Pay Withheld - No Contracts - He Said/She Said Dispute Help Required

[CharlieDoodle]

Hi everyone,

I am currently owed £4200 by a construction firm but was working on a self employed basis, with no written contract. I realise I've dug myself a hole.

The money owed is a basic consultancy fee, plus purchasing materials on behalf of the company. I have been paid the same fee for 3 or 4 months and have been reimbursed for other materials previously.

The company's argument for withholding monies is that a project I was overseeing has gone overbudget and I am also liable for loss charges from a toolhire centre as I was the middle man between them and the Site Management (note that a Director always had the final say in decision making). I "agreed to work free of charge" to, in essence, reimburse the company due to these losses. As such, I owe them more than they owe me.

I'm not sure how common sense can be translated into legal jargon.
1. Who would agree to work for free (the commute is 50 miles each way to begin with, I have to pay my rent, my bills etc)
2. Why was I kept on with such substantial losses (circa £20,000), surely they should have employed someone better qualified
3. There is no direct link between myself and said allegations - works were priced and started by Others. Evidence was requested but has not been forthcoming.
4. If I had caused such devastation and agreed to work for free, why was there nothing put in writing because surely plummeting myself into debt, burning through my savings etc to recoup the losses is a pretty big thing not to sign a contract for

I am fully aware of this being a scare tactic and have been offered £1000 without prejudice. I have been told their legal costs would be £5000.

It now comes down to a he said/she said argument. I was confident that going through small claims would be successful for me, however due to the costs involved it is an option I would like to avoid. That and due to the he said/she said factor I'm not certain I would be awarded the full value? I would say that I have an implied contract based on a payment history, but couldn't they do the same with regards to said losses?

I'd like to get some feedback and opinions from yourselves. I have approached a local solicitor but it's been the best part of two weeks and very little progress has been made with regards to if this should be chased legally/if I'm stuck and should just take the offered money/if litigation with the intent to chase legally would result in a payout, as the reasons for non-payment are fictitious.

I'd like to clarify that
1. I never agreed to work for free, nor was there ever any agreement stating losses would be taken out of my pay
2. The company has lost money on the project and a sub-contractor did disappear with an item of equipment hence the loss hire charge

Thanks in advance.

Charlie

[teaboy2]

Re: Pay Withheld - No Contracts - He Said/She Said Dispute Help Required

Hi everyone,

I am currently owed £4200 by a construction firm but was working on a self employed basis, with no written contract. I realise I've dug myself a hole.

The money owed is a basic consultancy fee, plus purchasing materials on behalf of the company. I have been paid the same fee for 3 or 4 months and have been reimbursed for other materials previously.

The company's argument for withholding monies is that a project I was overseeing has gone overbudget and I am also liable for loss charges from a toolhire centre as I was the middle man between them and the Site Management (note that a Director always had the final say in decision making). I "agreed to work free of charge" to, in essence, reimburse the company due to these losses. As such, I owe them more than they owe me.

I'm not sure how common sense can be translated into legal jargon.
1. Who would agree to work for free (the commute is 50 miles each way to begin with, I have to pay my rent, my bills etc)
2. Why was I kept on with such substantial losses (circa £20,000), surely they should have employed someone better qualified
3. There is no direct link between myself and said allegations - works were priced and started by Others. Evidence was requested but has not been forthcoming.
4. If I had caused such devastation and agreed to work for free, why was there nothing put in writing because surely plummeting myself into debt, burning through my savings etc to recoup the losses is a pretty big thing not to sign a contract for

I am fully aware of this being a scare tactic and have been offered £1000 without prejudice. I have been told their legal costs would be £5000.

It now comes down to a he said/she said argument. I was confident that going through small claims would be successful for me, however due to the costs involved it is an option I would like to avoid. That and due to the he said/she said factor I'm not certain I would be awarded the full value? I would say that I have an implied contract based on a payment history, but couldn't they do the same with regards to said losses?

I'd like to get some feedback and opinions from yourselves. I have approached a local solicitor but it's been the best part of two weeks and very little progress has been made with regards to if this should be chased legally/if I'm stuck and should just take the offered money/if litigation with the intent to chase legally would result in a payout, as the reasons for non-payment are fictitious.

I'd like to clarify that
1. I never agreed to work for free, nor was there ever any agreement stating losses would be taken out of my pay
2. The company has lost money on the project and a sub-contractor did disappear with an item of equipment hence the loss hire charge

Thanks in advance.

Charlie

Regarding losses, your not liable for them going over their own budget. They would have to prove you were contractually liable which would be difficult for them to do so without a written contract or terms regarding liability when things went over budget for them. And if the loss hire charge related to someone else stealing the item of equipment, then the person that took it is liable not you. Your not liable for the project budget or it going overbudget. You were contracted to provide a service to which you were paid for providing said service which was to be a consultant and arrange purchase of materiel required you have done that, therefore they should pay you.

I think the fact they have offered you £1,000 prior to court hearing (i assume this is already pre-hearing or pre-trial stage) shows they clearly don't want to risk losing in court where they would have to pay you even more. So that says they are not over confident about their own position.

I think the evidence of past payments for consulting fee and purchasing of materials is proof they owe you.

[CharlieDoodle]

Re: Pay Withheld - No Contracts - He Said/She Said Dispute Help Required

Thanks, glad to know I'm not barking mad.

I've PM'd you a bit more information, but yes this is pre-trial.

[teaboy2]

Re: Pay Withheld - No Contracts - He Said/She Said Dispute Help Required

Have PM'd you back.

For benefit of other members, there was no real further details about the claim itself, just protocol issues and concerns that are common occurrence but don't necessarily effect the final outcome.