Private And Confidential

[2sp_]

We are currently chasing a client for payment, and have employed a solicitor as it's getting to the court stage.

I've just a quick question.

She has emailed us today and at the bottom written -

"This email is private and confidential and may not be used by any solicitor of yours without my express written consent."

Mr P will be speaking to the solicitor on Tuesday, but in the meantime, do any of our legal experts know if this is even a valid sentence? Can you write that and legally expect confidentiality? (I'm pretty sure it's nonsense.)

[2sp_]

This is Scots Law, if that makes any difference.

[2sp_]

She is offering a settlement of sorts, but she wants us to change her invoice details to show the job differently worded and addressed to her son. She also wants us to deduct the portion we would pay our employee for the work carried out.

[jno]

nobody can prevent you showing your solicitor anything. Whether you wish to do so depends on what's in the email, I suppose.

[jno]

oh, well, up to you but it sounds as if she's asking you to change material facts/ fiddle the books? I'd be handing that one straight to my solicitor and letting him decide what to do about it.

[2sp_]

jno, that's my main concern about her offer. All seems a bit dodgy to me. I'd rather have the Solicitor look at the email to give us proper legal advice than we change details and end up even worse off than we are now!

All been such a nightmare. Why do people just not pay their bills?

[jno]

she sounds dishonest. I wouldn't be doing any deals with her on that basis. You are free to give the email to your solicitor (she hasn't actually asked you not to). Let him decide what to do with it.

[SlackAlice]

I'd show the email to my solicitor, it doesn't say you cannot. I am concerned that she wants you to basically re-submit your invoices to a different person in name and address and a lower amount.

If you do that, then you may have to wait another month or so before you can push for payment and more than likely have to go to court to enforce the debt again. What if the son is skint, would you throw good money after bad to make him bankrupt?

I think you've got her on the run and should ask your solicitor to proceed at full steam ahead.

[SlackAlice]

Forgot to say you should refuse all further communications, advising that all letters must be via your solicitor.

[jno]

yes, good suggestion, SA

[EDDIE51]

If you go with her offer and send an invoice to her son that will start a compleatly seperate transaction, if he does not pay you have to start the entire debt collection process again from square one.
It may well not be enforceable as her son did not order the work and legally it is not his debt.

[2sp_]

Thank you all for your replies, they've been very helpful.

I'm really not comfortable changing the invoice.

Our Solicitor has just sent her a final letter before we take her to Court, I think this is what has triggered her to email us today as we have stopped contacting her directly.

She is a nightmare!

[EDDIE51]

divebuddy yes possibly, but that all means more legal costs and time wasting when the case is near going to court as it stands. The woman is playing for time.

[Peter Pedant]

.

she has said - "used by"
hence show solicitor

If necessary - I would take it into court - presumably you will attend
you hand it to the judge or speak
and then turn to the other side and say - mysolicitor is not using this: I am.

Judge can then say - yeah baby yeah ! - or och Mossis aySpeeeee! I dont think.....

[Peter Pedant]

depending on how many hours the solicitor has put in,

you have to factor in his costs as well...

with the solicitors clock ticking.... you could without prejudice her,
and say look, you're obviously gonna settle, and here are reasonable terms....

and you also have to think whether a little is better than alot - in terms of she may pay a little, and completely ignore alot....

[Peter Pedant]

.

Oh and Sp - for the future - keep all the solicitors letters and generate them yourself as needed. In England, anything now below £10k I think goes to small claims where costs are not awarded.
So you save money doing it yourself - and it is very informal
and straightforward

for the next case - let the solicitors starve !

and you're lucky your debtors can pay - most of mine arent paying because they are skint or spent the moolah on something else.