Long story short, without going into details.... though happy to if needed... I submitted a defence to a claim against me by a plumber (though the debt collection agency did it on their behalf) in small claims court. The claimant had to respond to my defence by a certain deadline, which they didn't, so a 'stay' has been put on the case. As it was explained to me this means the claimant has to apply to a judge to resume the case. When I spoke to the court they said an application could be put forward any time in the future, so there is no time limit. So I have a few questions I wonder if anybody could help me with... 1) Is that the case that there is no time limit for an application? I've been waiting to get some works complete until this is sorted but if they can put an application in any time this could never be concluded! 2) Do judges often agree to applications to resume the claim? Or must there be extraordinary circumstances? 3) The company seems to have stopped trading under their current name (removed their online listings). If the claimant company change their trading name, or close the business and reopen under another name in the future, can they still pursue this claim? Thanks so much for any help you can give.

Hello everyone, This is the first time I post on this forum so please accept my apologies in advance if I make any mistake. We are about to resort to the Small Claims Court due to a sole trader that a month ago did a terrible job on our terrace. My concern is that, even if we will (likely) win, it appears very difficult to enforce the court's decision and have our money back (£530). I read of different ways to enforce the court's decision but I would really appreciate if someone could enlighten me about the action with the highest success rate. This is the story: After receiving different quotations by different traders, basing on the quality of the works previosuly made by the trader as shown on his online websites and mybuilder.com, we decided to hire him to have our 1. terrace deck, front balustrade, 2. side fence built, and 3. a bench built in the corner of the terrace as well as a connecting pipe hanging over its corner. The agreed price for the job was £670 including labour and material (although we provided 2 types of paint). Works were supposed to be finished in 3 days. DAY 1: The trader was supposed to start the works with cleaning the deck by water brush and stated that it would have been delivered by 2.00pm but the water brush was not delivered. However he couldn’t start the cleaning and stated that the water brush had been delivered at a different site. This inconvenience led him to start building and permanently fixing the bench on the unpolished deck DAY 2: Unfortunately the water brush resulted being faulty and the cleaning had to be suspended. In the early afternoon the trader managed to get hold of a different water brush. After finishing the cleaning he stated that he did his best but due to the deck he couldn’t really thoroughly clean the deck. The trader informed me that he made a mistake when calculating the wood needed to complete the job and told him that, in order to continue, he should have bought more wood. I asked how much it would have been and he confirmed that the added cost for the extra wood would have been £45. Considering the situation I felt forced to agree. I asked him if painting the deck would cover a burnt on the deck and he reassured me that it wold have been possible by applying some extra layers of the type of paint (suggested by him). DAY 3: The trader left our flat for about an hour as he apparently forgot something. However the work was not finished so he had to come back on the next day. DAY 4: Before arriving the trader contacted my wife and said that he wouldn’t be able to mount the hanging connecting pipe in the corner (as agreed) as he could not find the parts to complete the job and proposed to swap it with a chain. The proposal was firmly rejected by us so we had to opt for a wooden bar as last resort. The trader left the flat at about 1.30 pm when I was away and told my wife that we were actually supposed to pay extra £72.53 as results of the further material he had to purchase despite agreeing with me that the extra cost would only be £45. Also he provided receipts reading a cost of £61.43 (this matter was successfully addressed though). Post Work Checks: When I was back I inspected the job and noticed that: - The burnt on the deck was not covered by the paint - Despite the contract reading that the trader should have cleaned the walls with the water brush, the walls (and other surfaces) were actually stained by both types of paints, the one used to paint the fence and the bench and the one used to paint the deck. Before him leaving the flat my wife asked him why the walls were stained but he could only reply that it was necessary and that we should have repainted the affected surfaces. More important is that part of the paint used for the deck has stained the walls and the bench: this is stain paint so simply repainting surfaces will not suffice and, in order to fix this up, a blocker will need to be applied on walls. - The hanging wooden bar split open on one of its sides due to the bad nailing, which means that it will not last long - The worst part is that the most planks (approximately 95% of them) used to build the bench and fence are badly cracked to the extent that some parts are widely split apart. Also the trader didn’t even bother painting the inside of the planks completely. - He built the bench on a screw that is now stuck under it and sticks out and cannot be removed (which is likely damaging our deck as well as being a sharp object). He saw this as he also painted over it - There are other minor imperfection like the planks roughly cut due to the use of inadequate tools After asking for an evaluation of the work by another trader it turned out that most of the stains on the wall could have been avoided by simply painting the planks and subsequently fixing them. While the other stains due to the deck paint spread around denote carelessness and a job that very likely was rushed. At the very least the trader could have used tapes and protecting layer to preserve the affected areas. Also, the wood likely split as the wooden parts should have been drilled first. At this point I spoke on the phone with the trader to inform him that we weren’t happy with all the above issues and would not proceed with the payment of the final 20% until he would at least replace the damaged wood. However he refused and said that this would cost us more money. After sending him 4 of the pictures taken to show him the entity of the damage he replied that we should pay him first in order to have him come over later to glue the broken parts. We obviously rejected the offer as he deemed it unfair. As if was not enough, all the pictures of what appeared to be his amazing previous works were taken from other sites so obviously nothing that he could possible ever do. We spoke with the Citizen Advise Bureau and they instructed us so we asked him if he was member of any ADR scheme but he never replied (which means he's not), so we asked him to have an ADR involved but he never replied (which also means no). We also spoke with a solicitor who said that the work is so bad that there's no fear to lose this case. We sent him 3 letters by registered mail and he only replied to the first one by email. He admitted he needs to fix all that mess up in a couple of emails but never confirmed he'd do this before we complete the payment (as requested by me) nor tried to arrange a date to start the works: which means that he wants the money first. He has gone silent for the last 2 weeks despite me sending him texts, mail and emails. Sorry for the long post and thanks for your help.

