Construction Law

This Is What Happens When You Don’t Protest an Unfair Bid…

Every year, billions of dollars in government contracts are awarded to contractors all across the United States. Public projects give contractors the unique opportunity to build structures of immense utility to the public, and they can be an essential element for fortifying your reputation as a trusted builder. A vote of confidence from our government can be extremely helpful in the procurement of future projects, both public and private, because it shows that you have the skills, expertise, and wherewithal to handle high-profile building initiatives.

That said, you can’t be contracted to work on public projects unless you understand how to submit a bid through the government’s formal bidding process. This process can be difficult to navigate, which is why many contractors opt to partner with a lawyer to assist them. On average, contractors have a roughly one in six chance to be awarded a bid, but you can always protest a bid that has been awarded to another contractor if you believe that bid was awarded unfairly. In this article, a Charlotte bid protest lawyer will discuss what happens when you don’t protest an unfair bid and let a competitor take advantage of the system.

Irresponsible Bidders Take Control

During an ethical bid review process, the agency evaluating the bids will assess each bid package and determine whether or not the proposed bid is suitable for the contract being awarded. Any bids that are deemed irresponsible or unresponsive should be discarded, but this won’t necessarily be the case if a deal has been made behind the scenes. If a contractor is awarded a bid in lieu of your business, and they have a record of breaching contracts, working without a license, or providing defective work, you could be potentially putting lives in danger by not protesting their bid. Plus, every time a contract is awarded unfairly to an irresponsible bidder, your business loses out on potentially lucrative opportunity.

Similarly, if a bid is awarded to an unresponsive bidder, or a bidder that has failed to meet the required specifications for their bid package, you have the right to protest their bid. Allowing irresponsible bidders to take control can lead to poor quality projects. There’s a strict bidding process for a reason, and being complicit with unfair bids only hurts the industry as a whole. Consult a Charlotte bid protest lawyer to learn more about the conditions for protesting a bid.

You Set a Poor Precedent for Future Public Projects

The other downside of taking a soft stance against unfair bids is that you set a poor precedent for future public projects. If contractors are going to allow collusion to flourish in the construction industry, it’s going to affect the public’s confidence whenever new projects break ground. For every project that inspires, like the Empire State Building, there’s another that casts doubt, like the Florida International University (FIU) bridge that collapsed unexpectedly resulting in six deaths. Strictly evaluating contractors that submit bids and consulting a Charlotte bid protest attorney whenever something seems “off” about an awarded bid can go a long way to preventing future accidents, defective buildings, and more.

If you would like to speak with a Charlotte bid protest attorney, please contact  today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.