Small Claims Court - Sheriff

dotnetster

Hi all,

My girlfriend went through the Small Claims Court process, and won her case. However, the respondent never paid the fine. We decided to use the services of the Sheriff to see if he could reclaim the fine.

After a couple of months, we got a letter in the post. His response was: "I tried that address and got no reply". It doesn't sound like he tried very hard!

What are the next steps? How can the money be reclaimed?

Thanks,

Ross

Bepolite

A minor point but she would have been awarded damages, the defendant was not 'fined'.

Is it a business address that you are trying to enforce against?

dotnetster

Hi Bepolite,

No, it's a home address.

Thanks

Bepolite

dotnetster wrote: »

Hi Bepolite,

No, it's a home address.

Thanks

Even if the sheriff gets an answer its unlikely he'll be able to get anything for you I'm afraid. I take it this was some sort of private sale?

Bepolite

If I might hijack your thread a bit - what enforcement options are available in the District Court if one where so bloody minded that cost was not a factor? Could the OP, hypothetically, obtain a lien or judgement mortgage or any sort?

dotnetster

Then what is the point of the Sheriff? Why would he just give up after one call? What happens when the defendant doesn't pay up?

GerardKeating

dotnetster wrote: »

Then what is the point of the Sheriff? Why would he just give up after one call? What happens when the defendant doesn't pay up?

Sheriff works on commission I think, I imagine they try harder for larger amounts.

NipNip

dotnetster wrote: »

Then what is the point of the Sheriff? Why would he just give up after one call? What happens when the defendant doesn't pay up?

Lol, prison. My ass. It has to be the most pointless waste of time of a court.

NipNip

It might have served a function when 99% of people had the capacity to repay and a blemish on their financial record meant something? It means nothing now. People have no credit ability anymore, so an extra nail in the coffin is as useless as it is superflous

Bepolite

dotnetster wrote: »

Then what is the point of the Sheriff? Why would he just give up after one call? What happens when the defendant doesn't pay up?

Business addresses they are very successful at. Private address are always going to be more problematic. You need to know nothing more than a bit of Irish history to understand why.

OP is there an alternative, business address?

Bepolite

NipNip wrote: »

Lol, prison. My ass. It has to be the most pointless waste of time of a court.

Sorry maybe you're responding to something that got editied - but I don't see someone resolving their dispute in a court as a waste of time. What would you suggest?

NipNip

Bepolite wrote: »

Business addresses they are very successful at. Private address are always going to be more problematic. You need to know nothing more than a bit of Irish history to understand why.

OP is there an alternative, business address?

Most businesses have no actual assets in their name anymore! Unless they are affluent larger businesses, in which case the sheriff is not a concern

dotnetster

Hi Bepolite,

Yep, we have contact phone number and also a business address for her.

NipNip

Bepolite wrote: »

Sorry maybe you're responding to something that got editied - but I don't see someone resolving their dispute in a court as a waste of time. What would you suggest?

It is impossible to seize assets which are no longer there. A blemish on their credit record means nothing anymore as they are already on that black list. Every company nowadays is in Stubbs.

Bepolite

NipNip wrote: »

Most businesses have no actual assets in their name anymore! Unless they are affluent larger businesses, in which case the sheriff is not a concern

He can gain access to the building and remove items of value. We're not talking about large amounts of money through the small claims procedure. One particular scenario springs to mind where someone was trying to claim off one of these dodgy colleges. The registered address was a residential address, we redirected the sheriff to the 'college'. Once he was there at reception explaining he was going to take the stuff out of reception, money suddenly became available.

Bepolite

dotnetster wrote: »

Hi Bepolite,

Yep, we have contact phone number and also a business address for her.

I can't give specific advice but I do like sharing anecdotes...

NipNip

Bepolite wrote: »

He can gain access to the building and remove items of value. We're not talking about large amounts of money through the small claims procedure. One particular scenario springs to mind where someone was trying to claim off one of these dodgy colleges. The registered address was a residential address, we redirected the sheriff to the 'college'. Once he was there at reception explaining he was going to take the stuff out of reception, money suddenly became available.

That is assuming the business is fluid

dotnetster

Thanks Bepolite,

Having been through the small claims court process, it does seem like a waste of time. The process has taken almost a year to get to this point, and then the result is "Sorry, nobody at this address"!

Bepolite

dotnetster wrote: »

Thanks Bepolite,

Having been through the small claims court process, it does seem like a waste of time. The process has taken almost a year to get to this point, and then the result is "Sorry, nobody at this address"!

I've found it to be quite the opposite in many cases, I'm sorry its not worked out for you so well.

Fred Swanson

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Bepolite

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

I've personal experiance of them attempting other addresses. Perhaps this was because they were the same business?

dotnetster

Hi Fred,

Who said many many times that the Sheriff is a waste of time? Any facts to back this up?

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.