Small claims

[Cass533]

Hello folks I posted on here about 3 weeks ago about starting a mcol,I did some work in the bathroom of the customers house and was told half way through the job that the work I did was substandard and I wasn't allowed back in the property to finish the job,she has refused to pay me and I've started a mcol against her,she has defended the claim stating she had an independent bathroom company come to her property to look at my work and they told her my work was substandard and they are willing to go to court on her behalf to tell the judge,what I want to know is should she of notified me about a company coming to look at my work so I could be there so they could tell me what was wrong with the work instead of being totally excluded?
Thanks in advance
Neil

[Ripped-Off]

Re: Small claims

It's never that simple I'm afraid. You and the customer have a contract and that is the first place to look for the answer. If there are no formal terms of agreement then the common law and statute are triggered. In this case I suspect the Consumer Rights Act 2015 would come into play, probably section 54.

Generally speaking, unless the service you tendered provided no value at all to the customer then you are entitled to payment, albeit at a reduced price if the work was in fact poor. The use of a bathroom company will have no bearing on the case if you were not given the opportunity to fulfil your contract. It's about mitigation of loss. If the customer has paid over the odds to correct defective work that you should have done, she cannot recover more than it would have cost you to do it, unless of course she gave you the opportunity to correct the work and you either refused or failed to act within a reasonable time.However, by refusing you entry to complete the work or correct the defects (if that is what happened), the customer has repudiated the contract, that means she has indicated that she does not intend to be bound by its terms any longer; the contract has therefore come to a premature end.

She may well come out worse as you may be able to claim damages against her for repudiating the contract.

[Cass533]

Re: Small claims

Thanks for that great information, when I opened and issued the claim in my haste I only put what the labour and materials cost she owed me,I want to let the court know that I sent invoices and letters leading up to the mcol which I should have put in the particulars of claim,I have received a letter stating I need to complete a small claims directions questionnaire (form N180) can I put the information I forgot to add earlier on a seperate piece of paper and send it with N180 or will I have to wait until the court case?apologies for all the questions I'm green as grass with things of this nature
Neil

[Ripped-Off]

Re: Small claims

You will normally get an opportunity to add this to the witness statement that you will have to submit in due course along with any documents upon which you intend to rely on in Court.

The Courts do like to see evidence that the parties have tried to resolve the matter prior to coming to Court and have published protocols that should be followed. These are what are referred to as pre-action protocols and yours maybe covered by the Protocol for Construction & Engineering Disputes. It sounds like a very small claim so provided you have loosely followed the protocol then you should be okay, and as you are representing yourself then it follows that you wouldn't be expected to know the ins and outs of the protocol but have a look anyway at https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...tocol/prot_ced

If the defendant has submitted a defence you have the option to respond to the defence, so you can raise your points in this. You must respond to a counterclaim otherwise you may have judgment made against you for that part.

Also, the general rule in small claims track cases is that no expert evidence is allowed, whether oral or in the form of a report, without the permission of the court. If expert evidence is regarded as necessary (e.g. if the case involves technical matters such as a dispute over quality of workmanship) a special direction will be required and this should be mentioned in the directions questionnaire.

[Cass533]

Re: Small claims

The defendant has submitted a defence so how do I respond to the defence do I need a form to fill in ?
Neil

[Cass533]

Responding to a defended claim

Hi all I've started a mcol against a non paying customer after doing work at her property,I've received a response stating she's defending the claim,I want to respond to her defence but don't know how to go about it, I've got her statement and a directions questionnaire N180 form,can anyone tell me how I can respond?
Thanks neil

[Ripped-Off]

Re: Small claims

The defendant has submitted a defence so how do I respond to the defence do I need a form to fill in

Firstly, if you haven't done so already you should read the relevant parts of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). These set out the obligations of the parties and the Courts and have to be followed religiously. It's how solicitors and legal bods make their money. They are the only ones who understand them!

Part 15 deals with Defence & Reply. Part 15.8 states:

15.8 If a claimant files a reply to the defence, the claimant must file the reply with a directions questionnaire; and serve the reply on the other parties at the same time as it is filed.

I've got her statement and a directions questionnaire N180 form,can anyone tell me how I can respond?

This really ought to be a separate thread. Again the CPR will provide the guidance you seek.

[Cass533]

Re: Small claims

Hi i started a new thread but it was moved to here,I really appreciate the info and advice
Neil

[Cass533]

Re: Small claims

I've read through that information but I still don't know how to file the the response, do I just put it on a seperate sheet of paper with the directions questionnaire and post it to the court?

[Ripped-Off]

Re: Small claims

CPR 16.7 states:

(1) A claimant who does not file a reply to the defence shall not be taken to admit the matters raised in the defence.
(2) A claimant who –
(a) files a reply to a defence; but
(b) fails to deal with a matter raised in the defence, shall be taken to require that matter to be proved.

If the Defence contains a counterclaim, a Defence to the Counterclaim is mandatory. Failure to file a Defence to the counterclaim will give the Defendant a right to apply for judgment in default against you.

This old legal beagle thread might help.

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/show...ims-court-case

[Cass533]

Re: Small claims

Thanks for that info,would it be a problem having two different invoices? The total cost on them is the same I went into more detail on the second I.e. I had spent more money on materials than I thought when doing the invoice again
Neil

[Amethyst]

Re: Small claims

I don't think so as you seem to have a reasonable explanation for the difference... if it's something like you had reduced labour cost to account for increased materials cost due to previous miscalculation then I can't see it would be a problem with the court. Was the invoice amount a previously agreed figure/based on an estimate ? or a % of it as the work was unfinished ?

It might be worth posting the claim and defence up on here ( anonymised of course) so peeps can see if there are any glaring errors/ommissions that you need to get sorted before allocation.

[Cass533]

Re: Small claims

I was charging by the hour but one part of job I gave a price for labour which is on both invoices although the defendant has denied agreeing a price for that part of the job,I wish to file a response to the defence do I just put that on a seperate sheet of paper and post it with the directions questionnaire and send a photo copy to the defendant?
Neil