Debt collection · Construction & trades
Debt collection for builders, subcontractors and trades — matched to your case, free
Construction has the worst payment culture in the UK economy: applications knocked back without proper notice, retentions held long after defects periods expire, and subcontract chains where everyone blames the tier above. The good news is that construction debt comes with paperwork — and paperwork is what wins recoveries.
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Sound familiar?
- Applications for payment ignored or 'assessed' down to a fraction
- Retentions unreleased months after the defects period ended
- Main contractor blames the client's cash flow for your invoice
- Verbal variations done in good faith, now disputed
What good recovery looks like in your sector
Construction contracts sit under the Construction Act (the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act): if the payer didn't serve a valid payment notice or pay-less notice on time, the sum in your application can become the 'notified sum' — payable in full, whatever they think of the valuation. Agencies and legal partners who know the sector check your notices first, because a missed pay-less notice converts an argument into a straightforward debt. Retentions are recoverable debts too, not favours to be requested. And where genuine dispute exists, construction has its own fast-track — adjudication — which a sector-savvy recovery partner knows when to threaten and when to use.
Common questions
They didn't send a pay-less notice — does that really matter?
Enormously. Without a valid, timely pay-less notice, the notified sum in your application is generally payable in full regardless of their valuation arguments. It's often the single strongest card a subcontractor holds, and a recovery partner who knows the Act plays it immediately.
Can I recover a retention from a job finished two years ago?
Usually, yes — retention is your money owed under the contract, and the six-year limitation clock gives you room. The pattern of 'retention amnesia' relies on subcontractors not chasing; a formal demand with the contract terms attached tends to cure it.
Get matched with an agency that knows construction & trades
Tell us about the debt and we'll match it with a vetted agency that knows your sector's paperwork and pressure points. Free, no obligation.