Suing

6. Pitfalls

6.1 You may lose, even if you think you have a watertight case.

• There are defences to even the most straightforward claims.
• Your legal advisers may have over-estimated the strength of your case or given you bad legal advice. Unless you have been given negligent advice, you are unlikely to be able to claim any compensation from them.
• Witnesses may change their stories or refuse to give evidence.

6.2 Litigation is stressful and time-consuming.

• Your business may suffer if you focus too much on the legal dispute.

6.3 Even with a good case, your opponent may be able to delay judgment by taking advantage of procedural rules.

6.4 You may not be able to enforce judgment. (See sections 5, 6 and 7 of Debt recovery ).

• Enforcement of judgments for £600 or less is carried out by county court bailiffs, who have a relatively low success rate. Any judgment over £600 you can register in a High Court. Enforcement Officers who enforce these judgments are more effective (but potentially more expensive) than bailiffs.