Assaulted and property damaged - How to make a small claim

[noonenoname]

Hi all

I was assaulted and my property was damaged. I was not injured physically. The perpetrator admitted the assault and it looks like he will get a community resolution.

I am thinking about bringing a civil claim. I don't know his legal name currently only his address and nickname.

The value of the property damage is only about £70 or so. He admitted the assault I'm not sure to what extent if any he will admit to the property damage.

I suffered stress, anxiety and depression from the incident which I am having ongoing treatment for. I work freelance so had a number of hours lost work dealing with this - calling the police, calling 101 or updates, going to the police station to make a statement etc.

Can I simply issue a small claim? I'm thinking maybe £300 to cover the property damage, stress, anxiety and lost income but I don't really know what the "correct" figure to claim is. I don't want to make it too high or too low and accidentally harm my claim as a result.

I am freelance so calculating lost income is tricky as I don't charge an hourly rate.

How hard is a small claim for me to do myself? There certainly isn't enough money in it to get a solicitor involved so I must do it myself or get nothing. Obviously I want to recover the money lost but it's also about getting justice too so he doesn't simply get away with it.

Thanks

[islandgirl]

Does he have the means to pay? If this had gone to mags court you could have requested compensation,

[noonenoname]

Does he have the means to pay? If this had gone to mags court you could have requested compensation,

Hi there I don't think he has a lot of money but then £300 isn't a big claim. He owns a car worth maybe £1500 which could be seized.

Would the magistrates court compensate for the assault itself or only property damage / physical injury. I havn't yet agreed to the community resolution but the police seem very keen on this. As part of the resolution he might pay me compensation for my damaged phone case but none of the other stuff unfortunately.

Is it easy for me to make a small claim myself? Is there a risk I will be charged costs if the judge deems my case to have no merit?

[Pezza54]

You will have to find out his full name. Search the online land registry by address to see if he owns the property.
Even for the small claims track you will have to follow protocols and there is plenty of online reading available for litigants in person.
You should write to the defendant stating what you require to avoid making a claim against him. He may decide it is easier to pay rather than defend a claim in court.
A case on the small claims track is now taking 9-12 months so don't expect settlement anytime soon.
To work out the total £s of your claim you need to calculate lost working time x an hourly rate, plus receipts for repair or replacement to damaged property, nhs prescription charges and interest at 8% pa.
The award in court for stress is likely to be nominal, it is difficult to prove.
If you win your case there is a chance that the defendant will refuse to pay.
Would I put myself through all this for £300? No I wouldn't.

[islandgirl]

Would the magistrates court compensate for the assault itself or only property damage / physical injury. I havn't yet agreed to the community resolution but the police seem very keen on this. As part of the resolution he might pay me compensation for my damaged phone case but none of the other stuff unfortunately.

Is it easy for me to make a small claim myself? Is there a risk I will be charged costs if the judge deems my case to have no merit?

I did reply earlier but it appears to have got lost! You would be compensated for the value of damaged property. I think you will find it extremely difficult to get an award for stress etc - I would speak to those doing the community resolution about this person being made to compensate you if you agree to this disposal

[noonenoname]

I did reply earlier but it appears to have got lost! You would be compensated for the value of damaged property. I think you will find it extremely difficult to get an award for stress etc - I would speak to those doing the community resolution about this person being made to compensate you if you agree to this disposal

Thanks for your reply I spoke to the police regarding compensation but they mostly brushed this off as a civil matter.

Can you community resolution people deal with compensation? I suppose the perpetrator has to agree to compensation right the community resolution people won't be able to force anything in that regard?

It's not so much about the money it's about justice and discouraging future occurrences by them having consequences beyond a phoney apology.

I did have to get therapy due to the incident. I have no idea how much to claim for stress etc assuming I could even get an award for that.

He rents the property so his name won't be there. Would his name be given as part of the community resolution?


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In regards to damaged property do I have to repair or replace it in order to claim? What if I show the damage but haven't yet repaired or replaced?