Small Claim Against Someone With Mental Health Difficulties

Criptine

Hello,

I complained about some painting work that was done to a completely unacceptable standard. I met with the painter and he offered me a £2000 refund on the £3100 I originally paid. Since I accepted this partial refund he has not replied to any messages, and has not refunded me any money. I sent him a letter before action today, and he has now messaged to say that he has had a nervous breakdown and his business has stopped trading. He says he has no money, is waiting on a benefits claim, and has asked for a payment plan (with no further details of how much that might be).

I am having difficulty believing him, as when we discussed the poor quality of the work he offered so many excuses about his family circumstances that I found them implausible. But to be on the safe side, I think I have to assume that he is telling the truth.

How should I proceed? £2000 is a lot of money for me, and I need it back in order to fix the dreadful job he did. If I go forward with a court claim then I understand the court has the power to assess his financial means, and to set a fair and affordable payment plan if he truly cannot pay all in one go. But I am less sure about how I can informally set up or administer a payment plan on my own. I worry that I might create an endless admin nightmare for myself.

What should I do? I don't want to send him a horrible response that could make his situation worse, but I don't see how either of us can deal with this situation without some kind of formal process in place.

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

Aylesbury_Duck

Criptine said:

Hello,

I complained about some painting work that was done to a completely unacceptable standard. I met with the painter and he offered me a £2000 refund on the £3100 I originally paid. Since I accepted this partial refund he has not replied to any messages, and has not refunded me any money. I sent him a letter before action today, and he has now messaged to say that he has had a nervous breakdown and his business has stopped trading. He says he has no money, is waiting on a benefits claim, and has asked for a payment plan (with no further details of how much that might be).

I am having difficulty believing him, as when we discussed the poor quality of the work he offered so many excuses about his family circumstances that I found them implausible. But to be on the safe side, I think I have to assume that he is telling the truth.

How should I proceed? £2000 is a lot of money for me, and I need it back in order to fix the dreadful job he did. If I go forward with a court claim then I understand the court has the power to assess his financial means, and to set a fair and affordable payment plan if he truly cannot pay all in one go. But I am less sure about how I can informally set up or administer a payment plan on my own. I worry that I might create an endless admin nightmare for myself.

What should I do? I don't want to send him a horrible response that could make his situation worse, but I don't see how either of us can deal with this situation without some kind of formal process in place.

Any ideas would be gratefully received.

I think this is the crux of the matter.  Perhaps you go back to him, acknowledging his offer of a payment plan, but explaining that the court process is the best way to ensure that any plan set is reasonable and fair.

eskbanker

Criptine said:

he has now messaged to say that he has had a nervous breakdown and his business has stopped trading

Sole trader or limited company?

How did you pay?

Criptine

eskbanker said:

Criptine said:

he has now messaged to say that he has had a nervous breakdown and his business has stopped trading

Sole trader or limited company?

How did you pay?

I believe sole trader. I can find no evidence of his company in Companies House. I checked the company name, his name, and his address.

I paid by bank transfer. It was stupid, but I live miles away from my father's house that was being painted, and I couldn't get there to check the work in a timely manner, so I trusted him and paid.

Brie

My gut feeling is that you won't be getting your money.  If he's stopped working and is broke going to court isn't going to get you anything.  The fact that he had a nervous breakdown is completely irrelevant given that he doesn't have the ££ to pay you anything.  

eskbanker

Criptine said:

eskbanker said:

Criptine said:

he has now messaged to say that he has had a nervous breakdown and his business has stopped trading

Sole trader or limited company?

How did you pay?

I believe sole trader. I can find no evidence of his company in Companies House. I checked the company name, his name, and his address.

I paid by bank transfer. It was stupid, but I live miles away from my father's house that was being painted, and I couldn't get there to check the work in a timely manner, so I trusted him and paid.

Bank transfer isn't good news but sole trader might offer slightly more chance of recovery than limited company, given that you can pursue him based on the value of his own assets rather than those of a defunct company.

