Hi there - professional negligence claim

[jonnyd85]

I did a check on his address, and found he owns his home (albeit with a mortgage and with someone else - presumably his wife). However, worryingly I also found a couple of restrictions dating back a couple of years of the form:

"No disposition of the registered estate is to be registered without a certificate signed by the applicant for registration or his conveyancer that written notice of the disposition was given to [name of trustee in bankruptcy] (the trustee in bankruptcy of [name of the surveyor]) at [address for service]."

I did a search of the insolvency register, but didn't find him. Presumably the above means he is an undischarged bankrupt (since 2017) and so I cannot pursue this further?

[des8]

If he is an undischarged bankrupt he should appear on the register.
Any chance of naming and shaming so we can do some checks?

[Amethyst]

Could be the joint owner that's gone bankrupt ... ?

[jonnyd85]

The charge is the trustee of the bankruptcy of [name of the surveyor]. I PM'd the name of the surveyor to des8 as I want sure if it was ok/fair to post it publically

[des8]

I haven't found a record of his bankruptcy, but did find reference to him about to apply back in Nov 2018.
It could be that an earlier bankruptcy has been discharged and removed from the register, but the charge on his property has been overlooked.
If you obtained a court judgement against him which he fails to pay you might be able to register a charge against his property

There are a number of disgruntled clients, some have apparently won county court cases against him, but don't appear to have been paid.
Might be worth doing a search of him and possibly his now dissolved company on the register (https://www.trustonline.org.uk/)

[jonnyd85]

Thanks for that. Ran a search. One unsatisfied record for >10k in 2014. Two satisfied records, most recent of which was satisfied in February 2019. Nearer 5k, the other record around 1K

not sure if this makes it worth pursuing. If I was going to where in the protocol to start? The Preliminary Notice? Or jump to the Letter of Claim? Not sure about using expert witnesses on the small claims track

What would you do in my place do you think? go for it or give it up as a bad job?

[des8]

If it has cost you just under £10,000,it must be worth considering a claim.
For a comparatively small outlay you stand to recover a substantial amount if successful.
If he can't pay up front, there is the option of a charge on his home so you get paid eventually.

I would start the process with the preliminary letter, and request a response within 21 days and then if no satisfactory response in goes the LBA
You then have a nice paper trail and not relying on emails etc.

You would not be expected to produce expert witnesses (certainly not until after court action has been initiated and with the court's permission or direction)

[jonnyd85]

Brill - I shall start drafting something. I am struggling to find any templates for this kind of thing, but will do some more hunting.

[des8]

If you want you can post up before mailing for comments

[jonnyd85]

Brill - I shall start drafting something. I am struggling to find any templates for this kind of thing, but will do some more hunting.

Hi there,

I've finally written something. How shall I post it up? Attachment,or just text here. I assume I need to redact bits of it?

[des8]

Yes, redact to preserve anonymity.
You can use either method to post up (but preferably not "word" as I don't have that facility)

[jonnyd85]

Ok, I have redacted a fair bit but here is a pdf of what I was going to send. Tries to follow the items that the pre action protocol says I should include so it ended up a little long. Appreciate any advice you can offer

[jonnyd85]

des8 just bumping this in case you have some time - was hoping to try and send this off soon before I lose my nerve!

[des8]

Thanks for the bump...Sorry I missed your last posting but for some reason I'm no longer receiving email alerts.

Your letter of claim covers everything and should be sent., but I doubt you'll get a reasonable response if any!

[jonnyd85]

Thanks for the bump...Sorry I missed your last posting but for some reason I'm no longer receiving email alerts.

Your letter of claim covers everything and should be sent., but I doubt you'll get a reasonable response if any!

I can but try - if I don't, I assume it's off to small claims for me. At least I'll have done what I can!

Thanks for looking at it - will update if I hear anything