I am preparing to open a small court claim against the

Hello, my name is ***** ***** I am a qualified lawyer happy to help you this evening.

So in terms of evidence, you ideally need the following :

1. Your witness evidence (in the format attached) and if you have anyone who can support what you are alleging against the builders (neighbours, etc) you can ask them to do a similar statement.
2. Any photographic evidence showing how they left the property
3. Any email or text messages to highlight a dispute you have with the builders
4. Any adverse reviews of the builders (from Google or social media)
5. A copy of the agreement you had with the builders (the contract)

This would be just about all you need. The most important would be your witness evidence - you do not need to send any of the above to the court or the builders until the court gives you a date to do so. The first thing to do is start the claim at http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and the court will then issue the claim against them. They then have to respond to the claim - if they dispute liability they have to file a defence. After that the court lists directions (including allocating it to the small claims track if the value of the claim is £10,000 or less) and dates for disclosure and exchange of witness evidence.

You can continue to finish the project - it is your property and you are entitled to finish it. I would photograph the area before you do this though. Also if you incur any extra costs for having to use someone else, be sure to add that cost to the claimed sum.

I hope this answers your question – if so could you please click 5 stars at the top of your screen, that will give me a rating on the site and I can answer any follow up questions at no extra charge.

Many thanks,

Jim