Seven eccentric ways to ensure you get paid

James Stagg considers some of the more extreme measures contractors have resorted to in order to get paid.

With late payment a widespread problem again, contractors could be forgiven for turning to ever more drastic measures to secure remuneration.

Despite the government's 10-day payment pledge, there is little evidence that clients are coughing up any more readily.

At a time when the industry is more reliant than ever on steady cashflow, delaying and diversionary tactics threaten the whole supply chain, which is why it's essential the industry honours its payment promises.

A survey of subcontractors shows that up to 95% are not being paid within 30 days - a statistic that could drive some to distraction.

And they wouldn't be the first, as the following examples of the extreme lengths that contractors will go to in order to get paid demonstrate.

• Do you have a payment story to tell?
  Email: neil.gerrard@rbi.co.uk

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1. Caerphilly Gets Blobbed

Perhaps the most bizarre escalation of a payment dispute came in the 1990s when Birse Construction attempted to restart negotiations with Caerphilly Council.

The firm was owed £11m for building the Lower Rhymney Valley relief road and its five-year talks had reached an impasse.

Birse had earned a reputation for taking a hard line with subbies at that time, but it decided this dispute provided an opportunity to show a softer side.

After sending then council chief executive Malgwyn Davies gifts including rock crystals and a fairy gift box, it dispatched six staff dressed in animal costumes including Bugs Bunny and Mr Blobby to a council meeting. Davies also received a fax containing words from a speech made by Nelson Mandela on his release from prison, while every Caerphilly councillor was sent a video explaining how Birse felt.

Birse said the gift box would help Davies relax and the Mandela thoughts would free him from being institutionalised.

But the unorthodox methods proved fruitless. The council response was to complain to the Government that the actions amounted to harassment.

Two years later Birse finally agreed a settlement.

Many years on and now under new ownership, the firm is vastly different from that headed up by Peter Birse in the 1990s and now boasts a high customer satisfaction rating.

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2. Pilfered PCs

More recently it has been employees at contractors who have been creative when seeking payment.

Following the firm's fall into administration at the end of last year, furious Pettifer Construction staff decided it was time for some direct action in lieu of unpaid wages and outstanding expenses.

Staff were handed their P45s the day the pay run was due, but salaries weren't released after the bank cut Pettifer's overdraft facility. The only way the irate employees could think of recouping any of their wages was to walk out with all the computers and printers they could carry.

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3. Call Waiting... and Waiting... and Waiting...

The policy in the accounts department at regional contractor Wiltshier 20 years ago was simple. Just don't answer the phone. The company was considered an atrocious payer, and every time the accounts number rang, staff knew it would be an irate supplier or subcontractor demanding payment.

Even if someone rang internally within the company, accounts would let the phone go unanswered. They just wouldn't speak to anyone.

But that meant that subcontractors just turned up and started searching for the accounts department.

Even then, none of the departments had signs on them, making it difficult to track the accountants down.

There are no whispers of what happened when a subbie successfully negotiated the maze, however, you can be sure they would have made their voice heard.

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4. Menacing Machines

On sensitive timetables such as the Olympics, it doesn't do to upset suppliers. So when a plant hirer felt he had been stiffed, he threatened to block the site until his case had been resolved.

John Reilly of Essex-based Nationwide Plant claimed he was owed £11,000 by Morrison, who was using his kit on its groundworks contract.

Reilly tipped off the press for maximum exposure, saying he planned to turn up at the site gates for a morning of protest with two of his machines.

The incident was of extra embarrassment for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which a week before had promised to crack down on late payment across the site.

It called main contractors to a series of meetings to ask that they pay suppliers within 18 days. Well ahead of the industry norm of 30 to 60 days.

Unsurprisingly, Reilly's planned stunt worked and he was paid after Morrison established the ownership and status of Nationwide R&R Contracts.

No company likes bad publicity, but the ODA is more sensitive than most. When it comes to recompense, it pays to tip off the press.

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5. A Captive Market

When all else fails, UK contractors could learn something from their Gallic counterparts, who have refined the art of 'boss-napping'. The tactic is becoming increasingly popular, where workers take their grievances with bosses a step further than legally legitimate.

Earlier this year, French workers at Caterpillar held the managers captive in protest against plant closures and severance packages. The drama lasted 24 hours and was described as a spontaneous act by the unions, which said it was a last resort to start a dialogue.

The protest prompted politicians to promise they would save the factory, but it also lead to four executives filing a criminal complaint.

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6. Putting a Block on the Marble

A contractjournal.com forum contributor says the days of turning up at a client's office with a couple of big blokes to speak to the client 'nicely' no longer ensures that you get paid.

Having had funds held back on a contract, the contractor decided to fight fire with fire and deliberately held back a major piece of marble.

He explains: "The truth is he won't be getting that marble panel fitted until he coughs up."

So the dispute is at stand-off stage, but at least the contractor will have smart new work surfaces in his kitchen.

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7. Revolving Door Staffing

Another forum member recalls a period working for Christiani & Neilsen. The company had a novel way of dealing with making promises it couldn't keep: it didn't retain staff long enough to honour them.

According to our mole, the firm would get temps in for two weeks at a time to work in the purchase ledger department. In the company's eyes this meant that any promises made became invalid after they left.

Whenever a supplier called asking to speak to the employee and chase up a claim, they would have disappeared. Though the clients did eventually get paid, it seems Christiani & Neilsen subscribed to the 'get it in quick and release it slowly' approach to finance.

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Tried and Trusted Revenge Tactics

• Undo all your good work - Stories of contractors returning to site to remove their footprints.
  Perhaps the most notorious were the now long gone Hightower brick work gang from Essex that revisited an unpaid job to knock down their walls - dressed in dinner jackets.
  There's nothing like a bit of decorum when taking out revenge.
• Cold calling - Rather than turn up and simply demand payment, one firm made sure it didn't leave without some remuneration.
  The subbies turned up at a main contractor's office and set about loading its chairs and desks into a van outside.
  Employees were so stunned that they stood aside as their furniture was removed around them.
• Site inspection When all else fails and a main contractor goes under half way through a job, the only option can be to take whatever's going.
  Contractors have been known to return to the site in the dead of night to retrieve whatever goods and equipment they can to cover their costs. It may be cathartic but it's still not legal.