The Guardian ran a story on its Capital Letters Consumer Rights page at the weekend about solicitors messing up in trying to recover a debt and landing a wholly innocent party - in this case a small landscaping business - with the consequences.
As appalling and frustrating as this must have been for the landscaping company, I actually disagree with the advice that the landscaper should consider taking out a small claim for damages in negligence. Not because I want to protect the solicitors, for whom I have no sympathy, but as much because I tend to think most businesses - and all small businesses -are far better off getting on with the running of their businesses which will make them more money than they'll ever recover from a court.
I call this the "head and heart" principle. Your heart knows that you've been badly messed around and that you've got a decent claim for damages because you are wholly innocent. Plus there's a small part of you that thinks they need to accept the consequences for their incompetence.
But your heads knows that it will take up a lot of time, and as a consequence a lot of money. It's not just the court process itself, nor even the cost of instructing your own solicitors, although you can do it on your own. The fact is that litigation of any sort is aggravating and more importantly distracting. Any thought you have about the dispute is a backward one that takes you away from what you should really be doing which is taking your business forwards.
In this case, the landscaping business had some supplies cut off but that is part of the day to day aggravation in doing business in a world that is administratively challenged.
What businesses should be doing is monitoring these potential problems on a day to day basis and working to minimise the risks of potential cowpats. That means monitoring all correspondence closely, keeping an eye on odd phone messages (eg "just checking your precise address") and making sure you are constantly in touch with any post coming into your registered office address.
The real point about this story is this sort of problem is on the increase and the best form of attack is brilliant and organised defence. If it's any consolation to that landscaper we recently got a claim for £2,780 from Teignbridge District Council in South Devon for unpaid council tax. Except that we don't even know where Teignbridge is, let alone have any property there. Of course, it was all a case of "mistaken identity" following on from the increasingly unbiquitous "trace enquiry". As I say, it's this sort of administrative incompetence that isn't going away.
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