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Legal, pensions and money

no win no fee help please.

(9 Posts)
mrhappy Sun 13-Mar-16 14:58:49

i am currently going through a no win no fee claim.
short story is i had a slip at home after my landlord neglected a leak we reported straight away for 7 weeks.
it ruined our whole hallway, but the worse bit was slipping and doing damage to my left shoulder.
i have tourettes syndrome and take a lot of medication making me drowsy and un steady on my feet at night especially.
i woke up for the loo about 3 am and slipped on water on the floor.
me and my partner had to empty 2 recyclying boxes of water, plus pans of water on a daily basis.
we also had no electrics in the hallway as the leak was so bad they had to be cut off.
anyway the defendant admitted full liability at the start of the claim and i was told that a settlement would be made by the 3d of march 2016.
that has not happened and the defendant has chose to completely ignore all contact from my solicitor.
i recently spoke with my solicitor and she said that the defendant now has until the end of march to file their defence to the court.
my question is what happens now ?
what if they continue to ignore ?
is this normal for the third party to admit liability and then go quiet?

thanks for any replies

Wendysue Mon 14-Mar-16 01:35:23

So sorry to hear about your fall, mrhappy, and the injury to your shoulder. I trust you've had medical attention and hope you're feeling better now.

The situation you're describing, where the defendant admits guilt and then goes silent, sounds very unusual to me. But I'm no legal expert. Court cases often drag out a long time, but this still seems strange. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this.

However, the postponing of the court date could be due to a change in the judge's schedule or something and have nothing to do with the defendant. He may be waiting for the case to move forward too.

Did you ask your solicitor why the delay? What did they say? If you didn't ask, maybe you should.

Best of luck!

iaincam Mon 14-Mar-16 09:56:58

If the defendant files a defence the court will set a hearing date. If they don't judgment will probably be made in your favour, then the quantum of damages will be decided. Then the problem will be trying to get the money! If the landlord was that bad my guess is they won't have been insured either?

M0nica Mon 14-Mar-16 11:35:48

Go and discuss this with the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). Their address will be available in the telephone directory or at your local library. The CAB provides free advice for all sorts of problems including legal matters.

mrhappy Mon 14-Mar-16 21:30:50

ok ill give the cab a call tomorrow.
i spoke with my solicitor and she said that despite numerous attempts to contact the defendant they are still choosing to ignore.
so basically from what you guys are saying, if they choose to ignore and make no effort to defend themselves then it would be down to the courts to decide an amount and it could be more ?.
thanks for the help guys and girls.

Coolgran65 Mon 14-Mar-16 22:33:08

Is your solicitor dealng with the Defendant directly, or with a solicitor and/or insurance company on behalf of the Defendant.

Once the claim was under way the insurance company should be in the loop. If not, I'd not be very confident.

If the Defendant is dealing with this directly (although now gone quiet) all the Court Orders in the world won't help if he has no money or ignores. If you get a Court Order and he ignores then the next step may be to try to enforce the Order. This may involve outlay - charges made on his property etc.

CAB will certainly be able to tell you the possible options.

M0nica Tue 15-Mar-16 07:35:59

How did you find the home you are renting? If it was through an estate agent they should have checked the landlord and the flat out before letting it. That would mean checking that all legal requirements are met. If the owner does not respond you could look to the estate agent for recompense.

If it was a private renting through an advert somewhere and no estate agent was involved. You might like to check that your landlord had met all the legal requirements for letting a flat/house. From the sound of it (electrics turned off because of a water leak) He has not had the legally required annual electrical and gas safety checks done. If he had had them done, he would have had to sort the water leak problem out because it makes the electrical system unsafe.

Speak to either the Housing office or Trading Standards department at your local council. Make sure you discuss this aspect of your housing with the CAB.

mrhappy Sat 19-Mar-16 21:29:40

hi all just thought i would give you an update, the defendant has finally communicated and offered £3000 pound to settle the claim.
i have chose to reject this offer.
if they had until the end of march to file their defence for court, does that mean that now the first offer has come in they should put another offer in to stop it going to court?.
thanks for all your help. this is very confusing to me.

M0nica Sat 19-Mar-16 22:32:37

I can offer no help on the legal side of your case but I do hope you are also talking to the CAB or your local housing officer because it is clear, quite apart from you compensation claim, that your home does not meet the legal requirement for letting and your landlord should and probably would be prosecuted and you should be provided with alternative accommodation.