Is this County Court havin' a laugh?

BrandNewYear

A so-called health practitioner brought a spurious court claim against me through the county court. Basically I had a second appointment with him but cancelled it giving the required 24 hours notice. (My reason for not seeing him again was I felt he was a weirdo although obviously I did not tell him that.) He claims I did not give him 24 hours notice and he has begun a County Court Proceedings claim against me for £55.

I sent in my Defence which was basically saying I don't owe him any money. He was given a deadline date by which he had to file his Reply to my Defence. He totally missed that deadline. The form said that if he didn't reply by the given deadline the claim is automatically stayed and the only resource open to him would be to pay a fee o £85, apply to a Judge to lift the stay and see whether or not the Judge lifted it or not. He has not applied for the Stay to be lifted (I checked with the court). And yet the court has now sent me paperwork asking what dates I'm available for the case itself to be heard etc.

So why hasn't the Claim been stayed?

Here is the exact wording on the form sent to the Claimant:

"If you do not return this form to the court by the date shown your claim will be stayed. The only action which you will be able to take will be to apply to a judge for an order lifting the stay. A fee is payable on the application."

This guy finally filed his response a week after the deadline had passed with a scrawled note saying sorry he'd been on holiday (I know this because a copy of the form was sent to me as well as to the court).

!!!!!!?

What procedure can I take to complain about the fact this hasn't beeen stayed?

[Deleted User]

you need to speak to the clerk of the court

chanz4

but he can apply for the stay to be lifted, sounds like hes going to take you all the way

Boris_Allen

Lol @ county court action over £55. You're right, he does sound like a right weirdo!

As woodbine suggested, speak to the clerk of the court. There may have been a reason for not issuing the stay, or they might have made an error which they can rectify if you contact them and explain the situation.

fatbelly

Sounds to me like the court accepted his excuse for late submission (been on holiday). You're going to have to hope the judge kicks his a**e at the hearing.

What a waste of everyone's time.

BrandNewYear

fatbelly wrote: »

Sounds to me like the court accepted his excuse for late submission (been on holiday). You're going to have to hope the judge kicks his a**e at the hearing.
.

I thought the law was the law and that if missing the deadline results in a stay then that has to apply in all cases. Certainly scrawling on a form that you're late replying because you were away in holiday is not a particularly impressive explanation!

BrandNewYear

Boris_Allen wrote: »

Lol @ county court action over £55. You're right, he does sound like a right weirdo!

As woodbine suggested, speak to the clerk of the court. There may have been a reason for not issuing the stay, or they might have made an error which they can rectify if you contact them and explain the situation.

Yeah very vicious LOL. He is a so-called holistic healer but he has a really vindictive, aggressive slightly mental streak.

chanz4

But if you have no proof of the cancellation....also you can take anyone to court even for a small amount as long as its owed.

BrandNewYear

chanz4 wrote: »

But if you have no proof of the cancellation....also you can take anyone to court even for a small amount as long as its owed.

itemised phone bill shows call to the !!!!!!!'s office to cancel the appointment

Janie4Now

BrandNewYear wrote: »

itemised phone bill shows call to the !!!!!!!'s office to cancel the appointment

In strict fairness, proof of a phone call doesn't necessarily mean proof of cancellation.......though I bet a Court would take a pragmatic view especially if the plaintiff can't say what you called about if it wasn't to cancel. Does the plaintiff know that you can prove you called his office to cancel?

I am not saying the plaintiff is right in your instance, but if you knew how many people simply do not turn up to appointments you'd be shocked.....and when you're self-employed those missed appointments really count.

BrandNewYear

Janie4Now wrote: »

In strict fairness, proof of a phone call doesn't necessarily mean proof of cancellation.......though I bet a Court would take a pragmatic view especially if the plaintiff can't say what you called about if it wasn't to cancel. Does the plaintiff know that you can prove you called his office to cancel?

I am not saying the plaintiff is right in your instance, but if you knew how many people simply do not turn up to appointments you'd be shocked.....and when you're self-employed those missed appointments really count.

With the £25 or so he's paid to file this spurious claim plus the time away from work required to appear in court, I don't see how financially it makes any sense for him. I believe it has more to do with him being a very angry person in general