Small Claims Court - just received notification from a previous customer

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Flahwoods2016

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Hi all, Just trying to establish the mechanics of the SCC as I have just received a notification from a customer. Long story short, I am a carpenter and customer had requested money back as she ended up getting a different carpenter (after I did work in her house) who found "faults" in my work.
We had sent long lengthy emails back and forth and I thought that was the end of the matter until 3 months later the notification for the SCC arrives on my door today.

What happens when I refuse to pay the money back that she is requesting, the case goes to the District Court? Considering that the courts generally rule in favour of the consumer, I am trying to guage what is the maximum that the judge can award, is it the costs that the consumer has stated in the notification form? Or can they also award legal costs?
 
Flahwoods2016 said:
Or can they also award legal costs?
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Your claim goes to court​

If the small claims registrar is not able to settle the claim between both sides, the case will be listed for court. It will be heard before a judge in the District Civil Court. Both sides will receive a Notice of Hearing in the post which includes the date, time and where the case will be heard. Under Irish law a business is required to be legally represented if their case goes to court. The judge cannot award costs or witness expenses in a small claims case.
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Flahwoods2016 said:
Considering that the courts generally rule in favour of the consumer,
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Where on earth did you get that from?

This is a dispute between two people. The judge will assess who has the better case. She presumably will have to prove her case and you will have to defend it.

If you have a good defence, you have nothing to worry about.

How much is she claiming? How would an independent person assess her clam - Totally justified, totally without merit - has some merit?

You will not be liable for her costs, so you should be very happy to defend it.
 
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Under Irish law a business is required to be legally represented if their case goes to court. The judge cannot award costs or witness expenses in a small claims case.
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Is this correct?

I know that a limited company must be represented by a solicitor.

But does an individual trading in their own name need to be represented by a solicitor?

Are you a limited company or a sole trader?

As the maximum she can be awarded is €2,000, then you should defend it yourself. You could easily run up €2,000 in legal fees defending the claim.
 
Yes she paid 850e and is looking for this back mainly as she got another plumber to do work after me and apparently this plumber condemned my work.

I Fully intend to defend the claim but just need to understand whats the costs I could be liable for in the worst case scenario.

Im a self employed plumber so would I need a Solicitor if it goes to court?
 
One my previous customers brought a small claim against me some years ago. He had a solicitor representing him and I didn't. Not only did my previous customer lose the case but he had to pay for the legal representation. My advice, if you carried out an "acceptable" job is to turn up in the court and have what you intend saying said honestly and clearly and to the point.
 
Flahwoods2016 said:
she got another plumber to do work after me and apparently this plumber condemned my work.
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In your initial post, you said you are a carpenter and another carpenter criticised your work. Maybe you mistakenly described something? The reason I ask is that if you are a carpenter and a plumber criticised your work, or vice versa, that would be interesting.
 
You can get free advice on legal matters from Citizens Information.
You can call in or make an appointment to see someone at your local branch.
 
Small Claim Court is a very casual process and benefits all parties.

Due to the low cost of taking a case, too many people take their chances and hope to "win" a payout. I had one person take a case against me for a product she didn't even purchase from me. - Seems she went onto google and looked for the first name that came up. She wrote a 8 page diatribe on the issue and within her spiel, she actually accepted she used the item incorrectly - which was the primary cause of her claim!! I pointed out both that she had not purchased from us and where she shows she did not follow very simple usage instructions and was informed the case was withdrawn.

Over the 30+ years in retail, I've had 3 cases brought against me and all found in my favour. The pettiness of some claimants is quite unbelievable.

Thankfully the registrars at the small claims court office "triage" issues and also see where a settlement can be made. Only if there is not a settlement would it go for determination by a district court judge.

The maximum you are at risk of the the amount she paid to you - even IF her claim is successful, she would likely only get a small portion of what she paid you. You are not reponsible for any legal costs except if you engage a solicitor (not required)

If you are happy to stand over your work and you fell you charge her a fair price, then I'd defend it strongly and keep the response factual. For her eto "prove" her case, she may need to get reports from the plumber and another carpenter - not easy.
 
