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Vexatious statutory demand

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  • Vexatious statutory demand

    We had this contractor doing odd jobs on our property, mainly on the outbuildings. The agreement was that he would provide timesheets and summary of completed works, and will invoice based on that at £100/day. First 3 weeks were fine, although he had some attitude issues with providing timesheets - but eventually he provided them and invoices, and I paid.
    In the weeks that followed, he started behaving mysteriously, and would turn up at random times, do virtually no work and would not respond to my messages.
    Then he started asking for money for those 2 mystery weeks, and I asked to provide timesheets and an itemised invoice. He ignored my requests, then produced a document saying “invoice” on top with just one total figure of £485. This was a different amount from what he asked previously for the same weeks, and when I again asked for itemisation, he went berserk and said he would only deal with me in writing (and as I could only contact him on WhatsApp, I thought we already were communicating in writing).

    In addition, he stole keys to our shed and refused to return. I asked him about 10 times over 2 weeks to return them, and gave the final deadline for return which he ignored. I then reported the incident to the police and got a locksmith to replace the lock - as it was a secure lock and locked with no key, this came to almost £150 cost.

    Anyway, today my 8-year-old son was playing in the garden, and the contractor suddenly turned up and handed him a letter telling to pass it to me. My son got quite alarmed. The letter turned out to be a statutory demand form printed off gov.uk website, claiming £485. There were no specifics of what this debt relates to in the Details of Debt field, only that he wanted 8% interest on it and a mention of loss of earnings(!).

    I just read about statutory demand cases on this forum.*
    It seems that as this alleged debt is disputed, and I have a counter-claim for lock replacement cost, I should be able to apply to set it aside on the basis that bankruptcy is not an appropriate route for disputed debt collection (is this correct?)

    But as the alleged debt is below £5,000, does it not automatically deny the nutcase contractor the next step in the process he is attempting to follow, as he cannot apply for personal bankruptcy for £485 alleged debt anyway?

    I looked at the application form used for setting statutory demand aside - I do not understand how to fill it at all, and the guidance document looks gibberish to me - it does not seem fit for purpose. Also, the statutory demand itself does not have any court listed - if I have to fill the form, how do I know which court to list? We have several courts in our areas that deal with bankruptcies.

    This is really stressing me out now, so any views will be much appreciated.
    *
    Tags: None

  • #2
    You are correct, you can't be made bankrupt for less than 5000, stop worrying.
    My guess is that he has just printed off some form from the internet and handed it to you.
    Does it have a case number or a date or the name of the court ?
    If he had instigated legal proceedings the documents would have been sent to you by a court.
    Ignore it but keep it as evidence in any future action.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thank you. It looks exactly like he has just printed it off Internet, lazily written a few words (the first time he gave his address as he refused to produce proper invoices) and handed it to my son as he did not want to face me. There are no court details - this is the standard statutory demand form, I think it is used later in bankruptcy proceedings to prove that the debtor has been warned. I am also reading on various legal companies websites that it costs the creditor upwards of £2,000 to make someone bankrupt, so makes no sense to do for an under £500 debt. And I keep telling him I want to pay him but I need to know what it is I am paying for first!

      *

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      • #4
        Well you now have his address so I suggest you write to him (recorded delivery and keep a copy) and ask him to produce a detailed invoice and you will pay him if you agree with it. Minus the cost of the lock.

        Comment


        • #5
          Thread closed - Continues here ->>*https://legalbeagles.info/forums/for...than-%C2%A3500
          #staysafestayhome

          Any support I provide is offered without liability, if you are unsure please seek professional legal guidance.

          Received a Court Claim? Read >>>>> First Steps

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