Introduction 1. I, Mr xxxx age x of xxxxxam the Defendant in these proceedings and I make this statement as my full defence against the claim brought against me by xxxx dated xx November 2013. 2. For the purpose of this Defence, all reference made herein are made to the sentences and paragraphs of the Claimants statement of case dated xxh November 2013 3. The matters set out hereafter are made within my own personal knowledge on this matter, if the contrary appears, I state the source of such, which I believe to be true to the best of my knowledge on this matter. 4. As to the first sentence of the Claimant’s statement of case, it is admitted that the Claimant was contracted out for roofing works at my property. 5. As to the second sentence of the same, it is denied that the Defendant is in breach of the same and the Claimant is put to establishing the burden of proof thereof. As of the date hereof, the Claimant has not produced any credible evidence to substantiate the same. 6. As regards the third sentence therein, the amount claimed as due and owing is denied. The Claimant is in fundamental breach of the contract and the works he was contracted to undertake thereunder are seriously defective and inadequate, he has not performed his obligations under the agreement, this has left the roofing works requiring proper professional workmanship that complies with building regulations in order to make the same waterproof. Furthermore the roof and Velux windows are in clear contravention of the manufacturer stipulations and building regulations, which, at the present time, due to the Claimant’s wholly deficient works carried out thereon, the roof is not watertight. The roof has been inspected by a number of qualified tradesmen which have identified that the cause of the leaks can be directly attributed to the incorrect pitch of the roof and the installation of the windows. The contract terms agreed with *** roofing explicitly state that the pitch of the roof must be at 15 degrees for the Velux windows and completed within 4 days; both of which were breached by the Claimant. A representative from Velux has stated that any pitch less than 15 degrees will allow water ingress and is unacceptable. 7. Please note, to date I have no received any particulars of the claim from the claimant and I am therefore providing a defence to the limited information provided on the N1 claim form from my own personal knowledge. I believe that this fails to comply with CPR Pt 16 r. 16.4 and that it is the intention of the claimant to frustrate these proceedings and that such promises are vexatious and further designed to place me at an unfair disadvantage as an untrained litigant acting in person in this matter. I respectfully request that this Court ought to exercise its powers under the overriding objectives and Order the Claimant to file and serve his particulars of claim within 7 days of this Court’s Order, failing which, his claim shall be struck out without further Order. STATEMENTOF TRUTH I believe that the facts set out in this Defence are true. Signed: xxxxx. 22nd December 2013. DEFENCE & COUNTERCLAIM 1. The matters set out in the Defence above are repeated. 2. Accordingly, the Defendant/part 20 Claimant seeks the sum £xxx from the Claimant/part 20 Defendant and respectfully requests that this Court strikes out his claim in its entirety. STATEMENT OF TRUTH (as above) I would really have struggled without all your help. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much TheMould. I think you misunderstood. I did not mean that your draft was inadequate and I appreciate all the time and effort you have given me. I believe you wrote it with the assumption that the particulars of the claim would eventually arrive. I do believe that the particulars were not served as a was of trying to frustrate and confuse someone like myself who has limited knowledge and experience of the court system. Unfortunately a solicitor will be far too costly for me as I have already made enquiries; dealing with this myself is my only option and I am extremely grateful for all the help you and the other posters have provided. I am going to amend the defence and post it on here for your scrutiny if that is okay. Kind regards

Thank you, but I still cannot find where it states that acknowledgement of service acquiesces the right to receive or respond to the poc. In that document it states: "acknowledgment of Service (AOS) – indicates that the defendant intends to file a defence, part admission or contests jurisdiction (the level of court). The AOS also extends the time to do so from 14 to 28 calendar days from the date of service." Kind Regards

Thank you, but why does the goverment website say this: https://www.gov.uk/respond-to-court-claim-for-money "You must respond within 14 days of receiving the form." " If you need more time, you can ask for another 14 days to respond. To do this, fill in the acknowledgment of service form in the response pack, and return it to the court. This will show that you’re looking at the claim, not ignoring it, and will give you a total of 28 days to reply." Kind Regards

But I needed the extra time to get organised. Is the initial defence to the information given by The Mould not sufficient at this stage? And once the claim is allocated to the relevant track, I will have the opportunity to elaborate on the claim and provide expert witness statements if necessary. Is that not correct? Surely acknowledgement of the claim is required?

Mike_hawk, I seem to have missed The Mould as he has gone offline. Can you tell me what I can include when I am stating the total cost of my counterclaim? Does it have to be exact at this stage or can it be a estimate? Especially as I have got different prices from different roofing companies. Kind regards

I meant the court clarified that I must write my defence based on the information on the claim form as I have not received poc. Confirming what TheMould had said. Sorry for the confusion.

This is correct as I clarified this with the court when I called them. For someone who has very little experience of the legal system, the process is fairly obscure and unpleasant for the inexperienced. I am very grateful for all the advice I have received so far. Regards.

