To withdraw a small claims court claim or not

pred02

Hi,

Last year I shipped an amplifier with UPS. I insured it, packed it well but they still managed to break it. I tried twice to get them to honour the damage claim, but got no where. So I filed a claim via the small claims route.  This was a period when my wife was about to give birth, Covid, so quite stressed and upset. Damage was for about £215. 

After about 9 month of paperwork it has finally be confirmed in the small claims track and have a court date in May. I am at a point where have bigger challenges in life than fighting UPS and am thinking if to go through with my claim. 

I have pictures, evidence etc, however want to minimise any stress and additional cost of losing the case and the judge having me pay for their legal fees. The court is near by office so I can step out and attend.

I understand that I can file the N279 form to discontinue the claim after it has been assigned to this track.

https://www.smallclaimscourtgenie.co.uk/stop-this-train-i-want-to-get-off/#:~:text=Discontinuance In Small Claims&text=If you have started a,before a Judge to approve.

So wanted to understand what is the best option at this junction - go and tell my story or file the form. 

Thanks

Manxman_in_exile

The other side can't claim their own costs in small claims if you lose and they win, can they?  Isn't the whole point of small claims that you can't get saddled with exorbitant costs?

So far as I'm aware the only costs associated with small claims actions are your own filing fees etc.

NB - out of curiosity, what was the basis of your claim?  Negligence?  Not carrying the contract out with reasonable skill?

pred02

Negligence (breaking the item) and also not paying when I paid for it to be insured. Their counter claim is that I inadequately packaged it but I have before after pictures and confirmation from the recipient that it was busted up. 

I received a letter on Friday April 8th and need to pay the court fee by 14th April otherwise the case will be struck out and I will need to pay costs that dependent has incurred.  (this is for a claim filed in Aug 2021). So I need to respond quickly

Fosterdog

It will all come down to what would be considered adequate packaging, through work I send and receive electrical items on a daily basis, I receive quite a number damaged because they haven't been packaged very well, in around 15 years only 2-3 I've sent have got damaged. I always over package and use plenty of bubble wrap or other packing material around the item, then in a sturdy box, then a further layer of bubble wrap with another sturdy outer box. They often arrive with damage to the outer box but it's very rare for it to cause damage to the inner box and the item inside.


If you are confident that you did package it well and it was definitely negligence on their part then it's worth going ahead with the claim. If you are not sure then you need to decide if it's worth the risk.

pred02

I am already in the process I am afraid. If I could go back and not file the claim I would. Now I need to pay the court fee by April 14th first. Then decide if to try to abroad the process with N279 form or just go to the hearing. I am not sure what the judge can do if I lose the case. I already paid the fees for the claim, filled the questionnaire etc.

Ergates

Speaker housings are usually pretty solid though, so if they were sufficiently damaged for the recipient to say it was "busted up" that's a hefty whack they've received.

pred02

Thanks. Won the claim in the court at the end.

Equaliser12345

pred02 said:

Thanks. Won the claim in the court at the end.

Well done.