I am a plumbing sub-contractor doing installs for a company. We invoice weekly and the last check we received had a $1000 deduction. The reason was a back-charge for an admin fee. When I questioned it, they told me that they back-charged for time spent on a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet was something they created internally for the new employee that was hired to help with the plumbing installs on the jobs. The back charge was not releated to any of our jobs or installs. Are they allowed to make up random charges for whatever they want? Also, they just wrote a note on our invoice after they deducted the amount. We had no notice that they will be deducting anything from our check that week. I told them that we do not aggree with it and would like an opportunity to speak further before they take it out of our payment. They ignored my request. We have a spreadsheet that we use daily that is very detailed. The spreadsheet is something they are using for themselves. I requested an explanation on how she came up with such a high amount. Is she charging us hourly labor, or is this a penalty fee, etc.? She never provided any further details or back up and when we picked up payment it was not the full amount. Is this legal, if so, are they following proper procedures? I just do not see how someone can randomly make up a charge that is not related to a job or install we did, no fees or expenses are related to this, and we do not have a signed contract stating we will be charged for such fee.
You really should retain a construction attorney to evaluate your situation and to provide advice.
The legal analysis would start with a review of your subcontract, and extend to any communications which have occurred.
You should consider providing a notice of non-payment and funds trapping request to the owner for the missing money. Then, if need be, you could consider filing a mechanic's lien. Notifiying the owner that you are not being paid properly may convince the contractor to straighten up and fly right.
Good luck.