Thank you for the clarification TheMould. I am still unsure about how much money I state I am claiming in the counterclaim as I do not know how damages are calculated. Can I just claim for the cost of the roof to be repaired and the damaged materials? Or can I also claim for damages due to having a building site of a home for the past month and a half? And if I can, how is it calculated? Merry Christmas to you and your family as well. Thank you Kind Regards, Kinger

I have used the template provided kindly by TheMould but I am not sure about a few things. For the counterclaim do I have to state precisely how much I intend to claim? There has been massive inconvenience and damage to my materials. Do I have to itemise everything or just provide the full amount at this stage? How do I calculate the damages that I have incurred? As it stands it will be about £8000 inc VAT for the full removal and replacement of the roof to the correct specifications. I have only changed minor parts of TheMoulds template as I have thus far not received the particulars. Is this acceptable to send as it is at this stage? I know TheMould was assuming that the particulars were going to arrive but they have not (which would indicate to me that the claimants case is very weak). I have less than a week before the 28 day deadline. (I have not filled in any of the personal details to protect my identity.) Thank you all again for all your help Kind Regards Introduction 1. I, Mr (state you fullname)age (state your age)of (state your full postal address – including post code) am the Defendant in these proceedings and I make this statement as my full defence against the claim brought against me by (state Claimant’s full name) dated (statefull date of Claimant’s Claim). 2. For the purpose of this Defence, all reference made herein are made to the sentences and paragraphs of the Claimants statement of case dated (put the datehere) 3. The matters set out hereafter are made within my own personal knowledge on this matter, if the contrary appears, I state the source of such, which I believe to be true to the best of my knowledge on this matter. 4. As to the first sentence of the Claimant’s statement of case, it is admitted that the Claimant was contracted out for roofing works at my property. 5. As to the second sentence of the same, it is denied that the Defendant is in breach of the same and the Claimant is put to establishing the burden of proof thereof. As of the date hereof, the Claimant has not produced any credible evidence to substantiate the same. 6. As regards the third sentence therein, the amount claimed as due and owing is denied. The Claimant is in fundamental breach of the contract and the works he was contracted to undertake thereunder are seriously defective and inadequate, he has not performed his obligations under the agreement, this has left the roofing works requiring proper professional workmanship that complies with building regulations in order to make the same waterproof. Furthermore the roof and Velux windows are in clear contravention of the agreed contract, the manufacturer stipulations and building regulations, and at the present time, due to the Claimant’s wholly deficient works carried out thereon, the roof is not watertight. The roof has been inspected by a number of roofers which have identified that the cause of the leak can be directly attributed to the incorrect pitch and installation of the windows. 7. Please note, to date I have no received any particulars of the claim from the claimant and I am therefore providing a defence on a presumptive basis. STATEMENT OF TRUTH I believe that the facts set out in this Defence are true. Signed………………………………………………. this (put date) of December 2013. (Printyour name here – Defendant) If you have a Counterclaim, then finish as follows: DEFENCE & COUNTERCLAIM 1. The matters set out in the Defence above are repeated. 2. Accordingly, the Defendant/part 20 Claimant seeks the sum (£xzy) from the Claimant/part 20 Defendant and respectfully requests that this Court strikes out his claim in its entirety. STATEMENT OF TRUTH (as above)

Thanks. I am just a little concerned that he may provide the particulars to the court and not to me, and then try and claim that he had sent them to me. I may be a bit paranoid here but I want to cover all the bases. Also he recently sent me a letter which I completely forgot to mention; It was regarding the complaint I had put in at the beginning about his workers. In his response to my complaint he stated that the whole reason for the delay was because I was interfering with his workers and stopping them from doing their work, and I recorded them without authorisation on my CCTV system. I have home CCTV which I have archived showing the time they took to do the work, the mess they left in my garden and them working unhindered by myself and my family. I do not need his permission to record my garden with CCTV but I am getting worried as he seems to be trying to turn everything on me.

Sorry for the late replies. I have been out all day. I have already obtained quotes however some have been very unwilling to even quote me as they become suspicious when they find out that the roof needs to be re-done and say that they "don't want to touch another job etc." I am probably going to have to wait till the new year now anyway as I don't want roofing work being started so soon before Christmas. I have the impression that this court claim was used as a way to try and intimidate my, especially as I have not received the PoC. Shall I contact the court about the Poc tomorrow or wait and see? Thank you everyone

Hi Steampowered, I have already filed the acknowledgement of service.

Hi, it's "Northampton CCBC County court" Is that what you were asking about? Regards

I haven't heard anything from the claimant since the papers arrived and it is now 15 days since the claim was served on me.

Thank you for the clarification. I will just instruct an expert and use an expert witness. So even for my counterclaim I would not be able to instruct the expert to do a survey and use his evidence for both the claim and the counterclaim? My problem is I need the roof fixed, but I cannot do so until the expert inspects it, and he cannot inspect it until I am given permission otherwise I may lose even more money. This is such a difficult predicament.

