Small Claims Court

matthew · Oct 22, 2015

Has anyone ever been or done money claim online?

Basically I'm owed two weeks wages by an employer who is refusing to pay me because I left early. Are emails enough to prove I'm owed two weeks wages?

Thinking of doing money claim online as might scare him and it will only cost about 100 or so

Big_Unit · Oct 22, 2015

matthew said:
Has anyone ever been or done money claim online?

Basically I'm owed two weeks wages by an employer who is refusing to pay me because I left early. Are emails enough to prove I'm owed two weeks wages?

Thinking of doing money claim online as might scare him and it will only cost about 100 or so

I did this a few years ago over a dispute with BT (it's done via the courts in Northampton, I think). As I remember it, I didn't have to prove anything to make the application. Proof / argument happens if the claim is contested. It normally won't be if the other party knows they're in the wrong. I may have mis-remembered this or it may have changed... but it was simple and (in my case) effective. Do it!

Tim Over Whelmed · Oct 22, 2015

I've done a good few of these for non-payment, you must ensure your employer is acknowledging you are owed the money or have good grounds to support your claim, feel free to PM me if you wish

nwgull · Oct 22, 2015

matthew said:
Has anyone ever been or done money claim online?

Basically I'm owed two weeks wages by an employer who is refusing to pay me because I left early. Are emails enough to prove I'm owed two weeks wages?

Thinking of doing money claim online as might scare him and it will only cost about 100 or so

Yes. Although in my case it was due to a loan to a friend.

Civil claims are decided on basis of probability as opposed to the 'beyond reasonable doubt' applied to criminal cases, so emails etc. should be useful evidence. Also, as you've put, the chances are that the person that owes you money will just pay up when he/she realises that you're willing to take the legal route.

Bold Seagull · Oct 22, 2015

matthew said:
Has anyone ever been or done money claim online?

Basically I'm owed two weeks wages by an employer who is refusing to pay me because I left early. Are emails enough to prove I'm owed two weeks wages?

Thinking of doing money claim online as might scare him and it will only cost about 100 or so

I've had to do it a couple of times, and actually starting the process was all that was needed for a couple of clients that didn't pay me. I think the charge was something like £86 to start a claim which is added to the claimed amount if your successful. In my case, the letter that the court sent out with dates prompted both parties to pay in both cases, so I was lucky and didn't need to attended court or anything, and I got the £86 too as it was added to the amount they needed to pay. It wasn't really the client's fault to be honest, in both cases they were struggling with a queue of creditors, I think this action just put me at the top of the list.

Any correspondence, notes of conversations, or any other documents are all relevant to your claim, and you'll be asked to set out your case. If there really is little grounds for them not paying you, then like my own experience, you may find this is enough to prompt your employer to sort this out without the hassle of going to court.

matski_98 · Oct 22, 2015

There are online solicitors like Thomas Higgins (https://www.thomashiggins.com) who for a few quid will send a letter on your behalf to whoever owes you money. That normally does the trick for me when I have none paying clients.

LlcoolJ · Oct 22, 2015

We did this a few years ago when a dishwasher we'd bought leaked and ruined our kitchen floor.

We'd paid the company we bought it from to plumb it in/fit it and had a report from their own engineer stating that it was the incorrect installation that caused the damage. Despite all this (and numerous letters, emails etc) they refused to pay. So we did the online claim thing, added the cost to the claim and got a cheque for the full amount two weeks later.

It's clearly company policy with a lot of firms to refuse to pay out, hoping you'll give up, until you take it to this stage despite knowing they're in the wrong and that if you can be bothered to pursue it you'll win.

symyjym · Oct 22, 2015

Yes emails are legal documents.

If you do a small claim, before you do, you need to send him an invoice and include this wording below.

I am now writing to formally demand payment of the amount detailed above within 7 days from the date of this letter.

Should payment of the invoice not be forthcoming within this period of time, I will issue civil proceedings against you without further notice.

I also put you on notice that I will be claiming statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 1998 at the rate of the Bank of England base rate plus 8%, calculated on a daily basis from the end of the credit period which was agreed with you.

If civil proceedings are issued against you, a claim will also be made for statutory interest on the amount outstanding calculated as detailed above and also court costs.

I hope that, despite the clear intention of this letter, legal proceedings may be avoided and we look forward to receiving full payment within the time stated.

It is only when the payment isn't made after 7 days that you should then go on to the small claims.

Hopefully, if he knows that you are in the right, he would be stupid not to pay you. Or he may offer a settlement figure which you can accept or not. If it does go to small claims and you win, he is also liable to pay your small claims cost.

matthew · Oct 22, 2015

symyjym said:
Yes emails are legal documents.

If you do a small claim, before you do, you need to send him an invoice and include this wording below.

I am now writing to formally demand payment of the amount detailed above within 7 days from the date of this letter.

Should payment of the invoice not be forthcoming within this period of time, I will issue civil proceedings against you without further notice.

I also put you on notice that I will be claiming statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act 1998 at the rate of the Bank of England base rate plus 8%, calculated on a daily basis from the end of the credit period which was agreed with you.

