Mrs G Payne v Key Electrical Solutions Ltd (t/a Key Electrical) — 2020

Mrs G Payne brought a breach of contract claim against Key Electrical Solutions Ltd (t/a Key Electrical) arising from a contract term that the Respondent would pay the fee for a postgraduate course leading to a diploma. The Tribunal noted that the Claimant enrolled with Bangor University and successfully completed the course, and that neither the existence of the contract nor the course arrangement was disputed.

The issue was whether Bangor had been paid the two outstanding invoices, dated 24 November 2017 and 2 October 2018, each for £2,082. The Tribunal accepted that Martin Key said he had paid £4,164 by bank transfer on 29 May 2020 and had produced a payment instruction document, but it found that the payment reference did not identify the Bangor invoice numbers and was described as "Grace Uni". Bangor's accounts contact, Nia, could not trace the payment despite repeated enquiries, and the Respondent did not provide a bank statement or other evidence showing the payment had cleared to Bangor.

Applying the balance of probabilities, the Tribunal was not persuaded that Bangor had received the payment. It therefore found the Respondent in breach of its contract with the Claimant and awarded damages of £4,164.