Errors in a MCOL application

[Mark R]

Hi all,

I wonder if you could offer some advice. I've made an MCOL application against a customer who owes me money for a job I carried out. I have just realised after they contested the case that I have made two (stupid) errors. The amount of money owed has been stated incorrectly (I've put down £100 when it was £110). I also stated that I didn't invoice for a year after the job when it appears I actually did invoice the following day after work was carried out! Will such silly mistakes jeopardise my case or can I just correct these when I send my evidence? I realise that I should have been more 'on the ball' when I sent in the application.

I have one other case where the defendant has finally paid the invoice he owes, he hasn't however paid the court fee or interest accrued. This leaves a shortfall of £200. I'm assuming that I can proceed with the action and that him paying the original invoice doesn't mean he can get away with not paying the other costs?

I appreciate your comments,

Mark

 

[Lovetts Solicitors]

Assuming it's been more than a day or so since you submitted the case on MCOL (they don't actually issue MCOL claims until the following morning, so if you sent the claim today you may be able to ring them up and get them to cancel it) then strictly speaking you'd need to file an N244 application to amend the particulars of claim.

However if you're prepared to accept the smaller amount then in reality it's unlikely to make a huge difference, and the cost of filing an N244 would mean this is probably a non-starter anyway.

With your other case, did the defendant pay before or after issuing the claim? If the latter, then when you apply for judgment you'll have an opportunity to say how much has been paid and judgment will be for the remaining balance (which can be costs and interest only).

If you haven't issued a claim yet then yes, you can issue a claim for costs and interest only, provided you are entitled to these under your contract or under the Late Payment Act. We've done a number of these in the past where a debt has been paid but the debtor didn't pay the costs/interest/compensation.