Construction Contracts Act

Construction Contracts Act

So, you’ve received an invoice from us, and on it it says its a payment claim under the Construction Contracts Act (CCA). That means we are claiming from you a payment for construction work – it might be a progress payment for on-going work, or it might be a claim for full payment if the work is complete. The CCA gives us an element of protection from people who just don’t want to pay – we know you are not one of those people, but they are out there, and we don’t want or need to deal with that, so we submit all of our payment claims using the protection of the Construction Contracts Act 2002

The easiest way to deal with our payment claim is to simply pay it – in full by the due date, but there could be times when you are not happy with our claim, or perhaps we have accidently charged for somehing that’s not done yet. The CCA gives you an element of protection too, but you’ve got to follow the correct process.

We’ve put together some information for you in the event that you feel you shouldn’t have to pay our claim in full by the due date, so you can correctly respond to our payment claim within the required time frames.

What should I do with the payment claim I’ve just received?

You can either—

• pay the amount claimed in our payment claim (invoice) in full on or before the due date for payment; or
• dispute our payment claim, by sending us a written payment schedule that complies with section 21 of the Act, stating the amount you are prepared to pay (which could be nothing). You can use the below form to send us all of the required details

The due date for a payment is the date agreed between you and us. That due date is set out on the payment claim. If we haven’t agreed on a due date, then the Act says that payment is due within 20 working days after the payment claim is served on you. (A working day is any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, a public holiday, or any day from 24 December to 5 January.)

When do I have to act?

You should act promptly. Otherwise, you may lose the right to object.

What if I do nothing?

If you don’t pay the amount claimed by the due date for payment or send a payment schedule indicating what you will pay instead, we can go to court to recover the unpaid amount from you as a debt owed. In addition, the court may decide that you have to pay our costs for bringing the court case.

Can I say that I will not pay, or pay less than, the claimed amount?

Yes, by sending a written payment schedule.

NOTE: If you do not send a written payment schedule, we could bring court proceedings against you or refer the matter to adjudication (or both).

How do I say I will not pay, or pay less than, the claimed amount?

To say that you will pay nothing or indicate what you will pay instead, you must send us a written payment schedule.

You must indicate the amount that you are prepared to pay, which could be nothing.

This amount is called the scheduled amount.

If the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount, you must explain in the payment schedule—

• how you calculated the scheduled amount; and
• why the scheduled amount is less than the claimed amount; and
• your reason or reasons for not paying the full amount claimed.

NOTE: The written payment schedule must also state which payment claim the payment schedule relates to.
NOTE: If you state in the payment schedule that you will pay less than the claimed amount or pay nothing at all, we may refer the dispute about how much is owing for adjudication.

How long do I have?

You must send a payment schedule by the date agreed in the contract or, if no date was agreed, within 20 working days after the payment claim was served on you.

If I say I will pay another amount instead, when do I have to pay it?

You must still pay the scheduled amount by the due date for payment.

What if I don’t pay the scheduled amount when it’s due?

If you send a payment schedule but do not pay the scheduled amount by the due date, we can go to court to recover the unpaid amount from you as a debt owed or refer the matter to adjudication (or both). Note: A court may also require you to pay our legal costs too

Advice

IMPORTANT: If there is anything in this notice that you do not understand or if you want advice about what to do, you should consult a lawyer immediately.

If you are paying our claim in full, there is no need to send us a payment schedule

If you intend on paying less than the amount we’ve claimed, you can let us know using this form