Congrats are in order, even after all this time! Following my last post, I too was successful, after warrants were issued, both for myself and my friend as we did our summons at the same time against the trader. He dragged it out until the last day for payments on the warrants, and finally paid a cheque into the court which I later received in Jan of this year. I then reported the guy to my own local Trading Standards who sent the info to the trader's TS office who were 150 miles away as I felt other people should not be hoodwinked by him in the future by signing a duff contract. Unfortunately, I never heard of any outcome from them as he had the audacity during the case to say he woorked with the local TS!!! Never mind, I was able to bank my cheque after an extremely stressful year of going to court to get my money back.

Martin Is there any feedback you can give me on the details of the two questions you asked me? The defendant has paid up promptly to my friend, but the cheque has yet to clear through the court. He has not paid me although warrants were served within two days of each other (18th and 20th Nov), and my friend received notification on 28th Nov of a cheque being paid. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi Martin Thanks for your help. I just have doubts that even sending the bailiff will recover the money owed as he has prevaricated for almost a year, sending in late defences, not appearing at either hearing etc. On his website, he says he has been in business for the past 20 years. Briefly as I can, my friend and I bought two consecutive weeks in a resale timeshare. She has also pursued a Small Claim through her own local court, and has also been awarded judgement with a different judge, which seems to speak for itself. The defendent is a company, Brantridge Park Sales Ltd, the timeshare resale side is called "Time Travellers, a division of Brantridge Park Sales Ltd". I have spoken in the past to the Timeshare Consumers Association who name this company as one of their recommended sellers! This I will take up with them later, as I will with Trading Standards who I also consulted at the beginning of the claim. Without setting out the long history of the claim, as I said in my initial post, the contract I signed was deemed invalid as it did not comply with the requirements of the Timeshare Acts. (I can go into more detail if you need it). I paid by cheque £2,800 which was cashed on 11th Dec 2007. The court judgement was for this amount, plus court fees, plus my legal costs which totalled £3,575.75. Now, also he must pay the Bailiff's fees. He may buckle and pay the bailiff, but he has resisted so far, so who knows?

"Somebody more knowledgeable than I will be along to put you right in due course". Can anyone enlighten me futher please?

Thanks betty lo I had similar advice from Trading Standards who asked me to get in touch when I had a decision from the court. So, like you, I am waiting to see what happens to the warrant, although I'm not holding my breath! Good luck with yours.

Hi betty lo. I have just filed a Warrant of Execution and wondered if you have any update on whether Trading Standards have been able to help? I have another thread running and I am thinking of involving Trading Standards as the company I have taken through Small Claims, issued what I now know to be a contract that contravened a certain Act. I'd be interested to know if you were successful?

Cheers Trilby, Thanks for your reply. I despair of the Small Claims procedure. The law seem to let debtors get away with murder. I definitely read somewhere that this transfer to an individual can happen, but for the life of me I wish I'd "bookmarked" it. My omission. And I can't afford to throw any more money at my solicitor, otherwise the costs will outweigh the money owed. The court make you jump through hoops to make the claim and pay up at every stage, although you may never get back even your court fees. I am afraid that the defendent in my case may use the same tactic as yours, as there are no assets. He acts only as an agent on a resale transaction for a fee, and just uses the clients' funds. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that a CCJ will affect his business. Fortunately, I can report him to Trading Standards for contravening the Timeshare Acts and there is a sustantial penalty I understand from the solicitor, but we'll see. Thanks

Hi everyone! My first posting, but I'd be glad for any info on this. I bought a resale-timeshare week for an apartment in Madeira but it was shabby etc when I viewed it a week after signing the contract. I cancelled within the 14 days cooling off period which is my right, but the company involved (in the UK), won't repay, saying that my cancellation was outside 14 days etc. My solicitor confirmed that the contract in fact contravened the Timeshare Acts and was not enforcable anyway. I have been through Small Claims and have been awarded Judgement last week. The company (defendents) are not going to pay as only 2 days left of the 14 day payment deadline and they have dragged out the whole thing for almost a year now. They did not show up at the hearing, and unusually, the judge awarded my solicitors costs in addition , on account that the defendeant had acted unreasonably! I am going to take out a Warrant of Execution but am not optimistic. If this goes on and the company refuse to pay up, can I transfer the judgement to the Managing Director? It seems to be a husband and wife operation only with a couple of clerks as employees. he is operating as a limited company. I think I have read somewhere that this can be done to secure the debt owing? Any advice would be appreciated. It is driving me mad that the law appears not to have any teeth against these sharks.