Request of judgement for small claims form

penguin83

ajm410 wrote: »

Thanks very much penguin83, there was no tear off slip at the bottom of my notice of issue.

In fact, having read the copy of the claim they sent me, there is not even a figure as to the amount I'm claimimg so I am unsure as to whether the defendant even knows how much I'm claiming for.

I shall fill out this form and hope for the best.

The form is asking me to detail how I would like the amount to be paid. Should I expect the whole amount? Like I said earlier I thought it might be best to request it in installments equal to (or just under) the amount in rent that I know she etill receives. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

If it's not too much trouble penguin, would you be able to tell me what I can expect to happen from this point on, or advise me of anywhere I can find this out?

Thank you all once again,

No problems. Can you just confirm which form you have received as a notice of issue (form number should be bottom left corner N something) . It sounds like you have received the wrong notice of issue and your claim has been input as an unspecified claim (no set amount of money) rather than a specified claim (set amount of money). Its easy enough to fix and it wont affect your case - when you file your request for judgment just put a covering note with it asking them to check what case type it has been issued as.

With regards to how you want to be paid it is entirely up to you. You can request instalments per month, or if you tick immediately then that enables you to enforce the judgment immediately if you wish to do so.

As this is a request for default judgement, there will not be a court hearing at this stage. The court will enter judgment as an admin exercise within 5 days of you filing the request. There is no further court fee to pay xx

ajm410

Thanks penguin

The notice of issue i received is a N209 form. Is this the correct one?

Can I just check then, should I be asking for the amount claimed, i.e. original deposit plus the three times? Also, would you recommend I ask for it immediately or in installments?

And I'm sorry to be a pain (I thought I'd done my research and that I could get it back through either bailiffs, out of her salary, or out of a bank account) but how much chance do you think that I actually stand of ever getting this back?

Thank you soooo much xx

Fire_Fox

You can ask for the money any number of ways, but there is no point in asking for a lump sum from someone who is on a low income with no savings, no point in an attachment of earnings if the defendant does not work, etc. You are not answering half the questions you are being asked - does this person definitely have either income or assets that you are aware of? Bailiffs take a cut, and second hand goods don't fetch much so I'd avoid that route if possible.

ajm410

Thanks fire fox,

I know this woman still rents the property in question at the rate per month which is equal to the deposit she never paid back. So I could ask for it in installments equal to that amount, which is what I thought would be best. She also has a public services job that I know of. Whether she has any savings, I don't know but I would doubt it given what has happened.

I don't know if that answers anything?

not_loaded

As I said earlier, when faced with a request for the whole lot, she can always plead for easy terms if she wants to. You’d be surprised how many people have the dosh but aren’t prepared to part with it even with the threat of CC action.

Ask for the whole sum in one, and let her do the grovelling.

I’ve heard of cases where they get terms of say, £5 a week on a £2000 debt, which is clearly pointless but has to be allowed by the court when they plead poverty.

I hope you get your money owed. Good luck!

coupleuk

I dont know if I can post the link but I would suggest you visit landlordzone.co.uk for advice - it is just as much for tenants as landlords.

I recently took 2 people thru the small claims court - one was a policeman.

The process took 8 months.

I got a default judgement but he went to court and pleaded stupidity and the judgement was overturned - AFTER I had paid for the bailiff to enforce the judgement.

When each case finally got to court, I won and they did pay up within 14 days.

However, you may have to go thru attachment of earning or lodge a "claim" on the property and get paid when (if) it is sold.

The small claims process is not as easy and straight-forward as they make out and the staff at court are pretty useless in giving procedural info (they cant offer case advice).

I would always use moneyclaim online as it is a case of ticking boxes and the court send out the letters etc.

Good Luck with it.

not_loaded

coupleuk wrote: »

I dont know if I can post the link but I would suggest you visit landlordzone.co.uk for advice - it is just as much for tenants as landlords.
I recently took 2 people thru the small claims court - one was a policeman.
The process took 8 months.
I got a default judgement but he went to court and pleaded stupidity and the judgement was overturned - AFTER I had paid for the bailiff to enforce the judgement.
When each case finally got to court, I won and they did pay up within 14 days.

When you win, you’d get your court costs back including the bailiff fee.

If a policeman pleaded stupidity I’d send a copy of the final papers to his employer.

coupleuk wrote: »

…The small claims process is not as easy and straight-forward as they make out and the staff at court are pretty useless in giving procedural info (they cant offer case advice).
I would always use moneyclaim online as it is a case of ticking boxes and the court send out the letters etc.
Good Luck with it.

I found the staff at Guildford and Aldershot CC to be fine at giving info on procedure, but yes, they’re certainly not there to give legal advice.

Overall I feel that using a middleman like Moneyclaim makes you less likely to look at the detail of what you’re really doing and risking with your court action. I’ve succeeded twice like you, but on a couple of other occasions I’ve not proceeded to court due to a slightly weak position. Money owed – yes, but NOT cast iron proof in writing etc, so all in all not worth the risk of ending up paying their costs and looking silly.

coupleuk

If a policeman pleaded stupidity I’d send a copy of the final papers to his employer.

He marched into the court building - in uniform - and had a right moan about my default judgement against him.

His partner had filed her defence but he didn't as he thought hers would be enough for them both. I had named them individually in my claim but he failed to read the forms or (more likely) cockily thought it didn't matter - his attitude to the whole thing.

He had to pay £95 (I think that was the amount) to lodge his reason for having the judgement set aside - funny really as my initial claim was for less than that.

I did make a formal complaint to his employers, which didn't really get anywhere other than to show him just how serious I was to get the matter sorted. It would also have left a slight "scar" on his record.

It all went to court and he finished up paying over £200 and now has a CCJ.

I couldn't reclaim the bailiffs fee though.

DVardysShadow

coupleuk wrote: »

It all went to court and he finished up paying over £200 and now has a CCJ.

If he paid within 30 days of judgement or appeal, it does not show on his credit record.

ajm410

Thanks everyone for all the advice it's most apreciated.

I have booked the morning off work tomorrow and am going to go in to the CC with my forms and everything to make sure that I've filled everything out as it should be and hopefully it will go from there.

It is just strange that I have heard nothing from this woman at all despite the claim. I don't know what she is thinking or hoping to acheive... I sent her a copy of the claim for and evidence etc. by special delivery which I have just had returned to me this morning. I told her to expect it which may be why she never picked it up but at least it is further evidence of her reluctance to pay up. I have used land registry to confirm that the address she provided on the tenancy contract is owned by her, which indeed it is.

I suppose all I can do now is request judgement by default and see what happend from then on...