Small claim going south... advice

bobbysox1v

I started a MCOL claim back in May 2020. It came off MCOL because the other party instructed a solicitor who is also contested that's it's a small claim at all. It's taken until now to get an Allocation meeting set for next month. 
I do not have legal advice and cannot afford any.
I have been told by the defendants solicitor that I need to send all of my evidence to them so they can prepare the electronic bundle for the send it to the court.
Apart from the allocation notice I have had nothing from HMCTS and when I ring they refuse to clarify anything for me. 
I need to know whether I should be submitting ALL of the evidence to decide the whole case or whether I only need to send the evidence to support the allocation decision.
I feel so lost. This is a simple claim but I am being run circles around.

Jenni_D

What stage are you at according to your MCOL account? Did the defendant do the Acknowledgement of Service (AoS)?

Can you give us a summary of your claim please? Especially the value and nature of your claim. (It would make it easier to frame any further advice). I imagine the D is trying to contest the claims track so that they can claim legal fees if they win. (In small claims any legal fees are restricted to about £50 I believe ... the whole point of the small claims track is that costs are limited).

Please note that nobody here will be responding with legal advice - unless they specifically state so - merely opinions.

bobbysox1v

Jenni_D said:

What stage are you at according to your MCOL account? Did the defendant do the Acknowledgement of Service (AoS)?

Can you give us a summary of your claim please? Especially the value and nature of your claim. (It would make it easier to frame any further advice). I imagine the D is trying to contest the claims track so that they can claim legal fees if they win. (In small claims any legal fees are restricted to about £50 I believe ... the whole point of the small claims track is that costs are limited).

Please note that nobody here will be responding with legal advice - unless they specifically state so - merely opinions.

Yes the AoS was all done and the questionnaires. We commissioned an outbuilding with a split level that was put in at the wrong height.  D was working to our original spec but they deny that there was any contract to build to our spec (there was).  I restricted claim to £10k as I weighed up the options (remove the building, put it right or work around the mistake) and decided that I could get another company in to make good for a little over £18k so decided to be as considerate as I could (big mistake) and only go through the small claim system.  I did not want a legal fight.  I just expected them to WANT to make good. Clearly I was wrong. 

MattMattMattUK

bobbysox1v said:

Yes the AoS was all done and the questionnaires. We commissioned an outbuilding with a split level that was put in at the wrong height.  D was working to our original spec but they deny that there was any contract to build to our spec (there was).  I restricted claim to £10k as I weighed up the options (remove the building, put it right or work around the mistake) and decided that I could get another company in to make good for a little over £18k so decided to be as considerate as I could (big mistake) and only go through the small claim system.  I did not want a legal fight.  I just expected them to WANT to make good. Clearly I was wrong. 

You need to have someone who understands contracts (and potentially planning law if relevant) to read that contract to make sure you are on sound legal ground. 

bobbysox1v

MattMattMattUK said:

bobbysox1v said:

Yes the AoS was all done and the questionnaires. We commissioned an outbuilding with a split level that was put in at the wrong height.  D was working to our original spec but they deny that there was any contract to build to our spec (there was).  I restricted claim to £10k as I weighed up the options (remove the building, put it right or work around the mistake) and decided that I could get another company in to make good for a little over £18k so decided to be as considerate as I could (big mistake) and only go through the small claim system.  I did not want a legal fight.  I just expected them to WANT to make good. Clearly I was wrong. 

You need to have someone who understands contracts (and potentially planning law if relevant) to read that contract to make sure you are on sound legal ground. 

Thats not the problem, I know I am on safe ground what I need to know is what kind of evidence I submit at this stage as I cant get an answer from HMCTS.  I have never been through this service before, having always been careful to choose people I do business with much more carefully.