Hi there. I hope this post makes sense. I'll try to be concise We bought a used car from a dealer and moved 250 miles away. 20 days later a grinding noise, which may have always been present and mistaken for a sports growl, became so loud that my wife pulled over and called the AA. It was taken to a local garage who had a transmission specialist tear down the gearbox to find the mainshaft was badly worn. The brake discs were also found to be badly corroded. It was the garage's opinion that there was no way this could have been caused in 20 days of driving. And that to a trained ear, the fault should have been noticeable at the point of sale. Total cost of repair £1200 We were in touch with the dealer throughout this diagnostic process. After speaking directly to the mechanic, he sent me an email stating that it was not his fault, that he couldn't tear down every gearbox before sale, and that the damage was most likely caused by reckless driving. He offered to pay about half of the fees, which I rejected and have filed a claim using MCOL. I have documented the damage and I'm the process of getting an independent report based on the evidence I have. My claim is that given the price and mileage of the car, it was not fit for purpose. Because the car was in 1,000 pieces on the other side of the country, I didn't feel it was fair (on the dealer) or convenient for us to pursue my right to reject. Instead I asked him to meet the full cost of the repair. It was the only convenient solution that I could see for all parties. Having said that, I did present both options to the dealer, but as he ultimately did not admit liability, my only course of action was to pay for the repairs and pursue the costs in court. Here is (one of) my questions. By bypassing my right to reject, where does the burden of proof lie in terms of the faults being present at the point of sale?? It is my understanding that by invoking the right to reject within the first 30 days, the burden of proof lies with the consumer and after the 30 days expires, that burden is transferred to the dealer. I essentially bypassed that right, and moved straight onto the right to a repair - but still within the first 30 days!? I have quite a few other questions as I begin to prepare my case, but this is one that is nagging me right now. Any advice, much appreciated. OR... perhaps once it reaches the courts, burden of proof no longer applies, and it simply moves to the balance of probability? (we both provide evidence)

Made a complaint to FOS about paypal. Just got a reply. Seems like the adjudicator's provisional conclusions. He's found paypal had done no wrong. Here's what it says on the bottom of his email: Notice the change in font size, when it says "But If you don't agree with what I’ve said, please let me know why by 6 February 2017. I’ll look at any new information you give me and let you know what I think." I had to really strain my eyes to read this. Surely this is a nudge tactic by the FOS to close-off complaints.

