Thread: County Court Claim - please help me fight this

hi
An old accounting firm i used back in 2000/2004 has lodged a claim against me. They were accountants for my company which ceased trading in 2003. Particulars of claim is
(1) a debt of £ 4810.50 arising from agreements in respect of goods and services particulars of which appear in invoices in April 2004 and
(2) interest pursuant to S.69 of the County Cort Act 1984 interest particulars 01/06/2004 2096 days @ 8% on 4810.50 # 2200.80 Invoice o. 593738

I no longer have details of the agreement or invoices. I ceased using this firm of accountants since 2004.

I have not received any reminders or notices.

the claim is now made against me personally as opposed to my ex.Ltd company.

As the issue date of the claim was 01/03/2010 - i submitted an acknowledgement of Service onm line, just now.

I need them to give me copies of allinvoices/agreements i signed

I spoke with one of the partners last year. He told me I was personally liable for their fees becuase there is a clause which stated this in the agreement I signed originally. I do not remember reading this.

But it was some years ago.

In the light of the above - pl advise what I can do to defend this claim and what steps i need to take.

Thank you very much
BF

Hi CCM and DB - many thanks for replying

CCM -
a) i hv written to their solicitors (Thomas Higgins) asking for copies of everything.
b) Yes company ceased trading and was struck off by Companies house in 2003 - so does not exist.
well i hope they are doing as you say.

DB - i think the invoice in Apr 2004 was for work done in 2003 - i wont know till i get the documentation.

As I said - i hv done an on-line Acknowledgement of service - which means i now have another 14 days to put in a defence - which i cannot do until i receive copies of documentation from Thomas Higgins.

do you know of any forms/guidances/site i can visit to do some research so i can fight this as i am pretty broke at the moment and cannot afford a solicitor.

one thing that really bugs me is as i said in my posting - i spoke with one of the partners of the accountants last year - who said that there is a clause in the agreement i signed - where i am to be held personally liable should the company go bankrupt or cease trading. - i do not remember reading this - may be i missed it .... i really cannot remember. I do read everything before i sign anything - so i am disgusted with my self if this was the case. Not with standing this, when you take out a mortgage or a loan - as you are personally liable "... your home may be at risk if you do not keep up the repayments..." are they not obliged to notify that they will hold you presonally liable for their fees should your company cease trading?

thanks very much - B/F

Aswell as the Agreement, you should use CPR 31.14 to request a copy of your agreement and the original invoice, along with a Breakdown of exactly what the bill is for. If they want to include interest, they should have been sending you statements.

The CCA now requires creditors under a regulated fixed sum agreement (with a term of more than 12 months) to provide annual statements. This requirement is contained in a new section 77A of the CCA .Failure to comply with this section will mean that the debtor is not liable to pay interest or other default payments in respect of any period of non compliance when a statement is due, but has not been sent nor will the creditor be able to enforce the agreement during the period. This provision will apply to existing agreements as well as agreements made after commencement of this requirement.

Hi - thanks DB and Debbbs.

Your comments are very interesting

- I am not sure if they have sent statements. I have not seen them.

if they were sending statements, they would be addressed to my company whose registered address would be my previous house. The writ is addressed personally to me at my new house.(I moved in 2005)

Should I ask to see the statements?

As I said I hv written to their solicitors asking for
a) the original agreements
b) all invoices
and i will let you know as soon as i hear from them

Many thanks to you.
BF

Hi DB

Many thanks. I'll stipulate this in my letter to their solicitors. meantime, what if they claim they sent statements?
thanks
BF

HI DB
good point - No I did not receive any.
thanks BF

Hi CCM
Good point - Many thanks / BF

have i missed something here

you said it was a limited company

in which case it is a legal entity in its own right ( dead or alive) so as a director or shareholder you are not responsible for its debts

just noticed re the clause

unless you signed as guarantor for the company i would say the clause is as about as useful as a chocolate fireguard

HI Diddydicky
thanks for yr posts - yes you are right on both. but i hv not seent he agreement nor do i remember agreeing to it. If they inserted this clause without my knowledge or if it was there at the time and i missed it....i hv no idea.

i have asked for all copies of agreement invoices etc.

My quesiton is as accountants, should they not announce that "...you are personally liable if the company folds/cease trading to pay our fees..."
just like when you take out a mortgage .. "your home may be at risk...etc.

anyway - will update when i receive all the copies.

thanks again diddydicky
all the best/BF

yes you need the agreement

also when i was a co director we had to sign the accountancy documents every year

it could well be that that agreement was valid only for the one years accounts

certainly you can do nothing other than an embarrassed defence until that document is provided

HI Diddydicky

thanks - good point. I'll check this out too as soon as i receive the papers from them and get back to you

many thanks/BF