I E Legal Solicitors formal demand letter advice

pinkshoes

I personally would just reply with a copy of the contract, some photos of the unfinished kitchen, copies of any emails asking them to finish the work, then a letter stating that you are more than happy to complete the work once the windows have been completed, as per the contract.

bery_451

pinkshoes wrote: »

I personally would just reply with a copy of the contract, some photos of the unfinished kitchen, copies of any emails asking them to finish the work, then a letter stating that you are more than happy to complete the work once the kitchen has been completed, as per the contract.

Thanks for the reply.

I gave them 2 weeks notice last month november asking them to complete the job but no satisfactory reply so we had no choice but to go to another window company to rectify/complete the windows/doors job as its bitterly cold out there with the property being exposed and all. So its a bit too late for them to come back now as they had their chance.

Kitchen?

waamo

I would write back to the solicitor telling them you are confused as they are clearly talking about a business contract and you aren't a business.

bery_451

Ok if their solicitor still continues as a business contract to court then does their case automatically becomes invalid and thrown out of the courtroom by the judge?

You sure the 'Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998' applies to businesses only? If so I don't understand why their solicitor is making invalid mistakes unless their solicitor is incompetent.

hollydays

If you look at their website, they offer to send the first letter free of charge. It’s just the first step in the debt collection service, that’s probably been done by some junior .

What are the things that are wrong with the kitchen.

steampowered

You are not required to respond to this letter, because it does not comply with the legal requirements for a letter before action (http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct#6.1).

However, I would still suggest a short reply denying liability on the basis that the Claimant was in breach of contract. There is no need to get into lots of details at this stage.

You should consider making a settlement offer, if appropriate. How much would it cost you to put this right? If less than £8,000 you are probably liable to pay the balance.

steampowered

bery_451 wrote: »

Ok if their solicitor still continues as a business contract to court then does their case automatically becomes invalid and thrown out of the courtroom by the judge?

No. The court wouldn't throw out the claim, it would simply award the correct level of interest.

If the Claimant wins in a consumer case, the Claimant usually gets awarded interest at the rate of 8% per annum, which is what applies to consumer contracts.

If the Claimant wins in a business case, the Claimant can claim the rate of 8% per annum plus the Bank of England base rate plus additional compensation, under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Acts 1998.

You sure the 'Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998' applies to businesses only? If so I don't understand why their solicitor is making invalid mistakes unless their solicitor is incompetent.

Yes, it only applies to business contracts. The letter it is a pro-forma template they roll-out without thinking about it.

bery_451

hollydays wrote: »

If you look at their website, they offer to send the first letter free of charge. It’s just the first step in the debt collection service, that’s probably been done by some junior .

What are the things that are wrong with the kitchen.

Hello yes just to kindly remind you it is new windows/doors instead of a kitchen.

bery_451

steampowered wrote: »

You are not required to respond to this letter, because it does not comply with the legal requirements for a letter before action (http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct#6.1).

However, I would still suggest a short reply denying liability on the basis that the Claimant was in breach of contract. There is no need to get into lots of details at this stage.

You should consider making a settlement offer, if appropriate. How much would it cost you to put this right? If less than £8,000 you are probably liable to pay the balance.

Yes the problem is i gave them 2 weeks notice last month to complete the job and put things right but their responses were unsatisfactory so we had no choice but to employ another window company to sort their mess out which obviously costs £thousands. Is the settlement idea still feasible after these circumstances?

steampowered

bery_451 wrote: »

Yes the problem is i gave them 2 weeks notice last month to complete the job and put things right but their responses were unsatisfactory so we had no choice but to employ another window company to sort their mess out which obviously costs £thousands. Is the settlement idea still feasible after these circumstances?

If the window cleaning company breached the contract, the legal position is that they are required to pay damages for that breach of contract, but you are liable to pay the rest.

For example, if the cost of the service was £8,000, and it cost you £3,000 to fix the shoddy work, you would be liable to pay the £5,000 balance.

However if the cost of the service was £8,000, and it cost you £8,000 to fix the shoddy work, you would not be liable to pay anything.

I would suggest sending them a copy of the invoice from the company you used to fix their shoddy work. You could offer to pay them £8,000 less whatever is on that invoice.