A couple were left ‘shocked and upset’ after a court mistakenly handed £90,000 compensation to the person they were suing – who has since stopped returning calls.
Gilly and Nigel Cutts’ ‘dream flat’ in Arundel, West Sussex, turned into a nightmare when water started making its way inside the Georgian building.
Whenever it rained water would pour through the ceiling and down the walls leaving the two-bedroom flat damp.
The couple, who bought the flat for £320,000 in 2015, tried to get the freeholder to make repairs.
But when that failed they say they were forced to launch legal action in a bid to get the water problem solved.
After years of costly legal action Mr and Mrs Cutts were finally awarded a compensation payout of £90,000.
Unfortunately the freeholder had gone into administration and the money had to be paid to the court by the liquidator.
However instead of sending the money to the Cutts’, Brighton County Court paid it directly to the person they had been suing.
Lawyers and the courts have been desperately trying to get hold of her since but she is not answering calls.
Today Mr Cutts, 80, a retired interior architect, said: ‘You simply couldn’t make it up. After more than six years of solid legal action to try and get this matter sorted the courts have paid the wrong people.
‘It’s a total farce. I can’t believe the courts would make such a ridiculous mistake – it’s absolutely preposterous. We were so shocked when we heard. It’s been very upsetting.’
‘If they had passed the money back to the liquidator it wouldn’t have been so bad but this is the worst possible outcome.
‘They’ve been trying to reach the former freeholder but she’s not picking her phone up for obvious reasons. Really, we’re just incredulous.’
The couple’s nightmare began just months after they bought the flat on the High Street in Arundel in 2015.
Mr Cutts said: ‘When it rained we would have water running down the inside of the walls causing a lot of damp.
‘The water ingress got worse and it got so that we would dread the rain which would immediately come in and cascade down the walls.
‘After failing to get any joy out of the freeholder we were forced to launch legal action and we had been fighting it for more than six years.
‘In the meantime she went bust and administrators took over the freehold, holding the money in an Escrow account.
‘When a judge finally ruled in our favour and awarded us £90,000 we thought that might be the end of the nightmare but then this happened.’
Mrs Cutts, a retired therapist, said: ‘The whole thing has been a dreadful stress. It’s been so difficult but for the compensation to be then paid back adds a new dimension to it.’
The problem with water ingress has finally been fixed after the new freeholder spent a large sum of money on restoring and maintaining the 17th century building.
But the couple, who have seven children and 13 grandchildren between them, said they fallen out of love with the property.
They said the saga has taken such a toll on them that they have decided to sell the Georgian flat and it is presently on the market for £450,000.
Mr Cutts said: ‘It’s such a shame. When we first saw the property in 2015 Gilly absolutely fell in love with it.
‘She adored it but it has been such a thorn in our side that she nows says she wished she had never set eyes on it. It’s been disastrous from day one.’
Brighton County Court has since apologised for the error and although it has not yet paid back the couple, the Cutts have received a letter telling them of their intention to do so. The defendant has not been contactable since.
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.’