A freshly painted shop unit at 7.30am, a ladder against the wall and dust sheets by the door.

wolfx. Answers Search answers about getting paid Get started

My client says the work wasn't good enough and won't pay. Can they do that?

The short answer

Only for what's wrong. The law's standard is reasonable care and skill1, not the client's satisfaction, and a client with a real fault can usually deduct the cost of the fix, not the whole bill. The rest is usually still due, with interest from the day after the due date4. The small claims court's list of papers for building, repair and similar contract claims includes a list of works complained of2, so a complaint should name its items.

Mara, WolfX research desk
Written with AI, checked by a person · 8 October 2026

England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.

What you can add

A £3,800 cleaning invoice with a £360 complaint

Say you run a cleaning firm and invoiced another business £3,800 for a deep clean of its offices and kitchen, due on 31 August 2026. You chased twice. On 6 October the reply says the work was not good enough: the kitchen and two toilets need doing again, and nothing will be paid until they are. You price the re-clean at £360. On 8 October the invoice is still unpaid: 38 days late. Interest started on 1 September, so the rate is set by the Bank Rate on 30 June 2026: 3.75%7 plus 8%6, or 11.75%.

The invoice£3,800.00
Less the part in question: the re-clean, at your price−£360.00
Interest: £3,440 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 38 days6£42.08
Fixed sum (debts from £1,000 to £9,999.99)8£70.00
Not in question, owed on 8 October 2026£3,552.08

Interest adds £1.11 a day from here, until the £3,440 is paid. The re-clean costs £360 and a morning. Left unanswered, the complaint holds all £3,800.

The road ahead

Six steps. The only cost is the fix itself.

Step 1: Check what they can and cannot do
The law's test is reasonable care and skill1, not whether they like the result. A client with a real fault can usually deduct what it costs to put right, not the whole bill. That comes from how courts decide these claims, not from section 13. Read your contract for any clause on quality, snags or sign-off.
In construction work, painting and decorating included, read what a pay less notice is first: a client's right to pay less is tighter.
Cost: FreeTime: 10 minutes
Step 2: Put your record in one folder
The quote or specification, any sign-off, dated photographs, their use of the work and the stages they already paid. Keep the dates. A complaint made at handover reads differently from one first made after you chased, and the Small Business Commissioner says a client with a dispute should make contact promptly, before the payment date10.
If your contract makes payment wait for a sign-off, read that clause now: an agreed payment date can depend on an event4.
Cost: FreeTime: An hour
Step 3: Reply in writing within two days
Send the letter below. It asks for their list, photographs and prices, offers to inspect and put right any real fault at your cost, and asks for the part nobody disputes by a date. If this reaches a court, the court usually needs a list of the works complained of2, so ask for it now.
Expect a list, a counter-figure or a refusal to give either. If they ring instead, email a note of the call.
Cost: FreeTime: Same day
Step 4: Inspect, and put right what is really wrong
Go on the date you gave, photograph each item and fix any real fault at your cost. Ask for a short written sign-off when you finish. Issue a credit note only for a sum you have agreed in writing, because it reduces your own invoice.
Cost: Your time and materialsTime: A morning
Step 5: Claim interest on the undisputed part now
Interest starts the day after the payment date4, and that section says nothing about a complaint. The Commissioner's FAQ says you cannot claim interest on an invoice “disputed, legitimately”10, so claim it on the undisputed sum. If the £360 proves to be owed, its interest usually runs from 1 September too.
A court can cut interest for a period5 where your own conduct makes that fair, so answer the complaint fast.
Cost: FreeTime: 10 minutes
Step 6: Still unpaid? Send a letter before action for that part
Write a letter before action for the undisputed sum only; that page covers sole traders. A company should reply within 14 days in a straightforward case, say which parts of the claim it disputes and why, and say whether it is making a counterclaim9.
A claim of £10,000 or less is normally a small claim3, where the court usually needs2 any written contract or estimate, photographs, a list of works complained of, a list of any outstanding works, invoices and a valuation to date.
Cost: FreeTime: 14 days, or 30 for a sole trader

A letter you can copy

Reply to a complaint: ask for the list, offer the fix, claim the rest

Send it within a day or two of the complaint, once you have read it against your own record.

New email

SubjectInvoice : your comments on the work, and the part not in question

Dear , Thank you for your email of about invoice , for , which was due on . If something is wrong with the work, I will put it right. To do that, please send me by : 1. Each item you say is not right, and what is wrong with it. 2. A photograph of each item. 3. What you say each would cost to put right. I can come and inspect on , or on another day that suits you. If I find a fault, I will put it right at my own cost by . For my part, my records show . Your email raises . The remaining of the invoice is not affected by it. That sum was due on , and interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 has been running on it since the day after. Please pay by to: The items you have raised stay open while your list is dealt with. Nothing in this letter reduces the invoice or gives up any part of it. If is not paid by , I will send you a formal letter before action for it. If you believe any of this is wrong, please tell me before that date and say why. Kind regards,

Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.

Send it by email so it is dated, and keep a copy with the invoice and their complaint. Leave off “without prejudice”: this letter is meant to be read by a judge if it comes to that. Price the items they name honestly. If they name none, leave out the paragraph about the sum not in question, and ask for the whole invoice in your next letter. After any inspection, email a note the same day of what you saw and what was agreed.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

They are right about part of it. Put that part right, or agree its cost in writing and credit that sum only. Then ask for the rest.
The sum in question is small and the client is worth keeping. Offer the fix, get a short written sign-off and ask for the rest. The sign-off is your record if it comes up again.
It is construction work. Repairs, painting and decorating count11. Paying less then takes a pay less notice12 in time that names the sum; “not good enough” is not one.
You sold goods, they are a consumer, or you are outside England and Wales. Each follows different rules, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own courts. This page covers work done for a business in England and Wales.
The job was left unfinished. Then the question is what you are owed for what you did, which is a different case. A solicitor who does contract disputes can read your contract first.

The Wolf's note

Fixing the work and getting paid are two separate jobs. Put right what is really wrong, at your cost, and ask for the rest with a date. A morning's fix should not hold the whole invoice.

Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX

What comes next