This chapter contains section titled:

• Where a contract requires the contractor to give a guaranteed maximum price does he have any grounds for increasing the price above the guaranteed maximum?

• Where a subcontract provides for 2 3 cash discount, does this mean that discount can only be deducted if payment is made on time or may the discount be taken even if payment is made late?

• Under what circumstances are contractors/subcontractors entitled to be paid for materials stored off site as part of an interim payment or payment on account?

• Can a contractor force an employer to set aside retention money in a separate bank account?

• If an employer became insolvent what liability does the contractor have for paying subcontractors who are owed money when no further sums are forthcoming from the employer?

• Can a contractor/subcontractor legitimately walk off site if payment isn't made when due?

• Where a contractor undertakes work which he considers should be paid for on a daywork basis and submits daywork sheets as required under the terms of the contract to the architect/engineer, if the daywork records are not signed by the architect or engineer, how does this affect the contractor's entitlement to payment?

• Can an architect/engineer sign a daywork sheet and then refuse to certify the sums involved for payment? Is a quantity surveyor entitled to reduce the hours included on a signed daywork sheet if he considers them unreasonable or excessive?

• Where a contractor/subcontractor includes an unrealistically low rate in the bills of quantities, can he be held to the rate if the quantities substantially increase?

• Can a debtor enforce acceptance of a lesser sum in full and final settlement?

• How can subcontractors avoid pay when paid clauses?

• Once the value of a contractor/subcontractor's work has been certified and paid can it be devalued in a later certificate?

• Can a contractor deduct claims for overpayments levied on one contract from monies due on another in respect of a subcontractor's work?

• When a contractor completes significantly early may the architect/engineer legitimately delay certification to match the employer's ability to pay from available cashflow?

• Is an employer entitled to pay a nominated subcontractor direct when the main contractor is insolvent?

• Where an architect/engineer undercertifies, is the contractor/subcontractor entitled to claim interest?

• Can an architect/engineer refuse to include an amount of money in a certificate in respect of materials stored on site if the contractor or subcontractor cannot prove he has good title to the materials?

• Can an employer refuse to honour an architect/engineer's certificate and so delay payment?

• Where a cheque is issued in respect of construction work undertaken, can it be stopped before it is honoured if it subsequently becomes obvious that the work is defective?

• Where agreement is reached whereby one party to a construction contract agrees to pay the other a sum of money, can the paying party refuse to make the payment on the grounds that he was financially coerced into the agreement?