Page 3 | I fostered an elderly rescue dog and the rescue have sent me a £3k county court form?

Standrewsschool · 30/09/2021 22:19

Is it a small claims court ?If so, to have a valid claim, they will have had to send you a request for the money prior to the small claims. If you’ve had no previous communication regarding this money, they shouldn’t have a case.

Honeyroar · 30/09/2021 22:26

I’ve nothing useful to add other than how sorry I am that they’re doing this to you after you cared so well for that dog.

mrsbyers · 30/09/2021 22:32

If your chat was on messenger it should be able to be recovered

Lougle · 01/10/2021 07:25

findavet.rcvs.org.uk/find-a-vet-nurse/

You can put her name in there.

CandyLeBonBon · 01/10/2021 07:36

I remember your thread op! This has no chance of winning unless you don't respond to the claim.

ItsNotMeAnymore · 01/10/2021 09:04

.

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 01/10/2021 13:37

@mrsbyers

If your chat was on messenger it should be able to be recovered

@mrsbyers I love you!!! I now have the group messages back, invaluable, amazing - thank you so much

OP posts:

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 01/10/2021 13:39

@Lougle

findavet.rcvs.org.uk/find-a-vet-nurse/

You can put her name in there.

Thank you, really helpful. I've found her plus retrieved all of the messages.

Part of me just wants to prove I followed their advice and vets advice and drop it, draw a line and move on. A small part of me wants to fight mine and my old boys corner for moral Justice.

OP posts:

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 01/10/2021 13:40

@CandyLeBonBon

I remember your thread op! This has no chance of winning unless you don't respond to the claim.

I've responded already, just putting the 2nd part together now.

Thank you all so much

OP posts:

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 01/10/2021 20:46

It's heartbreaking having to go through all these messages right from the start

One point that I have picked up on and I'm hoping someone here can advise.

In the 3 months of our boy being with us, I had asked what I should sayif the vet scanned him ie, what about the chip as I wouldn't be the registered owner.

Their answer was “we transferred the chip immediately to a friends rescue, we are registering as a charity but it takes a month”

I’m questioning how they are claiming for loss of property?

Ddog was found with his deceased owner, council were called and he was put in the pound on the PTS register if no one claimed him within xxx days.
This rescue said they would take him, I was messaged on the same day and Ddog was delivered to my door in under less than 48hrs.

OP posts:

Hellocatshome · 01/10/2021 21:02

To be honest you don't have to question how they are claiming for loss of property, the judge will question that and if they dont have a satisfactory answer then they won't receive that part of their claim. IF they can prove the dog was their property (which it doesn't sound like they can) they will then have to claim the dog was worth what they are claiming for which it doesn't sound like he was (I know that sounds harsh but thats how the judge will look at it) Also if they manage to prove ownership they would then have to reimburse you for food, board and vet fees. I honestly think if you defend the claim or defend and counterclaim they will go away, I think filing the claim was designed to scare you in to paying what they asked for.

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 01/10/2021 21:30

@Hellocatshome

To be honest you don't have to question how they are claiming for loss of property, the judge will question that and if they dont have a satisfactory answer then they won't receive that part of their claim. IF they can prove the dog was their property (which it doesn't sound like they can) they will then have to claim the dog was worth what they are claiming for which it doesn't sound like he was (I know that sounds harsh but thats how the judge will look at it) Also if they manage to prove ownership they would then have to reimburse you for food, board and vet fees. I honestly think if you defend the claim or defend and counterclaim they will go away, I think filing the claim was designed to scare you in to paying what they asked for.

Oh, I feel like I need to provide evidence and prove to the judge that myself, and my Family only ever acted in Ddogs best interest at all times.

You can tell I haven't done this before can't you?

OP posts:

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 02/10/2021 19:48

Can anyone tell me what “legal representative’s costs” (£80) means in the total amount on the claim form please?

OP posts:

HalzTangz · 02/10/2021 19:55

@LostforWords2021

On the 8th April 2020 a friend sent me a message asking if I had room to take in an elderly dog who's owner had died. He was poorly, overweight and due to be pts if a foster place couldn't be found.

I hadnt heard of the rescue before, a FB msg group was set up for us all to talk about the process. The rescue knew nothing about the dog, hadn't met him but did send a driver to collect him and drive him to us during the first lock down.

Apart from messenger I had no other contact for the rescue. I spent over £1200 on vet bills, food and comfort toys inc orthopaedic beds and natural remedies. I did sign a foster agreement.

It was agreed I would adopt him but I didn't receive a contact. Unfortunately the poor boy took a turn for the worst and the vet advised pts, which we did in Aug. During April and August they had a vet nurse on the group chat advising against the vets treatment, urging us to complain and sending us treatment cards via msg of what she would be doing at her surgery, it was very stressful.

I received a solicitor letter which I responded to - apparently, I wasn't authorised to get treatment or make decisions even though we agreed I had adopted him 1 month prior to becoming so poorly and kept them all up to date with what was happening.

Today I've received a county court money claim form and I don't know what to do next, I've attached a picture of the claim for a dog the rescue never met, never assessed or paid for anything towards his day to day care for the 5 months I paid for everything because I wanted to.

I do have some screen shots of conversations but the have deleted the main group chat and the vet is refusing an information request due to being to involved - we disagree with some of the comments made as we weren't made aware of what treatment they carried out due to lock down and not being able to be present with our dog.

Was the rescue forever friends by any chance?

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 02/10/2021 20:24

No it’s not.

They aren’t a registered charity, well they weren’t when they dropped a poundy at our door back in lockdown without ever meeting us or him or didn’t even know his name

I can’t believe I fell for it, I should have at least google searched them. Then again, we wouldn’t have met our boy, would we.

OP posts:

prh47bridge · 02/10/2021 23:48

@LostforWords2021

Can anyone tell me what “legal representative’s costs” (£80) means in the total amount on the claim form please?

That is the maximum amount they are allowed to claim for the costs of a solicitor issuing the claim. You might be ordered to pay this in the unlikely event the case goes to court and you lose.

RubaiyatOfAnyone · 03/10/2021 05:39

As pp, they need to prove that they have lost that money, ie that the dog was theirs, that it was worth that money, and that your actions have led to that loss. All three of those are pretty easily disprovable from your story. Gather your receipts (or bank statements) and associated documents (emails, screenshots, rtc), and write down a chronology of what happened when so you are confident of your facts and timeline - this last bit will help you to feel more reassured and in control if nothing else. Write back with a calm factual letter disputing each of these “facts” and let them know that you intend to counter-claim for the costs involved in “fostering” at their request prior to your adoption. If they pursue the matter, then seek legal representation before proceeding, but don’t lose sleep over such a baseless claim.

Vanessashanessajenkins2 · 03/10/2021 14:47

The costs they have listed are the costs of their legal representatives (if they have any). It's really so they can claim their costs back from you if they lose. Usually thats the legal reps cost and the court fees they claim back so keep an eye on those. You can claim your costs if you win though - e.g. the cost of preparing your Defence and printing costs etc.
I think their claim sounds baseless too. Once you have filed and served your Defence, i would send them an email asking them to discontinue otherwise you are happy to take it to a hearing. They might have issued the claim solely to encourage you to settle. Whilst its good to do that to show that you are cooperating in a normal creditor debtor situation, I don't think you are in the wrong here. It is for them to prove that they owned the dog and they suffered loss as a result of your actions.

Vanessashanessajenkins2 · 03/10/2021 14:49

If they refuse to discontinue, I would then send them an email requesting documentation to prove they owned the dog and ask them to formally respond to the points raised in your Defence. Again, here if you need any help

simitra · 03/10/2021 17:21

If you are putting in a claim for expenses to the court dont forget that this covers all your reasonable costs in defending the case. Thats not just the actual court costs plus fares for transport. You are also allowed to claim a reasonable hourly fee for all the time you spend preparing your defence. This would include filling up forms, researching the law. phone calls and so on. Some time ago I put in a claim at £15 per hour so I would suggest at least £20 ph. This is not being grabby. Your time is a valuable commodity and you are entitled to recompense in the event that you win the case - or your opponents lost.

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 03/10/2021 18:27

@Vanessashanessajenkins2

If they refuse to discontinue, I would then send them an email requesting documentation to prove they owned the dog and ask them to formally respond to the points raised in your Defence. Again, here if you need any help

Thank you again. I emailed them 5 days ago asking for proof of ownership and said they had 7 days to provide. Nothing received yet and I sent a SAR to the vets who responded, refusing to send me anything as “they are too involved in the case”

OP posts:

Brollywasntneededafterall · 03/10/2021 18:31

Surely if they claim they owned ddog you can send copies of the vet's bills you paid and ask them for that cash back then? Threaten to counter sue?

NothingIsWrong · 03/10/2021 18:32

I don't think the vet can refuse an SAR for that reason, if it's your own personal data you are requesting.

Original poster

LostforWords2021 · 03/10/2021 19:04

@NothingIsWrong

I don't think the vet can refuse an SAR for that reason, if it's your own personal data you are requesting.

Neither did I? I was their contact as the dogs foster parent. For the 1st op they asked for consent over the phone. No consent for the hernia op because I knew nothing about it. They did give me a copy of the vet med hist back before all of this started and there was no charge for the 2nd op (I’ve only just realised this bit since having to delve in to dates etc)

I’m assuming no charge was because they knew they should have picked up the hernia before/during the first one for the bladder stones.

Poor old boy, he had 2 ops in 4 days and I only knew about the first one, no wonder he struggled to recover properly

OP posts:

prh47bridge · 03/10/2021 19:06

@NothingIsWrong

I don't think the vet can refuse an SAR for that reason, if it's your own personal data you are requesting.

No, that is not a valid reason to refuse an SAR. However, as you suggest, an SAR relates to the OP's data, not data about the dog.