The counterclaim would be for the following: Compensation for Disruption and damage to property due to leaking roof Replacement of roof to be done to the correct pitch of 15 degrees Repair of any damage to internal work caused by the whole roof being removed and replaced Removal of waste which was agreed in contract but not carried out. (I had to hire a skip and remove their waste myself.)

From my previous experience with the police and my own knowledge I suggest that you get a solicitor for a few reasons: 1. A criminal record will follow your son for the rest of your life and any way to mitigate this cannot be quantified in monetary terms 2. Your son may unintentionally incriminate himself, especially as he will be interviewed at home. Therefore I suggest that you either refuse to have your son interviewed at home, or get a solicitor and have him interviewed at the police station where he will most likely be advised to reply "no comment" to every question. This whole situations seems like "her word against your son" What I am basically saying is why risk any potential issues with your son and his future life/career/reputation etc. ( I was arrested after attending a party where a mobile phone was "allegedly stolen" (the person had a police officer in the family and took advantage and arrested everybody.) I got a solicitor which gave me invaluable advice (of which I am giving here). Despite this I am in the process of getting all information removed off the police database regarding this incident as I was innocent. I was also around the age of your son )

I forgot to reply to your post at the time. As far as I am aware from the court information and other documents I have read, unless the claim is above £10,000 then I am unable to recover witness costs. Unless there is some exception?

Hi everyone, Just an update. I have still not received the particulars of the claim. It will be 2 weeks tomorrow since the claim was served on me. I have also spoken to the court regarding expert witnesses and they have said that once the case is allocated to a certain "track" then they will decide if the witness would be applicable, however the case cannot be allocated as I have not received the particulars. I have a few questions please. Can I issue a counter claim now and then use my expert witness for the counter claim? Am I correct in assuming that the initial claim is now invalid as I have not actually received information on what the claim is about within the 14 days? Can I instruct another party to start replacing the roof if I am to pay for the expert witness as I am unable to continue with the work? Thank you once again.

Here is the email I received from the surveyor. Further to our telephone conversations of yesterday and today, I have had a brief look at the email attachments which you have sent to me. I confirm that I would be pleased to assist with regards to inspecting and measuring the relevant parts as appropriate and then providing you with a CPR35 compliant Expert witness report in relation to the disputed matters which I understand are as follows: a) Pitch of the roof of the extension being less than the necessary and agreed 15 degrees b) General installation details of the Velux roof windows I confirm that I would use a digital ‘Total Station’ measuring device to accurately measure and calculate the pitch of the roof. The Velux windows would be inspected as possible without allowing for any opening-up of the construction or removal of roof tiles. Our fee for my involvement as described above would be £650 + VAT. This would include normal expenses and disbursements. With regards to my potential involvement, please find attached my relevant CV with regards to Expert Witness work. If you have any queries at all, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely

The building surveyor's fee is just to inspect and report on the the pitch, installation and condition of the roof etc. I am in the process of obtaining quotes to get the work corrected. From what I have been told so far, this will probably require the whole removal of the roof and for it to be relaid at the correct pitch, along with all new materials. Thank you again for your help TheMould. I will post here as soon (if I ever) receive the particulars of the claim. Regards

£2816 plus a £70 "admin fee." Am I correct in assuming that the admin fee cannot be claimed as it forms a part of the normal running of the business. Just like the private parking companies try to charge extra when the initiate court proceedings and they usually have them thrown out. Regards

The date the form was officially served was 2/12/2013 (five days after the date on the form) I have just had a quote from a building surveyor of £650 for surveying the roof. His credentials are "Bsc (hons.) Dip.Bldg.cons.(RICS), MRICS." It was a bit more than I was expecting to be honest......

Thank you so much TheMould. That is a very detailed and helpful reply. I will post the particulars of the claim as soon as they arrive (if they ever do). What happens if I don't receive the particulars of the claim? Why did the person not send them with the claim? Is he trying to make me have less time to prepare a defence? It seems a bit unfair to put in a claim but not elaborate. Since my last post I have already done as you suggested and I am in the process of obtaining quotes from a building surveyor and from roofing companies for the cost to put the roof right. I am still waiting for the particulars of the claim. Am I correct in assuming that I will not be able to claim the cost of hiring an expert (surveyor) to assess the roof. I have been reading information regarding experts and it states that the expert must be cross examined by the claimant. However another member said previously on this thread that a written statement is enough. I just want to make sure I am as thorough and tenacious whilst obtaining evidence. With regards to the building inspector point. His exact words were "if you were to do the roof yourself I would not pass the roof off. If this company can provide a warranty then I am happy to do so." I feel that this particular inspector is quite ignorant of the regulations of which he enforces. I cannot thank you and everyone else for your help. Regards