advice on in-flight claim

[mrpenguin]

Hi there,

 

After several weeks of chasing a refund from an online purchase I submitted a claim via MCOL. Since the claim was submitted the defendant has issued a refund but I am still out of pocket on my costs. The claim doesn't appear to have been acknowledged either with tomorrow being the deadline... I know lots of companies leave it to the 11th hour to file an acknowledgment but just incase, do I still request a judgement and if so do I need to advise the amount required is now reduced etc?

 

Thanks in advance

Mr Penguin

[rebel11]

Thread moved Legal Issues.

[DonkeyB]

You are entitled to request judgment, as a claim form demands a response.

 

You can then be magnanimous and just accept the balance due.

 

Alternatively, write or email and remind them of the position, and that you require the balance to be paid and you wish to help them avoid further costs. They clearly have acknowledged the amount was due, so they need to make an admission and pay the balance. Did the refund definitely come AFTER the claim had been issued?

[mrpenguin]

Hi DonkeyB,

 

Thanks for your response. Yes, the deadline I set was missed and over the following week I sent them a further 3 emails chasing with no reponse so the claim was submitted. A further 5 days later they advised that they would be issuing the refund which was received a few days after that. I did reply to their last email advising them that the claim had been submitted and to contact to discuss once they had read it but unsurprinsingly no further communication has been received from them...

[mrpenguin]

Just to verify, the claim was submitted on 02/12/2010 and issued on 03/12/2010. If I have understood correctly it is deemed as served 5 days later which is the 08/12/2010 which gives the defendandt 14 days to respond after service - taking it to 22/12/2010. Do I request judgment on 22/12/2010 or wait until 23/12/2010 (The MCOL status is stilll showing as issued)?

[mrpenguin]

Well today is the deadline day for acknowledgement which has not been received according to MCOL - I tried to request a judgement but it stated I must wait the required number of days before entering a judgement by default... I guess it wants me to wait until tomorrow (see time line in post above)?

 

If I do enter judgement tomorrow do I need to wait for it to be 'processed' or is that it, can I assume I have what I wanted/requested or is there any reason it will not be approved? Also, can I request an enforecment and if so, can I claim this cost too?

 

Any advice/help apprecaited

 

Thanks

 

Mr Penguin

[mrpenguin]

The defendant has filed an acknowledgement as expected on the day of the deadline, the 22/12/2010.

 

Looking at the acknowledgement, the defendant has responded using MCOL by an appointment company representitive but they signed it as the company name with no reference to a person or a position within the company - is this correct, should they not be stating their name & position (does this invalidate their acknowledgement)?

[mrpenguin]

I think this thread has been moved to the wrong area?

[mrpenguin]

Can anyone advise what I need to do incase the defendant does not submit their defence by the required date?

[rebel11]

I've moved it to Online Stores.

[mrpenguin]

Help or advice please, defence deadline is tomorrow.... :-S

[mrpenguin]

Can anyone help, please?

 

Deadline for defence to be submitted by defendant is today but it looks like they will probably leave it to the 11th hour again.... In the unlikely event they miss the deadline can I request judgement?

 

Regards

 

Mr Penguin

[mrpenguin]

I waited until this morning and have noted no defence filed on MCOL so I attempted a 'request judgement' which has now been submitted.

 

Can anyone advise if I will now win by default or could the claim still potentially be rejected/struck out while under judgement (even if the defendant still does not submit a defence)?

 

If the latter is the case is it possible to amend the claim or do I need to start again? Anyone...?

[mrpenguin]

The request for judgement has not been updated on MCOL over 24 hours later. I was of the understanding that the judgements were processed at the end of each day and so mine was submitted just before 10am yesterday.

 

Can anyone advise if I can expect the status or outcome be updated later today or if judgement has not yet been passed?

 

Regards

 

Mr Penguin

[slick132]

Hi MrP,

 

If the defendant has not entered their defence within the time allowed, you should get Judgement in default. Has the MCOL system updated since your post above.

