do you need a solr for the District court

capefear

Hi All.

Have a couple of clients who owe money for work done and they are just ignoring the bills. The small claims court cant help.

So my question is can I take them to the district court myself or has it all to be done by solicitor.

I reckon if they get a letter saying they are been taking to court they will pay and not allow the matter to go that far, if they still ignore it I have now probably going to court against them.

nuac

capefear wrote: »

Hi All.

Have a couple of clients who owe money for work done and they are just ignoring the bills. The small claims court cant help.

So my question is can I take them to the district court myself or has it all to be done by solicitor.

I reckon if they get a letter saying they are been taking to court they will pay and not allow the matter to go that far, if they still ignore it I have now probably going to court against them.

A small percentage may pay up on receipt of your letter.

Whether it would be worthwhile employing a solicitor depends on the total amount due to you, the size of the debts, and the difficulty or otherwise of proving the amount due

chops018

Just to open a file and send out warning letters for DC proceedings are usually around €70.00. Taking proceedings right through the DC to Judgment could be around €500.00.

Costs will only be awarded of around 100-200 (I think), and you will have to cough up the rest. So it's up to you if you think it's worth it.

capefear

Thanks guys.

I want to do it myself and not use a solr.

So can I call to say the district court clerk in say dublin city center and fill in a form to start proceedings against a client based in dublin city centre and pay a fee to get a letter sent to the client or how does it work.

If a client wont pay me they will have to pay their solr or I will get a judgement against them if possible. There is no problem with the work and they are just chancing their arm.

I used the small claims court twice in the past and once the clients received a letter they paid within days, when I tried it with the small claims court in dublin they sent a letter back saying that they don't chase debts, so that's why I want to do it myself.

Mr. Incognito

Diy litigation ends up costing you money.

Unlike most of my colleagues I love defending lay litigant cases as apart from the inevitable delays the judge has to give them they never plead correctly and they never get to enforcement stage. Affidavits are routinely struck out as they are a mess and we have to go again.

Theres a great quote about pay a solicitor you learn their cost. Go it alone you learn their worth.

If you want to diy it, you can go to courts.ie

The clerks in the courts will tell you they dont give legal advice and then will give you their tuppance worth. Sometimes its a good steer. Sometimes it isnt.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

nuac

chops018 wrote: »

Just to open a file and send out warning letters for DC proceedings are usually around €70.00. Taking proceedings right through the DC to Judgment could be around €500.00.

Costs will only be awarded of around 100-200 (I think), and you will have to cough up the rest. So it's up to you if you think it's worth it.

Those fees may be negotiable if you have a number of cases and your paperwork is in order.

However I agree with Mr Incognito and others here about the advisability of getting a solicitor.

There are long lists in all courts, and many judges will have neither the time nor patience to explain matters to the lay litigant, especially if the layman is the plaintiff rather than the defendant.

Pro Hoc Vice

chops018 wrote: »

Just to open a file and send out warning letters for DC proceedings are usually around €70.00. Taking proceedings right through the DC to Judgment could be around €500.00.

Costs will only be awarded of around 100-200 (I think), and you will have to cough up the rest. So it's up to you if you think it's worth it.

The latest rules changed the scale costs and changed the whole process of taking a claim. The new drafting is not for the faint hearted.

Costs now range from €78 to €650 depending on amount and if contested and to what point.

http://courts.ie/rules.nsf/53bd32841fc5bbf280256d2b0045bb5d/842733ebe38abd0b80257c90005cc2c1/$FILE/S.I.%20No.%2017%20of%202014%20-%20District%20Court%20(Civil%20Procedure)%20Rules%202014%20-%20schedule%20of%20costs.pdf

chops018

Pro Hoc Vice wrote: »

The latest rules changed the scale costs and changed the whole process of taking a claim. The new drafting is not for the faint hearted.

Costs now range from €78 to €650 depending on amount and if contested and to what point.

http://courts.ie/rules.nsf/53bd32841fc5bbf280256d2b0045bb5d/842733ebe38abd0b80257c90005cc2c1/$FILE/S.I.%20No.%2017%20of%202014%20-%20District%20Court%20(Civil%20Procedure)%20Rules%202014%20-%20schedule%20of%20costs.pdf

Cheers.

Was just trying to give a ballpark/general idea of costs.

Obviously we now know why legal advise isn't allowed here

Yeah I remember I was working for a Solicitor earlier in the year and when the new rules came in he chucked all the debt collection files for DC into me and just said have a go at drafting up the Claim Notices for them there :eek:
They all went through first time though and he still didn't give me an apprenticeship :rolleyes: