Armchair legal experts

Ok, so a Client of mine has an outstanding account of £3k from about a year ago. He’s just had a CCJ awarded against him for the debt and I am proceeding with my solicitor to try and recover the debt. I know he owns a well respected restaurant in a village just north of Derby – Indeed all my correspondence to him has been sent care of his restaurant at his request.

If I was so inclined and perhaps in conjunction with the legal approach, would I be ‘breaking the law’ / ‘guilty of slander’ etc if I stood on the pavement outside his restaurant and handed out copies of the Court judgement against him (which also references his restaurant)as customers entered on Friday and Saturday nights.

It can’t be slander if it’s true, surely*

A chap I know who was owed money for a job by a publican (eventually) got paid after 3 weeks of loudly explaining the situation in said pub as his customers were enjoying their Sunday lunches. 🙂

* IANAL

Could you go to the restaurant, have a huge meal, lots of booze and then refuse to pay claiming the credit you’re owed? 🙂

Let’s forget about the legalities for a second (just because something isn’t prohibited doesn’t mean it’s a good idea).

As someone who presumably does business in the area, do you think that this will be good for your future business prospects? If you think that people will hear of this and think, “I definitely want that guy to do work for me”, then great.

But if you think people might think “Wait, wasn’t that the guy who stood protesting outside of that restaurant when he didn’t get paid??? Nah, I’ll give him a miss, i’d be too worried our relationship broke down and he tried to drive our customers away too”, then you may wish to exhaust other means for recovery first.

No one will know the full story, so people may think that the restaurant didn’t pay you as a result of a dispute, shoddy workmanship etc, then you went mental. In fact, if I was the restaurant, if you did that to my customers, I’d be considering telling people that I didn’t pay as a result of you being rubbish and mad as a hatter 🙂 Care needed IMO

Clubber – Unfortunately the debt is with him and not his restaurant company which trades as Ltd.
Peter – Its unlikely it would impact either way, but you’re right it deserves considration. – Potential clients which may hear / see about my direct recovery methods have nothing to fear if they pay on time.

In fact, if I was the restaurant, if you did that to my customers, I’d be considering telling people that I didn’t pay as a result of you being rubbish and mad as a hatter

That would be slander. Care needed, indeed.

Also, potential clients who get spooked if they realise that you actually want to get paid for work are probably not worth having anyway. 😀

Potential clients which may hear / see about my direct recovery methods have nothing to fear if they pay on time.

You know that, but for all anyone else knows you didn’t do the job right, or added on some extra charges and then basically blackmailed him into paying.

I think you would legally be fine with this approach. A few posters up where he lives and a mail shot to his neighbours would not hurt 😈

He has a CCJ against him for which he didint enter a plea. – Not the actions of someone who has a dispte with the work done ??

Who is listed as the owner of the restaurant with Companies House.

IF it’s not him the *actual* owners may not take kindly to you trying to disrupt their trade by associating your dispute with their business?

It may be ‘his’ without him owning it.

Do what @wwaswas says first but if he is the owner you are perfectly within your rights. You could also contact his suppliers and show them the judgement. If he makes a fuss quote “qualified privilege” basically this means you are entitled to warn people of the dangers of doing business with him based upon the facts you know, the experience you have had.

He has a CCJ against him for which he didint enter a plea. – Not the actions of someone who has a dispte with the work done ??

Yes, but you’ve got to put yourself in the shoes of Joe Public. Standing in the street handing out CCJs is a very outward projection of your image. All i’m saying is that not everyone will interpret it in the same way. People will always wonder “oohhh, I wonder what happened there then????” and it will be hard/impossible to remove any doubt from the minds of people who’ve never met you that you were 100% in the right and the guy whose business you’re trying to drive away is 100% in the wrong. If I saw you doing that, I’d have no idea whether or not you weren’t some disgruntled cowboy who was rumbled by the restaurant owner or a genuine contractor who was shafted by a restaurant owner. People fall out for all kinds of reasons (personal and business). The CCJ alone won’t tell them the whole story.

Just burn the restaurant. If he doesn’t pay then, kidnap his wife.

IANAL

Just burn the restaurant. If he doesn’t pay then, kidnap his wife.

At last the sort of answer I’d expect from STW. Still disappointed at the lack of chimney related suggestions though.

You didn’t say what the CCJ has said he should pay i.e. is it the lump sum or installments? if the latter, is he keeping up with the repayments? if not then you can enforce the CCJ and perhaps get a court order?

You say the debt is against him, not the company. The brutal legal way would be to start the process to have him declared bankrupt. With a CCJ you have the proof of the debt. Anyone who has any assets and is trying to run a business will settle sharpish. I’ve had to use this approach in the past on occasion as a last resort.

Local Butchers did this outside a restaurant which wasn’t paying their bills, and it went titsup a few weeks later.

If – and only if – it really is HIS restaurant – I’d say not a bad idea, providing you don’t need him to have that business to pay you…

Things get around quickly.

I wouldn’t think the worse of a tradesman or small-business owner who protested with quiet dignity.

isn’t the business considered an asset?

isn’t the business considered an asset?

His shareholding in it would be.

His shareholding in it would be.

but as a ltd company it doesn’t have shares does it?

but as a ltd company it doesn’t have shares does it?

if it is a normal private limited company it will – that’s what limited Liability is – limited to the share capital of the company.

BigDummy – Member
Just burn the restaurant. If he doesn’t pay then, kidnap his wife.

IANAL

yes you bloody are BD! I shall report you to the Bar Council forthwith!

give this guy a call…..

Great suggestion marcus, I love a bit of direct action, make it more effective by wearing a big fluffy fancy dress suit, like a football team mascot. A big parrot would do it or a panda bear?

Jekkyl – It’ll have to be something fast for when I’m chased down the road by a mob of knife weilding staff !

I’m surprised, and frankly,disappointed, that nobody has asked for pictures of his wife and suggested retribution involving said spouse and workman’s thresholds!