How Escalation Works When a Coordinator Runs Your Project
What a project coordinator can do when something goes wrong, what stays with the contractor, and exactly how Mortaro escalates on your behalf.
The short version
When something goes wrong, a coordinator's job is to get the contractor to act. Knowing how that works helps you use it well.
When a company coordinates your building project, it usually sits between you and the contractor for communication, scheduling and payments. When something goes wrong, the natural question is what that company can actually do about it. The answer depends on the arrangement, but on a typical coordinated project the coordinator's role is escalation: raising the problem with the contractor, pressing for a response and keeping you informed until it is resolved.
Escalation is valuable, particularly when the problem is a contractor who has gone quiet. It also has limits. Where an independent contractor holds the construction contract, the insurance and the warranty, putting defective work right is theirs to do, and a formal claim about the work would be against them.
This guide explains how escalation works in general, what to expect from any coordinator, how to make it effective, and then exactly how Mortaro handles it. It is part of our guide to when building work goes wrong.
Who holds what
Where responsibility usually sits on a coordinated project
Arrangements differ, so check your own paperwork. This is the common pattern where an independent main contractor is named in the quote.
The coordinator
- Your day-to-day point of contact
- Passing your concerns to the contractor
- Chasing responses and visit dates
- Keeping you updated
- Administering payments, where agreed
- Its own standards for the contractors it works with
The contractor
- The construction contract with you
- Carrying out and running the work
- Their own insurance
- The workmanship warranty
- Putting defects right
- Any claim about the work itself
What escalation means
The levers a coordinator actually has
A coordinator does not usually have the power to order a contractor to do anything. What it has is a working relationship, and that relationship carries weight. The contractor wants to keep receiving work, keep a good record and avoid the time a dispute would cost them. A coordinator who raises a problem clearly and keeps following it up is using that weight on your behalf. What does a project coordinator do? covers the wider role.
Contact. Much of what homeowners experience as a problem is a contractor who is hard to reach. A coordinator in regular contact with the contractor can often get an answer where a homeowner cannot.
Persistence. Escalation is not one phone call. It is following up, setting dates, checking they were kept and following up again. That is time you would otherwise spend yourself.
Standards. A coordinator that works with a network of contractors can set standards and act when they are not met, including no longer working with a contractor. That is a real consequence for the contractor, even though on its own it does not put your work right.
A written trail. Where communication runs through the coordinator, there is usually a record of what was raised and when. That helps if the matter goes further.
What escalation does not change is the contract. Our guide to what a main contractor is responsible for explains why the obligation to put work right stays with the contractor.
What to expect
What good escalation looks like from any coordinator
Whoever coordinates your project, these are fair things to expect once you have raised a problem.
An acknowledgement
Confirmation that your report has been received and understood, and what will happen next.
Contact with the contractor
The problem raised with the contractor promptly, with your photographs and description passed on.
A push for a visit
A date for the contractor to inspect or return, rather than an open-ended promise.
Updates without chasing
Progress reported back to you, including when things are slow, so you are not left wondering.
Follow-through
Checking the visit happened and the problem was resolved, rather than closing it at the first reply.
Honesty about limits
A straight answer about what the coordinator can and cannot do, and when your route is directly with the contractor.
Your part
How to make escalation work
A coordinator can only escalate what it knows about. These steps help it act quickly.
Report early
As soon as you notice a problem. A small issue raised promptly is far easier to resolve than one left to grow.
Be specific and send photographs
What, where and since when. Dated photographs and a short description do more than a long phone call. Keeping evidence and records explains what helps.
Put it in writing
Even if you also phone, send the report by email so there is a record, and keep a copy.
Allow sensible time
Contractors need a little time to arrange a visit. Agree what a reasonable date looks like for the problem.
Make access easy
Offer a few dates and times. A visit that cannot happen delays everything.
Say if it isn't working
If dates are missed or the problem persists, tell the coordinator plainly. That is exactly when escalation should step up.
Escalation in practice
How it plays out in three common situations
The contractor has gone quiet. This is where a coordinator is most useful. A homeowner's calls can go unanswered for days while the contractor is on another job. A coordinator who deals with that contractor regularly can usually get through, get an explanation and get a date. If the silence continues, a good coordinator says so plainly and steps up the pressure rather than repeating the same message.
