We ordered a roof window online from a roofing company, they

I see you have already mentioned that you want to know about the window delivery. Is there anything more specific that you would like to know about it? I also wanted to make you aware that this is not always an instant service, due to various legal engagements I could have and I may not be able to reply immediately. However, rest assured that I am dealing with your query and will get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks.

I see you have already mentioned that you want to know about the window delivery. Is there anything more specific that you would like to know about it? I

Thanks and what are you hoping to achieve in the circumstances please?

And was your contract directly with the supplier, rather than the manufacturer?

Thank you very much for clarifying. First of all, I am sorry to hear about the issues brought up by this. It must be a frustrating situation to go be going through.

First of all, you should argue that you have no legal relationship with the manufacture as your contract is with the supplier so the manufacturer cannot pursue you for this directly.

Secondly, no matter whether they can prove that the window was left on your premises, that does not mean you have it or that you are responsible for it. Unless they can show that you accepted delivery, or were there at the time and knew it had been delivered, you would not be liable for it if they had decided to leave it on publicly accessible property. It’s the same as leaving Amazon packages on your doorstep – it is the seller that is liable if they get lost unless you had officially accepted responsibility for them being left there.

In terms of their threats to take this further, whilst a party can make demands for payment, instruct debt collectors or threaten legal action, it is important to note that they can only really force someone to pay if they actually go to court, submit a claim and are successful with it.

There is, however, no guarantee that they will actually ever go that far. Many people issue threats and demands, without ever having the intention of taking the matter to Court. This is done in the hope that the scare the other party into complying with their demands to avoid the risk of being taken to Court. However, until a formal notification of a Court claim has been issued, there is never a guarantee that a claim will actually be made and it could always remain just a threat, rather than reality.

Even if a claim was made, due to the value of compensation sought, this matter would be assigned to the Small Claims Court. This is a relatively low-risk option because it is specifically aimed at the smaller, legally unrepresented parties. The costs of claiming are not that high, there is no need to have a lawyer and incur further costs as a result and even if a party loses the claim, they will not be liable to pay the other side’s legal fees. All they would have to pay is the court fees, which at most will be several hundred pounds and whatever the Court has decided should be paid to the claimant as a result of their original claim.

Also, once judgment has been issued, on the assumption you lose, the judgment is entered on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, where it will remain for 6 years. This is what is known as ‘having a CCJ’ and can impact your credit rating. However, if payment of the judgment is made within one month, the record will be removed from the Register and will no longer be visible. If payment is made after one month has passed, it will still remain on the Register for the 6 years, but will be marked as ‘satisfied’.

To conclude, it is possible to wait and see how far the other side is willing to take this before deciding on how to respond and even if a claim is made, it is possible to proceed and defend the claim in the knowledge that the financial risks of doing so will not be astronomically high and if any judgment made against you is paid within a month, there will be no further repercussions.

Hopefully, I have answered your query in a way that is simple and easy to understand. If anything remains unclear, I will be more than happy to clarify it for you. In the meantime, thank you once again for using our services.

Strictly speaking no and you can argue that they have breached your data protection rights by doing so, but that won’t changer the rest of your position as described above.

I covered that part above in my answer, where I stated that you did not have a contract with them