Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

[Amethyst]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

ha ha, funny what you said.

I am.... generally.

[des8]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Ten years standing and then drove it!!! presumably on the wheel rims!
"in the old days" dealers used to boast "never had a spanner on it" ..... that was the one to avoid.

How much to remove dents? What size? How deep? paint scratched? double or single skin? flat panel or curved?

[JulianS]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

No mot on a car means it's not even roadworthy, so this takes a massive chunk of any saleable value too.

As stated elsewhere - the lack of MOT doesn't mean the car isn't roadworthy - just not allowed on the road.

If I was to sell the car or consider starting to use it again then I'd obviously look into getting the MOT sorted first... and if it wasn't worth it then so be it...

[JulianS]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

However to get it through its MOT after nearly two years standing I would not be surprised to find the brakes locked on, and it needing new discs (probably heavily corroded)and pads.
Brake fluid should also be changed.
New battery? Tyre condition?

I check the fluids & lights weekly and run it for a short while & distance every week... that's not to say that the cost of putting it back on the road wouldn't be high... just that it's not completely knackered...

Take the £150 if it is still on offer and save yourself the stress of court!

That's becoming the obvious plan now... which is why I started this thread in the first place.

[JulianS]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Who told you it has £300 worth of damage to it?

I got a range of 5 quotes from dent repair specialists before writing the first letter of complaint. They gave their quotes based on the 'photos I took of the damage. the quotes varied depending upon whether the dents could be taken-out without damaging the paint. £300 was the higher end of the quotes.

It will be cheaper for you to get the dints knocked out than taking risks of taking this to court.

Quite possibly - that's the kind of conclusion I was trying to reach when I started this thread.

[JulianS]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Hi

So a really big thanks to all of you who've helped me in this thread - it's been really very useful to have the circumstances & my options scrutinised.

I think, based on the way discussions have gone, that there's little value in me posting-up copies of the witness statement, letter before action & response & correspondence with TPOS. Let me know if you think otherwise and I'll happily post them up.

In summary...

The general impression I have is that my case is weak due to me not being able to definitively identify who caused the damage and thus not being able to claim against a company for the actions of their employees.

My witness statement is weak because my witness only observed actions & circumstances that could have resulted in the damage rather than actually seeing the damage being done (although I was previously under the impression that a judgement in the small claims process could be made on the basis of probabilities - I guess the probability isn't high enough in this case).

Although the car was roadworthy & in reasonable condition at the time of the damage being done, the length of time that it's now been off the road & laid-up means that it's probably only got scrap value and this affects the value of my claim accordingly - weakening it further and calling into question whether it's worthwhile proceeding in view of the costs & risks.

I was already broadly aware of the costs & risks associated of all of this so although I'm still angry when I think about what happened I am very prepared to drop the (intention of) claim.

I think my best course of action - as suggested - is to go back and see whether the offer of £150 is still available (especially since it doesn't actually relate to the issue of who caused the damage). If the £150 isn't available then I'd best cut my losses, halt the action and draw a line under things.

So my next job is to work out a plan for dropping the intent to claim whilst trying to maintain some semblence of dignity & good grace...

Thanks again - I'll (try to) bow-out now...

ATB

JulianS

[ostell]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

You claim against the company, who cares which of their emplyees did the work. You claim for the loss at the time of the incident. The cost of a claim is small and it may just concentrate their minds

[wales01man]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Summary
You claim in Court 300 and your costs and have all the hassle answering their defence filling in forms you may win!

You accept 150 they are offering no hassle job done money in bank

Is it worth having read what you your health is it worth it I suggest take the mone but the decision is yours

[JulianS]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

You claim against the company, who cares which of their employees did the work.

Plse. see the third parag. in post #8 in this thread...

Which employees? Which one owed you a duty, breached it, and is solely to blame? You cannot sue each and every employee for damages, can you? The onus is on you to prove which one caused the damage? You can't sue the employer indirectly either for the actions of his/ her employees as you simply do not know which employees caused what damage (causation test).

Interestingly I started this thread thinking that the whole purpose of small claims is the spirit and not just the letter but now I'm less certain. Although I have discussed the matter briefly elsewhere today with a retired barrister who still represents clients on a voluntary basis - he still maintains that it's the spirit & not just the letter and claims to have been involved with cases where there wasn't even a letter before action from claimants and the judges did not consider that this was of any importance... nevermind any mention of tort law, tort feasors or Occuplier Liability Acts that were pointed-out to me earlier in this thread...

I still suspect it's not worth pursuing further... I knew I was going to find it difficult to bow-out of this thread! :confused2:

ATB

JulianS

[JulianS]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Is it worth it? I suggest take the money

Thanks for your support for what I pretty much said already in post#36...

There's no guarantee that the offer of £150 is still on the table though...

[des8]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Post 13 you said you are on low income.
Do you qualify for fee remission? http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.u...ex160a-eng.pdf

If so it might make a difference to your decision to sue or not to sue!

[JulianS]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Post 13 you said you are on low income.
Do you qualify for fee remission?(http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.u...ex160a-eng.pdf)

I did assess this last year and no, I don't think I do qualify because although my income is generally low enough in itself, the amount of savings that I have in combination with my income disqualifies me (see tables on pages 11 & 12 of the guide in the link you gave).

I don't think this type of case is elligible for legal aid either (https://checklegalaid.service.gov.uk/)

Thanks for the thought though...

JulianS

[ostell]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Court fee for £300 = £35

[JulianS]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Court fee for £300 = £35

Indeed - £25 if done online via Money Claim Online I think? (https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome)

That's to issue the claim form I think?

Then the hearing fee would be £25

If I lost the case I'd also be liable for any expenses of my own witness and those of the defendant (including loss of earnings due to attending hearing at £90/day & travel expenses).

It's unlikely in this case I think, but if any expert witnesses were involved then that's a fee of £750

(all this info. is from http://www.howtotakesomeonetocourt.i...ourt-fees.html and http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.u.../ex050-eng.pdf and http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/rec...l-claims-court).

All of this assumes that the case is allocated to the small claims track - I'm unclear as to whether it would - I asked this question at the end of post #22 but so far it remains unaddressed...

As I've mentioned - I've now lost so much confidence in the strength of my case that I don't much see the point...

ATB

JulianS

[Openlaw15]

Re: Damage to my car – Is my case enough to proceed to court or is there more to do?

Plse. see the third parag. in post #8 in this thread...



Interestingly I started this thread thinking that the whole purpose of small claims is the spirit and not just the letter but now I'm less certain. Although I have discussed the matter briefly elsewhere today with a retired barrister who still represents clients on a voluntary basis - he still maintains that it's the spirit & not just the letter and claims to have been involved with cases where there wasn't even a letter before action from claimants and the judges did not consider that this was of any importance... nevermind any mention of tort law, tort feasors or Occuplier Liability Acts that were pointed-out to me earlier in this thread...

I still suspect it's not worth pursuing further... I knew I was going to find it difficult to bow-out of this thread! :confused2:

ATB

JulianS

Bringing claims in tort are not easy and when they are brought you cannot just sue someone for damages without first satisfying the defendant owes a duty, as not everyone owes a duty; tort is simply an evolving area of law. Next you have to prove breach of duty, ie was it reasonable in the circumstances. Are damages, personal injury linked to the breach? Once establishing breach and the link to injuries, damages. next is the causation test. Was there causation, ie was the defendant solely to blame or where there others whose act or omission may have broken the causation link. If duty, breach, and causation having been satisfied, then defendant may have certain defences. The onus is clearly on the claimant. Whereas in criminal law, the onus is on the prosecution to prove liability.