LORD ROOFING AND GROUNDS WORKS LTD Refusing to Repair Poorly Laid Driveway and Using Intimidation to Enforce Payment

[BankFodder]

Thank you. What is the date of the set-aside hearing again please?

 

There won't be a response from Lord yet and I expect that the first response you will get will be simply an acknowledgement giving them an extra 14 days.

Don't be surprised if they decide to turn it over to some lawyers. Don't be fazed by this.

The most important thing is that you have got the process going before the set-aside hearing. You can present copies to the judge. And now it is absolutely clear that this matter is subject to a property dispute resolution process – probably in court.

 

[BankFodder]

It's definitely a possibility but don't worry about it

You don't need to justify bringing a claim for simply one contract

There is clearly a separate contract. It is they who required it.

They will have to appreciate that it comes with the territory.

[BankFodder]

Don't forget that if it goes to the fast track and they lose then they are saddled with your costs.

You should start keeping a very detailed log of all the time you have spent on this and the time that you will be spending in the future researching and understanding and bringing the case.

 

I suggest that you start keeping a spreadsheet of all the time you have spent including dates and minutes

 

 

[BankFodder]

Quote

Dear XXX

I always made it clear that you are welcome to carry out a visit and to have your own inspection carried out. I am pleased that you are now taking me up on this offer.

You refer to "the" remedial works but as I've said in my most recent correspondence, these will need to be agreed with me and with an independent inspector and subject to supervision because you no longer have my confidence.

I note that you have stated that one of the objectives of your site visit is "to ascertain exactly what was stipulated within the contract".

Also, you refer to "the engineer's recommendations". Can you please clarify which engineer you are referring to.

Yours sincerely

 

This is a very useful letter for your forthcoming set aside application.
It's clear that he accepts that there may well be some issues with the contract and with the work and that means that there is no basis for his bankruptcy demand.
You should definitely reduce his letter to the court and explained that particular point of view.
 

As far as the fact that you have issue the claim is concerned, you don't need to do anything. Just wait and see if he reacts or if not enter a judgement as soon as you are allowed to on about day 15 or 16 or something.

[BankFodder]

Sorry but I'm not sure what you are referring to here and I'm not sure what you are proposing is the final form of the email.

If you be kind enough to put it in quotes then we would understand what we're doing.

 

Quote

Put it in a quote form like this

 

[BankFodder]

Okay but I don't understand why you want to include that preamble.

 

[BankFodder]

Once again we are getting a gap in responses here. I'm a bit concerned that you are going to send your version of email – I'd really like to know what you are intending by your preamble which is basically a recital of a load of events which happened back in June.
I don't see that it deals with the most recent message you have received from him.

[BankFodder]

I understand that you want to have input – but having input means that you contribute here to the discussion and when we ask your question and then you disappear for six days so that by the time you come back, your amendments are a fait accompli is quite difficult to deal with.

 

I think that the text that you added was an embellishment that looked amateurish and didn't help your credibility.

 

I have no idea what you mean by "due process" and frankly I think you should run without suggestions unless there is a good reason for making amendments and then as I've already asked, I think at the least it would be polite to explain why you are proposing certain amendments.

Good luck with the hearing of course.

 

I'm confident that you will succeed. Make sure you ask for costs. Don't expect that there will come an opportunity at the end for you to make this request – you will have to get it in very quickly. It's unlikely that a judge will ask you whether you want to make this order so you may have to get in quickly before the judge finishes and say that you'd like to raise the question of costs as the attempt that your bankruptcy was so clearly unnecessary and so clearly an attempt to shortcut the interests of justice

[BankFodder]

Well done. This is excellent news and also it was a very good opportunity for you to practice and to become a little confident. I would say that the whole thing is a big Win! for you.

Let us know when you get the order – and especially the order relating to costs and we will see about how to enforce it.

Very interesting that the judge said that they were "heavy-handed". I suppose that was said partly because they didn't appear but anyway, that is very useful to know and although not directly relevant to the substantive claim, it will help.

What a waste of court resources and your own time that they started all this procedure and they didn't even bother to turn up.

I suppose the next thing to do is to start waiting for their response to your claim form. Can you remind me of when you issued it please.

Incidentally, I'd be very curious to know what arguments you made particularly to the judge and did the judge comment on the points you made.

[BankFodder]

I also find myself wondering whether any of their other customers has been treated to this heavy-handed approach.
The bankruptcy demands seem to happen so automatically and so quickly that I have a sense that maybe this is not the first time and this could be their standard method of dealing with people who fall out with them over the quality of work or the amount of the bill.

