A letter of intent got a subcontractor on site within a week — and then sat unresolved for the following ten months while full contract terms were "still being finalised."
Letters of intent are useful for exactly what they're meant to do: authorise limited work to start while contract terms are agreed. They are a poor substitute for an actual contract, especially once the value or duration of work under the LOI starts exceeding whatever cap it specified. If a project is being run on a letter of intent past its intended shelf life, that's usually a sign the real contract needs finishing, not extending.
