About this episode

Jacob Austin discusses four routes to dispute resolution for subcontractors facing payment issues.

Episode 148 of The Subcontractors Blueprint opens a new mini-series on disputes, with host Jacob Austin mapping the four routes a subcontractor can take when the work is signed off but the payments have stopped. Jacob lays out commercial conversation, statutory adjudication, mediation, and the heavyweight options of arbitration and litigation- what each one costs in pounds and in time, and when to walk through it. He explains why doing nothing is the real risk, how marking talks "without prejudice" protects a settlement offer, and why the strength of your records decides every outcome. The message is plain: see all your options first, then choose your route with your eyes open. KEY TAKEAWAYS Why doing nothing on an unpaid account quietly weakens your position every single week — and teaches the other side they can do it again. The cheapest door in the building, plus the one tool that lets you put an offer on the table without it ever being used against you later. How adjudication hands you a binding decision in 28 days, and why "pay now, argue later" was written into law for your industry specifically. When mediation beats a straight win-or-lose fight — and why flatly refusing it…

People in this episode

Host: Jacob Austin

Topics covered

• dispute resolution
• subcontracting
• mediation
• arbitration
• litigation
• adjudication

Keywords

• disputes
• subcontractors
• payment issues
• mediation
• arbitration
• litigation
• adjudication

More episodes of The Subcontractors Blueprint

• Disputes Mini-series: Wrong Isn't A Defence · July 20, 2026 · 20 min
• Disputes Mini Series: One Missed Notice Hands You The Full Sum · July 13, 2026 · 19 min
• Disputes Mini Series: Whoever Moves First Has Already Won- As Long As They're Prepared · July 6, 2026 · 21 min
• Disputes Mini Series: The Mistake That Hands the Other Side Your Whole Hand · June 29, 2026 · 20 min
• Your Valuation Got Slashed - Here's How to Fight it Without Starting a War · June 15, 2026 · 23 min

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