New bathroom installation completely replaced by client who now wants to sue

[ohitsonlyme]

Is there a template for the statement of truth I have managed to get hold of the electrician she is very willing to sign and I want to get it right first time 

I very much appreciate all of the help

 

Thank you

[BankFodder]

Isn't there an example at the bottom of the claim form

[ohitsonlyme]

Follows my proposed email to claimant re costs of snagging listed on claimants first email notification of same

 

Dear...claimant . I have today transferred £300 to your bank account ...............details

The payment is my labour and materials estimate of costs on snags listed by yourself at 19.44 pm 20th May 2024 and not having been allowed to see  or discuss prior to you hiring ANO to carry out the work.

This is not intended to be a final settlement and does not prejudice your claim

Only meagain

 

[honeybee13]

When did you send that please?

HB

[ohitsonlyme]

It has not been sent yet it is a proposed email seeking site approval

[ohitsonlyme]

Following a further conversation with the electrician the fllowing is my first draft of a statement of truth as yet not sent to the electrican for approval

 

I Sparky ….. of Company name say the following 

I was requested by……. Defendant to carry out an electrical test at a garage conversion that claimant had carried out at ……Address

When I knocked on the door Mr .. claimant answered looking a little disgruntled he  immediately said "he didn't tell me you were coming". I sensed an air of tension but tried to make light and said, I’m sorry about that, is it convenient?

Mr ..claimant said yes it's fine, and showed me in to room.

I entered the room and said, "oh wow it looks great" to which he pulled a face. I said "oh are you not happy?"

Mr claimant said that he wasn't happy, and that the finish was poor, in particular the joinery.

He mentioned the door to the toilet and as I was loading more tools in from outside he was stood in the doorframe where the hall enters the room touching the frame and pointed out the finish on the door frame and architrave.

I said, yes I can where you are coming from, have you told him?

He said, "no. Please don't tell him"

 I said you really must if you aren't happy.

He said no don't say anything, please, I am just going to get a joiner in to deal with it.

Then he went off to the lounge and once I was had finished testing, I called in and we said goodbye.

I only spoke about  the conversation to mr defendant after I was told of the claim made

 

 

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true to the best of my recollection

. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth

[BankFodder]

The electrician statement is perfect. Get it signed. Keep it safe and make sure you have a backup copy somewhere else

[ohitsonlyme]

Is my poposed email to pay £300 for snagging ok?

If so when should I send it

[honeybee13]

I think @BankFodder is best placed to answer this. Please don't send the letter until he's had a look; you're already in a formal process and I'm not sure if your letter fits into that.

HB

[BankFodder]

Get the statement signed first

[ohitsonlyme]

Statement of truth Signed by my sparky today  No alterations from draft document previously posted

[AndyOrch]

On 29/06/2024 at 07:52, ohitsonlyme said:

I said, yes I can see where you are coming from, have you told him?

Small typo above and not wishing to be pedantic but you keep referring to a statement /witness statement as a " Statement of Truth "

The statement of truth is the last paragraph which concludes the statements and makes it legally admissible. 

Just to clarify for others following your topic 

 

Andy 

[BankFodder]

Have a look at this.

Please comment before you send it off. Anything missing, anything that shouldn't be there, anything inaccurate…

Quote

 

I was very surprised to receive a claim form  by email on 20thJune and to learn that you had started a legal action against me.

As you know, you didn't give me any indication that you might do this other than one email dated 19 June – the very day before I received your claim form – in which you simply told me that you wouldn't accept £300 refund in respect of the snagging list which I said I would do when I returned from holiday but which it then before I got back seems you had decided to make other arrangements.

Not only this, but in your email of 20 May, you set out a list of snags which you considered needing attention.

I told you that I would be going on holiday and that I intended to deal with these snags on my return. I should point out that it is completely normal for any building job to need to mining out and it is routine to deal with a "snagging list".

However, when I returned from holiday and discovered firstly that you had employed another building to deal with the snagging list but also you presented me with a much more extensive list which had been presented before and then finally, I understand that the builder who you commissioned to remedy the initial list of snags went on to do far more and to undo a substantial amount of the work which I had done – without any consultation, discussion or warning.

Why didn't you discuss this while the job was in progress and we were seeing each other regularly and also regularly in contact by email?
It seems to me that you were aware of the snags at the time but didn't bring them to my notice?
It also seems to me that you are probably already made a decision to get somebody else in to deal with the snags and also to do other work. Can you tell me if this is correct please?

