Cost of repairing criminal damage

mollieminall

Hello. I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question so please forgive any mistake.

I am claiming a very tiny amount, £120 , from the organiser of a race held by the local running club for criminal damage done to my property. I know this may sound very petty but my small farm was daubed with bright orange paint on fences, stiles and buildings to mark the way over the footpaths. I couldn't get it off so called in a fencing contractor. He charged me for half a days work.
The organiser had sent an email before the race saying he would of course pay for any damage done. My bill and covering letter have been ignored.
I know there is no guarantee of success but as I have his email and a crime number for the painting does anyone have any idea of best way to proceed? I still feel so angry it is difficult to simply drop the matter given I haven't even had an apology.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

shaun_from_Africa

Send the organiser a letter before action
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/taking-action-about-consumer-problems/legal-action/going-to-court/taking-court-action/step-one-write-a-letter-before-action/
get a proof of posting certificate for this or send it signed for and keep the receipt.
Inform them that unless full payment is received within a set time (I would say that 14 days is suitable), then you will be submitting a moneyclaimonline application:
https://www.gov.uk/make-money-claim-online
and you will be adding the cost of this onto the amount claimed.

DevCoder

Did you talk to the organiser when you couldn't get the paint off and give them the opportunity to remedy the situation?

bris

Did you send him a proper bill from the contractor or just a made up one from yourself? £120 to paint out a little bit of paint is a bit of a DIY job and I wouldn't trust the bill either.

dacouch

It looks like he may have done a runner

mollieminall

I did tell him it wouldn't wash off. He said it would eventually wear off. Contractor scrubbed at it all twice after I had a go at it then creosoted over paint stains and surrounding areas.Paint was spread out over several acres.
I sent a copy of the bill contractor sent me. All above board.
One of the other landowners on the route reported the "graffiti " to the police. Apparently there are over 800 separate daubs over 24 miles. Organiser said he didn't have the time to remove it all and it would be unfair to just clean my place.

arcon5

Then the arogant organiser is going to get a nice surprise when he starts appearing in small claims court. It could well be a lot of land owners are looking for compensation for damage caused.

As said is #2, a LBA.

Takeaway_Addict

Why on earth would they feel its acceptable to paint your property....I'd be !!!!sed beyond belief!

Ectophile

If he has any sense at all, he should be passing any claims on to the club's insurance company. That's assuming the club actually has insurance. If they don't, he could be footing the bill personally.

If he hasn't acknowledged receipt of the claim, he may already be breaching the terms of the insurance.

mollieminall

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

Why on earth would they feel its acceptable to paint your property....I'd be !!!!sed beyond belief!

That is a big part of my need to charge them for the damage. .

RS2000.

If you've got a crime number then are we correct to assume there's a criminal investigation? If you why are we suggesting a LBA?