Anyone have any knowledge of small claims court?

[captainbluebear]

Hi there. Please bear with me, I'll keep this as brief as possible.

I left my ex due to DV some 2 years ago. I left in a vehicle that was bought for me and in my name. My ex is trying to say that I stole the van and that he wants renumeration for it. The van was bought for £600 and sold by me for £600 as I could not afford to run it and needed something smaller to transport my son and myself around in (I was also fed up with the daily threats about my ex wanting 'his' van back). It subsequently went for much more than that on eBay.

My ex started the small claims track just before Christmas and we are now at a point where the presiding judge has asked for evidence and set a court date. He did suggest mediation but we cannot as there has been police involvement to stop my ex harassing me - he has been issued with a verbal notification of harassment. Not that there is anything to mediate. The van was mine, I left him with a vintage Land Rover and a motorbike. My ex is asking for £4000 including 86p a day interest since I left. I have all of the relevant documentation which I have already sent to court BUT....

.... there are other things that I feel I should tell/remind the judge about and I am not sure whether to do so or not. I have no money to pay for a solicitor as the only Legal Aid funding I do have only covers sorting out our joint assets which my ex is also being horrible about and nothing else. He has tried to bully me into taking a substantially smaller offer (by 10's of thousands) for my share of the house by saying that he would not take me to small claims for the vehicle if I accepted it.

He has been told of by the same Judge who is looking at this claim for not returning my son to me after he took him and went for an ex parte residency order, which he was not granted. My ex had told the judge when he went for ex parte that he would be keeping my son and was told to return him as scheduled. My ex did not do this.

All of this just proves what he is like. I have already written in my first statement that my ex is continuing to bully me any way that he can, and that taking me to small claims is just another example of it.

The Judge that is handling this small claims case is the same judge who resided over the case about my son and made it quite clear that he felt everything should be done to make sure my boy's best interests were at heart. How can my ex taking me to court for money I do not have, be in my boy's best interests? We barely have enough to live on as it is.

I feel utterly sick to the pit of my stomach about my ex having yet another (and very needless) day in court again!

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Blue Bear

the court/sitting magistrate at this moment does not know legally that you do not have any money, also as court papers have been filed/ lodged the correct legal procedure must now be followed he wants his day in court(your x) so he seems to be getting it,you may wish to contact the court official(s) who will give you advice re speaking for yourself. Small claims courts are not as intimidating as senior courts and magistrates are not stupid, just because your x has brought a case against you does not mean he will win it

BlueBear, all the judge needs to see is your defence to the claim, which is that the title to the van is in your name. You don't need a lawyer to present this for you - it will speak for itself - and it sounds like you have sent this off already.

Separately you could complain to the police who are now able to treat unnecessary court cases as harassment. Try to get a pro bono solicitor from a law centre interested if you can - but you can do this on your own, too.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. My ex has had a verbal Notification of Harassment from the local Police DV Officer in charge. Do you think I should mention this in court or in the resubmitting of my evidence? I mentioned leaving my ex due to DV when I submitted my first lot of evidence and also that I thought taking me to small claims was just another way of him trying to get at me.
I don't really understand why it has gotten this far when the Judge could have decided to throw it out before it came to court. Is it being booked in for a 90 minute hearing standard practice?

if i am understanding your post, this case is based on the ownership of a vehicle initially , and sale , and your x claims it is/was his and wants the sale money?the magistrate primary interest legally will be who legally owned the vehicle, once that is clear a decision will be made. magistrates are not stupid , they see these cases all the time, if he decides your x has filed a vexious claim it will be dismissed, have you tried to speak with a solicitor via C.A.B.? name on log book is not proof of ownership. sometimes a case has to be "convened" before it can be dismissed(the law must be seen to be done)think?on what basis can your x prove legally !! that he owned said vehicle >that is what he must do.

I'm sure he will come up with a 'hooky' receipt as he has already mentioned this in a previous e-mail accusing me of theft. There was NEVER a receipt as the vehicle was bought for cash out of joint finances from a friend (was once my friend too) of my ex.
I have no real proof except 10 years together, a log book in my name, the insurance in my name and the fact that he had a vehicle (plus motorbike) in his name.We had work done on the vehicle and all that was also paid in cash, so nothing there.
Ex is also trying to say that the vehicle was unroadworthy and that I was putting the safety of our child at risk. This is also rubbish as I was running around in it for 4-6 weeks before I left him. He made me sell the small car I was running around in so that I could get the van on the road. It was booked in with a friend of his for some tweaks but nothing major.
I'm waiting on CAB to call me back with an appointment, I am in a 'work queue apparently'.
Anything he comes up with will be lies. Unfortunately he has bare faced lied to the Judge in court when asked a direct question by him, and gotten away with it. I had proof of some of his lies once and no one was interested.
I don't know what to do about someone who lies?!?!?!?!

you can apply to the court (quickly ,tomorrow)to have this hearing put back to give yourself more time to prepare(14 days from notification of hearing)he wants money from you re vehicle,he must prove in a court he had a financial interest in said vehicle,this guy seems to be trying to crush you , via his conduct , you must ask for said posponement , and phone , i.e. woman"s org"s re shit blokes , solicitors who do pro-bono work , get back onto c.a.b. google "small claims court in England," it"s legal ,you need a brief on your side,if not poss . you must self prepare with a calm mind , if vehicle was unroadworthy , it was then a "scrapper" value ?£50, child at risk, not this court"s problem , but,why did he not seek police action to stop said risk? (he was complicite?)see how it looks from a " nuetral " point of view? different" !!!!soz re my spelling

Thank all for your advice. I have found someone who can help with my evidence and hopefully all will be well. I will probably end up representing myself but at least I will go armed with all of the facts. Thanks again x