what's involved in a small claims type thingy?

My experience

Paid to go through with it. It was undefended. I was awarded damages and costs. They were not forthcoming so I had to start another process to get the bailiffs in. When they got there he'd done a runner. Couldn't be found. Cops didn't want to know. Cost me more than if I'd left it.

quote:

Originally posted by AL4N:
i am wondering if it's worth the cost as opposed to the cost of putting things right myself.To fix this problem would be about £220, not alot i know, but the thought that the person will get away with it makes my teeth itch.

depends on what the situation is, but generally a small claims action is to claim for costs incurred in putting right what someone has done wrong, incorrectly, or not at all - not to force them to do it.

As Bob says winning the case is often the start not the end.

I used this system to claim "cashback" that I was due from a shonky mobile-phone company, Approx £500 total for 2 phones.
The citizens advice bureau advised me on the process, there are a couple of leaflets in plain english to lay the system out.
Basically, you have to write a "letter of intent letter" to the other party, being as objective as possible, & stating that if you do not receive due recompense within a reasonable time period, (1 month or so), you will commence proceedings.
Chances are, you'll hear nothing, & so then you start procedures via the small claims court system. They set a court date for a review of the case, normally another month or so hence. The SCC doesn't have juries etc, just someone who looks at the evidence, which is primarily based around your "letter of intent" (which is why it pays to be as ojective/rational/logical as possible), & asks the other party about their view.
Chances are, a day or so before the court date, you'll get a call from the other party telling you he'll pay up if you cancel the court action. Don't. Only cancel after you have received your settlement, & all cheques etc have cleared.
Well, thats how it went for me, anyway.
Hope that helps a bit, best of luck,
Matt.

In my case the court told my tenant not to be such a tit and pay what she owed me. Sorted.

More than 10 years ago now, but my wife was revesed into by another motorist who wasn't insured and wouldn't admit he had reversed.

Mrs D make a clear statement, and started the small claims proceedings. I went along with her as morale support.

Proceedings were held in a small informal room by a Registrar in ordinary clothes. Procedure was formal but straightforward, a little bit intimidating for Mrs D, but she held her composure and got her message accross.

Register awarded her cost of repairs plus interest etc.

Defendent didn't pay but had the means so to do, so I paid extra to get the Bailiff's in.

Baliffs served notice and the defendent coughed up.

Be prepared to persevere.
Cheers

Don

In my case, a company installing cavity wall insulation plugged their kit into my garage mains socket and tripped the main RCD, damaging my printer which was on standby at the time.

They also left one hell of a mess blocked gutters, broken tiles etc etc....

I offered to pay them £300 (the bill for their work) less £60 estimated cost of repair of my printer
They rejected this and took me to the Small Claims Court

Interesting...adding up the cost of their solicitor`s letters and their MD`s time ....for £60.....they were already in the red before the hearing - whatever the outcome. The outcome was that an independent assessor would need to verify the cause of the printer failure before a final decision

. The company just "let go", as they had expended far more than the £60 in question.......

My message is ...it depends on your temperament...if you can cope with these sorts of things without getting too stresed then go for it.....sometimes the easiest and best option is to write it off and learn from experience

laurie

Remember also to scale your claim to take account of (a) the cost of taking out the proceedings and (b) loss of earnings for the day (sometimes 2 separate days) of the hearing.

I have started proceedings 3 times (I'm winning 3-0) and, each time, put in a clause that elevated my claim by a daily amount charged from the day of the lodgement to the day of resolution. This wasn't queried by the Court.

Remember you are largely dealing with clowns. If you are intelligent and articulate, you are odds on to win - and you might actually enjoy the hearing.

Fraser

thanks to all, my wife want's to "learn" by what happened and can't be bothered with a claim, but i find the fact that someone can ruin something of mine and not have to deal with it, ahh well, that's life.

It doesn't sound like many people here have had a satisfying experience. It reminds me of a quotation of Judge Billings learned Hand:

--"I must say that, as a litigant, I should dread a lawsuit beyond almost anything short of sickness and death."

I guess one sometimes has to start proceedings and follow them to the end for the principle of the matter - not the result.

The small claims procedure is a bloody joke. We've used it on various occasions at work to try to recover bad debts, but have rarely had a satifactory outcome. We have received judgement in our favour every time, but the enforcement is a joke. Most people seem to ignore the judgement, then it costs you additional money to appoint the bailiffs and they don't seem to give a toss. If there's nobody in after a couple of visits they give up, or you just get a report saying the party has no assets etc etc. In the end your just throwing good money after bad. Don't bother.

Gary