Legal and sensible advice required with regard to b*stard salesman at Ideal Home Show

[Rhiannon]

Try not to nod off too soon on this one but the story so far is:

Bought giant umbrella at Ideal Home show on 22.3.02. Had to pay in full up front (£1938) - complete fool I know.

I asked for delivery time and said I wasn't interestd as he said 10 weeks. He suggested we bought his show model, when can it be delivered I said, as soon as the show ends he said. I then added a couple of extras to it and he said it would be ready in 2 weeks. I signed the order form but our delivery date was a verbal one.

Got it so far?!

After a wait of 63 days, I contacted Visa and they refunded my Visa account plus interest and informed the company on 24/5/02 of this.

On 7/6/02 the company calls to arrange delivery of umbrella which I said was cancelled. They sent a follow up letter saying we couldn't cancel as we'd signed their contract and terms (on the unseen reverse of the order form). This allowing for delivery 3 months or more away.

I have spoken to a solicitor colleague of my brother and she suggested I send a nice letter to them telling them what's happened, how unhappy the whole thing has made me etc. I have done this and sent a fax over and check they've received it.

The solicitor reckoned I didn't have a 'leg to stand on due to the contract I'd signed'. I pointed out to her that I thought I'd signed to authorise payment only. She said that didn't matter.

Tonight I've cancelled my Visa card.

I hate this man and his company so much that I'm prepared to follow him round the country at every show there is wearing a t-shirt telling people how he's ripped me off.

There it's off my chest now, ideas, sympathy, support girls. I can't believe I was such a fool policeman's daughter too! Aargh. R

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Dear Rhiannon
Sorry that you would even think for a minute that I was referring to anyone on mumsnet. I am talking about a bunch of women who have found out that I post on mumsnet. One reason that I have the courage to say this on here now is because I have taken enormous steps to get away from my tormentor including placing my child in another school. I came to the realisation that the problem woman was never going to stop harassing me and that I had to help myself and my child.

CAM, I'm glad to hear that you changed your child's school. You were strong and brave enough to put your pride aside and do the right thing for your child and it takes a special mother to do something like that. I am a great believer in karma and I'm sure that justice will come in the end. I am going through a similar (though not yet quite so extreme) situation with a few of my neigbors and have found that the hardest part is the constant self questioning as to whether I actually did do something to deserve the treatment.

CAM, These people are still hounding you here even though your daughter has left the school? What sort or people are they? Don't they have something better to do with their time?

Changing primary schools seems like such a big step. I really feel for you. My son, as you may know from other threads, has changed school twice. He adapted far more quickly than I anticipated, even though the second time around, he did not want to leave his classmates.

I was expecting problems that never arose. Neither time did my son pine away, because his new classmates were friendly and his teacher made him feel so welcome. I hope your daughter has an equally good transition.

Once I had made the decision I decided to act straightaway. As she is in the private sector I went to visit another school I liked and decided to put her in after half-term so she could settle before the long summer holidays. They have welcomed her with open arms and she has made friends immmediately - the classes are so small it's impossible not to. We have presented it all as a positive choice to our daughter and kept very cheerful around her, but inside I resent the fact that I put my child's name down at the first school (where she has been since 2 and a half, has spent 3 years there)when she was 6 months old and intended to keep her there till 18. Best laid plans and all that... I know it only matters that she is happy and still gets a good education, but my faith in human nature has been changed to some degree.
Well I have truly hijacked this thread now.

CAM - glad to hear things have sorted themselves out, despite having to change your daughter's school. How did they know about you posting here though? That's awful, to be that petty.

Cam, I read the bullying page, but never knew what to say. We all dread our children being bullied, but being on the receiving end as an adult is unthinkable.

You sound like a very strong and admirable woman to me.

