This is a bit long. Really sorry. But I'm seething...and a little bit worried, too:
Four weeks ago when I was home with the kids I was served with a summons for non-payment of an invoice for 2k.
I first received this invoice a year ago but it was from a surveyor I'd taken on two years before THAT, in 2007, when my ex and I were going to convert our house. We got divorced before the work got under way but not before the architect, quantity surveyor (QS) and a few others had attended meetings and done some initial drawings/costings. I told the architect in 2008 the job was not going ahead due to withdrawal of funds and she duly informed everyone involved the job was closed (I have a copy of the email) and they should invoice any costs incurred so far. They did, we paid, and that was that - or so I thought. So that was 2008.
I went through a difficult and complicated divorce and financial settlement, and it took until the end of 2009 that my ex and I (and our money) went our separate ways. It was only last summer that I suddenly and out of the blue got an invoice from this QS, in my name only, for what they claim was 2k of work. I totally accept we had agreed to work with them, for a fee that was a fixed percentage of the total budget, but - this is the thing - had nowhere signed a contract saying what percentage or amount each stage of the work would be. The surveyor had only done costings, and according to other estimates we got at the time this should have been at least £500 less.
When I first got this invoice I wrote and asked how they had got to that figure, and why it had taken them so long, when they had been asked to invoice two years ago before my now-ex and I got into our settlement discussion (argument, in fact).
They sent back the docs they had prepared with no other explanation. I referred back to the contract and said there was nothing in there that specified the amount that they should charge for this, and we had nowhere authorised this amount of money. Also that the job had been commissioned by both myself and husband, so why was the invoice now only in my name.
I got no answer at all. Not even an acknowledgement of the email (I have the sent one on record). Then, some time later, during the acrimony with my ex, I ended up changing my email address. The QS claimed at some point they emailed the old address demanding payment within 7 days, but I swear I never saw it. They did not check I got the email, or send any hard copy or anything in the post when they didn't hear back from me. So I heard nothing, after my last email querying the amount to them, until I was served with the summons last month.
I wrote them an email from my new email address asking what was going on: that they still owed me an explanation, and had not engaged in a fair exchange of letters nor given me any warning of the summons. I got an out of office reply. I chased this up with phone calls and eventually got to speak to someone, who simply said the work had been done and the money must be paid. They didn't care that I thought it was too much, billed too late, and should have been shared with my ex.
This is what they call a small claims dispute. But I really feel this is bullying: I feel the invoice is far too high, my questions asking them to justify it were simply ignored, and even if legally it's permissable to invoice (up to - what is it? Three? Five? years) after the work is done, it also feels very unfair that they sent this invoice so long after it should have been billed, especially in such difficult circumstances. Looks as though they had the auditors in and scratched around to see where they could rake in some extra money. And also that my ex has not been named on the invoice. And - DAMMIT - that this nasty sherriff came and served me with this aggressive summons in front of my kids when we were putting up the new ping-pong table I got them for the holidays. I know the law doesn't care about such things, but there are EU human rights laws covering respect for the privacy of family life, and whether it's legal or not that sort of behaviour upsets the kids and feels abusive.
I'm a schoolteacher. I've never missed or avoided a payment or been in debt before. I have filled in the court docs to say I'm defending non-payment (though, late as the invoice is, actually I am prepared to pay my 50% of the amount I feel would be fair). Will my credit rating be destroyed, and, basically, will they sue my ass?!
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Help! Bullies taking me to court next week for non-payment of invoice - do I have a case?
9 replies
tsunami · 17/08/2011 22:01
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