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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to decline £100 per month (small claims court)

82 replies

londonroad · 26/09/2018 11:11

I was sold a dodgy car by a private seller and took him to small claims court which went in my favor. I had to then take him back to court to get a statement about his income etc, as he didn't make any repayments.

He owes me nearly £4000. He has lied on examination (stated he lives alone etc, when i know for a fact he lives with a partner who works)
but officially he has stated his income is £350 per week, and that his outgoings are £2300 per month (clearly this does not add up).
He states he owns a mobile, tv, white goods and a car worth £600.

He has offered to pay me back via direct debit £100 a month.

AIBU to be swaying towards declining this offer?

My other options are bailiffs or freezing his bank account. He says he is self employed so I cannot order deduction of wages.

OP posts:
specialsubject · 26/09/2018 13:48

freeze the account. Otherwise I guarantee you will see no more than £100.

Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 13:50

I describe it as a write off because it would have to be extensively looked at by an actual Nissan garage and would cost more than it's worth. My Garage said the engine has been messed with,has strange orange sealant in it and may have been in a serious collision by looks or things. (Dodgy repair job)

OP posts:
Awwlookatmybabyspider · 26/09/2018 13:51

He should have been prosecuted for endangerment. However I agree with pps. It's of no use whatsoever sending in the big boys. They cost money and seeing as he can allegedly only afford £100 pcm. He's not going to have funds for Bailiffs.
The bottom line is Yes you're more than right to be very agrieved. However you can't get blood out of a stone. Bailiffs will have
just add to your loses and costs, as They can't get blood out of stone either. If he's got no assets or money. They can't take his wife's assets either. That's if she can prove they belong to her.

cathf · 26/09/2018 13:59

MyBrexit - you would not accept it? What would you do then? Spend even more money proving your point? The fact that she should not lie in court and should not rip people off is academic - he has.
And throwing more money at it is madness.
Sometimes you need to be pragmatic, infuriating thought it is.
Heckypeck - if the OP gets his bank account frozen every month, he will know when it is coming.

Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 14:00

I did think about reporting it to police but presumed they wouldn't bother with it.

OP posts:
Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 14:06

Ok just looked more into freezing the bank account - looks like it's a one off per court order - they would not give him notice so he wouldn't know it was coming. They would basically freeze without warning and clear the account and transfer to me.

I'm thinking I could also threaten him with bankruptcy - also an option.

OP posts:
cl61reb · 26/09/2018 14:08

Do whatever is necessary and if this means freezing his account and sending the bailiffs then so be it. This was a business transaction and you need to remove any emotion from your actions - just do it!!!

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 26/09/2018 14:11

I didn't think you could force someone into bankruptcy. I thought that had to be something that the person themselves had to file for. You learn something new everyday

RedneckStumpy · 26/09/2018 14:13

Op ok that’s interesting.

Nissan’s are known to have issues with MAF sensors or and position sensors. They are normally a cheap fix and sometimes only present themselves when the car is warm. the orange sealant is probably a cheap fix for a leaking radiator or gasket.

I would find the value of the car in its current state and deduct that from what you are chasing him for.

Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 14:14

If they owe you more than 5k (which he will do eventually due to interest) you can apply for a court order to make them bankrupt.

OP posts:
serbska · 26/09/2018 14:14

What a PITA.

Sometimes bad people get away with doing bad things, and you need to weigh up if its worth your mental head space trying to peruse your money.

It is easy for people like this to just go off grid, especially if they think its worth the effort to keep screwing you over. Work cash in hand, use family bank accounts, stay at home and live off his DP...

Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 14:17

redneck, the garage replaced the MAF for me and it made no difference.

Also, the garage will not release car to me anyway due to the holding fee that is owed - £700 up to the court judgment date which I owe them (was awarded to me as part of judgment fee owed) and £30 a week since which he owes (car back in his name as of court judgment date) which now totals over 1k. Garage has sent him letters etc and plans on taking him to court themselves.

