Hi, Anthony from Contractors Debt Recovery back to you as promised. Today we’re going to talk about Security of Payment payment claims. Just a few simple pointers to make them a work of art and making them a work of art is really your main game. I see too many payment claims with not enough detail. They’re not thought out and they’re not sent correctly. So let’s talk about that.

The first thing I want you to be doing is to properly describe the work in the payment claim, not just claim one. Say what you’ve actually done. If you got a scope of works, even better. Set out the scope items you’ve done on your payment claim and the value against each item so that your client can see clearly how you’ve arrived at the claimed amount in your payment claim or your invoice.

The second thing you should be doing is including evidence of work done. So if you’ve got a bill of quantities or invoices or maybe some mark-up plan so you can show your client this is the work that I’ve done towards the finished product, so they can see how much work you’re actually claiming for and it will reduce the chances of you guys arguing about it later on.

The next thing you need to have is a very clear claimed amount, so a total amount of what you’re claiming. Too many payment claims have itemised amount but not consolidated entire amount that you’re actually going up for the claim period. So make sure you’ve got a clear claimed amount. And the last thing you’ve got to be doing is serving the claim correctly.

Now don’t send it by email and don’t send it by a registered post. Registered post is never a good idea if they wanted to collect it. Email they can say we never got it. So you serve it by fax and by carrier to make sure that your client gets it and that it’s sign for. With a fax, you get a fax transmission report. So they can’t deny that they’ve actually received the payment claim.

So there are some pointers on getting your claim together and finally if it’s a claim under the security of Payment Act, make sure that it says so. Too many people leave those off. So to round it up, properly describe the work you’re doing, add proof of work done, have a clear claimed amount and serve it correctly on your client. I’ll see you next time.