Small claims court judgement

Forbury

My daughter had some appalling plumbing work and after many many months and a small claims court judgement against the plumber for the full amount claimed he is now offering to pay by 3 monthly instalments i.e. not the full amount in one go.
Should she insist he pays the full amount now or should she allow him to pay by his suggested timescale?
Any views welcome

naedanger

Forbury wrote: »

My daughter had some appalling plumbing work and after many many months and a small claims court judgement against the plumber for the full amount claimed he is now offering to pay by 3 monthly instalments i.e. not the full amount in one go.
Should she insist he pays the full amount now or should she allow him to pay by his suggested timescale?
Any views welcome

Often the most difficult part of a small claim is not winning judgement but getting payment.

In the absence of any alternative suggestions, I would be inclined to accept the offer subject to the plumber's acceptance that should any instalment be missed then the full outstanding balance would then become immediately payable.

In order to reduce the risk of any misunderstanding, I would also specify the due dates and amount explicitly e.g. statement of instalments due:

installment of £x due on 18/06/16,
installment of £x due on 18/07/16,
installment of £x due on 18/08/16.

If the first installment is due almost immediately then it should only take about 2 months for the full amount to be received. You may also wish to read up on the steps you need to take to enforce payment, just in case this becomes necessary.