Reply to: How long should should I wait to take them to to the small claims court and do I have

[despot]

Gather your evidence trail and comments in a folder. Be clear that your contract did not list specific deliverables or indeed link payment to successful completion / sign off of any deliverables. You acted within the terms of the contract and had to terminate out of professional duty as the client was unable to supply the data in the required format etc. Having followed up with appropriate letters / timings, lodge your claim for the financial amount owed plus any justifiable out of pocket expenses e.g. interest on outstanding payment. File the case and I bet the client will not even attend. Just make sure you fill out the claim particulars carefully and accurately. If they fail to appear in court you will automatically win. If you win and the company still do not pay up within a reasonable time, escalate the matter to the high court and send the sheriffs in to collect payment who will add their fees to your claim so you are not out of pocket. It's not a huge additional cost. If the company has assets, they will be ceased if payment is not made in full. The financial director is being arrogant and trying to bully you. Plenty of people follow this process and it's usually very simple if you can build the case file and are organised.

[Safe Collections]

I this case I don't think it matters how much (or little) attempt has been made to collect the debt

The Director has said that he wont pay and given a reason.

No amount of extra attempts at sending letters is going to change that.

The issue that needs to be sorted is "is the director's reason valid", and only a legal process can decide that.

tim

We disagree, the OP still needs to make sure they have tried to resolve the situation amicably or risk falling foul of the court for failing to follow the pre-action protocols.

Litigants in person are still expected to be able to demonstrate they have made every effort to avoid court action. You can be sure an experienced legal department will be looking to seize on any mistake made by the OP.

[Lance]

, however to say the issue of a small claim carries no risk of costs is incorrect.

)

Agreed. In fact the case I was involved became more complex with the opponent's barrister ditching his client to act as counsel for the judge over a technical ruling on costs. The opponent was furious as he was claiming around £1500 of unpaid bills, and costs due to a technicality (around £17000, including paying for the barrister to go off-piste).

I don't think this will be a factor for the OP.

[tim123]

Yes but ideally you should have sent your original two letters by both post and email. The postal letters to the registered address of the company.
.

I this case I don't think it matters how much (or little) attempt has been made to collect the debt

The Director has said that he wont pay and given a reason.

No amount of extra attempts at sending letters is going to change that.

The issue that needs to be sorted is "is the director's reason valid", and only a legal process can decide that.

tim

[Safe Collections]

There is some excellent advice in this thread and a majority of it is accurate, however to say the issue of a small claim carries no risk of costs is incorrect.

It is unusual for costs to be awarded in a small claim but it is not impossible. If the conduct of a party to litigation is "unreasonable" then the court has the discretionary power to award costs to either side. See page 4 of the Small Claims Guide from the Civil Justice Council here.

This guide is a little dated now but a majority of the advice in respect to bringing a claim remains accurate and if you are preparing to issue a claim we would definitely recommend familiarising yourself with the process in advance.

You can also get some basic advice from the .gov site here.

Good luck!

And thanks for the plug JoJo

[Fred Bloggs]

Yes, all good advice.

[SueEllen]

Thanks all, much appreciated. Does anyone know if a email is valid in a small claims court?

Yes but ideally you should have sent your original two letters by both post and email. The postal letters to the registered address of the company.

The reason for that it is common in all types of court and with regulators for the respondents to claim they haven't received correspondence. Some respondents especially individuals actually get away with this.

However if you send letters by a signed for method, preferably registered post not recorded signed for, to the company's registered office they cannot argue they haven't received them. (Some recorded signed for letters never receive a signature so you may as well get a proof of posting and indicate that they are getting an email copy as well.)

I've found lots of companies give in once you have done that and then in a later letter have added the threat of legal action.

Personally now I would print out the email letters and send them to the registered address in one envelope by next day delivery.

This will puzzle them until you send your Letter Before Action 14 days later by the same method. Then they realise you will be taking them to court and they can't use the pretence that there was something wrong with their email server, your emails were blocked by a "new" spam filter, the manager was ill in hospital so couldn't access their emails, or some other such sh*t.

[JoJoGabor]

Just get a debt recovery firm on the case. Safe Collections are very good. They will take a cut of the money but usually get it resolved very quickly without going to court.

[Fred Bloggs]

Sure, it is easy enough to show the email headers when you print out the email though.

[ASB]

As evidence? Yes.

But they can be contested so it is probably sensible to read up on authentication of them to establish that what is stated as being sent indeed was.

This might be a starter:-

Email as court evidence

[Fred Bloggs]

Thanks all, much appreciated. Does anyone know if a email is valid in a small claims court?

As evidence? Yes.

[Isla]

Thanks all, much appreciated. Does anyone know if a email is valid in a small claims court?

[Fred Bloggs]

In a small claims court you cannot claim costs so DON'T get lawyered up. Make sure all your documents are clear, and that they paint a picture of you doing what you agreed to do and some evidence that you did it (timesheet's a good start). You'll need to submit a pack of evidence t the court that will be shared with the opposing party, and anything they submit will be shared with you. Make sure you submit everything you have.

Pay the fee and get the court date set.
Even if you lose they can't counter claim costs so you have little to lose.

When you start in court tell the Judge that you're a lay person and then lay out what happened and refer to each piece of evidence as you paint your picture.
It'll take 2 hours probably.

I've been in the situation once and the judge just read documents and evidence in plain English. In that situation he found that as the contract didn't list what had to be delivered then no delivery of anything was required and the invoiced amount had to be paid (timesheets are proof in the absence of any contracted deliverables).

IANAL.

Exactly. I seriously doubt a multi national will contest this. The bigger and more well known, the less likely it will defend itself. They seriously hate publicity in the courts. Go for it.

[VillageContractor]

Maybe i was a bit naive. I thought i would just go to the small claims court and represent myself. The court would decide and that would be that.

Maybe give Judge Rinder a go

[Lance]

Maybe i was a bit naive. I thought i would just go to the small claims court and represent myself. The court would decide and that would be that.

In a small claims court you cannot claim costs so DON'T get lawyered up. Make sure all your documents are clear, and that they paint a picture of you doing what you agreed to do and some evidence that you did it (timesheet's a good start). You'll need to submit a pack of evidence t the court that will be shared with the opposing party, and anything they submit will be shared with you. Make sure you submit everything you have.

Pay the fee and get the court date set.
Even if you lose they can't counter claim costs so you have little to lose.

When you start in court tell the Judge that you're a lay person and then lay out what happened and refer to each piece of evidence as you paint your picture.
It'll take 2 hours probably.

I've been in the situation once and the judge just read documents and evidence in plain English. In that situation he found that as the contract didn't list what had to be delivered then no delivery of anything was required and the invoiced amount had to be paid (timesheets are proof in the absence of any contracted deliverables).

IANAL.