small claims court

[dcw@pr]

I'm in the middle of suing someone for a 5 month overdue debt, and I have just checked online to find that the status of my claim is "Acknowledged". I have had a look on the website and it seems a bit ambiguous as to what this actually means for the progress of the case. The helpline is shut until Tuesday - can anyone tell me what happens next? I have used this service a few times before, but this has never happened before. Thanks.

[JustinP1]

What it most likely is that they can acknowledge the receipt of papers, and if they tell the court that they are going to deny or partially deny the amount of the claim that they have an additional 14 days to respond before you can proceed so that they can get their case together.

I wouldn't panic too much though as this is common practice to buy more time for a resolution.

[dcw@pr]

interesting. They have been stalling since October, so I guess this is more of the same. They have admitted to me on the phone that there is no reason why they have not paid, perhaps they are about to go bust

[JustinP1]

dcw@pr" Target="_blank">class="forumQuoter">dcw@pr said:

interesting. They have been stalling since October, so I guess this is more of the same. They have admitted to me on the phone that there is no reason why they have not paid, perhaps they are about to go bust

That may be the case, unfortunately. If it is for a big amount, if they cease trading then it will be difficult to get the money from a Ltd. Co.

The other option is they might need the two weeks to get the money together.

[edb49]

Acknowledged means they have 28 days to reply with their defence from date of service rather than 14 days. Essentially nothing else to it than that.