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£90k compensation paid to wrong person by court

BBC Gilly and Nigel Cutts looking at the camera with unhappy expressions.BBC
The couple said they have had "sleepless nights" over the ordeal

A Sussex couple are angry at the court system for mistakenly paying £90,000 in compensation to the person they were suing.

Gilly and Nigel Cutts bought what they thought was their dream flat in Arundel, but when problems occurred they successfully made a claim against the building's owner.

But their local county court instead paid the money meant for them back to one of the defendants.

Nine months on the court service has apologised and said it was working to resolve the issue.

The Cutts bought the flat in "a beautiful early Georgian building" on the town's High Street back in December 2015.

Soon afterwards they and other leaseholders started to experience problems, including water ingress through the brickwork.

"Whenever it rained hard water would just pour in through the ceiling," said Mr Cutts.

"It got to the point where we'd dread the weather being wet."

The couple, along with two neighbouring flat owners, grew so frustrated they ended up taking legal action against the building's owner.

After a long process a judge said they should receive £90,000 between them in compensation, but none have so far seen a penny.

The interior of Gilly and Nigel Cutts' flat in Arundel. It shows a smartly fitted kitchen, with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
The flat was meant to be the couple's dream property

That is because when Brighton County Court processed the payment it instead sent the amount to the defendant who owns the building's freehold - and that person has not been contactable since.

"To say we were speechless just doesn't cover it," said Mr Cutts.

"We won our case, so where's money? It was paid to the wrong person - it's pure madness," added Mrs Cutts, who confessed to having "sleepless nights" over the ordeal.

The pair said the court service wrote to them apologising for its error but did not offer to pay back the couple.

"What they need to do is put right what's gone wrong," said Mr Cutts.

A spokesperson for Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service said: "We apologise to the claimants for this administrative error and remain committed to resolving the matter as quickly as possible.

"A judge has ordered the defendant to return the funds and we have additionally referred them to the police for investigation.

"We've taken steps to prevent something like this from happening again."

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