Small Claims - Time to pay

weeg

Hello,

I don't often visit this board, but I'm hoping for some advice.

I'm a sole trader and a client owes me £600. This is 3 invoices from December 2012 - february 2013. A large portion is made up of expenses. (yes, it was stupid of me to exceed my £200 expense limit, but he'd been a client for a while).

I eventually got sick of not being paid and filed a small claim against him, in Scotland. I do understand that scotland and England differ, but I also know there are a lot of similarities, so english experiences/ advice would also be welcome.

I have today been advised that he has applied for a time to pay order and is offering £30 per month. He has been ill for a lot of the past year which is why he claims he can't afford to pay me. He's also a massive drama queen with a huge sense of self entitlement, and I have previously witnessed him write 'return to sender' on a bill he knew he owed, but didn't want to pay because he had been upset by their customer service. I suppose what I'm saying is that I know he plays games.

So, do I just have to swallow this offer, or is it worth me going to court to argue for more? Do I have anything to lose? What kind of proof does he need to provide of proof of income and expenditure? Do I have anything to argue in my favour other than 'I really need the money?'

FWIW the business is personal concierge and errand running and a lot of what he owes is errand related stuff - for example buying groceries, and some of his christmas presents last year! As I say, yes, I realise it was stupid of me to let the expenses build up. Very stupid. I have all the receipts and he accepts he owes me the money. He just won't pay me!

Savvy_Sue

You have to make a judgement as to whether he's a 'can't pay' or 'won't pay' person, IMO.

If you take it to court, the court may decide to let him pay a lot less than £30 per month. Since you know he's been ill, his income may have taken a hit so that you wouldn't get that much if his current income was looked at.

weeg

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

You have to make a judgement as to whether he's a 'can't pay' or 'won't pay' person, IMO.

If you take it to court, the court may decide to let him pay a lot less than £30 per month. Since you know he's been ill, his income may have taken a hit so that you wouldn't get that much if his current income was looked at.

I think it's mostly a 'won't pay'. I can accept that his income has dropped if he isn't working. But what really gets my goat is, say, his income is low at the moment, I can accept the £30pcm and be grateful that I have affected his credit rating for being a bawheid. And then he gets well again and goes back to making £40k a year - and he's still only obligated to pay me at £30pcm. That's just not right.

I'd bet £100 that he's still paying a cleaner 4 times per week.