OP posts:
HeckyPeck · 26/09/2018 14:18

if the OP gets his bank account frozen every month, he will know when it is coming.

You usually only do that once in the hope that it’ll hit on a day with some money in the bank (or if he has savings with the same bank)

If OP can afford it then it’s worth a try.

I’d definitely ring the non emergency police number and see what they think about prosecution. You/your children/other road users could have been seriously injured or worse.

Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 14:19

So garage will not release car to anyone until its paid - and judge ordered him to collect it with a tow truck.

OP posts:
HeckyPeck · 26/09/2018 14:20

If the garage gets a order in their favour too the combined about might be over £5k then you could persue bankruptcy jointly.

People shouldn’t get away with such dangerous actions.

Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 14:21

Hecky, yes just realised freezing bank is a one off. Also, he can make a hardship application to court stating he needs it for outgoings.

Just seems insane that a court order doesn't actually mean you will get your money back.

OP posts:
RedneckStumpy · 26/09/2018 14:28

londonroad Ok fair enough. In our case we sold a old BMW with no MOT. DH looked it over and thaught it would take £700-800 to get it to pass so we sold it with no tax or MOT.

When the guy came to buy it we just said it needs a MOT. Guy paid cash and drove it away. We asked for cash as we were leaving the country and had closed all our bank accounts.

A week later the guy emailed to say it had catastrophically failed the MOT and he wanted his money back and was going to chase us through the courts.

Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 14:34

Redneck, I don't think a court would find in his favour. In my case it was the fact that he lied to get the sale.

OP posts:
RedneckStumpy · 26/09/2018 14:36

Yes in your case, in ours we didn’t bother finding out, we just replied saying we have moved country.

Original poster
londonroad · 26/09/2018 14:39

redneck Grin

OP posts:
HeckyPeck · 26/09/2018 14:45

He can put in a hardship application but he’d have to provide a lot of evidence - bank statements, rent agreement etc. Hopefully one of those would show he had a partner living with him (and he’d get in trouble) and then he’d have to prove that she wouldn’t be able to cover the bills. Also if he has any saving they could take those and it would be very difficult form him to claim he needs those for day to day living expenses.

It does suck that it’s so hard to get back money that’s rightfully yours.

Dungeondragon15 · 26/09/2018 17:43

Yes, considering he lied about not having a partner it's going to be very hard for him to prove hardship without getting himself into trouble. I doubt that he will want to risk being made bankrupt either. Just the threat will hopefully make him cough up at least some of the money.

GOODCAT · 26/09/2018 18:24

When we had this we went straight to bailiffs. The bailiffs hassled him regularly. He had been very abusive and threatening to us, so we were quite happy to get the bailiffs in.

It was very hit and miss as to how much and when we got paid, but he did pay us in the end. The bailiffs had multiple enforcements going on against him from multiple claimants. We got to the point where we almost didn't care if we got paid we just wanted him to have a lot of agro.

Freezingbum · 26/09/2018 18:44

I wouldn’t bother petitioning for Bankruptcy, you wouldn’t get a penny back and it will cost you to petition.

Essentially if he is not a home owner or has any real assets, or real disposable income he would be discharged after 12 months (albeit with a ruined credit file for the next 6years), but will not have to pay a penny back, and then the debt is written off forever.

Also if he has other loans etc these would have to be included in the bankruptcy, so any money found would have to be split across all creditors, and taken as official receiver costs.

If he does own a home and has assets, then a trustee will be appointed in the bankruptcy, and they have massive fees. Trustee fees run up to Tens of thousands. I have seen some as high as £70-80k!! So you could end up with nothing anyway or a very very small amount back.

Unfortunately you are probably not going to see this money again, there are rules and regulations to help genuine people who are struggling with debt find a way out, although it’s very easy for people to play the very overburdened system for their own gain...

furandchandeliers · 26/09/2018 19:33

Do you not know anyone big and tough who could go round and persuade him to pay?

If he got the money he's just taking the piss. No one would get away with this kind of thing with me, Dh would be round there like a shot.