Hi all I've submitted my defence through the Money Claim beta system (OCMC) and took notes while I did so to share on here. I found it difficult to get any info before I did mine, so if someone stumbles upon this in the future perhaps it might prove useful. - Changes and Revisions. Yes, you can revise everything. You just go back in and change it however you want. It is all changeable up until when you submit it at the final stage. - Word Limit. There did not seem to be a word limit for the defence or timeline. - Error Messages. However, when I copied and pasted my draft defence from a word document onto the online system, it did throw up and error message when I first tried to get to the next screen. I panicked initially thinking I'd exceeded a word limit. But after A LOT of monkeying around for ages I found out it wasn’t due to the amount of words but that it did not like one particular sentence. I've no idea why not, but when I played around with it the error disappeared. Very odd! - Costs (i.e. a breakdown of how much you think you don't owe). There was no separate page for this. It just asked how much I think I owe (as a part admit). So I kept the costings calcs I made in the defence. - Formatting of Defence. When you get to the last confirm and submit page, it puts all of the sentences and paragraphs of the defence into one long stream of consciousness, with no paragraph spaces etc. But once it actually creates the form, the spacing comes back again, so no need to worry. - Directions Questionnaire. This formed part of the process, and so was submitted at the same time as the defence. Here's a run down of all the different pages I got whilst submitting the defence. Note that I part admitted. Presumably if you fully admit, or fully defend you'll get different pages. 1.Prepare your response - Confirm your details - Date of birth - Phone number (optional) - Decide if you need more time to respond 2.Respond to claim - Choose a response - I admit all the claim / I admit part of the claim / I reject all of the claim - Have you paid the claimant the money you owe? - How much money do you admit you owe? - Why do you disagree with the amount claimed? - Box to enter defence - Timeline. And option to comment on their timeline. - Evidence. And option to list any parts of their evidence you disagree with - When will you pay the £xxx? - Immediately *or* by set date *or* repayment plan. 3.Resolving the claim Free telephone mediation - Agree to / decline - Phone number 4.Your hearing requirements - Give us details in case there’s a hearing - Support you require - Choose hearing location - Expert witness (it says: “It’s rare for a judge to allow you to use an expert in a small claim. Most small claims don’t need an expert. An expert is not a legal representative.”) Options are continue without *or* I think this case requires an expert. - Do you want to give evidence? - Do you want other people to give evidence? How many? - Are there dates in the next 9 months when you or your witnesses can’t go to a hearing? 5.Submit - Check and submit your response - Includes statement of truth Cheers

Not sure if is matters, but when writing my defence is it best to refer to myself as "I" or "the defendant"? Ta

And just to add RE point 1. If the cost to put all the work right is less than the money owed, I presumed I would have to admit part?

Thanks @dx100uk In reply to your answers: 1. Just to be clear, I meant can I change BEFORE confirming my submission, IE while it is still in draft stage? I want to see what the next pages in the process ask but cannot get to them without answering that first page. 2. His claim consists of one sentence in the "Reason for claim" field, and then 3 pages of details on a timeline. From the little I can gather, the defence will ask for details as to why I reject the claim, and then my timeline. Yes, I've been reading several of the epic threads on here - every post on every page! But unfortunately it doesn't help with these aspects. 3, 4 and 5. But from what I can tell, the process will ask me to list all of the evidence I intend to base my defence on.... Not submit it, just list what type of evidence it is and what it pertains to. He was asked the same. So it's normal for him to just ignore that and then introduce the evidence later (and for me to do the same, and just leave that part of the form blank)? 6. I'll do my best. The problem is, his claim skirts around a lot of the issues. It's very much based on his narrative. I need to address his assertions, but I don't know how I give a defence without also stating my reasons as to why I don't agree with his claims. It's so tricky! Thanks again

Hi Hope it's ok to ask this separate from my other thread. It's just some general info I'm after please, not case specific. I'm finding there's very little guidance about the OCMC (Money Claims beta) system and as such I'm finding putting my defence together quite difficult. 1. Can the different aspects of the form be saved and revisited/changed prior to submission? For example, “choose a response”. If I choose “admit part” can I change it to “reject all” later if needs be? 2. What’s the format for the defence? Aside from the details of the defence is there also a separate timeline? 3. “List any evidence (optional)”. If, for example, I have got lots of photos of various parts of the job do I just put in one entry for all the photos? Or a separate line for each and every photo? Or group photos per topic? 4. Is this the only chance I get to list evidence or do I get another chance later in the whole court process? I don’t know at this stage whether some of the evidence will be relevant or not. 5. I note the claimant has not entered anything on his “List any evidence (optional)” screen (unless he has and we don’t get to see it yet?). If we would see his list of evidence and there is none, does he get another chance add evidence later? 6. From what I can tell there are no word limits, but could anyone confirm please? Any thoughts on the above or links to guides would be a massive help. Many thanks

