Small Claims Court - Sharing personal details

Undervalued

PaulC5 said:

No my invoice didn't have my address only my name, mobile number, email address and bank details. I didn't do the work through any business. I was starting out and it was my very first job which I found through Facebook and they are a friend of a friend. You could say cash in hand to be declared on my self assessment when I come to file it. I was testing the water so to speak having been out of my normal office job at the time for 10 months. Fortunately I now have an office job with a regular income so don't need the money but still I won't let unpaid invoiced of nearly £2,000 get ignored!

Sorry, but it should have done!

Ok address aside. Are you suggesting I’m not entitled to be paid for a job I did because I didn’t give the client my address?

No, I don't think anybody is saying that. Two wrongs don't make a right.

What they are saying (and you are already finding out) is that you are making it much, much harder for yourself to enforce payment. You have broken the law but not providing your business details (and yes it was a business, however small). If the person that allegedly owes you money knows what they are doing, they may well be able to legally dodge around your attempts to get the money.

Even if it was more straightforward, went to court in the normal way and you won, it is very unlikely you would be able to recover the money you have spent on a solicitor.

You may have to put this down to a learning experience!

Aylesbury_Duck

Why are you seeking advice from internet strangers when you have already engaged a solicitor, who is a friend of your brother?  Surely a proper, legal opinion trumps the views of people on a forum?

Have you asked him? What does this solicitor say about it?  

davidmcn

Leaving aside what you ought to have done in running your business, you cannot remain anonymous in pursuing a court action. It might be possible to give an alternative address where there's actually some kind of threat, but you haven't said why you ought to be more concerned than any other creditor. 

PaulC5

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Why are you seeking advice from internet strangers when you have already engaged a solicitor, who is a friend of your brother?  Surely a proper, legal opinion trumps the views of people on a forum?

Have you asked him? What does this solicitor say about it?  

Simply because you guys are available 24/7 and sadly I won't get an answer from a solicitor until the new year and I wanted to use me free time between christmas and new year to start my claim.

PaulC5

davidmcn said:

Leaving aside what you ought to have done in running your business, you cannot remain anonymous in pursuing a court action. It might be possible to give an alternative address where there's actually some kind of threat, but you haven't said why you ought to be more concerned than any other creditor. 

Yes there was a threat from the debtor and I only live 2 miles away from them.

DiddyDavies

PaulC5 said:

Yes there was a threat from the debtor and I only live 2 miles away from them.

Is this going to one of those threads where the facts change or get drip fed as time goes on?
In your opening post you made no mention of any threat, in fact, you specifically stated that the debtor hadn't replied to any of your invoices and the only contact from them was a reply to a solicitors letter.

PaulC5 said:

They haven't responded to my first invoice, a second reminder or my last response which answered there concerns as to why they won't pay. (They only responded with there reasons why when my solicitor wrote them a letter which I had to pay for!) Anyway I haven't disclosed my personal address with them and don't feel comfortable in doing so. 

PaulC5

DiddyDavies said:

PaulC5 said:

Yes there was a threat from the debtor and I only live 2 miles away from them.

Is this going to one of those threads where the facts change or get drip fed as time goes on?
In your opening post you made no mention of any threat, in fact, you specifically stated that the debtor hadn't replied to any of your invoices and the only contact from them was a reply to a solicitors letter.

PaulC5 said:

They haven't responded to my first invoice, a second reminder or my last response which answered there concerns as to why they won't pay. (They only responded with there reasons why when my solicitor wrote them a letter which I had to pay for!) Anyway I haven't disclosed my personal address with them and don't feel comfortable in doing so. 

I wanted my simple question answering without having to go into every single tiny little detail. I’m sorry if that one point would make a difference in this situation, that’s why people ask additional questions.

Aylesbury_Duck

PaulC5 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Why are you seeking advice from internet strangers when you have already engaged a solicitor, who is a friend of your brother?  Surely a proper, legal opinion trumps the views of people on a forum?

Have you asked him? What does this solicitor say about it?  

Simply because you guys are available 24/7 and sadly I won't get an answer from a solicitor until the new year and I wanted to use me free time between christmas and new year to start my claim.

That's just daft.  There are very few working days between Christmas and New Year, so rushing isn't necessary.  Just get the proper legal advice you've paid for on the 4th.  Surely a solicitor-advised claim is better than a rushed, semi-informed one?

Aylesbury_Duck

PaulC5 said:

davidmcn said:

Leaving aside what you ought to have done in running your business, you cannot remain anonymous in pursuing a court action. It might be possible to give an alternative address where there's actually some kind of threat, but you haven't said why you ought to be more concerned than any other creditor. 

Yes there was a threat from the debtor and I only live 2 miles away from them.

How convenient...

You are going to fail if you approach a claim the way you have this thread, making up circumstances as you go along in order to get the answer you want.  I suspect this "solicitor" may be a fabrication as well, because I can't see that anyone sensible would rush into a claim based on the advice of strangers when they have retained the services of a solicitor. 

Undervalued

PaulC5 said:

davidmcn said:

Leaving aside what you ought to have done in running your business, you cannot remain anonymous in pursuing a court action. It might be possible to give an alternative address where there's actually some kind of threat, but you haven't said why you ought to be more concerned than any other creditor. 

Yes there was a threat from the debtor and I only live 2 miles away from them.

If somebody with whom you have had £2K worth of business dealings only lives two miles away, I can't imagine it would be difficult for them to find out your address.