Le_Kirk

You need to supply anything that you want to rely on at the hearing that backs up and supports your claim.  Are you doing this via MCOL?  Did the defendant file and serve a defence?  Did you receive a copy of it?  Have you informed the CCBC that you want to proceed? Have you been asked by MCOL to complete a DQ?  Have you received a notification of allocation to the small claims track or any track?  In that Notice you should have had instructions about what to send.  They won't give you guidance, it will just be "anything that you want to rely on".

bobbysox1v

Le_Kirk said:

You need to supply anything that you want to rely on at the hearing that backs up and supports your claim.  Are you doing this via MCOL?  Did the defendant file and serve a defence?  Did you receive a copy of it?  Have you informed the CCBC that you want to proceed? Have you been asked by MCOL to complete a DQ?  Have you received a notification of allocation to the small claims track or any track?  In that Notice you should have had instructions about what to send.  They won't give you guidance, it will just be "anything that you want to rely on".

Its no longer on MCOL (cant remember why) but yes to all of the above up to the bit about allocation.  I have to attend a phone Allocation hearing. I just need to know whether I am submitting ALL of the evidence at this stage or just the evidence needed to allocate.  I dont want to send a huge bundle if thats not whats needed...or not enough if this is my one chance to send stuff in.

MattMattMattUK

bobbysox1v said:

Le_Kirk said:

You need to supply anything that you want to rely on at the hearing that backs up and supports your claim.  Are you doing this via MCOL?  Did the defendant file and serve a defence?  Did you receive a copy of it?  Have you informed the CCBC that you want to proceed? Have you been asked by MCOL to complete a DQ?  Have you received a notification of allocation to the small claims track or any track?  In that Notice you should have had instructions about what to send.  They won't give you guidance, it will just be "anything that you want to rely on".

Its no longer on MCOL (cant remember why) but yes to all of the above up to the bit about allocation.  I have to attend a phone Allocation hearing. I just need to know whether I am submitting ALL of the evidence at this stage or just the evidence needed to allocate.  I dont want to send a huge bundle if thats not whats needed...or not enough if this is my one chance to send stuff in.

I would probably say just send everything, that way there is no danger of omitting anything important. 

Jenni_D

As the D is challenging the track then it seems an allocation hearing is needed so that a judge can decide which track it should follow. (They're almost certainly doing this to try and make you cancel your claim). If a judge decides the small claims track isn't appropriate, and you're sure of your position (I'd recommend getting proper advice to make sure) then you should amend your claim to recover the full amount - if it's going to the Fast track anyway then you should claim your full loss, plus it would be worth getting proper legal advice/representation for sums like that.

Le_Kirk

bobbysox1v said:

Le_Kirk said:

You need to supply anything that you want to rely on at the hearing that backs up and supports your claim.  Are you doing this via MCOL?  Did the defendant file and serve a defence?  Did you receive a copy of it?  Have you informed the CCBC that you want to proceed? Have you been asked by MCOL to complete a DQ?  Have you received a notification of allocation to the small claims track or any track?  In that Notice you should have had instructions about what to send.  They won't give you guidance, it will just be "anything that you want to rely on".

Its no longer on MCOL (cant remember why) but yes to all of the above up to the bit about allocation.  I have to attend a phone Allocation hearing. I just need to know whether I am submitting ALL of the evidence at this stage or just the evidence needed to allocate.  I dont want to send a huge bundle if thats not whats needed...or not enough if this is my one chance to send stuff in.

What did the letter say about the phone allocation hearing?  Did it have words like "each party is to submit to the court and to each other party ............."?

Sandtree

bobbysox1v said:
I restricted claim to £10k as I weighed up the options (remove the building, put it right or work around the mistake) and decided that I could get another company in to make good for a little over £18k so decided to be as considerate as I could (big mistake) and only go through the small claim system.  I did not want a legal fight.  I just expected them to WANT to make good. Clearly I was wrong. 

If its £18k to make good and you hold them fully liable why the £10k claim? Its little surprise that the defendant therefore would be considering it more appropriately handled by the Fast Track which notably increases the amount of legal expenses that can be included (though still small compared to what T&M would be).

You get a legal fight by issuing court proceedings, given the sums involved its no wonder you dont want to just shrug it off but its a little naïve to think issuing alone fixes the problem.