Hi there, Thank you all for considering my enquiry. I will try to keep it as to the point as possible. I have sought advice from many advice bodies and a couple of solicitors but I'm receiving conflicting information and a friend recommended I try here. SUMMARY DESCRIPTION I engaged a tradesperson for a range of works which were quoted at £1740. The tradesperson completed some of the works over 2 days. On the 3rd day, the tradesperson was late and sent an offensive message. Based on the offensive content of the message I refused to allow him onto my property further. He agreed to reduce fee based on works not completed. He offered a reduction of £240, total £1500, which I said was not fair based on the works left to complete. I paid a portion (£1240, 83%) of the fee, with a reduction of £500 from original quote of £1700 based on an average of 3 quotes from local providers for the remaining works. He returned the payment and engaged a debt collection agency. Debt collection agency has given 5 working days to pay full amount or they are taking me to court. Full description and timeline below. AMOUNTS Original invoice - £1740 Tradesperson offer after reduction - £1500 Amount we paid - £1240 Amount debt collection agency is seeking - £1500 + interest of £10.23 QUESTIONS 1. I have told the debt collection agency I dispute the debt. Is my best bet now just to wait until they start court process? 2. Am I correct in thinking, because of the amount in dispute (they want £1500, we paid £1240 which they returned, so effectively £260 in dispute), this will be considered as a small claims issue? 3. Were I to lose the dispute, I would be required to pay the £1500 + small amount of interest + court fee of £100-£200? So I wouldn't have to pay his legal costs or cost of using debt collector? 4. Would this type of issue (full details below) be likely to go to court? Or will it be considered on the basis of submissions? 5. Given we're talking so small amounts here, I am obviously wanting to maximise value from any legal advice. Would the best use of money on legal advice be to ask a solicitor who specialises in consumer issues to review my defence form, N9B? Thank you very much for any advice you can give. FULL TIMELINE & DESCRIPTION 28th Jan - Having found a tradesperson through an online review site I asked for a quote for some work on my property. They emailed a quote of £1740 (I'll round the figures for ease of reading). 30th Jan - I phoned the company and asked them to start work as soon as possible. 7th Feb - Tradesperson started work on the property. 8th Feb - Tradesperson attended the property. 9th Feb - Tradesperson doesn't show in the morning. I ask where they are and am told they'll be there later. After I have asked when they will arrive, I receive a 'pocket call' with a recording of the tradesperson where he calls *somebody* a 'f-ing bird, b-tching about when tradesperson will arrive'. We speak on the phone where he considers the situation a joke and calls me a 'b-tch'. I say I don't want him on my property anymore and he agrees to discount the fee for the incomplete work. 13th Feb - Tradesperson confirms work left to be completed and offers discount of £200 (total £1540). 14th Feb - On the advice of the Equalities service I submit a formal letter of complaint about the comments which says that no matter who he was talking about I find the comments offensive on the basis they are about somebody of my gender which violates my dignity and creates a hostile environment. On the advice of Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) I say I do not consider discount fair for the work that is left to be completed and will be seeking to show market rate as part of negotiating process under the Consumer Rights Act. 17th Feb - Tradesperson apologises for comments and offers discount of £240 (total £1500). 25th Feb - On the advice of CAB I seek 3 quotes for the remaining work from local providers which show market rate to be £500. I offer tradesperson £1050. 3rd Mar - Tradesperson rejects offer and threatens debt collection if £1500 is not paid by 6th Mar. 4th Mar - I transfer £1240 (original invoice of £1740, minus £500 fair market rate) and say that is our final offer. 6th Mar - Tradesperson emails to say he will be returning the £1240 and engaging a debt collection agency to seek £1500 from us. 6th Mar - On the advice of CAB I send a formal letter questioning why he has engaged a debt collection agency when we have paid £1240. 11th Mar - I receive a letter from a debt collection agency demanding £1500 (plus interest of £10.23) to be paid within 5 working days, or they will begin court process. 13th Mar - I speak to debt collection agency who try to debate the merits of my dispute with me. I say we have not received any of our payment returned. They say it was sent Friday. I say I do not wish to discuss the issue with them and just wanted to check the address to correspond with, they end the conversation saying "see you in court". On the advice of the Debt Advice Line, I post a formal letter confirming my disputing the debt and evidencing previous correspondence.

