SMALL CLAIM COURT - DAMAGE BY NEIGHBOUR (UNKNOWN NAME, KNOWN ADDRESS)

Caterpillar22

Apologies if this post is in the wrong category - please help me by moving it to the most appropriate thread!

As an aside, my parents are disabled and are subject to daily anti-social behaviour by neighbour kids, most days until 10-11 pm.

One of the children (aged 10 or over, this is material as it happened in Northern Ireland) attempted to force his way into their garden the other day, then tried to rip off the garden gate lock and then broke the plastic part of the lock off. The incident is clear on CCTV footage and we have a footage.

My parents reported criminal damage to the police and want to file a small claim court claim for the cost of lock replacement. They know the address of the child but they don't know the names of the child's parents. An amicable resolution is not an issue as parents encourage their children not to see too much into the disruption they cause to my parents and other neighbours.

How can an application be made if my parents dont know the legal name of the child/parents? Do my parents need to forward a letter before action before going to the small claims?

Thank you!

sheramber

Check  Electoral Role?

Aylesbury_Duck

Caterpillar22 said:

Apologies if this post is in the wrong category - please help me by moving it to the most appropriate thread!

As an aside, my parents are disabled and are subject to daily anti-social behaviour by neighbour kids, most days until 10-11 pm.

One of the children (aged 10 or over, this is material as it happened in Northern Ireland) attempted to force his way into their garden the other day, then tried to rip off the garden gate lock and then broke the plastic part of the lock off. The incident is clear on CCTV footage and we have a footage.

My parents reported criminal damage to the police and want to file a small claim court claim for the cost of lock replacement. They know the address of the child but they don't know the names of the child's parents. An amicable resolution is not an issue as parents encourage their children not to see too much into the disruption they cause to my parents and other neighbours.

How can an application be made if my parents dont know the legal name of the child/parents? Do my parents need to forward a letter before action before going to the small claims?

Thank you!

I think they'd need a name, yes.  They'd also need to send a letter before action if this were in England, you'd need to check if that's the procedure in NI.

What's the cost of a lock replacement?  Is it only a few pounds?  If so, I think your parents need to weigh up the pros and cons of taking legal action.  The police have already been notified, and I'd have thought that threatening or instigating legal proceedings is only going to result in an escalation of antisocial behaviour towards your parents.

Principles can be very expensive to pursue, if that's the reasoning behind their intent.

user1977

Are the parents legally liable?

Aylesbury_Duck

sheramber said:

Check  Electoral Role?

Why would their work in a polling station be helpful? 

Caterpillar22

Aylesbury_Duck said:

What's the cost of a lock replacement?  Is it only a few pounds?  If so, I think your parents need to weigh up the pros and cons of taking legal action.  The police have already been notified, and I'd have thought that threatening or instigating legal proceedings is only going to result in an escalation of antisocial behaviour towards your parents.

Principles can be very expensive to pursue, if that's the reasoning behind their intent.

Small claim court does not allow cost, either side. A decision in which they need to pay £35 for the costs directly arising from the criminal damage will serve as the basis for convincing the council to erect 'no ball games' sign next to my parents' home.

Alderbank

user1977 said:

Are the parents legally liable?

I think the OP is referring to the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, Part II, Parental responsibility.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1995/755/part/II/crossheading/parental-responsibility/made

If so, they need to know more than the parents' names and addresses. They need to know, for example, whether the child’s father and mother were married to each other at the time of his birth.

This is certainly not a consumer rights issue, not least because the child has no contractual relationship with the OP's parents.
In E&W there might be a small possibility of a civil claim in negligence (a different area of civil law from consumer rights) if the child has assets himself, which seems unlikely.

In a civil claim against a minor the court would consider, among other things, factors such a upbringing and moral guidance, that is a child from a deprived background would not be held to the same standards as more fortunate children.

I think that is right. This poor kid has had a bad enough start to life without getting a criminal record and being dragged through civil courts for breaking a plastic bit of a lock (in my opinion).

swingaloo

And once a 'No Ball Games' sign is erected are your parents going to take court action every time it is ignored. Because it will be.
 There are 2 such signs within view of my front window. Both are constantly ignored.

Grumpy_chap

Caterpillar22 said:

Small claim court does not allow cost, either side. A decision in which they need to pay £35 for the costs directly arising from the criminal damage will serve as the basis for convincing the council to erect 'no ball games' sign next to my parents' home.

How would that sign resolve behaviour like this?

Caterpillar22 said:

One of the children (aged 10 or over, this is material as it happened in Northern Ireland) attempted to force his way into their garden the other day, then tried to rip off the garden gate lock and then broke the plastic part of the lock off. The incident is clear on CCTV footage and we have a footage.

Was a ball involved?


In any situation like this, and I don't mean to belittle the annoyance and displeasure that this causes the OP's parents, it is important to weigh up the response to the initial action and the potential outcomes:
 - Is a small claims case for £35 likely to reduce or increase future unwelcome behaviour?
 - Is a formal case over £35 worth it considering that will have to be declared as and when selling up as a neighbourly dispute?  (Assume the OP's parents own their property.)

In the wider context, is the anti-social behaviour truly directed at the OP's parents, or are these simply boisterous children that make a bit too much noise and generally impacting the whole street in the same way?

Is it possible that the damage to the gate was an accident and the neighbour's children could claim they were trying to be considerate to the OP's parents? 
I can see a way that could be considered - if the children accidentally put the ball over the fence and they know the OP's parents are disabled and have shown a tendency to be frustrated in the past, the children may have thought with all good intent that they would get the ball back without disturbing the disabled neighbours.
There are always two sides to every story.

Caterpillar22

Alderbank said:

user1977 said:

Are the parents legally liable?

I think that is right. This poor kid has had a bad enough start to life without getting a criminal record and being dragged through civil courts for breaking a plastic bit of a lock (in my opinion).

Respectfully, there are at least two extrapolations taking place in your answer. There was never an issue of a child, nor his parents, to be under-privileged.

the question, however, revolves around a simple small claim court over a damage of private property, no matter how  small you may envision it to be.  

Caterpillar22

Grumpy_chap said:

In any situation like this, and I don't mean to belittle the annoyance and displeasure that this causes the OP's parents, it is important to weigh up the response to the initial action and the potential outcomes:
 - Is a small claims case for £35 likely to reduce or increase future unwelcome behaviour?
 - Is a formal case over £35 worth it considering that will have to be declared as and when selling up as a neighbourly dispute?  (Assume the OP's parents own their property.)

In the wider context, is the anti-social behaviour truly directed at the OP's parents, or are these simply boisterous children that make a bit too much noise and generally impacting the whole street in the same way?

Is it possible that the damage to the gate was an accident and the neighbour's children could claim they were trying to be considerate to the OP's parents? 
I can see a way that could be considered - if the children accidentally put the ball over the fence and they know the OP's parents are disabled and have shown a tendency to be frustrated in the past, the children may have thought with all good intent that they would get the ball back without disturbing the disabled neighbours.
There are always two sides to every story.

Thank you for a good question.

the case of anti-social behaviour is ongoing for more than 18 months.
An informal agreement with neighbourhood police reached 12 months ago was broken 12 months ago.
The child has spearheaded antisocial behaviour over the course of 18 months.
The child attempted to unpick another lock yesterday (and two days after the initial incident), that incident again captured on CCTV.
The child spearheads anti-social behaviour with impunity, purposefully hitting the front of the house or the garden gate  with the ball multiple times a week against the flow of the game.