Disputing work done to former tenancy

alanamyles

I would really appreciate some advice on this as I don't know how to proceed.

Back in early 2010 I left one council property to move to another. It was a difficult move due to fleeing DV (in case this is relevant). I cleared the house entirely, removed all carpets and flooring, swept the floors, etc. I was not able to replace light fittings with those orginally in the property as I lacked the skills and did not have the time or money to employ someone else to do so.

Several months later I received an invoice from the council for over £500 for work done to my former tenancy. The cost breakdown included costs for changing light fittings, as I had expected, but also large costs for rubbish removal (over £400 in total), replacing a lock and for replacement softboards. The "evidence" included photographs of a different address, the same house number but a different road (the photos had the address written on a piece of card in the photos).

I queried this at the time, by telephone, as I thought there must be some mistake and that a different tenancy/works done must have been mixed up with my own. I was told someone would investigate and get back to me.

Several months passed and I received a phone call asking why I wasn't paying my debt. I explained the situation and was advised that I should begin paying instalments to the debt as I agreed I was responsible for the light fittings, and that the other elements of the debt would be investigated. I asked the person to look at my case as I remembered the photos were not of my former home. I set up a payment plan and forgot about this for some time (over a year) until I reviewed my finances and realised I had continued to pay instalments of £5 per week without having heard back from the council about the disputed amounts.

Unfortunately I couldn't find the original invoice I'd been sent, and had thought it may have mistakenly been thrown out. Called the council again and was told that the original invoice was not immediately available to view, only the outstanding amount. I was advised to keep on making payments, but explained that I thought I may have already paid more than I should and that I would stop the standing order until it had been investigated.

I know that I should have kept on pursuing this, but due to one thing and another, I didn't. The last I heard from the council regarding this was a couple of years ago. Then I received a letter of intent, followed by a court claim form to recover the remainder of the original debt, plus interest (received this weekend).

Luckily I was in the middle of a huge clearout and have managed to find the original invoice, along with the "evidence" of the different address.

I still dispute the amount owed, but sincerely do not want to have a CCJ against me. I cannot afford to pay the remaining amount up front, and dispute the costs later. What should I do?

Should I dispute the amount as a "defence" to the court claim, or offer to set up a payment plan again while the costs are properly investigated? The date I left the former tenancy is over 7 years ago, and the date of the invoice around 6 1/2 years old. Would the council still have the actual photos of my own tenancy on record, and if not, how could I properly dispute the claim?

Thank you in advance to anyone who could offer advice.

Guest101

alanamyles wrote: »

I would really appreciate some advice on this as I don't know how to proceed.

Back in early 2010 I left one council property to move to another. It was a difficult move due to fleeing DV (in case this is relevant). I cleared the house entirely, removed all carpets and flooring, swept the floors, etc. I was not able to replace light fittings with those orginally in the property as I lacked the skills and did not have the time or money to employ someone else to do so. - So you accept you owe an amount.

Several months later I received an invoice from the council for over £500 for work done to my former tenancy. The cost breakdown included costs for changing light fittings, as I had expected, but also large costs for rubbish removal (over £400 in total), replacing a lock and for replacement softboards. - so what's the total? The "evidence" included photographs of a different address, the same house number but a different road (the photos had the address written on a piece of card in the photos). - ok so the evidence is incorrect, you notified them in writing?

I queried this at the time, by telephone, as I thought there must be some mistake and that a different tenancy/works done must have been mixed up with my own. I was told someone would investigate and get back to me. - Did you follow up?

Several months passed and I received a phone call asking why I wasn't paying my debt. - Was there a reference number to your dispute? I explained the situation and was advised that I should begin paying instalments to the debt as I agreed I was responsible for the light fittings - yes, that would seem sensible. , and that the other elements of the debt would be investigated. I asked the person to look at my case as I remembered the photos were not of my former home. I set up a payment plan and forgot about this for some time (over a year) until I reviewed my finances and realised I had continued to pay instalments of £5 per week without having heard back from the council about the disputed amounts. - so you've paid £260 there abouts. How much were the light fittings?

Unfortunately I couldn't find the original invoice I'd been sent, and had thought it may have mistakenly been thrown out. Called the council again and was told that the original invoice was not immediately available to view, only the outstanding amount. I was advised to keep on making payments, but explained that I thought I may have already paid more than I should and that I would stop the standing order until it had been investigated. - these things should be done in writing really. Who did you tell, when?