I have a clear cut situation.... My original phone contract was on orange but after the merge of orange/T-Mobile which is now known as EE.....I was upgraded onto EE. Due to an internal error on their end (which they have admitted to the ombudsman) the original orange account did not get closed which resulted in the company automatically billing me twice (no money was ever attempted to be taken for the original account after upgrade) which resulted in missed payment/default put on my credit file. The kicker...... How I came to find out that this error occurred was when I was speaking with a mortgage adviser who recommended I check my reports before going ahead with application. To keep it short, the company ignored my "recorded delivery" letter and by the time the ombudsman was able to get involved (2 months after letter) I had to sign a years tenancy agreement wasting another year as I could not apply for a mortgage with a default, not to mention paying more for a house next year. I was constantly being hassled by dept collectors throughout this whole ordeal and taking into fact what this error has cost me....should I take this to court to get some form of compensation or take very small fee being offered by the company? Company has confirmed it was their error. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi all, I took out a fixed rate mortgage with the Halifax a few years ago. I had previous been on a fixed rate with them which came to an end, but decided to renew based on their advice. At the time I specifically told them I would be looking to move house before the end of the fixed rate and they assured me this was not a problem as I could port the mortgage. Low and behold when it came to moving they wouldn't allow me to port the mortgage as I didn't meet the additional lending criteria. As a result I had to go with another lender and incurred £3k + in ERCs. I complained to the Halifax and the financial ombudsman, on the grounds that I took out the product on the promise that I could port. Unfortunately my complaint was not upheld. I now feel I am left with no other option but to make a claim via the courts. Can anyone offer any advice as to whether my claim stands any chance of being successful? Thanks in advance

All, Has anybody taken kwik fit to the small claims? I will be starting a small claims this afternoon and I am unsure which address I need to put down - will it be the head office or the Muppets at the local service centre which damaged by BMW? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hello I really need some help please. I bought a solid gold christian name necklace from 'My Name Necklace' and purchased their 12 month warranty at the same time. Just inside the warranty date, the chain broke, I completed the online claim form along with a photo of the broken chain ( The warranty covers chain breakage ) The company emailed soon afterwards on 15th November stating: We apologies for the situation. We can send you another chain. A prepaid return envelope will be sent so that you can return your original item to us.* Please let us know if you agree. Please note that this envelope is already addressed to us and prepaid. Simply place your item in the envelope and drop into any mail box. There is no need to add postage or go to the Post Office. Please let us know if we could be of any further assistance. Best Regards, Allison Brown My Name Necklace Customer Service Team I replied stating I would use the envelope but as the order cost me £116.00, I would not be popping the envelope in a letterbox, and would pay extra to send tracked. 2 weeks passed, and the addressed envelope hadn't arrived, I messaged again to report this, was told that the returns envelope can take up to 3 weeks to reach me. I realised the compary was overseas, so had to accept this. At today's date there's still no envelope I've contacted the company again and they are just lying / fobbing me off by saying they have escalated my complaint, and then I hear no more. I've asked for the company address and they won't supply it. All communication has to be done through their webforms only. I may have found the address through Google search, but it may not be correct: Mynamenecklace 14455 N Hayden Road Suite 226 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 I'm wondering if there is a procedure similar to the UK 'small claims' that can be done with an overseas company? Can anyone advise please? The necklace was my daughters 2015 Christmas present from me. To be honest, she only wore it a handful of times as the chain is so fine, that she was frightened it would break, and unfortunately the chain caught on her jumper, and snapped when she tried to release it, albeit very carefully. Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

Hello, This is my first post on this forum. I have a small claims hearing to try and recover some money from a tradesman who didn't want to honour our contract and kept getting payments out of me before the work stage was complete. I issued proceeding and he did a bogus counterclaim - reversed all my grievances in his favour The case has finally reached the hearing stage and I would like some advice. 1) When I sent my defence to the counterclaim, the court helpline told me to send in all my evidence, photos, etc as this would be used in the hearing. I recently received the hearing date letter and it advised me to send in my witness statement and evidence - what happened to my evidence I sent in with my defence of the counterclaim? - will this be in the file and can I use this? 2) What is the normal format of the hearing? 3) How strict will the rules be regarding evidence ? 4) If I am not happy being denied use of my evidence sent in at an earlier time, can I do anything about it, such as ask for a change in date, etc? Thanks in Advance, EddieQ1

Hi everyone, So my good friends at Capquest have been nipping at my backside again, this time using the wrong account number, creditor, agreement and more. You would have to see it to believe it. That aside it the final account they decided upon has been proved statute barred and they have discontinued. In the meantime in an attempt to defend the ever moving claim I've paid for duplicate bank statements, made a court application and taken advice from a solicitor. A report to the FOS and FCA are probably in order, but does anyone know if a claimant in a "small" claim they are protected from the costs of discontinuance. I read CPR 38.6.(1) to mean I can claim those costs. Thanks! uteb

