Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
I'm hoping all you good people will be able to steer me in the right direction
Basically, I bought some furniture back in August 2007 which turned out to be faulty. After months of exchanging phone calls, emails and more faulty goods, I sought advice from Consumer Direct who advised me to send him a letter stating the facts and to give him a deadline to resolve the issue.
To date, I've sent him 3 letters and the current situation is that he has all bar one of the faulty goods back and all of my money I have held on to the last item on the grounds that he is refusing to refund any money on the grounds that I reported him to Trading Standards.
I've spoken to Consumer Direct and Trading Standards again and they've told me that I have no option but to take him to court
Now here's where I am needing help. In the various email exchanges, I have already warned him that I will take action if I don't receive a satisfactory resolution, so do I need to send one final letter telling him that I am now taking him to court?
Also, the trader claims to have never received any of the letters that I have sent him. I sent the first letter via recorded delivery but it was returned to me with "Addressee Unknown". Royal Mail tells me that someone answered the door but claimed that they didn't know anyone of that name or company there. Consumer Direct advised me to send the letter again but with no identifiable marks on it. I did this but he claims to have never received it and asked me to resend it as an attachment to an email. He has since told my husband that he has taped up the mailbox on the premises to prevent any mail being delivered to the registered address! So, assuming that I do initiate proceedings, how do I serve him notice? I can't personally deliver it as I live in Kent and the trader is based in Middlesborough
Re: Need advice on taking a company to small claims
As there is such a distance between you, did you buy this from the internet ?
If he wont receive any mail then he wont receive the summons and you will win on default. He will answer when the bailiffs call however.
Trading Standards wants your help
Dubious website businesses Conterfeit alcohol and cigarettes Illegal sales of alcohol, tobacco, knives & fireworks to children Cowboy builders or tradesmen Car clockers Counterfeiters Aggressive selling
Never phone or accept phonecalls from debt collection companies.
If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed.
_________________________ ________________ _________________________ ___________________
Re: Need advice on taking a company to small claims
Hi Coniff,
Thanks for replying. Yes, we did. He is offering to refund us £85 for a mirror claiming that we have changed our minds about having a replacement off him, therefore we are not entitled to a full refund. However, we are arguing Breach of Contract as he has yet to supply us with a mirror that is not smashed. When the last mirror arrived, broken again, we told him we had had enough and wanted our money back.
He is now saying that because we sent his courier away when they attempted to collect the faulty nest of coffee tables, it is now up to us to return the coffee tables to him, he would then send them on to the manufacturer to examine and if they agree that the tables are faulty, then he will supply us with replacement tables. However, when we initally reported the problem, he tried to replace the faulty square tables with round tables! The next lot of replacements were square but they were still faulty.
The reason we haven't returned the nest of tables is because we didn't want to be in a situation where he had all of the goods and all of our money too. Especially since he had already said that under the Distance Selling Regulations, he didn't have to give us a refund!
Re: Need advice on taking a company to small claims
Would you like to pm me the website - there is a lot can be learned from that.
Trading Standards wants your help
Dubious website businesses Conterfeit alcohol and cigarettes Illegal sales of alcohol, tobacco, knives & fireworks to children Cowboy builders or tradesmen Car clockers Counterfeiters Aggressive selling
Never phone or accept phonecalls from debt collection companies.
If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed.
_________________________ ________________ _________________________ ___________________
Re: Need advice on taking a company to small claims
Some of the information I gleaned.
He is not registered at companies house
He has witheld his name and address from public viewing at the website registry.
The terms and conditions are not what is required and it's not very professional to use only a mobile and not have a landline phone service.
He has not laid out the distance selling regulations, just pointed to a website about them.
Was the full distance regulations included with your purchase when it arrived ?
That is a requirement of the regulations and probably one of the reasons Trading Standards are investigating.
I have seen worse T&Cs, but his does not include all that the regulations say 'must' be included.
The company is in a fair sized unit on an industrial site at that address in his site.
There is no VAT number quoted, was vat included or specified in your invoice ?
Looking at the prices for some of his stuff, £700 for a chair, he surely must be up in the vat turnover area.
The page that you fill in all your details are not encrypted so your name, address, phone no and email address went floating around the ether.
The only secure bit is the payment and he only accepts paypal so no security on his site.
This is all very amateur.
Trading Standards wants your help
Dubious website businesses Conterfeit alcohol and cigarettes Illegal sales of alcohol, tobacco, knives & fireworks to children Cowboy builders or tradesmen Car clockers Counterfeiters Aggressive selling
Never phone or accept phonecalls from debt collection companies.
If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed.
_________________________ ________________ _________________________ ___________________
Re: Need advice on taking a company to small claims
Originally Posted by Conniff
He is not registered at companies house
The fact he is not registered at companies house could actually be to your advantage. If it was a limited company he could easily wind it up without refunding you a penny. However as a sole trader, if you were to successfully sue him, you can then go after his personal possessions etc. if he refuses to pay.
Need advice on taking a company to small claims
, emails and more faulty goods, I sought advice from Consumer Direct who advised me to send him a letter stating the facts and to give him a deadline to resolve the issue.
I have held on to the last item on the grounds that he is refusing to refund any money on the grounds that I reported him to Trading Standards.
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Originally Posted by Conniff
