A restaurant owner embroiled in a battle for compensation against debt collectors says that he will not be beaten.
James Goacher is fighting for £200,000 compensation from the debt collectors who gutted his Naked Fish seafood restaurant in Bridlington in error, but delays in getting the case heard at the Royal Courts of Justice have put him and his business under severe pressure.
The case was due to be heard in July but has now been adjourned to October 4.
Mr Goacher said that his customers were being really supportive and helping the businesses keep going but added that he was facing a struggle through no fault of his own. He said that the longer the case dragged on, the harder things were getting but he had no intention of giving up and hoped that his financial problems would be solved by a compensation award.
He added that the strain was also beginning to take its toll on his health.
The claim for compensation is against Kent-based debt collection business Sherforce, which mistakenly sent bailiffs into the Naked Fish restaurant in November 2009, and led to the Bridlington restaurant being closed for eight months.
Mr Goacher was forced to pay out £25,000 for repairs and new equipment before he could reopen, re-mortgaging his house to raise £20,000 towards the cost of the necessary refit and repairs.
Mr Goacher, who lives in Brandesburton, said that there was a good chance he could lose both of his restaurants in Bridlington and Hull if he did not get the compensation he was owed, and that he was angry about the court delays.
Sherforce would not comment while the legal proceedings were active.
