Hi All

I am looking for some help/advice on behalf of my mother-in law.

She had a new kitchen fitted last year.

Earlier this year she had a new boiler fitted need a new cupboard.

She contacted the installer directly and asked if he could source one.

He said he would have to order from abroad so stupidly she paid him in full. (over £900 pounds)

That was February and she still hasn't received the cupboard.

He does not keep in contact and she leaves messages which he never replies to.

He has a shop a few miles away but it never seems to be open.

The last time she spoke to him he promised delivery a few weeks ago but it never arrived.

He has his own company and I checked on companies house yesterday and it was dissolved in July. I think she paid him directly and not his company.

She has reported it to the police but they seem reluctant to do anything.

Could she make a claim against him to recover the money she has paid and if so what would her chances be?

Did she pay in cash?

Hi

No she paid by cheque

When was the cheque paid (in relation to the date of the company’s dissolution in July) : it seems likely it was in February from your post, but I don’t want to assume...

Was the cheque made out to him personally, or to his company?

If she isn’t sure (check the cheque-stub?) she can ask her bank for a copy of the cancelled cheque.

She paid him the cheque in February/March time. The check was made out to him personally.

Then she can state her contract was with him personally, and sue him personally.

She should make “time of the essences” if she hasn’t already done so, in a letter before claim.

If she doesn’t get a refund / the cabinet within that reasonable time frame she can then issue a claim.

It seems likely she’d win a claim but the over-riding issue is

“If she won a claim would she be able to enforce it?”.

A claim won that is then unenforceable is a Pyrrhic victory.

Reverse the cheque?

Reverse the cheque?

You can “stop” a cheque before it gets paid, but how do you “reverse” a cheque 7 months later??

Thanks for your response.

I have told her to send him a letter asking for a refund and give him 14 days, (we got his home address from companies house) and to let him know that if she doesn't receive the refund within that timescale then she will make a claim against him.

“If she won a claim would she be able to enforce it?”. - Do you mean if he hasn't got any money to pay?? I suppose we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

DX100uk - the cheque was cashed a long time ago so that's not an option.

“If she won a claim would she be able to enforce it?”. - Do you mean if he hasn't got any money to pay?? I suppose we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

I suggest you cross that bridge before issuing a claim.

If he is ‘potless’ it’d be “throwing good money after bad”, so unless you don’t mind wasting the time involved and the cost to issue the claim .......

Tanks BazzaS, I see what you mean. How would she find out if he is 'potless'?

Is he trading still (but as an individual)?

Has he got other unsatisfied CCJ's against him that might suggest others have got CCJ's and struggled to enforce them?

Does he own where he lives outright? (check the land registry).

Does he own it at all?

It won't help with deciding on his solvency, but when it comes to enforcement: Can you get someone to phone him with "an order", and get his bank details?

I heard of fraudster who reverse a cheque after it's been cashed, so that's a possibility to explore.

To meet him face to face, give a tenner to a neighbour of his shop to call you when he shows up and promise a further reward.

You'll be surprised to see how helpful nosey neighbours could be.