Can I use defendant's solicitor address for small claim?
Discussion
I have a situation where I would like to pursue an individual through the small claims court. I don't have his current address, but did have a forwarding address, which I believe to be his parent's address. He claims not to live there any more. However, I'm in communication with his solicitor, who's farting about. I'd ideally like to use the solicitor as an address to give to the small claims court. Despite googling, I can't find out if this is possible. Is it?
KungFuPanda said:
No you can't. They have to confirm that they are nominated to accept service on behalf of the Defendant.
Worth asking them if they’ll accept service though. If they will, great; if they won’t, the OP is only in the same position of needing to identify an address for service. KungFuPanda said:
They can't accept service without instructions of their client though. If he is as slippery as he has been in the past, he's not going to instruct them to do so.
This, I'd imagine. I'm pretty sure if I ask the solicitor, he'll seek instructions from his client. I'm equally sure his client will instruct him not to accept service. He's a prick, but he's not daft.When I say defendant, he's not involved in any legal action at the moment. He would become the defendant if I could serve the claim in a meaningful way. His solicitor represents him in other areas.
To be honest, if it's going to become a pain in the arse, I'd rather leave it for a couple of grand.
To be honest, if it's going to become a pain in the arse, I'd rather leave it for a couple of grand.
A205GTI said:
I served papers to a parent address before, they then resolved with me after a letter from the baliffs rocked up and the parents got involved.........
So you put the frighteners on the parents to get what you wanted? If their offspring no longer lived at their address, more savvy parents would have simply told the bailiffs to: "do one and bugger off!", as they would be aware that they cannot be held responsible for their offspring's actions (assuming the offspring are over 18 years of age of course)
Not really, She rented flat above ours, ignored emails over damage, we chased her via her agents, she had registered her parents address as the contact for the management company we all owed.
BTW her parents house was a 3 mill one in Kent, they were not a poor family (these are usually the worst at fobbing off payments) a £300.00 claim ended up costing her £500.00 because of costs, even then she wanted to pay £20.00 a month!
BTW her parents house was a 3 mill one in Kent, they were not a poor family (these are usually the worst at fobbing off payments) a £300.00 claim ended up costing her £500.00 because of costs, even then she wanted to pay £20.00 a month!
A205GTI said:
I served papers to a parent address before, they then resolved with me after a letter from the baliffs rocked up and the parents got involved,.
Also if you know where they work, I believe you can serve them in person.
It's nothing to do with his parents, he's a man in his 40s, which suggests his parents are in their 70s. I'd prefer to find another way to get to him than by trying to bully his parents into sorting it.Also if you know where they work, I believe you can serve them in person.
s2sol said:
I have a situation where I would like to pursue an individual through the small claims court. I don't have his current address, but did have a forwarding address, which I believe to be his parent's address. He claims not to live there any more. However, I'm in communication with his solicitor, who's farting about. I'd ideally like to use the solicitor as an address to give to the small claims court. Despite googling, I can't find out if this is possible. Is it?
Just serve it at the parents address.The solicitors addres is no good because you may have to enforce in the end to get the money.
I have served County Court claims on " he does not live here any more" adresses. When the occupiers get the CC they become very helpful at provide new adresses when you say that's the address I have and that's it.
If it was a cheque for £10k they would have a forwarding adress for him.
Service of the Claim Form is governed by Part 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Where there's no specific address for service given by the defendant then you need to look at the table at rule 6.9 - https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/...
As you'll see, in your situation the CF is to be served at the defendant's "usual or last known residence", which in this case would seem to be his parents' address.
If he fails to defend the claim you can obtain a default judgment against him. It's often the case that a defendant will ignore the CF and do nothing until you enforce the judgment, e.g. by sending the bailiffs in. (Incidentally, don't mess about with the County Court bailiffs, who are useless - pay a little extra to use the High Court Enforcement Officers, who are licensed thugs, and get paid by results!).
When the bailiffs arrive he may then claim he never received the CF. However, the burden of proof is on him, and he'll have to apply to the court to set the judgment aside. This will mean him having to shell out £255 for the court fee, which is a big disincentive, particularly if he can't be sure of success.
In most cases when people find they have to pay this hefty court fee they give up and do a deal to settle the claim.
Where there's no specific address for service given by the defendant then you need to look at the table at rule 6.9 - https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/...
As you'll see, in your situation the CF is to be served at the defendant's "usual or last known residence", which in this case would seem to be his parents' address.
If he fails to defend the claim you can obtain a default judgment against him. It's often the case that a defendant will ignore the CF and do nothing until you enforce the judgment, e.g. by sending the bailiffs in. (Incidentally, don't mess about with the County Court bailiffs, who are useless - pay a little extra to use the High Court Enforcement Officers, who are licensed thugs, and get paid by results!).
When the bailiffs arrive he may then claim he never received the CF. However, the burden of proof is on him, and he'll have to apply to the court to set the judgment aside. This will mean him having to shell out £255 for the court fee, which is a big disincentive, particularly if he can't be sure of success.
In most cases when people find they have to pay this hefty court fee they give up and do a deal to settle the claim.
Pro Bono said:
Service of the Claim Form is governed by Part 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Where there's no specific address for service given by the defendant then you need to look at the table at rule 6.9 - https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/...
As you'll see, in your situation the CF is to be served at the defendant's "usual or last known residence", which in this case would seem to be his parents' address.
If he fails to defend the claim you can obtain a default judgment against him. It's often the case that a defendant will ignore the CF and do nothing until you enforce the judgment, e.g. by sending the bailiffs in. (Incidentally, don't mess about with the County Court bailiffs, who are useless - pay a little extra to use the High Court Enforcement Officers, who are licensed thugs, and get paid by results!).
When the bailiffs arrive he may then claim he never received the CF. However, the burden of proof is on him, and he'll have to apply to the court to set the judgment aside. This will mean him having to shell out £255 for the court fee, which is a big disincentive, particularly if he can't be sure of success.
In most cases when people find they have to pay this hefty court fee they give up and do a deal to settle the claim.
good post - useful info for all. Where there's no specific address for service given by the defendant then you need to look at the table at rule 6.9 - https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/...
As you'll see, in your situation the CF is to be served at the defendant's "usual or last known residence", which in this case would seem to be his parents' address.
If he fails to defend the claim you can obtain a default judgment against him. It's often the case that a defendant will ignore the CF and do nothing until you enforce the judgment, e.g. by sending the bailiffs in. (Incidentally, don't mess about with the County Court bailiffs, who are useless - pay a little extra to use the High Court Enforcement Officers, who are licensed thugs, and get paid by results!).
When the bailiffs arrive he may then claim he never received the CF. However, the burden of proof is on him, and he'll have to apply to the court to set the judgment aside. This will mean him having to shell out £255 for the court fee, which is a big disincentive, particularly if he can't be sure of success.
In most cases when people find they have to pay this hefty court fee they give up and do a deal to settle the claim.
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