The contractor disputes the problem. A coordinator is not a judge and, unless it has a surveyor on hand, cannot decide whether work is defective. What it can do is make sure the contractor has inspected the problem properly, ask for their explanation in writing, pass it on to you and keep the conversation going. If you still disagree, an independent report is often the next step, and our guide to dealing with defective workmanship covers it.
A visit keeps slipping. Missed dates are often the real problem behind a slow repair. A coordinator can pin the contractor to a specific date, confirm it with you, check on the day that it went ahead and follow up straight away if it did not. A pattern of missed dates is also exactly what a coordinator with contractor standards should be paying attention to.
In each case, escalation works best when it starts early and stays specific. It rarely helps to wait until a problem feels serious before mentioning it. A small concern raised on the day is easier for everyone than a long list sent weeks later.
Mortaro's escalation
Exactly what we do when something needs putting right
Mortaro coordinates domestic building projects. We appoint a contractor from our network, prepare a quotation that names them, handle the communication throughout and administer the payments. Your appointed main contractor carries out the work, holds the insurance and provides the workmanship warranty: a minimum of 12 months across our network, usually from completion, and often longer on larger works, with the exact terms confirmed in your quotation. Your construction contract is with them.
When something needs putting right, tell us, by phone or email, with photographs if you can. We escalate it to your contractor on your behalf. We push for attendance and a resolution: a visit, a date, and the work put right. We keep at it, following up until something happens and keeping you updated rather than leaving you to chase.
Contractors who fail to put their work right are removed from our network. That is the sanction we have.
We are clear about the limit, because you should know it before you need it. We don't inspect the work, we don't guarantee it, and we don't indemnify you if the contractor fails to put it right. Any claim for defective work sits with your contractor under your contract with them. Checking contractors before they join reduces the risk of a problem. It does not remove it, which is exactly why escalation is part of what we do. Putting things right sets out the same process in brief, and who you're dealing with explains the three parties.
Beyond escalation
Your options if escalation doesn't resolve it
Escalation settles many day-to-day problems, but not every one. If the contractor disputes the problem, refuses to return or has stopped trading, your route is the one you would have with any contractor you hired directly, because your contract is with them.
That usually means a formal written complaint first, then an independent report if the facts are disputed, then mediation or another form of ADR, and as a last step a claim through the small claims process. The written trail of what was raised and when is useful evidence along the way, alongside your own records.
Before you take a formal step, tell the coordinator what you intend to do and by when. Sometimes a clear deadline, passed on to the contractor, is what finally gets a date in the diary. If it isn't, you have lost nothing, and you move forward knowing every reasonable chance was given. Keep the tone factual throughout. A calm, well-documented complaint is taken more seriously at every stage, whoever ends up reading it.
Citizens Advice can help you work out which step fits your situation. This is general information, not legal advice.
Before you commit
Ask how escalation works before you need it
When you are weighing up a coordinated service against going direct, ask the coordinator plainly what happens if something goes wrong: who you contact, what they will do, what consequence a contractor faces for failing, and where the warranty sits. A clear, specific answer is a good sign. Our guide to directories, networks and going direct compares the options.
Straight answers
Questions about escalation
Can a coordinator force a contractor to fix defects?
Not usually in a legal sense. A coordinator escalates, presses for a visit and a resolution, and may stop working with a contractor who fails. The legal obligation to put defective work right sits with the contractor under your contract.
Does Mortaro guarantee the work?
No. The workmanship warranty is your contractor's. We escalate on your behalf, keep pushing for a resolution, and remove contractors who fail to put things right.
Will Mortaro pay for the repair if the contractor doesn't?
No. We don't indemnify the work, and any claim for defective work sits with your contractor. Our role is to escalate and, where a contractor fails, to remove them from our network.
How long should escalation take?
There is no fixed timescale, because it depends on the problem, the contractor's availability and whether parts or materials are needed. What you should expect is steady progress and regular updates. If nothing is moving, say so and ask what happens next.
How do I raise a problem with Mortaro?
By phone or email, with a description and photographs if you can. Our contact page has the details.
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.