I can imagine that most people who receive this would cave in and pay the money and you may have been the only person who's ever stood up to them.
You might like to comb through the Internet and see if you can find any references to this company and their dealings with their customers.

[BankFodder]

Please can you remind us when you issued the claim. You need to be monitoring the money claim website closely after about 15 days – although probably allow some extra days the service – and if they don't acknowledge or defend, you should be ready to apply for judgement at the very moment that the site allows you.

Of course it is most unlikely that they will fail to take any action – but you never know.

I'm sure that they are very seriously on the back foot. It's unlikely they have ever been challenged like this and it seems to me that their bullying tactics are predicated on the belief that you will back down as soon as it gets heavy.

We will see what their defence says – but by and large I would say that you are now back in control. It's up to you now to keep control which means that you engage closely with this discussion and you respond quickly on the basis of the advice we give.

[BankFodder]

Keep on checking the money claim website from now. Let us know if there are any problems getting into it. However I'm not aware of any difficulties

[BankFodder]

Well get ready to apply for judgement at the first available opportunity.

 

Don't refer to us. Don't hang around – just do it

[BankFodder]

It sells ok but please could you post your claim form in pdf format here.

 

Why did you file the claim against the director? Against the company would have been fine

[BankFodder]

Ok. It seems fine. At some point you will be allowed to begin enforcement proceedings. We recommend very strongly that you transfer the matter to the high Court enforcement offices and let them do the enforcement. They are far more vigorous about the way that they enforce.

At some point soon we will start to consider proceedings in respect of the second patio.

 

However, be ready for an application from Lords to set aside the judgement on some spurious ground. Is always possible.

 

[BankFodder]

Any update on this?

[BankFodder]

Yes can you please let us know what you have done here.

[BankFodder]

Okay. This is not enforcement. This is simply the judgement.

I think we were all worried that you were going to simply instruct county court bailiffs which would be a big mistake.

You must have the judgement transferred up to the High Court for enforcement for High Court enforcement officers.

It costs you about £70 for the transfer up fee and this will be reimbursed by the defendants. All fees enforcement will be borne by the defendants.

You need to find a High Court enforcement website – they are all private companies – and have a look at the transfer up services that they offer.

One thing to make sure is that in the event of a failure of enforcement, that you will not have to pay any fee. This is the normal nowadays – but you should doublecheck it.

Have a look at this list of High Court Enforcement Officers

 

Find a Member

WWW.HCEOA.ORG.UK

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Do you need advice on recovering a debt? Instruct a High Court Enforcement Officer with High Court Enforcement Officer Association.

 

Check their websites carefully and if necessary phone them and discuss and the most important thing is that if there is a failure of enforcement, you will not pay the fee.

Start doing the research on this. It's very fast and this is the only very effective way of enforcement.

 

We are not making any recommendations or referrals here. We don't know any of these people and we don't get any commissions or anything.

[BankFodder]

Read this thread 

 

To understand why you should not use county court bailiffs whenever possible but you should transfer up.

This is a story of somebody who we are helping and who was in an excellent position and then they decided to go it alone and instruct bailiffs instead of the sheriffs.

Enjoy.

Edited October 24, 2021 by BankFodder
Sorry, I've referred to the wrong thread

[BankFodder]

Sorry, in that case I have referred to the wrong thread.

[BankFodder]

Any update on this?

[BankFodder]

Thank you.

Well for the moment don't be diverted. Keep on instructing High Court enforcement officers. You should be able to complete that tomorrow I would have thought.

I think we had better start planning your claim in respect of the other patio.

Maybe you can just summarise once again what it is and what it's worth.

[BankFodder]

I suppose that you had also better check their change of contact details. Have you checked that they haven't changed their name or phoenixed themselves in some way?

[BankFodder]

I have no idea why they put it. I'm sure you're right that there is a reason – but you should simply proceed. If you notice changes that make sure that you have the changes logged so that you can show how they have developed historically.

Let's start going for the second patio claim

[BankFodder]

I hope you aren't seriously saying that you intend to file your particulars of claim straightaway?!!

This next claim needs careful preparation – in exactly the same way that we tried to prepare the previous one. We have to know the value of the claim, make sure that we've got everything together.
Then we have to send a letter of claim which I suggest that you draft and post here before it is sent off.

From what you posted above, I understand that you think that you're going to prepare a particulars of claim and father claim straightaway.

I do hope not