I’m sure you know the situation. You have a good claim for a considerable amount of money, but your client won’t pay it.
The client and his consultants delay things or reject the claim for unfair reasons. So, it becomes clear that in order to receive payment, you’re going to have to take ‘further steps’.
What are the further steps that you may take under the contract?
If you’re lucky, a dispute board will have been set up and you’ll be able to refer the matter to the DAB for a quick and inexpensive decision. If you’re not so lucky, the dispute procedure will ask you to refer the matter to arbitration, which we all know is an extremely lengthy and expensive process.
Clients also know this, and they often gamble on the fact that the claimant will not take this ‘nuclear’ option simply because of the costs involved. They know that when a company or project is in a negative cash-flow situation – possibly because of the unpaid claims themselves, arbitration is sometimes just not possible because of cash constraints.
So, what if there’s a solution for funding claims? What if there is a solution where you don’t have to pay for any arbitration costs until an award is made and paid?
We work with a company who will review your claim. If they consider that it is a just claim that the arbitration will support, they will partner with you to provide a fully funded solution to take the matter to arbitration. They will cover the cost of, and where necessary, provide experts to prepare the claim, expert reports, the legal team (who will include lawyers who specialise in construction matters) and the arbitration costs.
How do they recoup the funds?
They take a cut from the award, as and when there is payment. No win, no fee.
Maybe not so surprisingly, when a client sees that the claimant is serious about pursuing the matter and has brought in the heavyweights to support him, the team, who include expert negotiators, will often be able to resolve the matter and achieve a settlement without actually going to arbitration.
Does that sound like a win-win situation?
Hewitt Decipher Partnership’s expert consultants have been preparing and responding to claims for many years and we can also help with funding claims and your claim recovery costs.
Can we help you? Get in touch via our contact page; we would be happy to discuss any support that you may need.