Won at Small Claims Court - cheque sent is short. Advice?

KateBrown

I recently won a small claim court case.
Their solicitor has sent me a cheque that arrived today.
It is a very small amount of money short.

What obligation do I have to inform them that the money is short? I do not need to cash this cheque yet, as I do not want them to have grounds for full and final settlement, as worded in their letter to me.

They will get a CCJ next week because it took too long for them to pay me and there are now bank holidays in the way.

A good outcome for me is that 30 days then elapse and the CCJ is on their credit record for 6 years.

Please don't feel sorry for them. This is a major household name who ride roughshod over consumer rights, not just mine.

I understand the process is:
If I do not reply to the court that I have been paid, the debtor can submit evidence that the debt has been paid. They will submit evidence of recorded delivery of the cheque.
The court then will ask me if the debt has been paid, which it has not been.
I will then tell the court that the cheque sent to me was 2p short. I will do this on the maximum allowed day (I believe the courts give me 30 days to respond).

My question is:
Will this result in a 6 year CCJ for them?
Am I under any obligation to tell the company or their solicitor that the cheque is short prior to the courts asking me?

Many thanks.

giraffe69

If you are prepared to act this way for 2p you must a. have a very big beef with them b. have an abundance of time on your hands.

GrumpyDil

That sounds particularly petty.

KateBrown

giraffe69 said:

If you are prepared to act this way for 2p you must a. have a very big beef with them b. have an abundance of time on your hands.

Yes to both. I didn't want to get into the detail of it here. Really just looking at a legal perspective. And I've already had to invest a significant amount of my time to recover a 4 figure debt from them, where they have been obstructive and unreasonable. I don't owe them anything.

Grumpy_chap

2 pence short in a greater than £1k claim.  Any further action is likely to be looked upon as petty and frivolous.

MarvinDay

I can't imagine that any court would look favourably on your not advising them that the debt has been paid simply because it was 2p short on a £1000+ payment (which means that the payment is low by .002% or less).
The 2p shortfall is obviously a human error and not something done out of spite or malice.

KateBrown

Grumpy_chap said:

2 pence short in a greater than £1k claim.  Any further action is likely to be looked upon as petty and frivolous.

Is that a legal position?
I'm happy to be petty.

smashinglynaive

If you think a "major household name" will care about getting a CCJ you're sorely mistaken.

Manxman_in_exile

@KateBrown -  I think there are two possible explanations for this.

The first is that this "major household name" (or rather one of its employees) has simply made a mistake.

The second is that they have done it deliberately to wind you up and to see if you take the bait.  If you do, they'll probably have a good laugh at you.  (And most likely at your expense if you try to take this further down the legal path).

If you take this further over a 2p discrepancy on a four figure sum, you'll make them look good - which is presumably the last thing you want to do?  Accept the cheque.

(If it makes you feel better - and I understand how you feel - write a sarcastic letter to the CEO.  But don't expect any apologies.  Or contact the Daily Mail etc and tell them what seasonable Scrooges this high street name is).

brianposter

How has the number of pence changed ? From 9 to 7 ?

MattMattMattUK

KateBrown said:

My question is:
Will this result in a 6 year CCJ for them?
Am I under any obligation to tell the company or their solicitor that the cheque is short prior to the courts asking me?

It will have zero impact on them, absolutely none at all. However a good bit of advice is to not try and make enemies, this "large household name" will almost certainly blacklist you, as will any other companies in a group they are part of. You can be petty if you choose, but it reflects badly on you and remember that actions do often have consequences.