Can a Project Coordinator Help With a Dispute?
Yes, in a practical way: by raising the problem with the contractor and keeping it moving. Here is what that involves, and where the contractor's responsibility sits.
The short answer
A coordinator gets your problem in front of the contractor and keeps it there until it's dealt with.
Yes, a project coordinator can help with a dispute in a practical way. A coordinator can raise the problem with the contractor on your behalf, push for a visit and a response, follow it up, keep you updated, and, where the contractor is part of a network, remove them if they won't put their work right. What a coordinator doesn't normally do is decide who is right, carry out or pay for the repair, or take on the contractor's legal responsibility. Your contract for the work, the warranty and any legal remedy stay with the contractor who did the job.
That is still a lot of help. Many building problems get stuck not because nobody agrees what to do, but because nobody answers. Having someone whose job is to get an answer changes that. This page explains what to expect from a coordinator in general, and exactly what Mortaro does.
Who does what
What a coordinator does, and what stays with the contractor
A coordinator typically
- Raises the problem with the contractor for you
- Pushes for a site visit and a clear response
- Follows up until something happens
- Keeps you updated along the way
- Removes a contractor from its network if they fail to put things right
Stays with the contractor
- Carrying out the repair
- The cost of putting their work right
- The workmanship warranty
- The construction contract with you
- Legal responsibility for their work
Setting expectations
Pressure and persistence, not a ruling
It helps to be clear about what kind of help this is. A coordinator is not an independent referee. A coordinator does not hear both sides and hand down a decision, and cannot order a contractor to carry out work. If you and the contractor genuinely disagree about whether something is a defect, an independent expert, a formal dispute resolution service or, as a last resort, a court is what settles that. What is ADR for building disputes? explains those routes.
What a coordinator brings is contact, persistence and a working relationship with the contractor. A contractor who hears about a problem promptly and clearly, and who knows the coordinator will keep asking, is far more likely to deal with it. Using a coordinator does not affect your own rights: you can still use Citizens Advice, alternative dispute resolution or the courts, just as you could with a contractor you hired directly.
To get the most from a coordinator, tell them early and give them what they need to act: a clear description, photographs, the date you first noticed the problem and anything the contractor has already said. The clearer the starting point, the quicker the contractor can respond, and the less back-and-forth there is for everyone.
Before you accept a coordinated quote
Three questions to ask any coordinator
Who is my contract with?
The quotation should say plainly which company carries out the work and holds your construction contract. See what does a project coordinator do?
Who gives the warranty?
Ask who provides the workmanship warranty, how long it lasts and when it starts. It should be in writing before you commit.
What happens if I report a problem?
Ask how problems are raised, who contacts the contractor, and what happens if the contractor doesn't respond.
If you use Mortaro
How Mortaro escalates a problem
This is what we do when you tell us something needs putting right.
You tell us
By phone or email. Describe what is wrong and, if you can, send photographs.
We contact your contractor
We raise it with them on your behalf and push for a visit and a resolution.
We keep at it
We follow up until something happens, and we keep you updated rather than leaving you to chase.
Contractors who fail are removed
A contractor who does not put their work right does not stay in our network. That is the sanction we have.
Where responsibility sits
Stated plainly
Mortaro coordinates your project and administers the payments as your contractor's payment administration agent. Your construction contract is with the contractor named in your quotation, who carries out the work, holds the insurance and provides the workmanship warranty: a minimum of 12 months across our network, usually from completion. The contractual remedy for defective work is against your contractor.
We escalate and we remove contractors who fail to put things right. We don't inspect the work, we don't act as a mediator or adjudicator between you and your contractor, and we don't guarantee the work or cover the cost of putting it right. Checking contractors before they join the network reduces the chance of a dispute; it doesn't remove it. Putting things right and who you're dealing with explain the arrangement in full.
This is general information, not legal advice. If a dispute isn't resolved through escalation, Citizens Advice can explain the independent routes open to you.
Straight answers
Questions about coordinators and disputes
Does using a coordinator change my legal rights?
No. Your rights for the work are against the contractor who carried it out, whether or not a coordinator is involved. This is general information, not legal advice.
What if escalation doesn't resolve it?
The independent routes remain open to you. How escalation works with a coordinator covers where escalation ends and those routes begin.
Can I still contact the contractor myself?
Yes. It can help to keep us copied in, so everyone is working from the same information. See what if the contractor disputes the problem?
Start here
Tell us about the work you have in mind
We will confirm we cover your postcode, arrange a site visit with a contractor from our network and send you a written quotation. No charge, no obligation.