Contractor not paying sub contractor

[Landscaping1]

Hello all,
Advice needed please.

We worked as sub-contractors on a large project. The job took lots of twists and turns and the contractor was not answering phone etc throughout.
We was asked to order additional products that the contractor is now saying he is not paying for - even though we have confirmation on whatsapp that he would.
His reasoning is that he has already lost money on the job and isnt going to loose more. We are in total owed around £11K.
There was no contract signed between both parties, it was all verbal. We have screenshots of him asking for us to invoice him etc. But still refusing to pay. PLEASE HELP

[atticus]

First of all, you should gather all evidence of your communications about this project with this contractor - emails, whatsApp, text/SMS messages etc.

This contractor's reasoning that he is losing money on the job is not a reason not to pay you. It is not a defence that will stand up in Court.

What you need is evidence to prove your claim - what you agreed to do and what you would be paid. With that, you can bring a County Court claim.

And in future, get it in writing, even if this means you sending an email to confirm what has been agreed orally. This is part of doing business.

[M_Bilal]

Sorry you're dealing with this. The good news is your WhatsApp messages act as written proof of your verbal contract.

If you take this to small claims court, don't just submit screenshots courts hate them because they get out of order easily. Instead, use WhatsApp's 'Export Chat' feature to get the raw .txt file.



Don't let him intimidate you out of your £11K. Good luck!