Hi We are currently in dispute with a builder. We have taken all appropriate pre-court action steps and are now at the point of submitting an N1 form to kick off a claim. Could someone tell me if any supporting evidence is supposed to be enclosed with this claim form? Or will this be requested later? We have quite a file of letters and expert reports and we are not sure at what point these come into play. Also, (maybe a silly question but I want to do this right). If there is not enough form for the particulars of the claim in the space provided, can you use this space plus another sheet or are you only supposed to use one or the other i.e. it does give the option of 'attached.' I reaslise these particulars are supposed to be fairly concise. Thanks in advance.

I sold my mothers house in January this year. The buyer is now suing me for misrepresentation. Immediately prior to completion, the buyer noticed that there was a fault with the heating. I offered to have it repaired but this was refused and the buyer demanded £2000 off the purchase price which I declined on the basis that the buyer had refused my offer to have it fixed. I have now received court claim papers. When i signed the property information form the heating was Ok and i stated this on the form. The heating was later turned off for the summer. As the purchase took almost a year, I was asked later to confirm that the information form remained current and I confirmed this as I was not aware of any changes. There is no doubt that at completion there was a fault with the heating though when it stopped working is not known. It was working when I signed the form but by completion it had stopped. the buyer did not undertake any surveys. I have tried to negotiate and I have offered £1000 in settlement without admitting liability, but this has been refused. I attach the particulars of claim and my proposed response and I would welcome any comments. Thank you. response to claim form.pdf Particulars of Claim.pdf

Have received allocation of hearing and instructions to supply witness statements and documents to court by certain date. I am the claimant. I am trying to reply to the initial defence to the claim which is an absolute mess with disjointed emails. Ridiculous statements and allegations, referring to me that I have 'dementia' am also delusional, and paranoid" and asks the judge to take these abusive comments into consideration as I 'clearly don't know what time of day it is, never mind the truth'. The defendant has supplied a document which she refers to as an email sent to her In fact it is a 'chopped down' private message sent to someone else. The only way she can get access to this message is by either hacking my account or getting it from the person to whom it was sent. Reading more carefully her reason for supplying this is she now states that she sent it to the police in response to my allegation of theft of my property to which the case relates. I can actually see that she did as there is a police email address above. Now I have the full message, and it clearly is from me to someone else via a messaging system, not an email to her, and it is now obvious why she 'chopped' the message as the full message 'shoots her in the foot' so to speak. She has also denied, several times that events took place, highlighted for the judge in bold, and yet I have documented proof that these events took place as she admitted the same on paper. I am not sure how to respond to these issues in my witness statement. Should I bring them directly to the attention of the judge or just refer to them in my statement? How is the judge likely to view her deliberate deception, particularly sending a document that was never sent to her that she then sent to the police claiming it was from me to her, but she thenalso tampered with it? How is the judge likely to respond to her abusive comments that I have Dementia, am delusional and paranoid and that people with dementia cannot remember anything. Any comments would be helpful, thanks.

Good evening, could someone please help me out on where I go with this. Earlier in the year I received court papers re a debt to Lowell which was previously with a mobile phone company. I acknowledged online and submitter my defence based on it being statue barred. I received a letter saying the claimant has 28 to respond or it is stayed. No response I expected it to be stayed. I then received the notice of proposed allocation to small claims court had to fill in if I wanted mediation (said no) along with what dates I'm available etc. Directions questionnaire I think this was form N180 Today I returned from holiday saying its been allocated to the small claims court in August and a hearing fee was payable by the claimant by the end of June. I've no idea if this has been paid. It then goes on to say I have till a few days time from now to prepare and send in copies of all documents. So as you can see not a lot of time. My problem is this, I'm positive it's statue barred but don't have any paperwork to hand as its years old. What do I do now? Do I write to all parties now saying this or what ? I could maybe get a copy of my credit file showing that it isn't on there or in the closed accounts obviously time is of the essence. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Just to add I was previously told not sure if rightly or wrongly that it's down to them to prove I owe it and it's not statue barred, not me to prove it is statue barred, hence why I haven't gotten anything together on it. I've basically been waiting for them to provide proof it either is or isn't.

