Can I refuse to pay if I am not happy with the work?

Refusing to pay feels like leverage and it is, but it is leverage that cuts both ways. A contractor who is owed money can pursue you, and a tribunal considering the matter will look at whether your response was proportionate to the defect.

A defensible position

1. 1Identify precisely what is defective or incomplete, with photographs.
2. 2Get a written quote from another contractor for the cost of putting it right, which gives you a number rather than an opinion.
3. 3Pay the invoice less that amount, and pay it on time.
4. 4Write to the contractor stating what you have paid, what you have withheld, why, and what you need done to release it.
5. 5Keep the withheld amount available rather than spending it, because you may have to pay it.

Why this works better

It demonstrates good faith, it quantifies the dispute, and it narrows the argument to one number. A contractor pursuing you for the full amount then has to explain why they should be paid for work another contractor has priced to redo. If it goes to a tribunal, that record is exactly what decides it.

Where it goes wrong

• Withholding everything over a small defect, which looks like an excuse not to pay.
• Not saying why, which lets the other side claim they were never told.
• Refusing them access to fix it, since for a minor failure they are entitled to that opportunity.
• Delay, because an unpaid invoice that sits for months becomes a debt recovery matter with costs attached.