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patfert1 said:
In your initial post, you said you are a carpenter and another carpenter criticised your work. Maybe you mistakenly described something? The reason I ask is that if you are a carpenter and a plumber criticised your work, or vice versa, that would be interesting.
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Apologies, yes I contradicted myself here...I am a carpenter and a plumber critised my work, I think I am getting flustered by all this SCC saga.

JoeRoberts said:
our main issue is your ongoing reputation
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yes that is it....do you know if it does go to court, if it is published anywhere? I do think I have enough grounds to state my case as I really think she is just one of these disgruntled customers. I even have all the lengthy emails we sent back and forth documenting her concerns and my responses so i do think all these stack up as evidence
 
If a Sole trader you dont need a Solicitor, if a Ltd company you do...you will have to demonstrate you acted approriately and did work of reasonable standard

I was in the Small Claims Court once 12 Cases,,,the Consumer won 11, the 12th against Ryanair and travel during Covid restrictions which they won. The Judge said should have has Insurance tough.

Costs can only be awarded against you if its appealed to Circuit Court
 
Flahwoods2016 said:
yes that is it....do you know if it does go to court, if it is published anywhere?
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Your case will be heard in the district court.
It is held in public. Anybody can attend a district court hearing.
All the usual cases will be heard first. These can be various types. Any Garda incidents like assaults, traffic offences, disorderly behaviour etc are dealt with. Then there is usually applications for licensing hours extensions or public events.

When these are all heard the judge will then deal with any small claims. It is likely that there will be a few of these.

If there is no high profile case on the day. Like a murder suspect being brought in. It is unlikely that there will be any media reporters present. Even if there are, your case is highly unlikely to be of any interest to them.

The cases are available to the general public. You have to request details from the court. They don't seem to be available online.

I was attending a small claims case taken by a family member.
I did internet searches for this case a few months later and no results came up.

You should sit in on a few district court cases. The small claims are usually held on a certain weekday. If you check out the day for the court your case will be held at, you could attend that morning.

This will allow you to see how it works. Apart from this it is usually interesting hearing the cases. In a morning session you could hear dozens of cases. Some of these involve Gardai and bail and prison decisions. It's like a Judge Judy session only much more interesting.

On the few occasions I was in the public gallery there was always a few good cases. It's eye opening to see the Judge berating Gardai for various slip ups and seeing how some people get off.
 
S class said:
applications
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S class said:
Your case will be heard in the district court.
It is held in public. Anybody can attend a district court hearing.
All the usual cases will be heard first. These can be various types. Any Garda incidents like assaults, traffic offences, disorderly behaviour etc are dealt with. Then there is usually applications for licensing hours extensions or public events.

When these are all heard the judge will then deal with any small claims. It is likely that there will be a few of these.

If there is no high profile case on the day. Like a murder suspect being brought in. It is unlikely that there will be any media reporters present. Even if there are, your case is highly unlikely to be of any interest to them.

The cases are available to the general public. You have to request details from the court. They don't seem to be available online.

I was attending a small claims case taken by a family member.
I did internet searches for this case a few months later and no results came up.

You should sit in on a few district court cases. The small claims are usually held on a certain weekday. If you check out the day for the court your case will be held at, you could attend that morning.

This will allow you to see how it works. Apart from this it is usually interesting hearing the cases. In a morning session you could hear dozens of cases. Some of these involve Gardai and bail and prison decisions. It's like a Judge Judy session only much more interesting.

On the few occasions I was in the public gallery there was always a few good cases. It's eye opening to see the Judge berating Gardai for various slip ups and seeing how some people get off.
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Thanks for the info on this....perhaps it isnt as daunting as I thought it was so. I do have reasonable backup etc so hopefully maybe things will settle with the arbitrator initially before going to the district court
 
If the plumber is such a carpentry expert, maybe they should change trades.

I'd be asking what experience does the plumber have that would allow him give a professional opinion on carpentry work and that you stand over the manner in which you completed the work.
 
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