FOCUS Q&A
QUESTIONS Answering your
Len Bunton advises SELECT Members about how to deal with payment problems, PBAs and much more
Where can I get the SBCC family of contracts? You can go onto the SBCC website and you can see all of the 2016 editions. You can subscribe to the online service and if you want hard copies as well, you can order them from the RICS and the RIAS in Edinburgh. You will find the Guidance Notes very helpful.
A contractor has indicated that there will be a Project Bank Account on a contract we have secured. Where can I find out more about how they operate? Tere is plenty of material on the internet and SELECT has information on its website. Tere is also a very good Scottish Government publication called Implementing Project Bank Accounts in Construction Contracts that you can download for more details.
We are tendering for a interesting project and we have been sent the contractor’s terms and conditions of the subcontract. Some of them look problematic. What should we do next? First take external advice. Someone can run through these for you and tell you if there are any minefields. One you have established that, you can try to negotiate these out. If not, you have a difficult decision to take – either walk away, or live with them and hope for the best. I have seen some horrendous conditions, so beware.
We just can’t get paid and if we do, money is usually taken off our application for payment without any justification. Tis is why it is critical to make sure you have clear payment terms and you stick to the dates. Remember, if you are not paid you can threaten to suspend the performance of your obligations on the site – that’s a powerful tool.
Variations – how should we deal with them? Make sure you have written instructions;
put a price together for acceptance; don’t do the work unless a price is accepted. Te SBCC Contracts 2016 provide for you to submit a Variation Quotation.
What can we do if we see problems looming on a project? Sit down and talk about them and try to find a resolution. You will see from my other article that I refer to the RICS Conflict Avoidance Pledge and I suggest you all sign up to it online. It offers fair play and early intervention by an experienced construction industry person to look at the issues and come forward with recommendations for resolution. If you want more information then contact Alan Wilson, the Managing Director of SELECT, or me.
Please keep your questions coming and send any queries you may have to len@
buntonconsulting.co.uk
CABLEtalk DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
