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Overseas Landlords
We specialise in the
recovery of residential properties for overseas landlords. |
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© Claim
Link 2005/10 |
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DEBT RECOVERY
Debts in respect
of the following can be recovered via the courts:
- Rent arrears.
- The cost of remedial work.
- Court fees and costs.
- Missing inventory items.
- Cleaning and redecorating.
Successful debt recovery requires the
assembly of adequate evidence and in particular proof of rent arrears, invoices
for remedial work and copies of the inventory and condition check.
Most
of the property related debts can be recovered via the Small Claims Court and
the procedure is explained below.
PLEASE
NOTE
If you wish to recover rent arrears at the
same time as commencing proceedings for
repossession this will form part of the repossession action with no additional
costs. |
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The Small Claims System |
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The Small Claims
procedure was originally established to make it easy for the public to use the
Court Service to recover legitimate compensation without recourse to expensive
legal advisors. In practice, this system has moved away from the definition of
'Small Claims' and, as the monetary threshold has progressively risen over the
years, it has encompassed an increasing percentage of legal claims not
requiring substantial compensation for personal injuries.
The
parameters for a Small Claim are:
- Up to £5,000 for claims not
involving personal injuries.
- Up to £1,000 for claims
including compensation for personal injuries.
- The claim to be adjudicated by a
judge in chambers.
- Court fees can be recovered.
- Fixed costs only can be recovered
if appropriate.
Small Claims hearings are
administrated by the Court Service at local County Courts.
Please note
that the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court is in England and Wales. In
Scotland the procedure is administrated by the Sheriff's Court and enforcement
is not possible in Northern Ireland. |
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Action Prior To Issuing Proceedings |
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The court do require that
all avenues of settlement are explored prior to the issuing of proceedings.
This means that the other side should be given a reasonable period of time to
respond to a payment demand before a claim is filed at court.
In many
cases the other side may request extra time in order to investigate the
potential claim. A reasonable period of time is between 7 and 14 days which
should be allowed. After that, if there is no positive response, proceedings
can be issued.
In all cases full documentary evidence of the claim
should be disclosed to the other side at the earliest opportunity. Any
omissions could result in the documents being ruled "inadmissible" by the
judge. |
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The Court procedure |
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Small Claims are not heard in open
court but by a judge in chambers. Effectively, the evidence is heard in
informal surroundings around a table and the judge will make an immediate
decision. It should be noted that there is no formal appeal procedure - you get
a full and final result on the day. However, if a decision is made in your
absence because you could not attend through no fault of your own you can apply
for the Judgment to be set aside.
Judges tend to be very patient with
lay claimants as they know that they will be both nervous and unaccustomed to
court procedures. However, there are strict rules of conduct and verbal abuse,
interruptions and unreasonable behaviour are not tolerated. |
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Making a Small Claim |
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The Small Claims
procedure starts with the completion of a standard form. This details the
substance of the claim and who the Claimant and Defendant are. On completion
the form is returned to the Court office with the Court Fee.
A summons
will then be sent out by post to the Defendant who has the option to:
- Admit the claim and pay you in
full
- Admit part of the claim and pay
you in part
- Admit the claim (or part of) and
request to pay you in installments
- Dispute the claim in its
entirety
If the claim or part of the
claim is disputed the matter will be set down for a Court hearing. |
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How we can help you |
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Claim Link can advise you
in respect of your Small Claims problem, complete your Court documents and
liaise with the Court.
Please do not forget that if proceedings are
issued you will need to pay the Court fees in advance and our minimum fee for
the filing of the appropriate form at the Court - these are recoverable on a
successful conclusion. Please see our page Fees &
Costs for the scale of fees. If you require it, we can refer you to one of
our panel of solicitors for full legal advice - this may involve you in
additional costs which may not be recoverable. |
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Your next move |
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If you are making a
claim for debt recovery only please click on to the button below and complete
the submit form and send it to us. We will then advise you in respect of your
claim and initiate procedures as appropriate on your behalf.
If you -
because of your particular circumstances - require a solicitor, we will compile
the appropriate brief for the legal process to be commenced. If the Small
Claims Court is the most appropriate route we will arrange for your claim
(summons) to be issued and provide an effective process for the recovery of
your compensation. If you have any questions our telephone number is on the
contact page - just ask!
Further information about the Small Claims
Court is available at: http://www.small-claims-court-support.co.uk |
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| Our Advice
Service is completely free and costs you nothing! Simply click on to the
button below, fill out the form and we will get straight back to you. |
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| Multiple
Claims can be processed efficiently by opening an account with us. This
means that your contact details etc do not need to be completed for each claim.
Please click below to set up your account. |
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| If you have an
existing claim account with us please click below. |
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| Not a Member?
Not a problem. Please submit your claim using the button below. |
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