small claims court
Discussion
I know there are one or two legal eagles on here and i would appreciate a bit of advice.
I made and fitted some electric gates with intercom for somebody and i'm still owed 700 pounds.
I have tried repeatedly to get the money, all to no
avail.
My wife is typing a letter tonight threatening him with court action, so i'm hoping this will work, if not then i will go to small claims and wondered what is involved, costs etc and chances of sucess.
The person involved is a church pastor, it is now over 3 months.
Mick
I made and fitted some electric gates with intercom for somebody and i'm still owed 700 pounds.
I have tried repeatedly to get the money, all to no
avail.
My wife is typing a letter tonight threatening him with court action, so i'm hoping this will work, if not then i will go to small claims and wondered what is involved, costs etc and chances of sucess.
The person involved is a church pastor, it is now over 3 months.
Mick
Do what my cousin did.. He put a new roof on a place who then failed to pay. He then removed the roof in the middle of the february rains. The guy called the police to which my cousin claimed that as he hasn't paid he doesn't own it and he is only taking back what belongs to him. Police said mmmmmmm fair comment.. Guy got wet.
Take the gate off...
Take the gate off...
andy4200 said:
Do what my cousin did.. He put a new roof on a place who then failed to pay. He then removed the roof in the middle of the february rains. The guy called the police to which my cousin claimed that as he hasn't paid he doesn't own it and he is only taking back what belongs to him. Police said mmmmmmm fair comment.. Guy got wet.
Take the gate off...
sorry to be a killjoy but i wouldn't advise that. He may then have some claim on you. Do as above ie, letter and follow procedure
andy4200 said:
Do what my cousin did.. He put a new roof on a place who then failed to pay. He then removed the roof in the middle of the february rains. The guy called the police to which my cousin claimed that as he hasn't paid he doesn't own it and he is only taking back what belongs to him. Police said mmmmmmm fair comment.. Guy got wet.
Take the gate off...
But be careful you don't get hit by a thunderbolt.
markmullen said:
My dad uses a solicitor who will send your debtor a letter before action for £1.50, most pay up on this without having to go to court.
Give me a shout through my profile if you need the details.
Blimey, that sounds like a good deal! Where is this solicitor based?
Sadly, I'm probably going to be making use of the Small Claims Court shortly.
Does anyone know what the upper limit is for claims? I'll be claiming just under £2k.
>> Edited by thegreatsoprendo on Thursday 24th February 12:13
In my dad's line of work (yacht surveying) he typically bills £600-£1000 per piece of work. If someone won't pay he fills in the small claims court form and sends them a copy via registered post. He sends out 3 or 4 of these a year and IIRC has only had to take one person to court in the last 10 years as the rest have paid up.
£5K is the limit for small claims.
Interesting though, as I have recently and joyfully found out if you prepare a claim of say £13K and then state on the document that 'For the purposes of this case you want the damages set at £5K' then under article 24.17 if the claim is higher than the limit regardless of statements requesting limitation then it goes into the county court fast track procedure.
We found this out when our old landlady recieved some bad legal advice, she wanted it in small claims as they dont award costs. Our lawyer was beside himself with glee and will no doubt be laughing all the way to the bank...
Interesting though, as I have recently and joyfully found out if you prepare a claim of say £13K and then state on the document that 'For the purposes of this case you want the damages set at £5K' then under article 24.17 if the claim is higher than the limit regardless of statements requesting limitation then it goes into the county court fast track procedure.
We found this out when our old landlady recieved some bad legal advice, she wanted it in small claims as they dont award costs. Our lawyer was beside himself with glee and will no doubt be laughing all the way to the bank...
I've done it twice.
Got most of the money back in one case and all of the money, after two years of small installments, in the other.
This can be very stressful, and they may make a counter claim, provide false evidence against you or your work, or try to pay back in very small installments which will make the bill effectively a write off, so unless someone owes you more than a couple of hundred I'd be tempted to write it off.
In your case you know where this guy is. Have you tried a home visit? He may be genuinely unaware that this bill is outstanding if he has passed the bill to the church, or other body, to pay for him. Even if you know this is not the case do it anyway and record the vist. Use this as evidence that have tried reasonable and fair means to discuss the situation before going to court.
When I took my two cases I distinctly remember that larger amounts could be settled in small claims, you just had to state why you choose this route on the paperwork and they would "consider it". No upper limit was specified for this consideration so in theory you could small claim for any amount. Maybe it's different now as that was 16 years ago.
Good luck!
Good luck.
Got most of the money back in one case and all of the money, after two years of small installments, in the other.
This can be very stressful, and they may make a counter claim, provide false evidence against you or your work, or try to pay back in very small installments which will make the bill effectively a write off, so unless someone owes you more than a couple of hundred I'd be tempted to write it off.
In your case you know where this guy is. Have you tried a home visit? He may be genuinely unaware that this bill is outstanding if he has passed the bill to the church, or other body, to pay for him. Even if you know this is not the case do it anyway and record the vist. Use this as evidence that have tried reasonable and fair means to discuss the situation before going to court.
When I took my two cases I distinctly remember that larger amounts could be settled in small claims, you just had to state why you choose this route on the paperwork and they would "consider it". No upper limit was specified for this consideration so in theory you could small claim for any amount. Maybe it's different now as that was 16 years ago.
Good luck!
Good luck.
A £2,000 claim for a debt of £700?
The good news is that (1) 3 months isn't very long in the scheme of things, (2) the man is a 'pillar of the community' and won't want any negative publicity.
... like lots of leaflets appearing all over the parish telling the punters he's dishonest and a bad debtor
Inside most 'Christians' there's a hypocrite trying to get out - the religion is just a cover.
The good news is that (1) 3 months isn't very long in the scheme of things, (2) the man is a 'pillar of the community' and won't want any negative publicity.
... like lots of leaflets appearing all over the parish telling the punters he's dishonest and a bad debtor
Inside most 'Christians' there's a hypocrite trying to get out - the religion is just a cover.
simpo two said:
A £2,000 claim for a debt of £700?
Sorry, I think my thread hijack might have confused you. I'll most likely be claiming approx £2k shortly, not the original poster! Apologies, too, to the original poster for blatantly hijacking your thread. I'll probably start a new thread of my own if/when I need to start court proceedings.
thegreatsoprendo said:
My dad uses a solicitor who will send your debtor a letter before action for £1.50, most pay up on this without having to go to court.
Give me a shout through my profile if you need the details.
Blimey, that sounds like a good deal! Where is this solicitor based?
Sadly, I'm probably going to be making use of the Small Claims Court shortly.
Does anyone know what the upper limit is for claims? I'll be claiming just under £2k.
>> Edited by thegreatsoprendo on Thursday 24th February 12:13
Thomas Higgins are liverpool somewhere (Bootle or birkenhead IIRC), my dad is a credit manager for a £40m p/a company and uses all the time, he reckons about 85% pay on the letter without having to go to court.
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