Please help re flat deposit

Mrs_pbradley936

Yes that is fine.

franklee

EL, I think your letter is very good (if you don't wish to go to court on 17th which is fair enough). Just one small point was it the judge who said there may be criminal charges as well as you? If the judge said it then it may we worth mentioning that too as the judges opinion will carry weight.

EagerLearner

Hi all thanks for the replies - another long day out today with another client so I won't be back until 7-8pm so it looks like I won't be able to send the letter today as there are too many points to consider.

I now don't know if we need to send the letter or not? We don't mind attending court, but at the same time want to point out to the court beforehand that we don't agree she should counter-claim at such a late date.

Time is running short now as the court date is 17th so getting a bit panicky - tomorrow I had in my diary to photocopy all the court docs and send off, now not sure if I am doing that, or this letter - will call the court and ask...

x

irnbru_2

EagerLearner wrote:

We don't mind attending court, but at the same time want to point out to the court beforehand that we don't agree she should counter-claim at such a late date.

Isn't that what this court attendance is about - to ascertain whether the judgement should be set aside? If so, you should attend and point out the efforts that you made to contact and serve papers.

You might remind the court that at no time did the LL pursue you for additional monies after she received the deposit form the LA in August 2006!

Having outlined your case regarding the lack of suitable address provided by the LL, you should ask that she disclose her servicable address to the court.

irishjohn

Hiya Eager

I am gonna say what the rest of us are thinking

We want you in court - looking her in the eye and enjoying your moment - this cannot go against you - and you can describe it in detail to us all when this thread reaches its glorious conclusion!!

John

Mrs_pbradley936

Send the letter - attend if you want to. But do not send reams of writing that is hard to follow. Keep to the facts and to the point. The Court must be made aware of the fact that if she did not have notification it was because she refused to provide an address, something she is legally obliged to do. If the Court are made aware of that then she cannot have a case. If they are not made aware she can give them any old story and they may give her the benefit of the doubt.

prudryden

In post #967, you state that the LL has claimed that she did not receive
notification at the "old address". Is that not tantamount to admitting that she did not give you a servicable address? So, either she didn't notify you or the LA of the new address or she did notify the LA and they didn't notify you. In either case, I would expect it was her responsibility to be sure you received the new address, whether it be from the LA or herself.
In short, she would be liable and, if she did notify the LA, she would have to pursue them for damages.
Sorry - been rambling, thinking out loud while I type.

clutton_2

just like anyone else, i want EL to win - i will be there in spirit cheering you on like mad.

But, may i just add a word of caution here EL - you need to go to court with the right attitude - of course, be very positive that you will win, but, also go to court assuming that she will lie thru her teeth, she will make things up, she will call your names, she will make out you were the tenant from hell, and that she is the one in the right. If you go in with this knowledge, then nothiing she says will surprise you. If you do not anticipate this your "shocked reaction " may well upset you and then upset your carefully laid plans as to what to say.

Think thru all the nasty things she may throw at you - and have an answer ready for her - write them down and take in the notes with you.

You have backed her into a corner - she is not going to lie down and play dead.

best wishes

Best of luck girl

Voyager2002

EagerLearner wrote:

Hi all,
Says "I intend to apply for an order to set aside judgement because: a) Notification of original hearing sent to wrong address and b) Money owed by tenant greater than deposit = counterclaim".

So we're unsure how she can do this when we already got the judgement? Presumably she can do it because she is pretending she never got the documents at the 'correct' address?

Hi EL, and glad you had a good holiday.

In case this question has not been answered already, under certain circumstances a court can cancel ("set aside") a judgement if the defendant had not been able to present their case, for instance if they had not known about the hearing. A classic example: judgement was once obtained against me by some people who claimed I owed them money. I applied for this judgement to be set aside, and in the hearing to discuss this I proved to the judge that I could not possibly have attended the original hearing because on the date in question I was appearing in the High Court in Hong Kong (!) As a result, judgement was set aside and so the case had to be heard again.

Voyager2002

pbradley936 wrote:

Send the letter - attend if you want to. But do not send reams of writing that is hard to follow. Keep to the facts and to the point. The Court must be made aware of the fact that if she did not have notification it was because she refused to provide an address, something she is legally obliged to do. If the Court are made aware of that then she cannot have a case. If they are not made aware she can give them any old story and they may give her the benefit of the doubt.

EL, I think you really need to attend.

The hearing about "setting judgement aside" will not be about whether or not she should pay you the money. It will focus on whether or not she had the opportunity to defend herself at the hearing that you won. She will claim that she knew nothing about it, and could not reasonably have known about it because all the papers were sent to the 'wrong' address. You will have to demonstrate that you had good reason for using that address, and still have good reason to believe that she really lives there, or at least receives correspondence sent there. Her failure to provide you with a servicable address when that was a legal obligation is certainly relevant to the discussion.