Hello, I hope someone can advise. I am looking for some assistance. I have just recieved a Small Claims Summons from a large organisation chasing a debt from a Ltd Company I was a Director for the sum of £840.70. The company I was a Director for dissolved in June 2015. I signed a trade account agreement in my name on behalf of the company as I was the Director. The company only had a £750.00 trade limit. It was a trade account but yet the large organisation is chasing me personally now for the debt. I started the business in the hope of success but was not paid by several customers and did not have the monies to chase the debt so closed the company as it was no longer viable and I got a job. Am I liable for this debt and do I have to pay?

Hello I am new to posting - I would be grateful for any help I have followed the advice on the forum and have filed a county court claim against ge money for unfair fees and charges for the amount of 2300. I have received a reply stating that they think my claim is poorly particularised and wholly without merit and therefore vulnerable to be struck out by the court and have made.me an offer of 1250 and if I refuse this then they are instructing their solicitors to file a formal defence and apply to the court to strike out my claim I am now losing my nerve- can someone help me - will I have to go to court and what will happen. If I lose is that the end of it. I really don't want to accept this as they have treated me terribly in the past. Grateful for any advice at all! Thanks

Hi all, I hope I'm posting in the correct forum, if not then please move it to the correct forum My partner is a professional carpenter. Last week he did a small job for someone who wanted some decking repaired. Customer stipulated that he didn't want the whole thing replacing, which is what my partner recommended, due to rot. So my partner said he could take some of it off and replace the broken boards. The customer was satisfied with the repair job and so was his wife, and paid my partner in full, by cheque. The cheque cleared, but a few days later the customer text my partner saying he wasn't happy with the quality of the work and could he come back and have a look at it. As my partner now works full time for the ambulance service to make ends meet, and the carpentry work is now only part time, he has been unable to go back and inspect the work, but sent an e-mail detailing that he was satisfied that he had done a good job and that had the customer not been happy then why didn't he say so at the time? He claims that the repairs are unsafe and the workmanship is poor. The photos he has sent don't look good to be honest but he has taken the photos in such a way that you can't fully see the whole thing in true context. The customer has now sent a very long e-mail detailing problems and saying that if he doesn't received a full refund by 12th July then he will take him to small claims court, and that any further contact from my partner by email, phone or post will incur a £10 charge! My partner had very little to work with and did the best he could considering the customer didn't want the entire decking replaced, and simply repaired. The customer was happy with the work when asked to inspect it. My question is, can the customer really take him to small claims court over this? What grounds does he have to do this?

Has anyone taken Terravision the coach company to the small claims court? I booked a 14:40 bus to the airport which arrives at 15:30. Around 14:55 we were informed the coach was going to be 55 minutes late by someone from Terravision who also said the whole service today was running 30/40 mins late. No text message, no email, no phone call, no notice in the bus depot to inform of delays. Had no alternative but to book a taxi for £80. I followed Terravisions complaint policy which was to email them 30 days after the purchase date, I received no reply and emailed a further four times. So my complaint was sent 11 January 2016!!! I have no alternative but to take them to the small claims court, they wont reply to their specified complaint procedure. Under Passenger rights regulation EU 2011 it seems I can get something back ?

Hello, I'm new here. In April, a builder started a small extension and some internal work to knock through walls. The building inspector visited in May, and was not happy with a number of aspects of the work. The builder did not agree with the feedback, and walked out. I have spoken to a solicitor who advised me to get a RICS survey, which I am currently organising. I will be a litigant in person, but am taking some legal advice at key stages during the process. As the amount is unlikely to be over £10k it will probably go through the small claims. I have paid the builder in advance for work that is not yet completed, and for work I though was completed but needs to be remedied. In addition, he did a couple of other things I have not yet paid for, but the inspector wants these changed, so I have refused to pay. I have asked the builder to try mediation, but he does not reply to this point. Any general advice for me from anyone who has experienced this before? I've never been to court. In particular, I have checked and he does not own the house he lives in. He drives an expensive car, and I've seen the DVLA form for finding the registered keeper, but don't know if I can use this, and in any case this will not tell me the owner. He is a sole trader. Is there anything else I can do to find out his ability to pay? I've checked the .gov website on bankruptcy, and he's not on there. If I win the case and he does not want to pay (which I think might happen), I've seen something on the justice website about getting him to go to court and give details of his bank accounts. Has anyone got money back this was successfully? Also, when I have calculated the value of my claim (which I can't do yet until after the RICS survey then getting builders to quote for remedial work), how long does it take to get to court? He is being really childish, refusing to give me or the architect his progress photos showing what's underneath the floors, as the council has not yet inspected this. Any advice from people who have been through this before?

