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Original poster

Small claims court, chances of getting money back if court goes in my favour?

15 replies

Lovemusic33 · 22/12/2018 14:09

Hi, have posted on here before about small claims but got no responses.

I’m in the process of taking a small company to small claims for a faulty item I was sold to the value of £600, the item was under guarantee for a year but the company are ignoring any contact I try and make with them (calls, emails etc..). I am in the process of thanking the to small claims and my case looks pretty straight forward (sold something that was not as described and refused a refund). So far the company has not responded to my claim, they haven’t replied to the court and still have not contacted me to sort out the issue (they have until the 27th). I’m not sure what happens if they do not respond?

Anyway if the court decides they are in the wrong and have to pay up what are the chances of them actually paying? I have a feeling they will just ignore the court and not pay me my money back. Obviously I am out of pocket and by more than the amount I am claiming due to the trouble it has caused.

Will I ever get my money back?

OP posts:

Bombardier25966 · 22/12/2018 14:12

Are they still trading? Has the company had different names before, are they in the habit of rebranding to avoid debts?

If they don't respond you can apply for a default judgment. If they don't pay up there are various methods of enforcement, all which have costs associated.

Bombardier25966 · 22/12/2018 14:15

How did you pay for the item?

Original poster

Lovemusic33 · 22/12/2018 14:15

They are still trading despite being in trouble with trading standards, I know of at least one more person who are taking them to small claims court the same time as I am and have found many others who have lost money.

I have already paid £60 to get it to court and will probably have to pay more, I’m not sure if I will get any of the fees back if I win my case?

From what I can see, they have been trading for 2 years under this name but have traded under other names in the past.

OP posts:

Original poster

Lovemusic33 · 22/12/2018 14:19

Bomb it’s a long story, I did pay through PayPal, but because I opened a dispute early on, they replaced and fitted another (it was a gearbox for my car), they then made me close the dispute and the gearbox then developed a fault the next day. Because I closed the despite PayPal will not let me open another. This has been going on for 4 months now, they have fitted 3 gearboxes to my car, all 3 have been faulty and my car is not drivable. I have been quoted £1000 to fix the gearbox that they have left me with

I have contacted PayPal and they don’t want to know so have gone down the small claims route.

OP posts:

Rhinosaurus · 22/12/2018 14:21

I also am taking someone to court, hearing date is in Jan - I am already £250 down with court fees, the defendant has not responded or sent in what was required by the date and fully expect them to be a no show. I believe all fees are added to the debt, but obviously you may need to pay these up front.

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 22/12/2018 14:23

I believe all fees are added to the debt, but obviously you may need to pay these up front.

I think that is true; although an astonishing amount of small claims cases are never actually "settled" because enforcement costs are high and you can't get money out of someone who doesn't have any. It is complicated.

Best of luck to you both!

cazinge · 22/12/2018 14:23

We previously got a judgement in our favour (against an individual not a business). Despite sending baliffs (more £££) they only paid £1 of a £3k+ debt. They had a CCJ against them but that has now expired. We gave up because it was costing us more and more and we were never going to see anything.

Hope you have better luck.

Original poster

Lovemusic33 · 22/12/2018 14:24

Rhino it’s so stressful, I’m not getting my hopes up about getting my money back or getting my car back in the road (it’s a special kind of car and it will be a shame if I can’t get it fixed) but I just don’t want to let him get away with it, he has done this to many people and still trades and brags about how expereanced he is in his field.

I’m guessing if they don’t respond and don’t turn up to court then it goes in our favour? But I still worry that I will never see the money again.

OP posts:

Bombardier25966 · 22/12/2018 14:24

You add your fees to the debt owed, though if you don't get any money you're down on your fees too.

If they owe several people money and are in trouble with TS I doubt they'll be around for much longer. If they're a limited company then their debts die when the company closes. If they're a sole trader then you can still pursue the individual even once they stop trading.

Bombardier25966 · 22/12/2018 14:25

If they don't respond it won't go to an actual hearing. You just apply for a judgment via the online portal.

Original poster

Lovemusic33 · 22/12/2018 14:32

Bomb I don’t think the company is limited but not sure, it’s registered as a business but from what I can see it’s just him and his wife running it (family business) which is run from their home.

They were trading on eBay and through their website but no longer trade on eBay due to bad feedback and trading standards being involved. To start off with they tried to solve the issue (by coming out ant fitting another gearbox) they seems to want to get it sorted but obviously the gearbox’s they were selling were not re conditioned at all so they just kept putting more faulty boxes in. Now they don’t respond to any of my emails or phone calls. I have them a chance to sort it out before going to small claims. They also damaged my car whilst fitting the last gearbox and it cost me £80 to fix.

I’m angry that they have done this to so many people. Why say you have 20 years expereanced and then sell faulty items to customers? They are just taking money and handing over something that’s not fit for purpose

OP posts:

Original poster

Lovemusic33 · 22/12/2018 14:33

In a way I hope they don’t respond, this way I don’t have to attend court?

OP posts:

Rhinosaurus · 22/12/2018 16:24

I have claimed before a few years ago, it’s quite informal - you are just sat in an office with the defendant and the judge, you put your side and then the defendant puts theirs and then the judge makes a decision. I won that time and the defendant was a big company and turned up with a barrister!

Rhinosaurus · 18/01/2019 06:34

Feedback from my case - I won, and have been awarded damages - the defendant has a month to pay, so will be back to update. The judge focussed on the consumer act, so it would be good to familiarise yourself with that beforehand. I presented statements and evidence to court beforehand, the defendant did not - I feel this gave me an advantage as the judge had read and assimilated the facts beforehand, and said that he had made his own chronology from my evidence.

Rhinosaurus · 28/03/2019 14:49

Just to update, I was paid the settlement on the very last day within the given period. The time it took was about a year from sending my original letter to the defendant requesting a refund, which was refused so court paperwork was completed about two months after.
Hope you are also successful OP.

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