Going To Small Claims (if possible)

[alexandersmith1992]

Hi everyone, I wonder if anyone can help.

Long-story short, 2 and a half years ago I hired a freelancer (with a registered business) to help me build a website - a job board.

We agreed a total of £3500, and i paid £2500 upfront.

After months of the freelancer not hitting deadlines, not communicating etc, the relationship broke down and be basically refused to complete the work, saying the project scope had gone 'beyond his initial expectations'.

I tried my best to get the website finished, or get a refund of my money, but he refused, and said he would deliver what he had done so far, and it would then be on me to find another company to finish it off (unrealistic with the budget I had left).

It's been about a year since I last had any contact with him, but I have now found out I can potentially take this to the small claims court, as breach of contract - we signed a contract - and I would like to recoup the £2500 I paid, as I don't feel the product he delivered is worth that amount, and he didn't abide by the contract.

I am unsure whether it's even possible for this to be successful, and I don't know anything about law, but I thought I would post here to see if anyone had any advice.

Ideally I would like to get some legal help, but it would have to be fairly affordable to make it worth while, as the amount I'm claiming for is fairly small in comparison to solicitors fees.

I hope that makes sense,

Alex

 

[The Sheriffs Office]

There are several ways to do this, either issuing a claim yourself through https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome or using a legal advisor or solicitor (both post on here).

Clearly the wording in your contract will be key and this will help dictate whether you can make a claim and how much that should be for.

On the face of what you have put so far it would appear that the work carried out was not fit for purpose and you may be able to claim the entire £2,500 paid and potentially further costs that you had to incur to 'make good'.

The first thing you need to check is that the company is still trading. It would be prudent to also consider what assets they may have to enforce against should any judgment obtained not be paid.

 

[alexandersmith1992]

Thank you for your reply. As far as I can see the company is still trading yes, although the contract is signed from the freelancers name, and my name, as opposed to company names.

Do you have any legal advisers or solicitors you'd recommend who would be cost-effective for the case amount?

Thank you very much,

Alex

 

[The Sheriffs Office]

Both Lovetts Solicitors and Small Claims Assistance are members here and will no doubt be along shortly.

Should the matter reach judgment without payment then we can of course assist with enforcement.

 

[john1989]

@smallclaimsassistance frequents the forum and knows his stuff.

 

[alexandersmith1992]

Thank you very much everyone.

 

[Nochexman]

It sounds like it is your word against there's. And the way you describe it might imply that your original requirement / specification was not rigorous enough, which is why it did not work out. Do you really need the money? Do you want to put yourself through some pain (and the process is usually very painful for both parties) in order to have the chance of getting all or some of this money back? If not, I would write it off and put it down to experience. The future is much better place to live than the past.

 

[alexandersmith1992]

Thanks for your reply. I can understand your point of view, but I do have a lot of email correspondence from the freelancer in question stating that he would refuse to finish the project - I'm not sure if this helps or not, but I do feel he broke the contract, and will do my best to prove so.

Thanks,

Alex

 

[smallclaimsassistance]

We've now spoken and thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Big G]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about this current position.

Contrary to what another poster said above, it does not sound like it is your word against theirs as you say you have a signed contract.

You also mention you have lots of emails and correspondence. Has he/she constantly disputed this matter from the outset or have they ever made a suggestion that you are correct and they will try to resolve it or finalise the project?

If they have breached the contract and you can prove it then you should definitely follow it up.

Maybe start with a formal letter before action informing him/her that your next step is to issue legal proceedings and claim all late payment compensation and interest as well as the balance owed.

I am assuming that you also have proof of payment i.e. bank transfer, cheque and that this was not paid cash that they can deny??

If you require any recovery assistance please do not hesitate to look us up or send a private message!

 

[alexandersmith1992]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about this current position.

Contrary to what another poster said above, it does not sound like it is your word against theirs as you say you have a signed contract.

You also mention you have lots of emails and correspondence. Has he/she constantly disputed this matter from the outset or have they ever made a suggestion that you are correct and they will try to resolve it or finalise the project?

If they have breached the contract and you can prove it then you should definitely follow it up.

Maybe start with a formal letter before action informing him/her that your next step is to issue legal proceedings and claim all late payment compensation and interest as well as the balance owed.

I am assuming that you also have proof of payment i.e. bank transfer, cheque and that this was not paid cash that they can deny??

If you require any recovery assistance please do not hesitate to look us up or send a private message!

Thanks.

It's more like a gradual process. First there were small problems that he would 'try and sort out', next it would escalate to giving me an ultimatum, then finally when I say I don't agree to this suggestion, it is just deadlock.

In terms of proof of purchase, I have just logged into my online banking and can see the payment history in there, so i would assume that would be worthy enough.

Thanks,

Alex

 

[CW Legal Services]

If you have a contract then perhaps you could look at the small claims court as a plaintiff in person, but the matter will come down to what was agreed and what was delivered. The fact that you have left it 2.5 years might signify that perhaps your perception is not correct and a robust defence may leave you out of pocket.