English Small claims /Court experts ??? Advice needed ??

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treacle86

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I have a small claims action underway in an english county court, Colchester.


I am the claimant / pursuer , and have filed all relevant forms and notices within deadlines set ect .

However the defender had to submit their defence before 21st September , yet they did not do so until 26 September now by my reckoning that is 5days late , so surely I must be granted decree by default due to their lack of defence filed before the appropriate time ????!!!

but for some reason when i contacted the court they told me it was ok , the defender gets a few extra days leeway !!!????

Does anyone know if this is correct ??? why have a bloody deadline then ?!?!!!


I know here in scotland , our deadlines are our deadlines !!!
grrrrrr , any help appreciated .


thanks xxxxxxx
 
I had a small claims action that I did a few years ago and yes they are normally quite flexible especially at the moment with the postal strikes that are going on, is it a horse related claim as mine was andthe judge I dealt with was brilliant mine was dealt with at Colchester.
 
What you should have done on the day the deadline expired is apply for judgment in default. The courts don't generally have the time to enter judgment in default quickly off their own back. If the defendant gets his defence in before they have entered judgment they will generally allow it to stand (although not always the courts are a bit variable).

However even if a judgment in default had been entered the defendant could have applied to have it set aside and normally an application succeeds as the defendant will argue that they would be prejudiced if it didn't.

So although it is frustrating, you haven't really lost anything. They case will just proceed as normal.
 
Thanks guys , yes It is a horsey case .

I did enter my judgement straight away !! but they said as you say katt that they give defender a bit of leeway so they dont have to apply to set aisde the order etc !!

well i wouldnt mind if it was alright and we just proceeded and i get my chance to get my case accross at a court hearing but recently the colchester court lost some of my claim evidence bundle !!! and then they had the cheek to tell me I had missed MY deadline with my claim evidence bundle ????!!!!

so they told me they would strike my claim out ???!!! so i wont be getting a hearing !!!!

so needless to say i wasnt happy !!!!grrrr

i painstakingly explained to them that they hd received it months ago and that they have lost it , so they have realised the problem was their fault so hopefully it is all back on track now .
xxxx
 
when i took a client to court they didnt send me their documents on time, or to the courts! but hearing went ahead, tho i did point out that the documents were late. (fell on deaf ears!) but i did win, ie the judge judged in my favour, as it was a contractual issue. keep going, and good luck! preparation and documentation will decide the case. good luck! a lot of stress but more often than not it is a principle thing. good luck!
 
Thanks very much , i hope to get to hearing stage , If i do i should like to think it would go in my favour as I have extensive paperwork evidence .

thanks , i will keep u posted . xx
 
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