In your claim form, you say that you have photographs and videos. Obviously you haven't included those because I don't think there is a facility when issuing a claim online to include that kind of evidence.
It will be very helpful if you would send those to me directly so that I can understand more about your claim and the position.

As you know, when I returned from holiday I was very surprised to find that instead of the snagging work which still needed to be done, you had had the work which I carried out for you completely stripped out and replaced by an installation completely different to that which we had originally agreed.

I expect that you must have received quotes from the person who did that. I would be grateful also if you would let me have copies of the quotations and copies of discussions and invoices which I suppose you must have had with that builder so that I can also understand exactly how you have arrived at your claim.

If you feel that you are unable to do this then please would you let me know and also let me know why.

Snagging lists are a completely normal part of any building job and I would say that it is part of the obligations of the builder to address the snagging list and equally it is part of the obligations of the client to allow this to happen.

As you have decided to begin a County Court action, this dispute will eventually go to trial before a judge. Of course I will produce all the information I have and you will also have to produce your information.

I think it would save time and trouble to everybody and also to the court if we can do this in advance. In addition to the quotations and invoices provided by the builder who stripped out my work, I would also like to know which of my materials were used in your new installation and which ones were not and what happened to them.
Also, we will need to receive evidence from your builder and so it would be helpful to everyone if you could provide me with a during the trial.

Of course your builder's statement should be signed as a statement of truth and they will have to be available to answer questions about this during the trial.

Finally, I would like an opportunity to visit your property to carry out my own closer inspection of the the way that the snags have been dealt with and also to have a look at all of the work that has been done in addition to the snags which we had been discussing.
When I saw the work before, I was so taken aback that I really didn't register very much.

Please can you let me know how we can arrange this.

Finally, and to make it clear, I told you at the outset that I would be dealing with any problems in the work I had been carried out and I returned from holiday.
When you informed me that you had had a building to deal with these, I told you immediately that I told you immediately that the reasonable cost of dealing with these issues would have been about £300 and I offered this to you.
You declined to accept.
I am now paying you £300 anyway in order to show goodwill and good faith. Please note that you should accept this money and it in no way prejudices your claim against me.
I'm not intending that your acceptance of this is in full and final settlement.
Continue your claim against me by all means for the full amount which you believe is due to you but I do accept that I have a liability to you of about £300 and I'm anxious to clear this as quickly as possible and it is on that basis that I have made a transfer into your bank account – account number: XXX, sort code: XXX – and which will have cleared into account by the time you receive this message.

Please don't think that I'm trying to trick you by this payment. I'm not.

I look forward to your early response and the information I have asked for.

Yours

Signed
 

 

Please can you remind me of the date by which your defence must be filed

[Nicky Boy]

@BankFodder Hi BF, I've highlighted what may be typos above in red, if you'd care to check them.

[BankFodder]

 

I hope this is better 

Quote

 

I was very surprised to receive a claim form  by email on 20thJune and to learn that you had started a legal action against me.

As you know, you didn't give me any indication that you might do this other than one email dated 19 June – the very day before I received your claim form – in which you simply told me that you wouldn't accept £300 refund in respect of the snagging list which I said I would do when I returned from holiday but which it then before I got back seems you had decided to make other arrangements.

Not only this, but in your email of 20 May, you set out a list of snags which you considered needing attention.

I told you that I would be going on holiday and that I intended to deal with these snags on my return. I should point out that it is completely normal for any building job to need to mining out and it is routine to deal with a "snagging list".

However, when I returned from holiday and discovered firstly that you had employed another building to deal with the snagging list but also you presented me with a much more extensive list which had been presented before and then finally, I understand that the builder who you commissioned to remedy the initial list of snags went on to do far more and to undo a substantial amount of the work which I had done – without any consultation, discussion or warning.

Why didn't you discuss this while the job was in progress and we were seeing each other regularly and also regularly in contact by email?
It seems to me that you were aware of the snags at the time but didn't bring them to my notice?
It also seems to me that you are probably already made a decision to get somebody else in to deal with the snags and also to do other work. Can you tell me if this is correct please?

In your claim form, you say that you have photographs and videos. Obviously you haven't included those because I don't think there is a facility when issuing a claim online to include that kind of evidence.
It will be very helpful if you would send those to me directly so that I can understand more about your claim and the position.