I know that I should have kept on pursuing this, but due to one thing and another, I didn't. The last I heard from the council regarding this was a couple of years ago. Then I received a letter of intent, followed by a court claim form to recover the remainder of the original debt, plus interest (received this weekend). - you need to defend it and gather evidence

Luckily I was in the middle of a huge clearout and have managed to find the original invoice, along with the "evidence" of the different address. - great

I still dispute the amount owed, but sincerely do not want to have a CCJ against me - well you wont unless you lose AND fail to pay . I cannot afford to pay the remaining amount up front, and dispute the costs later. What should I do? - defend the claim, you might win

Should I dispute the amount as a "defence" to the court claim, or offer to set up a payment plan again while the costs are properly investigated? The date I left the former tenancy is over 7 years ago, and the date of the invoice around 6 1/2 years old. Would the council still have the actual photos of my own tenancy on record, and if not, how could I properly dispute the claim? - It's up to them to prove the case, not for you to do it.

Thank you in advance to anyone who could offer advice.

It's up to you, but the defence would seem that you do not owe this money. Let them prove otherwise.

saajan_12

I would defend the claim citing the incorrect evidence for work needed, and your communications showing that your starting to pay was upon their advice whilst the dispute was being investigated, not an acknowledgement of the full debt.

I would also keep saving the £5 each month (or more if possible) in a separate account if you can, so if you do lose the case (judges can but unpredictable), you are able to pay atleast a chunk rather than get a CCJ.

TBagpuss

Yes, when you reply there should be an option to say that you dispute part of the debt.
in your defence, set out clearly that:

- You accept that you owe for changing the light-ftitings, and that you have already made partial payment of £xx on that basis

- You dispute the remainder of the debt relating to rubbish clearance

- The original invoice sent to you included photographs and details of a property which was not yours

- You notified the council at the time of their error and were repeatedly assured that they were investigating and would get back to you.

- While waiting for them to complete their investigation and respond to you,you started to pay as you aknowledge that you had been unable to change the lightfittings, and that you made clear to the council at te time that you were doing so on that basis, and on the basis that they advised you that they were investigation.

Did your original invoice break down how much of the£500 was in relation to the light fittings and how much in relation to the other items? If so, how does that compare with what you have already paid?

If you are able to, set out those figures (e.g. I admit that I owed £275 in relation to replacing the light fittings. I have paid £260 to date so believe that I owe a balance of £15. I do not accept that I owe interest or fees as the council has failed to provide me with accurate information to allow me to clear my debt.

Does the claim you have now receive record the payments you have made already? If not, be prepared to povide evidence of those such as copy bank statements etc.

For future reference, do everything in writing and keep copies of everything you send and receive. If you have a phone conversation follow it up with a letter or email to confirm what was said and what you will do.

ThePants999

If you made over a year's worth of payments at £5 a week, on a bill of £500-ish where you didn't actually owe £400 of it, YOU should be counter-claiming against THEM! :-)

alanamyles

Thank you all for your advice so far. Unfortunately this now seems even more complicated to me.

The original invoice was for £639.00
Of this, £581.81 was to cover the work done, and the remaining £58.18 was the administration fee.

The work done was broken down as follows:

£10.96 (x6) for the replacement of light fittings
£82.65 "Small clear to vacant property"
£321.43 "Large clear to" (? as it doesn't say what for)
£32.50 S&F Mortice Latch Complete
£79.47 Renew internal s/wood

So of the original invoice, I agree that I owed £65.76

It would seem the administration fee is 10% (£6.58). So let's call that £72.34

I only have the records for when I began making payments for the repairs online, not the ones I paid by telephone (an automated service) or before I registered with the online payments portal.

The total I can prove I have paid is £60. To get details of the rest, I'll have to go to my bank and see if they can go back that far when they reopen next week.

On the claim form, the council are requesting £280.99, plus interest, legal and court fees (totalling £516.97).

There is no breakdown of this amount claimed, nor any reference to any payments I have previously made.

If we deduct the amount being claimed (£280.99) from the original invoice (£581.81) it would seem the bill has been reduced by £359, though I really don't believe I have paid THAT much!

I'm struggling to figure out where this particular amount has come from.

Obviously I need to find out in order to properly defend my claim. Should I write to the council about this, and copy in the court? Or just write directly to the court?

To clarify. I haven't sent anything in writing to the council regarding my dispute. I realise now that I should have, lesson learned. Everything discussed has been done over the telephone.

What would happen if I lose my defence? Would I be able to pay any outstanding amount (possibly in instalments depending on the amount) and AVOID a CCJ?

TBagpuss

You need to respond to the court, and you need to do it fairly quickly, as there is a time limit. You may need to send a copy to the council as well, but the pack you've been sent by the court should tell you.

Read the information on the claim form to check you are completing the right parts of the form.

If an order is made against you and you pay straight away then it should not affect your credit record. A court can make provision for you to pay in installments based on your means, but I think in those cicumstances the order would show on credit checks.