Small Claim - what to do next?
Discussion
Rented a small piece of land to an individual who used it for his courer/haulage co. He paid some rent late, didn't pay some whilst using the land and then left mid-contract after damaging the grounds, gates and leaving rubbish behind.
Court granted a CCJ against the individual for circa £11k.
He seems slippery (lots of different addresses) but I eventually found his home and gave it to the High Court Enforcement Officers who attended several times but were unable to action as it is a gated property and no entry was granted.
Applied and received a charging order/restriction on his property and discovered there are already a couple of these from others on the deeds.
In terms of next steps, what would you suggest? As I see it, I have two pro-active options:
1. Apply for an order so that the debtor attend court for questioning - but can this be delivered to a post-box on the gate of the property or does it have to be delivered to a person?
2. Apply for an order for sale for the property.
Thoughts?
Court granted a CCJ against the individual for circa £11k.
He seems slippery (lots of different addresses) but I eventually found his home and gave it to the High Court Enforcement Officers who attended several times but were unable to action as it is a gated property and no entry was granted.
Applied and received a charging order/restriction on his property and discovered there are already a couple of these from others on the deeds.
In terms of next steps, what would you suggest? As I see it, I have two pro-active options:
1. Apply for an order so that the debtor attend court for questioning - but can this be delivered to a post-box on the gate of the property or does it have to be delivered to a person?
2. Apply for an order for sale for the property.
Thoughts?
For that amount I'd think that a Bankruptcy Petition may be the best way of getting paid. But it's not something that would be sensible to try dealing with yourself, and you should get a solicitor to deal with it.
You may be able to find one that would take it on a no win no fee basis.
The first thing that needs to be done is for him to be served with a Statutory Demand. This is basically a formal warning that if he doesn't cough up within 21 days of his receiving it he is deemed to be insolvent, so that you're then free to issue a Bankruptcy Petition.
Often, the Statutory Demand itself will produce payment.
You may be able to find one that would take it on a no win no fee basis.
The first thing that needs to be done is for him to be served with a Statutory Demand. This is basically a formal warning that if he doesn't cough up within 21 days of his receiving it he is deemed to be insolvent, so that you're then free to issue a Bankruptcy Petition.
Often, the Statutory Demand itself will produce payment.
As a past customer of these guys https://cobrafinancial.co.uk/about/ I think it would be worth a chat to them. They worked for us and our reference is one of their testimonials
dingg said:
RockyBalboa said:
Does the Statutory Demand have to be given to a/the person or can it be posted to their postbox on their gate?
Think it has to be served to the person afaik.RockyBalboa said:
dingg said:
RockyBalboa said:
Does the Statutory Demand have to be given to a/the person or can it be posted to their postbox on their gate?
Think it has to be served to the person afaik.Surely that can't be right?
I am sure there must be legal ways of getting people like that to pay. I don't know how but I'm pretty sure you can't avoid all your responsibilities just by simply having a locked fence/gate!
NGee said:
RockyBalboa said:
dingg said:
RockyBalboa said:
Does the Statutory Demand have to be given to a/the person or can it be posted to their postbox on their gate?
Think it has to be served to the person afaik.Surely that can't be right?
I am sure there must be legal ways of getting people like that to pay. I don't know how but I'm pretty sure you can't avoid all your responsibilities just by simply having a locked fence/gate!
As for documents that need to be delivered to the person themselves, if they can't (as the property is gated) then they're not valid so a complete waste of time?
RockyBalboa said:
Well, the High Court Enforcement Officers can't force entry into a residential premises and in this case, the individual has several people after him and so is smart and slippery. Secondly, the Enforcement Officers/companies (despite what you see on TV), only make a few attempts and don't hang around for anything more than 30 mins.
As for documents that need to be delivered to the person themselves, if they can't (as the property is gated) then they're not valid so a complete waste of time?
Are you saying this person never leaves the gated property? Are there not people who can be employed to serve them on him if he does leave?As for documents that need to be delivered to the person themselves, if they can't (as the property is gated) then they're not valid so a complete waste of time?
http://www.processserving.co.uk/How_to_serve_a_Cou...
RockyBalboa said:
Well, the High Court Enforcement Officers can't force entry into a residential premises and in this case, the individual has several people after him and so is smart and slippery. Secondly, the Enforcement Officers/companies (despite what you see on TV), only make a few attempts and don't hang around for anything more than 30 mins.
As for documents that need to be delivered to the person themselves, if they can't (as the property is gated) then they're not valid so a complete waste of time?
That sounds a very defeatest attitude by all concerned. As for documents that need to be delivered to the person themselves, if they can't (as the property is gated) then they're not valid so a complete waste of time?
I just do not believe that people can escape their responsibilites just because they live behind a gate.
RockyBalboa said:
As for documents that need to be delivered to the person themselves, if they can't (as the property is gated) then they're not valid so a complete waste of time?
It's possible to apply to the court for an order for substituted service - such as by email, if you have an address; there are even cases where court papers have been served via Facebook - if you can't serve the papers personally, because of steps the debtor is taking to prevent it.
mr rusty said:
As a past customer of these guys https://cobrafinancial.co.uk/about/ I think it would be worth a chat to them. They worked for us and our reference is one of their testimonials
Thanks for the recommendation.I spoke to them and the way they work is to take 10% + vat of the debt value up front, so in this case circa £1100 + vat. They will then issue a Statutory Demand and then Bankruptcy Notice etc.They claim to have a high success rate (80% plus) but my concern is that if they too cannot gain access to the individual and hence, no success, the large initial fee will be lost.
Alternatively, if they succeed, the 10% + vat is added to the costs and a total of 15% + vat is payable to them.
Mr Pointy said:
Are you saying this person never leaves the gated property? Are there not people who can be employed to serve them on him if he does leave?
http://www.processserving.co.uk/How_to_serve_a_Cou...
Waiting until someone leaves (Hopefully the respondent) probably in a car and then following them, until they get out of the car, then looking for an opportunity to serve whilst he is somewhere they can access could get expensive very quickly. http://www.processserving.co.uk/How_to_serve_a_Cou...
HECO are allowed to climb walls/gates. If there are open doors they can enter or if there are (non-financed) cars on the property they can seize and clamp them. I believe they can also break into outbuildings including garages that are not attached to the residence.
Edit - they can't enter via open windows anymore
Edited by syl on Wednesday 26th June 12:53
Good luck. My father had an identical scenario.
Rent not paid. Damaged property, similar sum.
Debtor was / is a well known boxer.
Went down bankruptcy route. Court. Counter claim that my father had threatened and intimidated. He is a heavy weight boxer my dad was 80!
The courts prefer to listen and then delay as opposed to act. It goes on and on and on. He gave up.
The boxer is now back on the circuit and the front is within 6 years. My father died and I did think a while ago about having another pop. Now I might !
Good luck. The court system sadly is not on your side
Rent not paid. Damaged property, similar sum.
Debtor was / is a well known boxer.
Went down bankruptcy route. Court. Counter claim that my father had threatened and intimidated. He is a heavy weight boxer my dad was 80!
The courts prefer to listen and then delay as opposed to act. It goes on and on and on. He gave up.
The boxer is now back on the circuit and the front is within 6 years. My father died and I did think a while ago about having another pop. Now I might !
Good luck. The court system sadly is not on your side
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