Clarifying the many confusions that lie behind financial charges

摘要

We have seen how contractors' claims for loss and expense may appear, on the face of it, to be the worst form of Voodoo; but that, with the application of the talisman of the general principles of the common law, the magic fades to reveal a fairly ordinary, and usually inflated, claim for damages for delay. A loss and expense claim would not be complete without a claim for interest, but just to maintain the confusion, it uses the term 'finance charges'instead. Nevertheless, the idea behind a claim for finance charges is a simple one. If contractors are delayed and have to increase their borrowings to maintain progress, they will bear the cost of additional interest until their claim is resolved and paid. This may not be until agreement of the final account, and if disputed, may not be until a court or arbitrator gives a decision months or years later. What may start out as insignificant costs can, on large projects, amount to huge sums.