TONY HETHERINGTON: Guilty verdict as Kingston-upon-Thames court won’t pay

Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s top researcher, taking on readers’ corners, uncovering the truth that lies behind closed doors and delivering victories for those left out of pocket. Below you can read how you can contact him.

CI writes: I have made a legal claim for £350 against LG, a white goods manufacturer, in relation to a washing machine warranty.

The company did not defend the claim and it was paid after I engaged bailiffs at Kingston-upon-Thames County Court.

Bailiffs collected the payment last November and the money is now in court, they say.

Despite numerous emails, the money is still outstanding and the court’s phone goes unanswered.

I also emailed the Courts and Tribunals Service complaints department, but to no avail.

Tony Hetherington replies: It’s like a bad joke. You file a claim in court and you win. Bailiffs collect the money. They hand the money over to the court – and the court keeps it.

You called in the bailiffs on November 1 last year and asked what had happened in mid-December. Were they successful in collecting your money? The bailiffs replied: ‘This was paid on November 15th. If you have not received the money, you will need to contact the Kingston County Court. The bailiff’s office does not deal with payments.’

You emailed the court on December 13 and again the next day. No one answered. The bailiffs have told you that you can expect a response within ten working days. If you don’t, you can try sending a letter to the court. You wrote on January 9. No one answered.

After you contacted me, I emailed the clerk to the court on January 14th. No one answered. On January 20, I emailed again, and this time I involved the Ministry of Justice. After all, what is the point of a legal system that simply doesn’t work?

The ministry was slow to act and it wasn’t until February 9 that officials pushed the court to contact you. An unsigned email explained: ‘On behalf of Kingston County Court, I can confirm that the funds are currently going through our payment system. Unfortunately, we have moved to a new system, which has caused some issues and delays in the payout process.”

I went back to the ministry. Could I please have a response from the Justice Minister, Alex Chalk, MP? On February 13, the ministry promised me that you would be paid within a few days, but that same day I was also told that your money had actually been ‘released’ on January 30. Released? After three months in the clutches of Kingston County Court, I think it got away.

Two days passed and your money was still on the run. Much of the Justice Department’s work is outsourced to a private company called Liberata, so I contacted the company and asked if the staff there knew who had your money. They did. Within 24 hours, Liberata CEO Charlie Bruin told me: ‘Liberata manages payments for the HM Courts and Tribunals Service, and we can confirm that all necessary procedures have been followed with the utmost care and attention. Payment has been made in accordance with contractual requirements.”

The Liberata boss helpfully explained that his company has no cash on hand. Courts ask Liberata to make a payment from the court’s own bank account. When did Liberata receive the request to hand over your money? It was on February 12, almost three months since the bailiffs filed it with the court.

On February 19, you received a check for €433, including costs. But this was not quite the end of the story.

A week ago you received an apology from the Ministry of Justice on behalf of Minister Alex Chalk. An official explained: ‘I contacted the court and they informed me that they were experiencing problems processing the payment due to problems with the computer system.’ I’ve always resisted the phrase ‘Broken Britain’, but sometimes those are the only words that apply.

You need a swimming pool for this water bill

AB writes: Thames Water called me out of the blue to say I had an unpaid balance of almost £4,400 on my account.

I live in a small flat in North London with my wife and two young children, and the charge relates to an ‘abnormal’ meter reading by a Thames Water employee in 2020, which showed we had used 2,000 units of water.

In fact, our consumption is about 100 units per year.

Tony Hetherington replies: When you first saw the huge meter reading in 2020, you contacted Thames Water and were told an engineer would investigate within days. Of course no one did, no matter how many times you called.

Then in 2021 you were told that Thames Water would be reviewing future bills, with a new starting point. The previous incorrect reading would be ignored. Suddenly, almost three years later, Thames Water revived the obviously incorrect reading and again told you that an engineer would be visiting.

Meanwhile, it claimed you owe £4,494. This time the engineer showed up and after examining the meter he explained that in order to get the reading on the bills you would have had to open a swimming pool.

Thames Water told me: ‘Our customer service teams investigated this and discovered that this was due to an abnormal meter reading.’ Your account has now been recalculated and the result is that you now have €500 in credit!

If you believe you have been a victim of financial misconduct, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large number of questions, personal answers cannot be given. Please only send copies of original documents, which unfortunately cannot be returned.