Have I received a letter before action?

[don4482]

Evening, I have today received a letter by courier from the buyer of a pony I sold to them in October. It claims misrepresentation of sale, but contains within no evidence other than stated claims written into the letter and the threatening of court action if I do not respond within 7 days. So is this to be considered as a letter before action and therefore do I have to respond?? I am very much going to fight this either way.

[dslippy]

If it was a serious letter before action, it would be clearer. Reply by denying any liability, but without further explanation.

[MIKE770]

letter before action contains many pages of questionnaire

[Ramy]

Hi.
I've received a letter from security Ukcrs, regarding shop lifting in B&Q
They charge me 400£ that I need to pay.
But B&Q didn't say anything about charging.
They only banned me in all B&Q for 5 years. Police didn't involved, they took the item and my personal details and told me to leave.
Please could you help me in this case? What should I do?
The letter says if I ignore it, I have to go to civil court.
Thanks in advance.

[atticus]

letter before action contains many pages of questionnaire

Sorry, but a letter before action explains the grounds for the proposed claim, requires the recipient to do something to settle the claim, and threatens court action if the claim is not settled. See for example para 6 of the Practice Direction on pre-action conduct: https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...action_conduct

[atticus]

Hi.
I've received a letter from security Ukcrs, regarding shop lifting in B&Q
They charge me 400£ that I need to pay.
But B&Q didn't say anything about charging.
They only banned me in all B&Q for 5 years. Police didn't involved, they took the item and my personal details and told me to leave.
Please could you help me in this case? What should I do?
The letter says if I ignore it, I have to go to civil court.
Thanks in advance.

You would do best to start a new thread. Or search here for Retail Loss Prevention or RLP.

I see this is not your first post about this type of thing.

[MIKE770]

where are you based as your response id advertising in UK

[atticus]

where are you based as your response id advertising in UK

You do realise that by quoting the spammer you are boosting the SEO of his spammy link, don't you Mike?

[Pezza54]

I am not a lawyer but I recently studied the Misrepresentation Act to make a claim.

Misrepresentation occurs when the seller makes a false statement (negligently or fraudulently) in writing or verbally that induces the buyer to enter into a contract, and the buyer suffers a loss.

If the false statement is verbal how does the buyer prove this in court? Would the claimant's case be helped if he or she was accompanied by a witness who was prepared to attend court and confirm the false statement was made by the seller?

Perhaps Atticus can provide advice on this.

[atticus]

Perhaps I can, but please do not hijack threads. You know how to start a new topic.

[Pezza54]

Sorry Atticus, not trying to hijack the thread. I accept this wasn't Don4482's original question, but just thought advice on misrepresentation statements made verbally would help Don4482 to contest a claim. Selling a horse or pony is likely to involve verbal statements.

[atticus]

A civil claim needs to be proved on the balance of probabilities. Is what is asserted more likely to have happened, been said etc than not?

When it's just a case of one person's word against the other's, then going to court is a lottery.

But often there is something else, something that was said or done or written that can support a party's case, so that the evidence is not just what the person says was said. That can help persuade the judge that it is more likely that what you are saying is correct.

[Messinio30]

If you receive a letter alleging that a sale was misled and contains a threat of legal action, this may be considered a pre-action letter. Therefore, you are advised to respond within the prescribed 7-day time limit, as failure to do so may result in legal proceedings being initiated against you. It is important to seek legal advice before formulating an answer and carefully study the claims made in the letter, try contacting nj criminal lawyers. If you intend to contest the claims made, you should provide evidence to support your position and consider hiring an attorney to represent you. Ultimately, it is important to take this issue seriously and respond in a timely and appropriate manner in order to protect your legal rights.