Can a community football club take an individual through small claims?

garfieldd

I am a secretary for a small deaf community football club.

We have one player (individual) who signed for us 3 years in a row, most recently for upcoming seasons. We are struggling financially and he owes £140 (bad debt for the past 2 years, and we have been generous to him, this has increased now to £210 since he signed the new contract. He is a compulsive gambler and plays poker a lot. He wins a lot more money but we still see no sign of money. We have exhausted every avenue in trying to get hold of him and the money we are owed. He simply ignores them. We cannot call him because we are deaf.

My question is... Are we able to go the Small Claims route, would it be worth it? We do have evidence of him signing our agreement each season. How far can it go, can bailiffs enter his property at some point (he lives with his mother so we need to be careful what he owns and what he does not own i believe from watching the Sheriffs are coming).

Secondly, if we go the small claims route, would we be reimbursed the court fees?

I hope to hear from you soon.

wealdroam

To answer the question in your title, yes of course you can.

Will you get the court fees back?
If you win the case then the court fees get added to the amount he owes you.

Is it worth it?
Who knows. If he has no assets, then no it isn't worth it.

First thing I would do is write a letter before action.

Have a look at this CAB page for help with a LBA.

While you are waiting for his response, have a read of MSE's Small Claims Court guide.

I have to ask, why do you keep letting him sign up?
Doesn't that send the message "we don't mind you running up a debt"?

garfieldd

I neglected to mention I am the newly elected secretary. I was with a different club before, but my feet are going to be firmly on the ground and will not allow this to happen again.

A LBA has been done actually. I am pretty sure he has money in his bank with the poker wins.

Many thanks @wealdroam for your prompt reply.

wealdroam

garfieldd wrote: »

A LBA has been done actually. I am pretty sure he has money in his bank with the poker wins.

Then carry out the promise in the LBA.

Lokolo

Although I am sure you've done this already... You could always say he can't play, and contact your local FA, I know with mine if a player has debts with clubs they cannot register for another club.

InsideInsurance

garfieldd wrote: »

My question is... Are we able to go the Small Claims route, would it be worth it? We do have evidence of him signing our agreement each season. How far can it go, can bailiffs enter his property at some point (he lives with his mother so we need to be careful what he owns and what he does not own i believe from watching the Sheriffs are coming).

Secondly, if we go the small claims route, would we be reimbursed the court fees?

The legal entity that he contracted with can issue court proceedings against him for the breach of contract (ie non-payment)

Assuming you won the case then the court fees would be added to the damages that he is instructed to pay. So you arent "refunded" per say but assuming he can pay then you do get the money back.

Of cause that is the big bit, if he actually has the funds to pay the debt. Obviously only you can judge if you think he has. You also need to balance the time and effort it is going to require to do it -v- the value of the debt -v- the probability of success

garfieldd

I will be notifying the FA and yes, he wont be playing until he pays up. Thanks

VitaK

garfieldd wrote: »

We have exhausted every avenue in trying to get hold of him and the money we are owed. He simply ignores them. We cannot call him because we are deaf.

Can you not get hold of him when he turns up to play football.

Why are you signing him up to future seasons when he is not paying for past seasons.

halibut2209

If a player is good, clubs will always let him play regardless of whether he is complete moron or not. It's known as Suarez Syndrome