Small claims court with a joiner - what can I hope for?

born_again

Skag said:

I'm after the individual though. The fact that he has a trading company could very well be a coincidence.

If the individual works for a company (sole trade included) you sue the company. It makes no difference who does the work. They are a employee of said company even if it is their company.

That is the whole point of setting up a limited company, so they are protected from any liability.

eskbanker

Skag said:

...I sued his Ltd co...

Just a reminder from your opening post, you seemed to recognise the need to sue the limited company, so it's unclear why you'd later diverge from this.

The small claims user guide clearly explains the importance of precision:

For organisations, make sure you have the full, registered name of the company. There may be several companies with similar names therefore if the name you provide is incorrect you could inadvertently issue a claim against the wrong company. If you use the incorrect name it may not be possible to register judgments or take enforcement action at the later stages of the claim.

A sole trader is an individual and not an organisation. To enter a sole trader as a defendant, select ‘Individual’. In the ‘Surname’ box type their surname followed by either ‘T/A’ or ‘trading as’ and their trading alias (you also need to provide their forename or title in the relevant fields).