I have been scammed advice please

[coco2303]

Hi I hired gardeners in February to pave an area of my garden and turd the rest. I had been saving up for ages my house is council and the last tenants destroyed the garden so I can't let my children out there to play.
Anyway I advertises for a gardener and someone I know recommended her partners dad and grandad.
They charged £1300 (which was about the same as other quotes I received). So I went with them as I always thought it is good to give work to people you know etc.
Anyway because I trusted them I gave them all of the money so they could buy the materials they needed and get the job done.
We are now in may they have paved the part of the garden I needed paved but I now cannot get in touch with them to finish the job.
For me to get it turfed it will be £800 and I really can't afford another £800.
I have a receipt can I go through a small claims? And would they even find them they literally will mot answer the phone to me after months of trying to contact them.
Now I know people will say not to pay all upfront and hindsight is a great thing.
I just really need to know if there is anything I can do to atleast get some of the money back so I can pay someone else to finish the job xx

[coco2303]

Hi yes I have told her and she has contacted them but they just come with excuse after excuse. I have asked for their address etc but no luck xx

[Justmuddlingalong]

Do you have a receipt for work to be carried out and the £1300?

[coco2303]

Yes I do have a receipt that states all of the work that was to be done and it shows the overall amount and even says paid in full xx

[LoveFromUs]

I'm so sorry to hear that this has happened to you, and to go through a small claims court you'd need their name and address.

[coco2303]

Aaaahhh okay thank you. I will keep trying to get their details wish me luck xx

[PotteringAlong]

You could report it to the police as theft maybe?

[coco2303]

Do you think the police would do anything? Xx

[Justmuddlingalong]

Is the receipt on company headed paper?

[LIZS]

Trading standards?

[coco2303]

It is company headed paper. I do plan to go to citizens advice on Tuesday just wanted to see if anyone knows the best route to go xx

[coco2303]

I don't even know whether to ask someone to call them on tge pretence of needing a quote and for myself and my partner to confront them there. That's the only way I can think of getting in contact with them xx

[Hero1callylost]

Can you look them up on 192.com or something similar?

[coco2303]

I have searched on 192.com which gives an address. When I search that address it lists 39 companies and not one of them is the company shown on my receipt.
The company name on the receipt is [company name removed by MNHQ at OP's request].
No address on the receipt only the guys first name and mobile number under the company header.
They have wrote in pen when I have paid them more money and it says in pen that the balance is paid. But I do also have text messages to and from the number on my receipt confirming alot of the payments I have made xx

[MrsGradyOldLady]

I'm really sorry but I've just looked them up on companies house and the company was dissolved on 26th April 2016

[coco2303]

Does that mean I will never be able to get them to finish the job or get any money back from them? Xx

[coco2303]

It says that before a company dissolves they must carry out any goods or services that have been paid for prior to the decision to dissolve. Would that mean I do have a case as they dissolved their company without completing all obligations? Xx

[MrsGradyOldLady]

Is it Joseph Maloney? You can't recover the money from the limited company because it doesn't exist anymore. When in February did you pay the money? Because the director applied for the company to be struck off on 21st January. Is this the same company?

[coco2303]

The guys who did it are [names removed by MNHQ at OP's request] but the way things are going for all I know it could be the same company but uses someone else's name
The girl I know has contacted me back to tell me she knows where one if them lives but he isn't the one who was in charge but they are father and son.
The last excuse they uses was that they had no transport and qould be here by the 25th April. So now you have told me the company dissolved on the 16th it's as if they planned it and knew I couldn't do anything after that date.
I'm guessing the police wouldn't help either as it's a civil matter. Or could it be classed as theft?

[coco2303]

26th*

[MrsGradyOldLady]

I think you'd be throwing good money after bad. You could apply for the company to be restored but it's expensive and they won't have any assets anyway. They never filed accounts or completed annual return.

I do think you were deliberately scammed because of the timing of it all. I don't know if the police would be able to help but you could try. I'm an accountant not a lawyer so I only know the theory of this. Could you get a cab appointment?

[MrsGradyOldLady]

The address on companies house is their accountants office which explains why so many business are registered there.

[WordGetsAround]

Great advice from other posters above but got to add that I LOVE the typo in the first sentence of the OP!