Hi All,
Just before Christmas I booked a carpet fitter to come round and fit new carpets in my bedrooms. I paid him £350 deposit and on the elected day he
didn't turn up. He said he was coming round on a daily basis and he didn't turn up providing excuses like his van had broken down.
Eventually he said he wasn't coming at all and he'd refund the £350. That was before Christmas and after numerous phone calls he still
hasn't refunded my money. He lives an hours drive away so just popping round to his house is annoying.
Short of going round his house and demanding my money back has anyone every taken a contractor to the small claims court? I know £350 is not a lot
but I have just moved house and I have a new born baby. Every penny counts.
I believe that you can do it all on line now. here
Tell him you will write to the local carpet shops and a mate of yours is a jornalist for the local paper. It works wonders.
No a contractor but we did take the CoOp to small claims court over a holiday and eventually got compensation but it did take a lot of time and
chasing around.
I was unemployed at the time so this wasn't such an issue but I think we initially saw a solicitor for free through the citizens advice, then had
to take various form etc to the court on at least two seperate occasions and finally attended a 1/2 day hearing.
It's certainly possible but, from our experience, is more time consuming than you might expect.
Probably worth threatening it before going ahead and hoping he'll decide to give you a refund.
John.
quote:
Originally posted by Irony
Hi All,
Just before Christmas I booked a carpet fitter to come round and fit new carpets in my bedrooms. I paid him £350 deposit and on the elected day he didn't turn up. He said he was coming round on a daily basis and he didn't turn up providing excuses like his van had broken down. Eventually he said he wasn't coming at all and he'd refund the £350. That was before Christmas and after numerous phone calls he still hasn't refunded my money. He lives an hours drive away so just popping round to his house is annoying.
Short of going round his house and demanding my money back has anyone every taken a contractor to the small claims court? I know £350 is not a lot but I have just moved house and I have a new born baby. Every penny counts.
As suggested, tell him (in writing is always best - recorded post is your friend) that unless you have the full amount owed back within xxx hours of
receipt of this letter, then you will have no choice but to take him to small claims court. In that case, you'll be wanting to recover costs for
your time, letters, phone calls, cost of claim etc.. This can all be done online now, as someone has already pointed out, and costs are typically low
- which you can claim for as part of the recovery anyway.
Calling to chase him is all very good, but as it's gone this far now with no luck, I'd put pen to paper (or keys to board). As soon as you
put something in writing, and it's signed for as proof of receipt, you'll have a better standing if it goes any further. In the letter, I
would re-iterate all the times you've called including dates if you know them, and the full story breakdown (just so he can be made aware of
everything), and this can also be submitted as part of any further action.
Nine times out of ten the threat of action is enough to scare people into acting, but if it doesn't in this case, you've already done the
first step of putting all details in a letter ready to submit to the courts.
Happy hunting!
I had a similar problem with a builder. I downloaded the forms from the website link above, filled them in and sent them to the builder, telling him
that they are copies and, if he didn't refund in full within 7 days, the originals would be presented to the court.
I got the money posted through the letter box on the 6th day.
Be very careful with openly badmouthing him in public. If you must, stick to the facts. You can risk a claim of slander by doing this and, whether
or not it's true, it will waste a lot of your time.
Also be aware that threatening him with telling others could be considered harassment, whether you go ahead with it or not. You don't want to go
there either.
Also be aware that you are legally obliged (under Civil Procedures Rules 'Pre-action protocol') to write a 'Letter before action'
to him setting out your complaint, how he can remedy the situation, and giving him a reasonable notice that you will be taking court action.
As has been stated by others, usually this letter does the trick if worded well and made to look and sound official. You should also state that you
intend to claim for the amount plus interest and costs.
Don't be under any illusion that a small claims court resolution is a magic bullet. It takes months to go through, will cost you a couple of
hundred in fees, and you will have to spend a day in Court if it goes that far. You should get the costs back of course as long as you can show that
you have made reasonable efforts to resolve the matter before making the claim so keep records of every bit of correspondence, phone call, etc made as
you will need to produce them.
Last thing to be aware of is that you may go through all of this only for him to go bankrupt, in which case you've lost your fees too. Unlikely
at £350 I guess, but it depends who else is after him/why he's not paid.
[Edited on 13/1/2014 by ChrisW]
All good advice there from Chris, Have used small claims twice for similar amounts, and got paid both times before it actually reached court.
As said you are obliged to send them a copy of the papers outlining your claim, and in my case that was enough for them to realise
i was serious and they coughed up, most people don't want a CCJ attached to their address.
Up front court fees are small on the amount your claiming, it's a sliding scale and clearly set out on the website, IIRC it cost me £40 for a
similar amount but you have to be prepared that he may be skint or not care about CCJ's and you may never get your money.
Good luck hope you get it sorted.
quote:
Originally posted by Wadders
Up front court fees are small on the amount your claiming, it's a sliding scale and clearly set out on the website, IIRC it cost me £40 for a similar amount but you have to be prepared that he may be skint or not care about CCJ's and you may never get your money.
I took a local dry cleaners to court, after leaving my wife's wedding dress with them to assess it for cleaning. The owner decided to have a
crack at cleaning it (despite us having a printed receipt saying it was being left for checking only). He used fluids for bright colours on it, and
dyed a very expensive designer dress bright orange. I took him to court more than 18 months ago and won. Now he is not paying, and it is next to
impossible to enforce the court ruling as the bailiffs (which I had to pay for) have to personally hand him the paperwork. The entire system is a
joke. I won, plain and simple, yet I have had to pay additional money to try to enforce the CCJ, and still have no sign of the compensation. The
internet is littered with countless tales of throwing good money after bad following a small claims court ruling - it makes a complete mockery of the
system.
My advice would be to write to him (as ChrisW said above). Tell him the problem, the solution you seek, and a deadline you want it rectified by. If he
fails to respond/repay, then you will take him to court. Just be prepared that it is a real ball ache, with no guarantee of an outcome even if they
rule in your favour.
Hi
having run my own business for many years, have never actually
used the small claims court but as 40 inches said we have used the
filled in forms on several occasions & the threat of it has worked brilliantly .
good luck
René
Thanks for the replies, some good advice there. I'll going to fill the forms out and include them with a letter I write him. See if that shifts
things.
Cheers guys
Little update:
After numerous letters to him threatening with legal action via the small claims court. The cheeky chappy sent me a cheque for £350 which immediately
bounced. By this time the swmbo was getting cross at my tardiness and took over. We've gone through the small claims court and they ruled in
our favour. He didn't turn up. Apparently by by sending a cheque he's admitted his guilt. They issued a CCJ and he's still not paid.
Swmbo and her Mother are enraged now and they have paid the fees to send the Baliffs in.
Still no money though despite enraged Swmbo and Mother-in-law.
hi i use the online service a lot it costs £25 and worth every penny 99% pay up out of court and they pay all costs i even use it to reclame ebay charges to none buyers do it you can stop it at any time