Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to one in

[nicknock]

Hi


I'm suing a bar which caused us continued stress when we lived above it last year. Before i get lynched for living above it in the first place, no it wasn't open when we moved in and it was in a residential building, not on a high street on near any other bars.
We took the apartment in a lovely block of apartments, surrounded by other apartments in a completely residential area so how they got a licence is beyond me.


ANYWAY, we have the councils backing, they served the bar with 2 noise abatement orders and we have various sound recordings, CCTV of anti-social behaviour etc.


We've issued a small claim which initially they intended to defend, 28 days past and nothing! I then issued a judgement, still nothing and now ive issued a warrant of execution.
We're suing them for loss of enjoyment of our home and stress. Honestly you would not believe the level of noise we had to endure, banging music from 11am until 1am every day of the week for 8 months. We lived in the apartment above, in a duplex apartment and the lyrics to songs were clearly audible even on the 2nd floor, so 3 floors above the bar!!


The bar is in Manchester and as such the warrant has been issued at that address, since then the licensee i presume, has changed the address to what looks like a head office in Scotland. My warrant has been returned as its an address outside of the UKs jurisdiction, frustrating! So, the court advised to re-issue to the address in Manchester, but i can imagine that the licensee will change the address again. i supose ultimately its not the bar managers responsibility, its his.


Any advice on what to do? I really don't want to have to start the whole process again through the Scottish courts and ive already paid out £200 in court fees! Plus it gives them another opportunity to defend themselves if i start again.


Thanks

[bluebottle]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

Is the judgement for at least £600? If so, have you considered handing the case to a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO)? One of our members is an expert on High Court Enforcement and I will ask them to look in on this thread.

[nicknock]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

Hi

Yes its for 5k! I thought the court gave it to a HCEO to deal with when they issue the warrant?

[bluebottle]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

If the judgement was in the County Court, once judgement has been entered, the Defendant is sent a Payment Order telling them how much to pay to the Claimant. The Defendant has 28 days from the date of judgement in which appeal the judgement. If, after 28 days, the Defendant has neither paid or appealed, the Claimant may then proceed to enforce the judgement, unless the court has directed otherwise. The Claimant can ask Court Bailiffs or Certificated Bailiffs to carry out enforcement or, if the judgement is for £600 or more, HCEOs. In order for HCEOs to become involved, the judgement has to be transferred to the High Court. I have attached a Form N293A and Directory of HCEOs. You will need to contact an HCEO or HCEO company and enquire as to whether they can enforce it for you.

[ploddertom]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

Who did you actually sue? Is it a Ltd Co?

[ploddertom]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

Question: - I have obtained a judgment for payment of a sum of money from an English/Welsh/Northern Irish Court, How do I enforce it in Scotland?

Answer: - In order to enforce a money provision in Scotland of a judgment of a court in another part of the United Kingdom, the party must first obtain a document known as a Certificate of Money Provisions from the court which issued the judgment. The Certificate must then be sent to the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland for registration in the Register of Judgments. (the contact details are: - Keeper of the Registers of Scotland, Erskine House, 68 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4NF. Tel: 0131 479 3630. Fax:- 0131 200 3917 www.ros.gov.uk)

After registration, the party is provided with an official extract copy of the certificate bearing an execution which will enable them to proceed against the debtor in Scotland.

In order to take action against the debtor you will require to engage the services of a Sheriff Officer/Messenger-at-Arms and can obtain contact details from the list of Sheriff Officers throughout Scotland which is available on our web site. www.smaso.org

[nicknock]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

Who did you actually sue? Is it a Ltd Co?

Hi

The original claim was against a bar which caused a consistent noise nuisance and forced us to move out of our home. They were served 2 noise abatement orders and had 10 visits from the council in 6 months. We moved in to a residential apartment block surrounded by other apartments before i get lynched for moving near a bar. The bar wasnt open when we moved in and we lived right above it. The music was at such a level that we could hear every lyric of every song 3 floors above! It started from 11am-1am every single day. The anti-social behaviour that went on also had a huge impact on our enjoyment of our home. We would frequently find people urinating on our front door, riot vans were called out every few weeks and people stood right below our windows and smoked. Loads of other stuff too but just thought id summarise.

So, sorry to ramble, the original claim was against the bar who have a head office in Scotland which yes, is a limited company.

[nicknock]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

so one suggestion is to employ a high court enforcement officer, will and one is to employ a sherif/ in Scotland? Are they essentially the same thing?
Will i have to pay for that?

How easy do you think itll be to get them to pay up? I presume as they're a business they cannot say they dont have the money!?

[nicknock]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

Anyone?

[ploddertom]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

My suspicion on what will happen will be that they will claim they never received the docs and may apply to have the Judgment Set Aside. With this being a cross border matter I am not too sure on the correct procedure but reading from the answers given on the SMASO website it makes it sound a straightforward procedure but would suspect otherwise. It will cost you nothing to enquire either via one of our own HCEO companies - remember biggest is not always best - or better still contact the Sheriffs/Master at Arms Organisation in Scotland - www.smaso.org . Unfortunately it is going to cost more money and there is no guarantee you will get any back although all these fees may be added to what your Debtor owes.

[bluebottle]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

One thing with HCEOs, Nicknock, is that they can force entry to business premises and seize goods to the value of the judgement, whereas a bailiff can only enter if the Defendant lets them in or they peacefully enter through an open door or window. As your judgement is in the sum of £5,000, it is very likely an HCEO or Sheriff would have to enforce it.

Speak to one of the HCEOs/HCEO companies in the directory I have posted in Post #4 and ask them if they can help you.

[Sapphire]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

Another suggestion is to speak to your local coppers and find out who the licencing officer is, have a chat with him/her, it might be with enough objections the licence can be revoked.

[nicknock]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

hi there

thanks for the replies. The licensee definitely received the claim as they changed their address from the one in Manchester to the one in Scotland. I presume they would have also received the judgement as it was sent by post from the court? It's only when its got to warrant of execution stage that things have got tricky. They actually said they were going to file a defence and never did, so they cant say they have never been aware of it.

Sounds like best bet is to contact a HCEO then!?

[bluebottle]

Re: Im suing a company in England but they've changed their head office address to on

hi there

thanks for the replies. The licensee definitely received the claim as they changed their address from the one in Manchester to the one in Scotland. I presume they would have also received the judgement as it was sent by post from the court? It's only when its got to warrant of execution stage that things have got tricky. They actually said they were going to file a defence and never did, so they cant say they have never been aware of it.

Sounds like best bet is to contact a HCEO then!?

It sounds like they're trying to avoid complying with the judgement. Yes, you should contact an HCEO for advice on enforcing the judgement you have been granted by the court. You need to do this quickly.