I've won my case at the Small Debts Court....I contacted Sheriff Officers who were no help....they actually implied I was wasting my time going any further to get my money refunded..

Hi, I am looking for a little advice. I received a claim form from the county court business centre from the claimants Pra group. I then completed a CCA request and CPR request, which the claimant and their solicitors did not fulfil. I filed my defence, and was updated by the claimant they would provide the documents in due course. The claim was then allocated to the small claims track, and mediation was offered. I had to refuse mediation due to not having all the documentation, which the mediators recommended. Within two days the claimants solicitors sent all the documentation from the CPR and CCA requests, not sure if they were trying to avoid mediation. I have the signed agreement from the credit card but I am a little confused. The agreement was signed by me on the 4/10/2011 with bank of Scotland Plc for an aqua credit card and stamped with I guess an internal stamp on 10/10/2011. The particulars of claim state that it was an agreement with progressive credit ltd entered into on the 12/10/2011. As the dates and the company do not match is this an issue, The particulars of claim state default was made on 18/7/2012 but that last payment was December 2011. The assignment from progressive credit to aktiv kapita was on the 24/1/13 however the particulars of claim states 29/1/13. All assignment documentation has been provided finally. They have also provided me with the notice of assignment from activ kapital to Pra group, but only the letter from Pra not activ kapital, is this sufficient? Any advice would be welcomed, thank you. It is just following the provision of documentation they have advised me to withdraw my defence, and I am unsure if this is correct how I would go about doing it, as I do not want a ccj on my credit file, and do not have the fund to pay in full. I will set up a payment plan if they own the debt, it is just it seems debts have been passed from pillar to post and I want to ensure I am paying the right person for the correct debt.

Hi guys, I've been pursuing my deposit and rent from an old landlord that was never paid back to me. She hasn't responded to anything I've sent her, so I have won the judgement by default and now have a CCJ against her. Could anyone give me advice as to the best ways of enforcing the judgement in the case of silence? Also on the off chance that she's moved address during the time I've been chasing her up, how would that affect my case? MCOL told me that using the 'Last Known Address' is fine, but it seems as if it'd be easy to say you never received anything. Would it be worth hiring a private Process Server to track her down and resubmitting my claim? Could I add this onto the costs? Thanks EDIT: Just to add I have done some pretty intense googling and found out that she has a company registered in her name. This is still active according to Companies House and has a Company Address as well as the home address to which I sent the court documents. Not sure what I can do with this information but maybe somebody else has some good ideas.

Hi, Cabot/shoosmiths have sent me a small claims court summons .... original debt is an overdraft with BOS. £1468.49 What is the difference between written application to pay by instalments? and apply for a time order?

Last October, I emailed my then landlord to say that I’d be paying part of my final rent out of my deposit. He replied minutes later with the following: 'Non payment of the agreed monthly amount on the date agreed by you on the agreement you have signed will result in a violation of our agreement and you will be asked to leave within 7 days of this email due to this exposing breach of contract and your deposit will count as rent owing’. Soon thereafter, he confronted me in person. As I was unwilling to relent, he said he’d change the locks and throw my stuff out that day. I phoned the police, who told me that would be criminal offence. As a result of this, my landlord relented. He instead said that, if I didn’t leave that day, he would ‘make your life hell’, adding that he would invite some friends around to party in the property (he knew I was a light sleeper). As a result, I vacated the property after gathering some of my belongings, and gave him his key back (which was mistake, but I was in a great deal of distress and not thinking clearly). I’m now suing my ex-landlord for my deposit and unspent rent, and for the distress and inconvenience his illegal eviction has caused. He is claiming in his written defence that I left voluntarily and not under duress, on the grounds that I handed him back my key. If he says that in court, would it be grounds for a him to be charged with perjury, given that: - No sane person would vacate a property when they have no-where to go to, especially when they have work the next day (and my new landlady would be able to attest that I contacted her for the first time on that day, which was the day I moved into her property). - On my recording of my call to the police, I can be heard pleading with him to let me at least stay till the end of the week. - He shows in his email that he’s willing to disregard the law (by threatening to ask me to leave within 7 days and to withhold my deposit). Thanks Jeff