Trying to take someone to claims court, need advice please.

[Masskie]

Hi all

I have joined the site hoping to get some advice from some knowledgeable folks as I am a little over my head when it comes to court proceedings etc.

I want to take someone to court after loaning then money and have be advised to make a 'action before court letter.

I'm trying to work out in what form I must state my evidence against them as i haven't a clue to be honest.

I have text messages stating they would pay me back the full loan by the end of June 2021 with 15% extra. They haven't paid me anything but have mentioned in email and a voice recording I have that they have sent the money however the bank have confirmed that no money was actually sent. I believe they are using delay tactics. They are refusing respond to my emails now.

Do I include screenshots in my 'action before court' letter of the agreement as well as screenshots of emails?

Would I need to include the voice recordings of them stating they sent the money somehow with the letter?

I'm really struggling with this and would appreciate advice from you much smarter people. I tried contacted citizens advice but they said they were not legally trained and just stated I write out the letter not providing me with any real specifics.

Thanks all.

[Celestine]

3 INITIAL INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED BY THE CREDITOR

3.1 The creditor should send a Letter of Claim to the debtor before proceedings are started. The Letter of Claim should –

(a) contain the following information –
(i) the amount of the debt;
(ii) whether interest or other charges are continuing;
(iii) where the debt arises from an oral agreement, who made the agreement, what was agreed (including, as far as possible, what words were used) and when and where it was agreed;
(iv) where the debt arises from a written agreement, the date of the agreement, the parties to it and the fact that a copy of the written agreement can be requested from the creditor;
(v) where the debt has been assigned, the details of the original debt and creditor, when it was assigned and to whom;
(vi) if regular instalments are currently being offered by or on behalf of the debtor, or are being paid, an explanation of why the offer is not acceptable and why a court claim is still being considered;
(vii) details of how the debt can be paid (for example, the method of and address for payment) and details of how to proceed if the debtor wishes to discuss payment options;
(viii) the address to which the completed Reply Form should be sent;

(b) do one of the following –
(i) enclose an up-to-date statement of account for the debt, which should include details of any interest and administrative or other charges added;
(ii) enclose the most recent statement of account for the debt and state in the Letter of Claim the amount of interest incurred and any administrative or other charges imposed since that statement of account was issued, sufficient to bring it up to date; or
(iii) where no statements have been provided for the debt, state in the Letter of Claim the amount of interest incurred and any administrative or other charges imposed since the debt was incurred;

(c) enclose a copy of the Information Sheet and the Reply Form at Annex 1 to this Protocol; and

(d) enclose a Financial Statement form (an example Financial Statement is provided in Annex 2 to this protocol).

3.2 The Letter of Claim should be clearly dated toward the top of the first page. It should be posted either on the day it is dated or, if that is not reasonably possible, the following day.

3.3 The Letter of Claim should be sent by post. If the creditor has additional contact details for the debtor, such as an email address, the creditor may also send the Letter of Claim using those details. If the debtor has made an explicit request that correspondence should not be sent by post, and has provided alternative contact details, the creditor should use those details when sending the Letter of Claim. (Note that a condition in a creditor’s standard terms does not constitute an explicit request.)

3.4 If the debtor does not reply to the Letter of Claim within 30 days of the date at the top of the letter, the creditor may start court proceedings, subject to any remaining obligations the creditor may have to the debtor (for example, under the Financial Conduct Authority’s Handbook). Account should be taken of the possibility that a reply was posted towards the end of the 30-day period.

[Masskie]

Thank you for your response, its appreciated.

It mentioned I must give 30 days notice however I was also advised than 14 days is the standard. Could I some clarification on this if possible please.

Also I may be reading it wrong but I'm still unclear as to whether or not I am suppose to list the evidence against them or provide with this letter before claim the screenshots of messages etc?

Thanks guys.

[Celestine]

Have you previously communicated the screenshots/evidence? If not, then it would be wise to make them aware.
You can attach evidence to a pre-action letter, no court will judge you negatively for that but keep it concise, the main issue you are duty bound to communicate is that this matter will go to court as a next step.
14 days is acceptable and used often in pre-action processes. The pre-action protocols may seem important and weighty, but in reality, the court takes VERY little notice of weak pre-action processes. I’ve never personally seen a case derailed because of it, so don’t over stress too much! X