Criptine

Brie said:

My gut feeling is that you won't be getting your money.  If he's stopped working and is broke going to court isn't going to get you anything.  The fact that he had a nervous breakdown is completely irrelevant given that he doesn't have the ££ to pay you anything.  

I think you are probably right. But this is a lot of money to me, and so I don't think I can just write it off without some effort to recover it. I'm sympathetic to his situation (if true). I don't want to bankrupt him, and I would be open to a delay in payment or a payment plan, but not to forgiving the debt based on a single text message.

I am considering the following response. What do people think?

I am very sorry to hear about your situation. I hope that you are getting all the support you need, and can recommend you speak to the charity Mind if you need any help with benefits or other financial matters:

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/money-and-mental-health/getting-support/

I hope you appreciate that £2,000 is a great deal of money for me, and so I am unable to write off a sum of that size. I am sympathetic to your situation, and would be happy to discuss a payment plan, but without the court process to help us I do not know how we would best work out a fair and affordable schedule of payments. What do you think?

I don’t know whether you have any other debts, or have considered speaking to an organisation such as StepChange (linked from the Mind website above), who can help you get some breathing space while you are at the start of your recovery, and then put in place a plan to deal with financial problems on your behalf. They do excellent work, are free and confidential, and I would not hesitate to ask for their help if I was struggling.

Criptine

eskbanker said:

Criptine said:

eskbanker said:

Criptine said:

he has now messaged to say that he has had a nervous breakdown and his business has stopped trading

Sole trader or limited company?

How did you pay?

I believe sole trader. I can find no evidence of his company in Companies House. I checked the company name, his name, and his address.

I paid by bank transfer. It was stupid, but I live miles away from my father's house that was being painted, and I couldn't get there to check the work in a timely manner, so I trusted him and paid.

Bank transfer isn't good news but sole trader might offer slightly more chance of recovery than limited company, given that you can pursue him based on the value of his own assets rather than those of a defunct company.

I know he has a house. I was struggling to check that I had the correct postal address for my letter before action, so I downloaded the title register, and it looks as though he owns his home outright with no mortgage.

DullGreyGuy

The vast majority of claims are decided on a default basis as the defendant doesn't respond (in time) and the majority of claims are never settled. Whilst £2,000 is a lot to you the issuing fee will be £115 and the hearing will be £181 so you may just end up being owed £2,296 if the person has no means. 

It's always worth doing as much research to validate the potential of the defendant to pay before issuing and adding to your losses. 

Undervalued

Criptine said:

eskbanker said:

Criptine said:

eskbanker said:

Criptine said:

he has now messaged to say that he has had a nervous breakdown and his business has stopped trading

Sole trader or limited company?

How did you pay?

I believe sole trader. I can find no evidence of his company in Companies House. I checked the company name, his name, and his address.

I paid by bank transfer. It was stupid, but I live miles away from my father's house that was being painted, and I couldn't get there to check the work in a timely manner, so I trusted him and paid.

Bank transfer isn't good news but sole trader might offer slightly more chance of recovery than limited company, given that you can pursue him based on the value of his own assets rather than those of a defunct company.

I know he has a house. I was struggling to check that I had the correct postal address for my letter before action, so I downloaded the title register, and it looks as though he owns his home outright with no mortgage.

If that is correct and assuming you bring and win a valid claim which he can't or won't pay, then you would be able to get a charge on the property to ensure that you would get your money should it ever be sold. However even that doesn't mean you will get your money in the short to medium term.

If you do go down the court route then you should totally ignore the mental health aspects. Without wishing to sound harsh they are not, legally, your problem. Obviously only you can decide.

eskbanker

Undervalued said:

If you do go down the court route then you should totally ignore the mental health aspects. Without wishing to sound harsh they are not, legally, your problem. Obviously only you can decide.

Agreed - apart from not being OP's issue, it could actually be perceived as hypocritical to be making sympathetic noises about trying to help while simultaneously embarking on an inherently adversarial court process, so all the counselling stuff in the draft is probably inappropriate.