Advertorial: Five top tips to keep you sane during a dispute

27 Feb 2017

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When we were approached by a small, contracting company, we noticed something about them that got us thinking. As a fledgling business, they were afraid of fighting for the money that was rightfully theirs and they were hesitant about pursuing a much larger company because of the potential damage it might do to their future relationship.

This is probably a very familiar situation for many companies involved in the construction industry: they need the monies they are owed in order to survive as a business and yet they are concerned that they won’t be able to work for that main contractor or employer again.

Weighing up the cost of an adjudication in terms of your time, energy and money will help you reach a decision about pursuing your claim or not. Here are our tips for making that decision.

Ask a professional to review your case and give you an honest opinion of your chances of success. We only take cases on where there is a reasonable chance of success

Be honest with your professional advisor about your claim. Adding false claims or spurious claims will seriously damage your chances of winning an adjudication

Be honest about your own failings. If something went wrong during the contract and you know you were at fault, admit it. Again, trying to cover up will go against you

Be strong. This is easier said than done. Your professional advisor needs to understand what’s at stake. In our experience, it’s not just the business that could fail, but also homes could be lost and relationships may break down. If you have a case, then pursuing it will make you and your business stronger. You will feel wiser and be more aware of potential pitfalls in the future

Finally, remember adjudication is a relatively short process compared with going to court. The energy you need will be for a short period of time when compared with the length of time you intend to run your business for

I am happy to say, we won our case for the fledging company and were able to support them as human beings, not just business owners throughout the process. They very kindly said they would use us again and recommend our services to others.

If you want to stay sane and resolve a dispute, please contact Rebecca Bonnington or Yosof Ewing on 01592 645765 or rebecca@ewingadr.com and yosof@ewingadr.com