As you know, when I returned from holiday I was very surprised to find that instead of the snagging work which still needed to be done, you had had the work which I carried out for you completely stripped out and replaced by an installation completely different to that which we had originally agreed.

I expect that you must have received quotes from the person who did that. I would be grateful also if you would let me have copies of the quotations and copies of discussions and invoices which I suppose you must have had with that builder so that I can also understand exactly how you have arrived at your claim.

If you feel that you are unable to do this then please would you let me know and also let me know why.

Snagging lists are a completely normal part of any building job and I would say that it is part of the obligations of the builder to address the snagging list and equally it is part of the obligations of the client to allow this to happen.

As you have decided to begin a County Court action, this dispute will eventually go to trial before a judge. Of course I will produce all the information I have and you will also have to produce your information.

I think it would save time and trouble to everybody and also to the court if we can do this in advance. In addition to the quotations and invoices provided by the builder who stripped out my work, I would also like to know which of my materials were used in your new installation and which ones were not and what happened to them.
Also, we will need to receive evidence from your builder and so it would be helpful to everyone if you could provide me with a copy of that evidence which you intend to use during the trial.

Of course your builder's statement should be signed as a statement of truth and they will have to be available to answer questions about this during the trial.

Finally, I would like an opportunity to visit your property to carry out my own closer inspection of the the way that the snags have been dealt with and also to have a look at all of the work that has been done in addition to the snags which we had been discussing.
When I saw the work before, I was so taken aback that I really didn't register very much.

Please can you let me know how we can arrange this.

Finally, and to make it clear, I told you at the outset that I would be dealing with any problems in the work I had been carried out and I returned from holiday.
When you informed me that you had had a builder to deal with these, I told you immediately that the reasonable cost of dealing with these issues would have been about £300 and I offered this to you.
You declined to accept.
I am now paying you £300 anyway in order to show goodwill and good faith. Please note that you should accept this money and it in no way prejudices your claim against me.
I'm not intending that your acceptance of this is in full and final settlement.
Continue your claim against me by all means for the full amount which you believe is due to you but I do accept that I have a liability to you of about £300 and I'm anxious to clear this as quickly as possible and it is on that basis that I have made a transfer into your bank account – account number: XXX, sort code: XXX – and which will have cleared into account by the time you receive this message.

Please don't think that I'm trying to trick you by this payment. I'm not.

I look forward to your early response and the information I have asked for.

Yours

Signed
 

 

 

[BankFodder]

Here is a very first draft of a defence to the claim

Quote

Response to claim

The defendant denies that they are indebted to the claimant.

 

Request to strike out the claim as the claimant has ignored the pre-action protocol

The claimant has failed to follow the pre-action protocol which requires that a letter of claim be sent to the defendant.

In fact there was no communication with the defendant as to the possibility of a County Court claim other than a single line in an email on 19 June which was only one day before the defendant actually received the claim on 20 June.

For these reasons but particularly because the claimant has ignored the pre-action protocol by failing to give any notice to the defendant of their intention to bring a County Court claim, the claimant respectfully asks the court to strike out the claimant’s claim.

Summary of Claimant’s Claim

In May 2023 the defendant agreed to carry out a bathroom installation at the claimant’s home for £XXX.

The job was completed on time over a period of about three weeks. The claimant appeared to be satisfied and paid the defendant in full as agreed.

Shortly afterwards, the claimant started to raise concerns with the defendant about some aspects of the job. The claimant agreed as soon as he returned from holiday to address certain the snags in the work which had been brought to his attention by the claimant.

Snagging lists are entirely usual within the building industry and as part of any kind of building job.

The defendant returned from holiday and was astonished to discover that the claimant had employed another builder who had not only addressed the points on the snagging list, but stripped out substantially the entire installation fitted by the defendant and had it replaced with another installation constructed to an entirely different specification than that originally agreed between the defendant and the claimant.

The claimant is now seeking a judgement for £2500 but it is not at all clear how the claimant has arrived at this figure as no information is contained in the claim.

The claimant has declined to provide any evidence, quotations, photographs or other information or evidence relating to any issues which they claim to have had with the work or relating to the new work carried out in the defendant's absence

In any event, the defendant denies that he is liable for any indebtedness towards the claimant other than approximately £300 in respect of the snagging list already referred to.