 

It may be that the defendant will still attempt to enter a late defence, or have the Judgement Set Aside on the basis that the claim has been settled.

 

You are still entitled to your court costs on top, which the defendant must pay to avoid a CCJ being registered against them.

 

[mrpenguin]

Hi slick132,

 

Just checked MCOL and it looks like the courts have now processed the judgement as it has been updated to 'Issued' - the option now to 'Request a Warrant' is available...all very exciting

 

I've never gone this far before with a claim so not sure what to do...any advice please?

 

Thanks Mr P

[mrpenguin]

so does this mean I've "won by default" - is there anything else I need to do?

 

Should I contact the defendants and offer the chance to settle direclty or just go ahead and issue a warrant?

 

I'd like to get this wrapped up asap really so any comments/input much welcomed!

[DonkeyB]

The defendant should soon receive a letter of judgment from the court.

 

They then have the chance to pay the judgment – you can’t chase it just yet! There’s a process to follow.

[mrpenguin]

The defendant should soon receive a letter of judgment from the court.

 

They then have the chance to pay the judgment – you can’t chase it just yet! There’s a process to follow.

 

Thanks DonkeyB, I thought that as the option to issue a warrant is there on MCOL that it is available to use now? Also I chose the option to receive payment immediately when requesting judgement, so how long could I / should I wait until taking it to the next stage?

 

Thanks

Edited January 10, 2011 by mrpenguin
spelling

[mrpenguin]

Can anyone advise on the previosu post - there is no guidance on the MCOL webite in terms of waiting to issue a warrant if it has been issued and the queue to get through to the support poeple is horrendous!

 

Also is it worth contacting them to ask if they want to sort out sooner from the perspective of not having the CCJ against them if they settle in 30 days from issue or having bailiffs turn up at their premisis!?

[slick132]

Hi MrP,

 

Have you rec'd confirmation in writing from the court about the judgement being made in your favour.

 

I would seek payment from the defendant direct initially. You would surely only need to use enforcement if the judgement remained unpaid.

 

8)

[mrpenguin]

Hi slick132,

 

I received a note from the court (Friday just gone) advising that the judgement has been issued. I was still unclear as to what this meant, either that the judgment was needed further review by the courts or if that was simply it, I'd won, been ruled in my favour?

 

I called the MCOL helpline this morning and after a lengthy wait the agent I spoke to advised me that yes, the claim has been judged in my favour (by default) and that I can request a warrant if needed.

 

Now that I have received my note from the court it is safe to assume that the defendant has too, advising them of the good news )

 

I emailed the company just this morning using a contact email address that was on the acknowledgement form offering them the opportunity to settle the matter immediately (I ticked the immediate payment option when I requested judgement) to avoid both an extended entry in the CCJ register and the issuance of a warrant - form what I gather if they pay in 30 days the enter is removed from the register or else it stays for 6 years.

 

As I'm typing this entry a read receipt for the email just arrived and I now also have a missed call on my mobile! lol )

 

I'll update once I hear any more...

[DonkeyB]

Prepare for "We knew nothing about this and didn't get the claim form" line!

[mrpenguin]

I did think that may try to say that but they did file an acknowledgment so they need to think of somethign else!

 

The missed call I had was from the contact on the acknowledgemtn they filed. They left a voice message but never actually said what they wanted me to do, i.e. "I am X calling about your email. My number is X. the date is X and the time is X" lol - I guess he wants me to call him back?!

 

I'm at work at present so verbal comms is a problem but email is ok so I've emailed him again to ask him to convey any messages that way - plus form my point of view I have an audit trail!

 

More to follow as it happens...

[mrpenguin]

Well, after a couple of emails back and forth to the contact I was dealing with who was questioning the judgement amount plus also stating that he had not received a copy of the judgement yet... I received in the post this morning, by special delivery no less, a cheque for the full amount.

 

I shall be banking the cheque today but wanted to know once it has cleared, do I need to inform anyone the judgement has been satisifed in full or is that down to the defendant?

 

Thanks

 

Mr P