Hello Caro, my claim is under £10K and as SabreSheep mentions it is going through the small claims court.

Hello, I had my hearing yesterday and I thought the case would be settled one way or the other. However, mine (the claimant) and the defendant's witness statements had mentioned a previous Without Prejudice offer and the judge has told us both to redo our witness statements. He has also instructed me to reduce my statement from 8 sides of A4 to 3 sides. The judge has also said he can not be involved with the next hearing so another judge will deal with it and the existing witness statements will be placed in sealed envelopes. The judge also said that my case is weak and the fact the case has dragged on for over 3 years that the eventual winner will be able to claim for time spent at court or words to that effect - when he said this he was addressing his comments mainly to the defendant. Because of the judge's comments I spoke with the defendant after the hearing and said I was willing to accept their offer - they declined as you would expect due to the judges comments. I'm wondering now whether to carry on or withdraw the case to save extra costs. Can a case be withdrawn? Would there be anybody who may kindly look over my 8 page statement and provide any advice? Thanks in advance.

Thanks CB. I've reduced the POC to one page. Still not sure whether to leave the original wording or get rid of it. I'll make my decision tomorrow, as it needs to be at court by 4pm.

Thanks HB and CB

Hello, here is an update: Me and the defendant attended a preliminary hearing last week - the judge has informed me in a letter that I may amend the POC as it was unclear my claim was for a breach of contract. I am writing a new POC and find that a lot of information in it will also be in my evidence - it runs to 3 pages and rambles on a bit. Can I delete the parts not needed or should I put a red line through them and leave in? All the documents I have sent to the court were handed back to me at the hearing by the judge, so the they don't have any copies of my original paperwork. Thanks

Thanks ericsbrother, I think it may be in my best interest to hang on to the cheque - until after the hearing.

I have rejected their offer. It was sent without any correspondence and was handwritten on their official company cheque. Thanks Sidewinder, I have written to the company declining their offer and stating an amount that would encourage me to stop the claim.

In need of further help, please. The case has now been issued in the small claims court and the defendant has filled a part admission of approximately 50% of my claim. I have just received a cheque to the value of the part admission - would i be accepting the defendants offer in full and final settlement if I deposited the cheque or should I wait for the court hearing? Thanks in advance.

Update. Managed to sort out the issue with the customer, eventually! For the record I wasn't able to complete the job during my visit for two reasons: another piece of equipment was needed, which was ordered, but didn't arrive during my visit. (the customer had previously ordered all the equipment and confirmed they had everything before I arrived) there was also a fault with the equipment and a local engineer was called to do a repair, but it wasn't fixed while I was on site. The equipment couldn't be commissioned without the missing part and while it was still faulty. The customer wouldn't pay until the equipment was commissioned and insisted I do this myself (remember this would be an overnight stay and an 800 mile return journey) or pay for a local engineer. We both agreed that I should talk the customer through the commissioning over the phone, which went smoothly. Thanks

Hello, I’m looking for some help. Please. Here’s a brief run-down of my issue – as a sole trader I carried out some work for a large company. We only had a verbal discussion of rates (nothing in writing) and my understanding of the amount discussed was a day rate and the companies understanding that it was a completed installation rate (there were a number of installations that took more than one day). We have been in discussions for over a year and I have sent the company an invoice and a Letter Before Action. The original invoice was made up of day rates, but this was rejected by the company and they offered a without prejudice amount based on completed installations, which was less then my invoiced amount and therefore did not accept. I have recently dropped my rates by a small amount and sent a new invoice to the company in an attempt to reach a settlement – they have also rejected this. My question – would this be classed as altering a legal document and if so, would this affect my position when court proceedings are issued, which I intend doing soon? If it does affect my position could I instruct the company to ignore or destroy the new invoice and revert to the original invoice? Many thanks in advance.

Hello Rae, If you still have your copy of an LBA - I would be most appreciative if you may let me make use of it. Cheers Penneyman

Andy, many thanks for your prompt response. It looks likely I will use the Scottish system - I'm looking on line at - http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk and any instances here on CAG. In your opinion are there any items I should look at in the first instance. Regards Penneyman

Hi, I'm self employed and live near Sheffield and I've carried out some work for a customer near Aberdeen. They have made a part payment, but are holding back just short of £1000 as they believe I haven't fully completed the work. I believe I have completed as much of the work as I can and have explained my reasons via emails and recorded letters. I have also offered to go to a mediation provider, but the customer has made no response. Should i consider issuing court proceedings? and if so, would I use the English or Scottish Courts? Many thanks in advance.

Just looking around the site. It is very informative and I'm sure there will be many tips here for me.

Hello everyone!