Did not receive a Notice of Proposed Allocation to Track

[Hen144]

Thank you. The only defence I have is indeed signed by the first defendant Fred Bloggs.

[Pezza54]

Yes it is confusing. Did you contract with the sole trader, Sam? Sam's defence has been filed but you haven't received a copy.
MCOL Guidance for Claimants states the court will post a copy of the defendant's response to the claimant.
You should contact MCOL and ask for a copy of Sam's defence to be sent to you

[Hen144]

I have realised what has happened. Sam the 2nd defendant notified the court of a change of address on 24/09/2024 and he filed the defence on the same date. I only received it in the post yesterday after emailing the court.
The defence names the defendant as Mr Sam Bloggs but it has been completed and signed by Fred Bloggs.
I expect they are trying to get the claim thrown out.

Sam Bloggs is the sole trader of the business and I discovered that when I left a factual review on the website that connects customers to tradespeople.
Fred Bloggs appears to be an employee but I suspect wrongful trading here.

[Pezza54]

So Fred has signed Sam's defence by mistake. Unless the defendants make an application to court to correct this error they risk the defence being struck out

[Hen144]

It's not a mistake Pezza. Not only has Fred signed the defence, he has put his date of birth, home address and mobile phone number. Everything tallies with what I already know about him. I expect it's a deliberate ploy to have the defence struck out.

[Pezza54]

Did you contract with Fred or Sam? A contract can be formed verbally, in writing, by text
If you have made any payments, who were the payments made to?
Did you send identical claims to Fred and Sam claiming the same amount?

[Hen144]

The contract was with the business on their headed notepaper and quote given by Fred. The payments were made to Fred and it's Fred's bank details on the invoice. It's a family run business with Fred the father and Sam the son. I only knew Sam was a sole trader when I left a review on the site that connects customers to businesses. My messages were ignored until I left that review and that is what prompted their responses and refusal to rectify the work. The MCOL claim names Fred as the 1st defendant and Sam the 2nd defendant trading as their business name. I have emailed the CNBC to notify them of the discrepancy in the defence, I will have to wait for their reply now.