CVIs1 May 2026·7 min read

Five verbal instructions that became expensive disputes — and how to prevent them

Verbal instructions are one of the leading causes of construction disputes. Five fictionalised but realistic scenarios showing exactly how they escalate — and how to stop them before they start.

Miguel Rey

Senior Contracts Manager · Founder, Taskabeez

In construction, the verbal instruction is an everyday occurrence. Projects move fast, decisions are made on site, and the formality of written instructions often feels like it slows things down. The problem is that verbal instructions without written confirmation are invitations to dispute. Every scenario below is fictionalised but drawn from patterns that repeat across projects of every size and contract type.

The acceleration instruction that was never documented

The situation

The client's project manager visits site and tells the site manager to accelerate the concrete frame works by two weeks to allow an early handover of Level 3 for fit-out to begin. The site manager passes the instruction to the foreman. Additional resources are mobilised. Overtime is worked. The frame is accelerated.

The dispute

At final account, the contractor submits a claim for £84,000 in acceleration costs. The client's team has no record of the instruction. The project manager who gave it has moved to another role. The client denies the instruction was ever given and refuses to certify the costs. Without a CVI (Confirmation of Verbal Instruction), the contractor has no contemporaneous record of the instruction, no written confirmation, and no signed agreement to the cost. The £84,000 is written off.

The prevention

A CVI raised on the day of the instruction — or even the following morning — would have confirmed the instruction in writing, identified the accelerated scope, and requested the client's confirmation of the cost basis. An instruction that is confirmed in writing within 24 hours is extremely difficult to deny six months later at final account.

The 'minor amendment' to the specification that was not minor

The situation

During a site visit, the architect verbally instructs the main contractor to upgrade the internal door ironmongery from the specification grade to a premium grade, citing a client preference change. The instruction is passed verbally to the relevant subcontractor. The upgraded ironmongery is installed across 147 doors.

The dispute

The client's Quantity Surveyor (QS) does not recognise the instruction as a formal variation because it was never confirmed in writing. The subcontractor's account for the additional cost — £31,200 — is refused certification on the grounds that no variation order was ever issued. The main contractor absorbs the cost because they cannot prove they were instructed to make the change.

The prevention

The CVI process exists precisely for this situation. An immediate written confirmation of the verbal instruction — cross-referenced to the specific specification clause being varied, the location, and the estimated cost — creates an irrefutable record. The instruction is documented before the work is done, not after the dispute arises.

The 'just do it for now' temporary works instruction

The situation

The structural engineer instructs the contractor, verbally on site, to install temporary propping to support a slab that has developed unexpected cracking. The instruction is urgent. The contractor mobilises immediately, installs the propping, and carries the cost. The instruction is given on a Friday afternoon.

The dispute

When the contractor seeks payment for the temporary propping and the associated design review costs — £22,600 — the engineer claims the instruction was for the contractor to assess the situation, not to install propping. The contractor's site foreman recalls the conversation differently. Without a contemporaneous written record, the dispute becomes one person's word against another's. The contractor receives a partial payment of £8,000.

The prevention

Even in an urgent situation, a brief email or a CVI raised the same day — 'We confirm that we have received a verbal instruction from [engineer name] on [date] to install temporary propping to [location]. We are proceeding immediately and will submit our account. Please confirm this instruction in writing.' — creates the record. If the engineer's recollection differs, the email trail resolves it cleanly.

The omission instruction that the employer denied giving

The situation

During a value engineering workshop, the employer's representative instructs the contractor to omit the feature-grade external cladding on the north elevation and substitute with a standard rendered finish. The contractor prices the saving, confirms it verbally, and adjusts the programme accordingly. The work proceeds on the revised basis.

The dispute

At handover, the employer complains that the north elevation cladding is not as specified. The contractor explains the omission instruction. The employer denies it, claiming only a preliminary discussion took place and no formal instruction was ever given. The contractor is required to re-clad the elevation at a cost of £67,000, which is not recoverable because no written omission order exists.

The prevention

Omission instructions are variation orders with a negative value. They carry the same documentation requirement as additions. A CVI or VO (Variation Order) entry confirming the omitted scope, the instruction source, the date, and the agreed saving — signed or at minimum sent to the employer for comment — prevents the employer from denying the instruction ever existed.

The end-of-day instruction buried in a site visit note

The situation

At the end of a progress meeting, the client's project director makes a casual remark — 'While you are in that area, can you just shift the plantroom wall by 400mm to give us more corridor width.' The remark is noted informally in someone's handwritten site notes but does not appear in the formal meeting minutes. The work is carried out the following week.

The dispute

The wall relocation involves significant structural implications, coordination with MEP services above the ceiling void, and a programme impact of four days. The contractor submits a claim for £41,500. The client disputes the instruction, noting that the meeting minutes — which the contractor signed as accurate — contain no reference to it. The claim goes to adjudication. The contractor wins — but the adjudication costs and the three months of dispute consume much of the value.

The prevention

The formal meeting minutes process has a gap: it captures what is formally tabled, not what is said informally at the end of a meeting. A dedicated CVI log that captures all instructions — regardless of how informally they were given — closes this gap. The instruction raised as a CVI within 24 hours of the meeting, sent to all parties, allows any inaccuracy to be corrected immediately rather than 14 months later.

The common thread

Every scenario above follows the same pattern. An instruction is given informally. The work is done. At payment or final account, the instruction is disputed — either its existence, its scope, or its cost basis. And the contractor, who did the work in good faith, absorbs a loss they were entitled to recover.

The CVI process is the solution. It is not complex: every verbal instruction receives a written confirmation within 24 hours, describing what was instructed, by whom, when, where, and what the anticipated cost and programme impact is. The confirmation is sent to the instructing party. If they disagree with the record, they say so — and the disagreement is resolved while memories are fresh, not 14 months later in adjudication.

The discipline required is not technical. It is administrative. And that is exactly the kind of administrative task that falls through the cracks when project teams are under pressure — which is exactly why a system that drafts CVIs for your review is worth having.

How Taskabeez handles CVIs

Taskabeez identifies the verbal instruction and creates a draft CVI in your Consultant Log for your review. You approve it before it is recorded. The draft includes the instruction source, date, scope description, and estimated value drawn from your BOQ (Bill of Quantities) where available. Nothing is sent or recorded until you approve.

See how CVIs work in Taskabeez →

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