Whilst I continue to work on my defence, I wondered if anyone could help me with a question please... 1. The contract is in my name only (Didn't think to question it at the time... Hadn't anticipated what would happen... Lesson learnt!). 2. The house is owned by my wife and I. 3. Before accepting the quote, I wrote in an email "my partner is in ****** at the mo looking after her dad, so I'll discuss it with her when I can and get back to you soon." 4. All dealings with the trader have been with my wife and I. There has been A LOT of correspondence between us over the last few months, and in nearly all of it we refer to ourselves as "we" and sign it off with both our names. 5. The partial payment we have made is from our joint account. 6. The claim is against just me. Is there any way we can argue that the claim should be against both of us? Or is the name on the contract the only thing that matters in such situations? Many thanks

OK, thanks - I'll have a think about how to put the letter of claim aspect into the defence but in all honesty I'm not sure how I do. I was pretty sure he could not charge those late fees but it's nice to have some further re-assurance seeing as it is building up so quickly! Can he even still claim the 8% annual interest seeing as he has done it wrong on his claim form? I'm also not sure whether him trying to charge them just looks bad, or has a bearing on his claim, and if so how. It's all quite daunting really, having never been in this situation. Any advice on the above or on any aspects of the whole case would be most helpful. Thanks again

Thanks @dx100uk So in our response / defence, do we just refute the late fees and the interest as part of our more general defence? Or is there something more nuanced we do with regards those? Also, does anyone have a view on whether the email of 28/02 or the email of 21/03 should be regarded as the letter of action? And does it matter? I guess I ask because I'm not sure how far off the mark he was with his pre-action protocols and whether that's significant or not. Many thanks

Please find requested combined PDF attached. Here's a timeline of recent relevant correspondences, to help with context: - 28/02. Claimant sent email titled "Breach of contract, request payment" (attached). He stated: "Please respond or pay the final invoice within 14 days. Otherwise I’ll have no other choice but to look toward court proceedings to reclaim the money owed. " In the Claim Form he refers to this as his "last warning email before court action". - 14/03. We requested a time extension of 7 days. - 14/03. Claimant agree, giving us a further 7 days (until the evening of 21/03). - 21/03. 08:37. Claimant sent email titled "Court Action" (attached). In the Claim Form he refers to this as his "letter of action". - 21/03. We responded immediately explaining we thought we had until the evening. - 21/03. 09:42. We sent our full response, in which we: addressed all of the matters he had raised in his email of 28/02, re-stated our position' our views, and our proposed solutions, listed and explained some new issues that had come to light with the job in the interim, shared some of the feedback we had received regarding the tiling (on a forum), offered to forward emails we had with manufacturers regarding his use of their products made partial payment of £1,000, asked if he would be willing to explore ADR - 21/03. Claimant said he had spoken to his legal advisors and was willing to go forward with ADR. He also requested the manufacturers' emails we had offered. - 22/03. Claimant said he was looking into ADR schemes "today" to see if he thinks they are suitable - 25/03. We sent an email re-iterating/summarising our position and asking if he had made any progress or decision RE ADR. - 31/03. Received Money Claim email. Hope all of that helps, and sorry if it hinders! Our biggest concerns right now are concerning the late payment fees and interest. Many thanks

No, I didn't! OK, so leave everyone's details except mine... I'm on it! Thanks and sorry for all those questions.

OK, fair play, that makes total sense. So does that include everything - his name, address, email address, etc? And it's totally safe to do so? I do apologise as I'm sure you're asked that question all the time. But for those of who have never been in this position - and fear potential repercussions - it's quite a nerve wracking thing to do! Also not sure about third parties, like the tiler as mentioned above, but he also names customer service reps in the shop that served him.

Thanks for the quick reply. Is there any possibility I can also redact THEIR details? Just feel uncomfortable posting up their details. But if it's essential.... Also, what about third parties? He references the tiler he subcontracted to on quite a few occasions, albeit by first name only. Thanks again

So so sorry for the delay in posting the docs. Working on them now. Just wanted to check, is it ok when redacting first names leave the initial of the name? Ta

No, it's just me on the court claim. So one claimant (plumber) and one defendant (me). And yes, it is the new system - the one in beta. That's what's made it a bit tricky because so much of the on line info, guides etc relate to MCOL. And it took me a fair time to even work out that MCOL and the new system are different. Doesn't help that they have such similar names - what a daft decision that was imho. I'll do page 2 as well seeing as that has the reason for claim and the beginning of the timeline. Will sort it in the morning. Many thanks for the help

Thanks for confirming and explaining. Not majorly relevant, but I'm a him and so is the plumber. Not sure where the "her" came into it. Homophone maybe? Anyhow.... So I don't have to redact the plumbers name, address, phone number, email address, etc? Can I if I feel better not to include his details? To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if we have had the Particulars of Claim yet or not. That's part of my aforementioned confusion! So not sure how much to upload. If it helps: - Page 1 is claimant and defendant details. - Page 2 has a one sentence "Reason for Claim". Followed by "TImeline of What Happened" - Page 3 Timeline continues - Page 4 Timeline continues - Page 5 Timeline ends. Claim Amount Details. Total Amount. Statement of Truth. - Page 6 Digital signature and date Many thanks