Ex Colleague owes me money, can i send court papers to his Sister's house?

Saffypig

I lent a Colleague money, had done before, he always paid back, but he's been sacked and still owes me money, so is ignoring my calls, obviously his work email is offline and i don't know his address.
However i do know his sisters, as she has a very unusual name, and lives in a town i have family in.  
Can i send court papers to his Sisters house, as 'care of' does anyone know?

Aylesbury_Duck

I don't think so, they need to go the the address of the person or business you're taking action against.  His sister would be entitled to just bin them.

MovingForwards

No, the papers have to be served on his address or last known address.
You can try and locate him via social media, 192.com etc or instruct tracing agents to do it on your behalf. 

TELLIT01

As you know the sister's address can't you call there, or ask a family member to do so, and politely ask if she has her brother's address?

MalMonroe

Saffypig said:

I lent a Colleague money, had done before, he always paid back, but he's been sacked and still owes me money, so is ignoring my calls, obviously his work email is offline and i don't know his address.
However i do know his sisters, as she has a very unusual name, and lives in a town i have family in.  
Can i send court papers to his Sisters house, as 'care of' does anyone know?

Is it a large amount?

And was it an official loan?

Is there any proof that you loaned him the money, or is it just your word against his? (If you manage to contact him, that is.)

That is to say, do you actually have a case that would stand up in court?

You could only send papers to his sister's house if that was his own permanent address too.

MalMonroe

TELLIT01 said:

As you know the sister's address can't you call there, or ask a family member to do so, and politely ask if she has her brother's address?

Hmmm, I don't think that's a very good idea. 

If it were me, I'd 'politely' tell anyone coming to my house asking for my brother's address where to go. And he would do the same for me.

In fact, something similar did happen to me some years ago, when someone phoned, asking for my brother's address and phone number. I declined to disclose any information. I didn't know them, nor did I have any way of knowing whether or not the reason they gave for wanting his details was legitimate. I'd never divulge any information about him to any stranger.

Pollycat

MalMonroe said:

TELLIT01 said:

As you know the sister's address can't you call there, or ask a family member to do so, and politely ask if she has her brother's address?

Hmmm, I don't think that's a very good idea. 

If it were me, I'd 'politely' tell anyone coming to my house asking for my brother's address where to go. And he would do the same for me.

In fact, something similar did happen to me some years ago, when someone phoned, asking for my brother's address and phone number. I declined to disclose any information. I didn't know them, nor did I have any way of knowing whether or not the reason they gave for wanting his details was legitimate. I'd never divulge any information about him to any stranger.

I'd never give any personal details - phone number, address, telephone number - to anyone without checking it's OK with the person first. Even if I know the 2 people know each other.

macman

You need to send an LBA before you send 'court papers'. Judges take a dim view if you go straight to the small claims process. Same requirement though: sending to a relative's address won't be sufficient at all and your claim will be thrown out at the outset on grounds on non-service.

macman

You need to send an LBA before you send 'court papers'. Judges take a dim view if you go straight to the small claims process. Same requirement though: sending to a relative's address won't be sufficient at all and your claim will be thrown out at the outset on grounds on non-service.

Saffypig

TELLIT01 said:

As you know the sister's address can't you call there, or ask a family member to do so, and politely ask if she has her brother's address?

I actually contacted her via Linkedin and explained the situation, but not a dicky bird, so agree with others, won't have a desired outcome. 

Saffypig

macman said:

You need to send an LBA before you send 'court papers'. Judges take a dim view if you go straight to the small claims process. Same requirement though: sending to a relative's address won't be sufficient at all and your claim will be thrown out at the outset on grounds on non-service.

Ok, thanks, didn't know that.  The way i have to contact him will be via linkedin messaging, so that will have to suffice.  But i obviously have his bank details, so I'll have to employ a tracing agent to see if i can get an address. I assume i cannot file at all without any address for him?