NEC ECC: Payment to the Contractor for a Quotation?

Under Main option A - for a Compensation event the Contractor is entitled to payment for the preparation of the Quotation however, how to we stand if the QS’s who prepared that quotation are not on the schedule of cost components?

Secondly given the size of the Compensation Event the contractor opted to outsource the programming of the compensation event works. They did not agree this approach with the PM nor are there agreed rates on the SOCC and are now presenting this for payment.

Is the Contractor still entitled to payment?

Assuming NEC3, unfortunately (for you) the cost of preparing the quotation is expressly excluded (see 11.2(22)). This does change under NEC4 where the exclusion has been deleted. This means any additional cost (over and above the standard project team) the Contractor can prove they have incurred will be recoverable under NEC4 but not for NEC3 ECC option A (and B).

Not quite sure what you meant by “the QS’s who prepared that quote are not on the schedule of cost components”- I can only assume you have a list and/or rates of people tied into the contract which is not the norm for NEC3, but again would be different for NEC4 where there is a list of people rates included in CD2.

If the only way that they could manage the planning of this CE was to outsource it, this should have been a clear part of the quotation and as long as justifiable (and at open market rates etc) should have been considered as part of the PM assessment. Not sure where this quotation is in the quotation/assessment/implementation phase but it sounds as though it is not as far on as it might be so both Parties know where they stand.