The defendant has already paid the admitted £300 to the claimant by way of bank transfer and without any prejudice to this claim for a larger amount by the claimant.

Defendant’s response to the claim

The claimant  was present everyday that I, the  defendant worked at his home.

I worked at the claimant’s home for just over 3 weeks. I turned up daily.

There were full discussions between myself and the claimant as the work progressed, including extensive discussions relating to the position of sanitary ware and other major items.

The claimant did not tell me of any dissatisfaction during or at the conclusion of the project.

The claimant paid me promptly the day after I completed the job. I was not made aware of any issues with finish or position of any fixtures or fittings.

I was aware of a broken pane of glass. A replacement was ordered and would have been fitted upon its arrival. This also was fully discussed with the claimant.

Since the issue of claim, I have been made aware the claimant complained to my electrician on 16th May telling her not to tell me about it because the defendant is a "very nice guy".

The electrician has provide me with a signed statement of truth to this effect and which will be included as part of my court bundle.

The claimant is making an assumption that any issues he had could not have been rectified by the defendant.

As mentioned above, snagging lists are a normal part of any building contract and the builder has a contractual obligation to address items on the snagging list.

Reciprocally, the client has a contractual duty to allow the builder to address any snags identified by the client and to give the builder a reasonable time to remedy them.

Furthermore, the client has a contractual duty to express any concerns to the builder rather than keep those concerns concealed.

By the claimant’s failure to permit the defendant to complete the contract and also in respect of the claimant’s failure to discuss concerns – preferring to confide them to an electrician the claimant has in fact breached the contract with the defendant.

In the event that the court decides to proceed on this matter and give judgement for the claimant despite the lack of pre-action protocol and despite the lack of any discussion, negotiation or information from the claimant, the defendant respectfully requests that the claimant bears the costs of the action.

Clearly it will have to be refined. Paragraphs will have to be numbered but for the moment, please will you comment.

Please identify anything which is incorrect, which should be omitted or anything which should be included

Edited July 3, 2024 by BankFodder
edits in red

[ohitsonlyme]

First of all thank you for all of the effort gone into A Understanding the situation and B spending so much time working on the responses

 

My initial brief look is that both documents are pretty close to the mark. I will save and highlight any issues a little later on as I have just got back in from work

[BankFodder]

You won't file the defence until we get a response to the letter – or it becomes clear that there is no response.

The defence will be amended on the basis of what happens as a result of your letter

[ohitsonlyme]

revised info request attached

draft information request2.7.24.docx

[ohitsonlyme]

revised response to claim attached

Ihave amended both of the above and may have missed highlighting all of my amendments  sorry 

Response to claim draft 2.7.24.docx

[BankFodder]

Okay, send the letter. If you can do by email I suggest you send it off tonight.

We will deal with the defence once we know if there is any response to the letter.

I asked you to remind me when the filing date for the defence was but you haven't responded

[ohitsonlyme]

I have made the payment  to night and sent the letter afterwards by email

response deadline date has been extended to 4pm on the 23^rd of July 2024.

Edited July 2, 2024 by ohitsonlyme
update

[ohitsonlyme]

Claimant has replied the following to my request for information.

Dear .........When I completed the document for the court I was asked what evidence I have and so I informed them. I assume they will contact me for all the evidence once you submit your statement. You would then be given photos, videos from the court.

If you want to settle out of court I would still be happy to accept 50% of my bill, like I stated previously of £1200.00. If it still goes to court I shall be claiming the full amount.

 

Claimant

 

[BankFodder]

I have added a paragraph in red to the above draft defence.

Let's us have your comments.

Once we have agreed it, you will need to number the paragraphs and then file it as your defence to the claim.

Do not have access to the online account?

[ohitsonlyme]

23 hours ago, BankFodder said:

The claimant has declined to provide any evidence, quotations, photographs or other information or evidence relating to any issues which they claim to have had with the work or relating to the new work carried out in the defendant's absence

I know it says not to quote  but ...I would preceed the above with 

"On 2.7.24 the defendant requested that the claimant provided information in the manner of quotations,invoices and details of conversations held with the new builder in order to allow the defendant to understand fully the claim and to prevent wasting the courts time.

 

All else seems to be ok I need to sit on it for a day and consider it fully  and carefully

 

I still havent got online access to mcol

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2024 by ohitsonlyme
additional info as foot note