced and checked is far harder for the main contractor, or an adjudicator, to knock down.
How we will use it: They become the valuation of each head, rebuilt where needed so every figure traces to a record.
- F
The records behind the disputed lines
Measures, drawings, instructions, photographs, allocation and daywork sheets, exactly as they were kept at the time.
Where to find it: Whoever manages the site records, or the site team's own folders and phones.
Why we need it: A disputed line with no record behind it is treated as unsupported, however strong the underlying point.
How we will use it: We rate and evidence every disputed line from them, and say plainly where the only support is a later summary.
- G
Any adjudication papers already served
The notice of adjudication, the referral or response and the adjudicator's directions, exactly as served, appendices included. Only where an adjudication has started.
Where to find it: Whoever received them first; forward the email or letter exactly as it arrived.
Why we need it: Every internal deadline is set from the actual timetable, and the figures have to answer what has actually been referred.
How we will use it: We work the timetable back from the directions, and test every figure in the papers before we prepare our own.
Copies are fine. Send what you have and we will tell you what's missing.
- A
Claim stages: Notice, Entitlement, Evidence, Quantum and Assembly
We check where you stand
We find your real deadline, test whether each notice actually worked and value what you are owed, with every figure backed by your records.
What you get: A written report on where you stand and what we recommend
You approve what goes out
Nothing goes to your main contractor until you have read it and said yes. It goes in your name.
Claim stage: Resolution
We get you paid
We check every reply and payment, chase what is missing and negotiate the rest. Anything agreed is put in writing.
What you get: A written record of what was agreed and when it will be paid
We prepare for adjudication, if it comes to that
If they still will not pay, you can take it to adjudication. We prepare the figures and evidence for it, and check the decision is paid.
What you get: The figures and evidence for the adjudication
We hand over the recovery and the Handover Pack
Get a free report on your claim
Answer the questions below for a free PDF report by email. Allow about three minutes; choose “Not sure” where needed.
Your report explains where you stand, the next steps to take and the records to gather. It also sets out how we could help for a fixed fee, with no obligation.
Loading the questions.
Prevent it next time
Put a routine in place to reduce the risk of this happening again. Underpayment Prevention.