(UK) Client refuses to pay
So I did a job recently and everything was going well but the condition of the property was terrible & we did additional good will working to complete it but all was going well until client came over and saw and I mean legitimately saw a 50mil brush mark on newly painted skirting. They weren’t happy which is fine because it can be rectified under my businesses workmanship guarantee. However after they called me in the evening screamed at me down the phone then said if it’s not sorted they’re not paying for any of the painting (including the walls which themselves said were “Perfect” & funnily enough is the most labour intensive and most cost of the job) and only said “I’ll pay for the bathroom retiling & then the kitchen plastering”. I have my best painter in there at the moment & he’s currently resanding and cleaning all the wood work to repaint them (he isn’t the original painter who left the brush mark) but I can’t help but feel this is a bit of a set up & that the clients already had a agenda for not paying. If it comes to the completion and they refuse to pay again what should I do? I’ve had my Property Maintenance & Improvements firm for almost 10 years now and have genuinely never had this happen. Some people have told me to withhold the Keys others have told me to got to SCC. If anyone’s experienced this before please let me know how you got around it! Thank you