Good luck with your daughter's new school. Personally, even if you liked the 1st school loads, I felt from the bullying thread that the head tacher didn't do enough to support you, and one would have to consider how effectively they'd act if it were a child being bullied. However, it's only an opinion gleaned from reading at a distance, I obviously don't know the teacher or school - I'm waffling now but trying to be supportive!)

I was thinking of you last night, and hope your ordeal ends soon!

Bloss - loved your letter - blimey that's gotta work - even I was scared, so the company's bound to be. Can I run to you next time I need some no-nonsence words?! Couldv'e done with your help with my iron wrangle last year ...

Bloss you are a goddess, Thank you. R

Wow Bloss - impressive stuff.....

Dear CAM - I read your thread too and they are sad f*ers and no mistake. I hope they realise how deeply they are despised. Total scum. Now, is that good enough for you nasty, petty-minded, criminal little web spies? BTW Cam, how did they get your mumsnet moniker? Hey, Bloss, what a heroine. I shall print your letter out and keep it for further reference.

thanks Monkey and your analysis is spot on. Tinker I told you at London lunch 2 but as we had been drinking for 6 hours by then you may not have quite taken it in!Not that I'm suggesting any of us were drunk or anything. dh let slip about mumsnet when I tried to talk to one of the women on her own. She said if it's all true why have you never mentioned it before. dh said she has, but not to you, on a website discussion forum called mumsnet. As Cam are my initials and they know my name..... thanks dh (sometimes men just don't get it do they).

CAM - oops! Sorry.

I do sound rather like I'm telling you off don't I Tinker. That's the problem with written speech - but you know how meek and mild I am in real life.......

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what? calm? logical? I'm not sure those words belong in the vocabulary of any self-respecting mum.

bloss, will let you know as soon as I get a reply from my letter. Have faxed over your letter to my solicitor (my brother works there but has been on holiday - so hopefully he'll get working on it on Monday, but he specialises in criminal law so he'll get one of the others to take a look).

It was an ab. fab. letter, thanks again. R

This is still going on yawn, yawn, yawn. I got a reply to my letter after chasing it by phone and the letter came 2 weeks later. It said that my order was ready for delivery it was my property and I'm too late to cancel it now.

I have now contacted the organising company of the Ideal Home show and they are faxing the company about my complaint.

Will keep you posted!

This is all fascinating - I've had too many problems with companies to mention...

Anyway ks - we once took our landlords (a limited company operating out of an estate agents office) to court over their not paying our deposit. They had docked money for things that were there when we moved in, and for repainting, when the repainting only needed doing because the neighbours' pipes had burst. Like you we won because they didn't get their documents in on time, but then had trouble recovering the money. We considered a garnishee order - where their bank account is frozen since we had their bank details from the tiny cheque they had given us (could you use that), but in the end we simply camped out in their offices until they paid up. I think it helped that each time they sent us away we went for a half in the pub opposite so we were quite lairy by the end of the day. They still owe us £100, but we gave up at that point.

Don't know if that'll help really - does the kitchen man have a warehouse or anything (in which case bailiffs probably will work as he won't be able to claim things belong to other people)? Personally I think I would consider that option just to annoy him (we only didn't do it because we couldn't afford it).

Lastly if anyone knows any students in Brighton - tell them never ever to rent a house from Harvine Develpoments Ltd. Besides the deposit we had damp problems, the whole house had to be rewired because it wasn't ever checked when they converted the it and we had sewerage all over the kitchen (caused by builders dust). The bastards.

Is it legal to stick an advert in the local newspaper asking 'Mr X to pay up the amount decided by the court for his shoddy workmanship'. Or stand on his doorstep shouting that he should pay up because he wouldn't want everyone else to hear how bad his work is. You still might not get your money but at least you would have the satisfaction of knowing that he would be paying for his meanness.

Don't want to scare anyone but a friend of mine recently took a shoddy firm of removers to a small claims court and got a phone call at home saying "do you realise who you are dealing with? I am one of the hardest b*startds in this city"
That night someone slashed the tyres and threw paint stripper all over my friends car.

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