If civil proceedings are issued against you, a claim will also be made for statutory interest on the amount outstanding calculated as detailed above and also court costs.

I hope that, despite the clear intention of this letter, legal proceedings may be avoided and we look forward to receiving full payment within the time stated.

It is only when the payment isn't made after 7 days that you should then go on to the small claims.

Hopefully, if he knows that you are in the right, he would be stupid not to pay you. Or he may offer a settlement figure which you can accept or not. If it does go to small claims and you win, he is also liable to pay your small claims cost.

Brilliant I'll send that - should i put the interest on the invoice as well or is that only paid if it goes to court?

Cheers

Gwylan · Oct 22, 2015

A word of warning. I took an employer to court because he stopped my final pay cheque on the day I left his employment. I took him to court and won (he didn't have a leg to stand on, his excuse was that I was going to a competitor) but he refused to pay even after the court judgment so there was little more I could do.

The Glaswegian who ran the cab company we used did offer to send a few boys around with baseball bats and bike chains but I thought that was a step too far.

John Bumlick · Oct 22, 2015

matthew said:
Basically I'm owed two weeks wages by an employer who is refusing to pay me because I left early.

When you say early, do you mean like two weeks early?

symyjym · Oct 22, 2015

matthew said:
Brilliant I'll send that - should i put the interest on the invoice as well or is that only paid if it goes to court?

Cheers

No problem.

No don't include interest at this stage. Send the letter as an email attachment rather than post it. (Select- Request a Read Receipt in your email options)

This letter will just force him to formally respond and layout his exact position, and you would use it as a legal document if you go to small claims.

If you have any questions later down the line let me know, but just make sure that you are confident that you are owed it when you start the claim. He may or may not respond with very good reasons not to pay.

nwgull · Oct 22, 2015

Gwylan said:
A word of warning. I took an employer to court because he stopped my final pay cheque on the day I left his employment. I took him to court and won (he didn't have a leg to stand on, his excuse was that I was going to a competitor) but he refused to pay even after the court judgment so there was little more I could do.

The Glaswegian who ran the cab company we used did offer to send a few boys around with baseball bats and bike chains but I thought that was a step too far.

This is where the bailiffs can get involved. So there definitely is more you can do (legally) for someone that doesn't pay up after receiving a county court judgement.

perseus · Oct 22, 2015

I claimed with just a verbal contract for an uncompleted contract and the solcitors acting on their behalf paid up in full, (with interest calculated by my solicitor) at the last moment. £1600. I waited over 6 months with nothing happening at all. The headed notepaper may have counted.

I was too much trouble even back then but I had already paid for materials on credit in expectation of income so I was seriously out of pocket. .

Gwylan · Oct 22, 2015

nwgull said:
This is where the bailiffs can get involved. So there definitely is more you can do (legally) for someone that doesn't pay up after receiving a county court judgement.

The bailiffs went round but they have no right of entry. He just refused to let them in. I got a letter back from the court saying that despite my winning the case, there was going to be no monies forthcoming.

I'd be very reluctant to use small claims again - it wasted a lot of time and I got nothing out of it

nwgull · Oct 22, 2015

L

Gwylan said:
The bailiffs went round but they have no right of entry. He just refused to let them in. I got a letter back from the court saying that despite my winning the case, there was going to be no monies forthcoming.

I'd be very reluctant to use small claims again - it wasted a lot of time and I got nothing out of it

Really? My understanding was that bailiffs in possession of a CCJ could legally take goods of value to cover the debt and their costs.

Gwylan · Oct 22, 2015

nwgull said:
L
Really? My understanding was that bailiffs in possession of a CCJ could legally take goods of value to cover the debt and their costs.

I have no idea what happened. All I know is that I got a letter from the court saying that the bailiffs had been unable to extract payment and, sorry, there was going to be no money forthcoming.

The guy concerned did know every trick in the book though. He refused to pay tax and NI for any of his employees (although it was deducted at source). We found by accident and reported to the Revenue but, years later, we discovered that he was still employing people and not paying tax or NI. I think he was pretty untouchable.

I think most people will pay up under pressure from the court but some people know every scam going and if OP's ex-employer is one of them, he'll have a fruitless task

Hillian1 · Oct 22, 2015

If you mean you left before working your notice period without agreeing it first, your employer is within their rights I think.

skipper734 · Oct 22, 2015

Done it lots of times, in the dark ages ( before computers). You sometimes get your money, sometimes you don't. The only thing to console yourself with is the CCJ they get on their credit file if you don't receive payment.

Bry Nylon · Oct 22, 2015

matthew said:
Has anyone ever been or done money claim online?

Basically I'm owed two weeks wages by an employer who is refusing to pay me because I left early. Are emails enough to prove I'm owed two weeks wages?

Thinking of doing money claim online as might scare him and it will only cost about 100 or so

When you send the money claim on-line, don't forget to ask for a reference :thumbsup:

(Incidentally - I'm slightly confused. Exactly how "early" did you leave?).

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