Simple Procedure Respondent has 'gone away'

[Roadster]

I started a Simple Procedure in Scotland (formerly referred to as small-claims court) against a sole trader who owes us money.* The citation was sent to the business address, it was forwarded to a private address, but the letter was returned to the sheriff court marked 'Gone Away'.* * *We know the sole trader has closed the business we were dealing with (we have found out now that he has a pattern of closing businesses and starting up again) but we also know he is still running a different business out of the address the citation was sent to.* I also believe he does live at the address the citation was forwarded to but has seen the documents contain a citation and has simply returned them.* Without paying out any more money is there anything else we can do to try to get the documents served.* Thanks***
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[Nostrus]

So if it was returned "Gone Away" then that means it was the postman who returned it, not the respondent. Now this could be that the sole trader told them that the business no longer operated there, as it is unlikely that the postman knew that in Scotland, you can pursue a sole trader as though they were an individual.

Amend the claim form so that you are pursuing the individual, not the business, and have it re-served as such. I would also get it served by Sheriff Officer as you will be more likely to get a feel for what the prospects for recouping what you are due will be.