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I'm looking for some advice, please, on pursuing a claim through MoneyClaim Online. In February, I was walking my dog on a public beach. He had his collar, lead & head-restraint on and was under full control. A Staffie, without a lead OR collar, came out of nowhere and attacked him. My dog suffered injuries to his ear, head and side of his face. The people walking the Staffie were not the owners - they were relatives, apparently. We called the police, who attended but informed us that it was a civil matter, not criminal (!) so there was nothing they could do, but they did mediate. The guy walking the dog then produced the owner, and they both assured us that they would pay the vet bill. The final bill came to around £500 - my dog lost part of the edge of his ear, sustained injuries to his abdomen which led to panceatitis and suffers from anxiety now. As he is insured, I wrote to the owner to ask for the policy excess of £75 plus £22.53 for a DAP for the anxiety, which isn't covered by the policy, but was vet recommended & supplied. I tried phoning them, but the number they supplied is unobtainable. They received the 1st letter I wrote, but the 2nd came back "Gone Away". I then wrote to the owner's rellies, but my letter has again been ignored. I want to claim this money through the courts now - I think I've been patient enough. Any advice on how to word a POC, please, or should I take a different route?
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Re: Advice for Claiming through MoneyClaim Online
It is considered good form to issue a Letter Before Action first, warning of your intent to issue a claim. In addition, unless you have an address at which the court can serve the claim, actually issuing one will not mean that you will get paid, even if you win.
Therefore, before you get ahead of yourself and spend time and money issuing a court claim, make certain that you have an address at which to serve it. Given that you are intending to claim less than £100, it would seem sensible.
Finally, you should check the small print of your own policy to see if any legal cover is included, as it may be that you can hand this over to your insurers to recover your excess for you. This may also apply to other insurance that you may hold, such as household cover, as many policies also include legal expenses cover for just such a scenario. -
Re: Advice for Claiming through MoneyClaim Online
Thank you for that. The local Dog Warden has visited the property of the rellies, so I know they reside there, and she actually advised me to go after them for reimbursement. TBH, I think that when I wrote to the owner the 2nd time, she just refused to accept it & denied she lived there - they were all sent recorded. In all 3 of my letters, I did say that I reserved the right to further action if I had no response. I'll dig out the policies and see if they can help - that's a brilliant idea!Comment
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Re: Advice for Claiming through MoneyClaim Online
No-go on the policies, I'm afraid. Household only covers for recouping damages over £250, and the pet insurance only covers if claims are made against me. Back to the drawing board.....Any further advice, please?Comment
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Re: Advice for Claiming through MoneyClaim Online
Send them a Letter Before Action, detailing your claim and give them fourteen days to make an offer of payment. At the expiry of your deadline, issue a claim. Come back here at that point and we can help to compose a PoC with you.Comment
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Re: Advice for Claiming through MoneyClaim Online
Thanks - will do.Comment
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Re: Advice for Claiming through MoneyClaim Online
Have sent THREE letters - all received, none acknowledged. Please can I have some help wording the POC? £97 might not seem like a lot of money, but it is to me, and I don't see why I should be out of pocket when it was my dog that was attacked. The facts are:-
Sunday 22nd Feb 2009 - walking my dog on a public beach; he had collar, lead & head restraint on. A Staffordshire Bull Terrier ran up and attacked him, latching onto his right ear, from which he lost several pieces of flesh. He also had wounds to his head, throat and the side of his face. He also received internal injuries resulting in pancreatitis. The total vet bill was over £500, paid for by insurance. The amount I am claiming is for the excess of £75 plus £22.50 for a DAP which was vet recommended & provided. These are not covered by my policy.
The other dog had neither collar nor lead. The couple walking it were not the owners; it belonged to their sister-in-law. The Dog Warden has advised that as the people walking the dog were the ones responsible for it, it's them I should ask for payment.
Hope this makes sense!Comment
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