Recent Enquirer stories about a “new breed” of aggressive QS have sparked huge industry interest – they have been read more than 50,000 times and shared thousands of times on social media.

Subcontractors have been highlighting their payment horror stories.

But the QS profession is also keen to make its voice heard.

One said: “There’s always two sides to payment rows and I often see subcontractors drive their final account figures as high as possible.

“Often they contain spurious items with no substantiation in order to create a false sense of the ‘middle ground’, in the hope both sides will agree to a number in between the two values.”

Experienced quantity surveyors have also voiced concerns over how the profession is changing.

One said: “A lot of this is driven by senior management and we have to tow the line to keep our jobs.

“The accountants are in charge at the top of most major contractors now and they just see the bottom line rather than co-operating with suppliers.”

Another added: “The pressure is certainly coming from above.

“Bean counters have too much control and they don’t seem to realise that this industry is about building things.”

One experienced QS said: “The new breed of commercial managers are ordered to “get as much as possible in” and “don’t pay anything out” rather than given proper training.

“Just because someone calls themselves a QS … it does not mean they deserve the title.”