Decree granted - small claims

[drkangel1506]

Hi,

 

I am sorry if this is in the wrong place. Last year I enlisted the services of a employement lawyer to assist with an unfair dismissal claim - in the end I decided not to pursue it and dropped it prior to it going to court.

 

It was agreed with him that I would pay £200 no win no fee. I asked to pay in installments at the time they agreed to this and then I asked them to send me a final bill. It didnt get paid. I received 1 letter from Oct - Feb 13 regarding this. Completely my fault.

 

I then received a summons for a small claims court for the sum of £240 on the 27th Feb giving me until 5th April to return forms to court with date of 19th April.

 

I paid the £240 on the 2nd April and sent them a letter confirming this in the letter I asked them to inform me if there were any problems - nothing received.

 

Today I have came home to a letter saying I know owe them £180.23 and it came with an extract for payment from the sheriff court done in my absence.

 

I am completely at a loss as to why this has happened. There are claiming £180.23 is expenses but why didnt they advise me of this at the time. The summons clearly states £240.00

 

Looking at it now it says £240 inc VAT but he clearly said £200 to me at the time. It also says £240 with interest of 8% per annum. However I took this to mean £200 + £40 interest and duely paid it. They didnt even provide me with a receipt despite me asking for it.

 

Have I done this wrong?! Can I appeal this? If I can does this cost money and am I wasting my time?

 

If I am better paying the expenses charge can I ask to do so in installments? The letter said it is due immediately and failing this they will take steps to enforce the decree without further warning. What does this mean?

 

Thanks for any help - I am really upset about it in case I have made a mistake.

 

DRKangel

[Crocdoc]

It would appear that the court has granted costs in you absence. You could apply for Minute of Recall, (ask for the case to be re-heard) there is no charge for application process other than the cost of serving the documents on the pursuer. However if the application fails or the original decision is upheld you could incur additional costs at that stage.

You would also need to provide a genuine reason for not attending the initial hearing.

 

On the other hand once the pursuer serves a Charge for Payment you could apply to the court for Time to Pay. The decision is of course yours , however I would be inclined to go down this route rather than risk further expense.

 

The 8% is Stautory Interest granted with Decree

 

I hope this information is of assistance.

Edited May 23, 2013 by Crocdoc