The customer says your work caused further damage.
Further damage is a separate claim from fixing the original work. Ask for evidence connecting the alleged defect, later loss and amount demanded.
Corporate Recovery Partners
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A repair complaint expands into a damage claim
A refrigeration business is told its installation fault spoiled stock and damaged flooring. The customer demands more than the repair cost but provides only a total figure. The installer needs to understand the technical cause, sequence and loss calculation, while notifying relevant advisers and preserving evidence.
List the alleged installation problem, each damaged item and the date the loss occurred. Ask how the customer connects them. Keep repair costs, replacement costs and business losses in separate categories.
Do not assume that accepting a repair automatically accepts every consequential claim. Equally, do not dismiss additional loss simply because it exceeds the original invoice.
Gather installation records, maintenance history, temperature logs, photographs and incident reports where relevant. Identify intervening events or other equipment that may need technical assessment.
Use qualified expertise where cause is uncertain. The aim is to establish the sequence, not to ask staff to diagnose a complex failure from a few images.
Have the contract and any relevant consumer guarantees assessed. ACCC guidance explains that consumer-law compensation can involve caused and reasonably foreseeable loss; whether that regime applies must be checked.
Avoid blanket statements that the business is never responsible for further damage. Have exclusions, claimed losses and the particular transaction reviewed by the appropriate professional.
Request invoices, stock records and calculations supporting each loss. Notify the insurer or broker where appropriate and follow relevant instructions before agreeing to settlement.
Keep any urgent containment response distinct from final liability. Document what is agreed, what is disputed and what evidence is still required, with dates for the next assessment. Separate immediate repair costs from wider losses claimed later, with evidence connecting each item to the alleged incident rather than one combined total.
