Good evening all!

A self employed, hard working friend who is a decent man, employing locally and is just a generally good bloke has made a schoolboy error in trusting without the legalities.

He is a commercial painter and decorator who has to take on huge contracts and suffer the cash flow problems associated therein!

In December, a 'manager' told him to proceed with extra work but it was not backed up in writing and there were no witnesses.

The company are now refusing to pay him for the extras which could force him and his family into insolvency.

Is there anything (apart from learning a massive lesson), that we can do to help this guy please?

Thank you

JT

There is no need for a written contract. A verbal agreement is perfectly binding. It simply a question of evidence.

Is your friend able to demonstrate the work that he did? What materials did he supply? Does he have receipts for this material? Who is the manager? Are we dealing with a company somewhere? If you tell us the whole story without too much narrative but in a bullet pointed chronology then maybe we can start to understand the problem.

I will find out but since writing, the manager has agreed to pay half! interesting!!

Half of the agreed sum represents what value?

You should properly find out much more about it before your friend accepts the payment. If it is a substantial amount, then even that acceptance of half the amount is probably not legally binding and it could well be worth chasing up the other half.

Find out as much as you can quickly and get back to us.

Just spoken to him.

He has documented everything that was asked of him and has evidence of everything he did!

Then please set out the story or better still get him to come here and do it.

Playing Chinese whispers on an Internet forum is pretty gruelling work

He's gonna cave sadly.

You just can't help some people.

Sorry to waste your time

Thank you

JT

OK. See how he feels in the morning.

How much is at stake, as a matter of interest?