Simple Procedure - respondent possibly in prison/bankrupt

chickpie

Hi

I have a Simple Procedure underway with a local builder. He is due in criminal court today for an unrelated deferred case. He received the paperwork 2 weeks ago and hasn't replied, and I expect he may not reply at all. I understand i will have to lodge a request for action if that is the case.

I have tried to research but can't seem to find out what would happen if he ends up in prison, or if he's effectively broke/bankrupt. 

Thanks for any advice

A

MalMonroe

Hello,
.
So, I guess you are in Scotland?

If the builder ends up broke or bankrupt, then you will probably have to join the queue of creditors lining up to be paid.

If he's in prison - depends on the sentence but he'd have had to have done something really bad for that to happen (even though it's unrelated) - you probably won't be getting anything anytime soon.

When you lodge a Simple Procedure, they say that some things you might wish to consider before making a claim are:

• Is the person likely to be able to pay?
• If a company, has it ceased trading?
• Are you raising the claim against the correct person/company?
• Can you afford the time to prepare your case for the court hearing if the claim is defended?
• Can you afford to pay the cost of having any decision made in your favour enforced if it is not complied with as the court cannot do this for you?

So you could be even more out of pocket if the person is unlikely to be able to pay you and you have to pay to get the court decision enforced yourself.

If this person does not have the money to pay you, then you may end up just throwing more money at a lost cause.

chickpie

Hi

Many thanks for taking the time to reply. 

Yes I'm in Scotland. When I loggd the simple procedure I didn't realise he had criminal cases pending. I have not been abe to find out what the result was of his case last week. I suspect he's not in prison as i notice some social media presence. 

I guess if my understanding is correct then once his final date to repond has passed then I will need to think carefully about paying for the court to enforce the order. I can't seem to find out how much that costs either...

Thanks
A

Nostrus

Hi chickpie,

I appreciate this is over a month old, but I only periodically check these forums.

Is this still active? If it is, I can inform you that the court does not enforce the decision, rather you will need to pay a firm of Sheriff Officers to do so on your behalf, which you will have to pay up-front and then recover through one of a number of methods depending on the circumstances of the respondent.

I will check over the next couple of days for any updates.