Fighting for Refund of Deposit / **SUCCESS**

[johnnymitch]

Hi there ,

 

I'm no stranger to CAG as you can see, but am mainly in the Banking forums ..........

 

I'm trying to get a refund of a Deposit for my aged next door neighbour , which he paid to a 'mobility aids' company back in April. He paid this on 7th April to the salesman who called at the house to give him details of the equipment required, and signed an agreement.

 

Two days afterwards he decided that he did not want the equipment and cancelled , using their form attached to the agreement . He sent it 'Recorded Delivery' on 9th April and they received it on 14th April.

 

After several teleophone calls to the company during May and June, where receptionists promised someone would ring back and no one ever did - he asked me if I could help .......

 

I've tried phoning 6 times with the same result - nowt ! So I sent them a Prelim Letter asking for it back (15 days ago) and I know they got it (PO tracking) .........

I'm now going to send a LBA .........now (at last I hear you say ,LOL) here is my question ......

 

As I have no name for a manager , but I have the details of the company directors(from Companies House) - can I legally tell them that they (or one of them , preferably the Commercial /sales Director) will be named in the court action which will follow non-compliance with the LBA . ?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice

johnnymitch

[Alphageek]

Unless the money was paid to the director, I'm pretty sure you'd have to name the company as the defendant.

[johnnymitch]

Wow ,that was quick alphageek , thanks mate !

 

I see where you're coming from ..... can I however, send a copy of the LBA and previous letters to the Directors addresses , as obtained from Companies House ..... hoping they may give the Manager a dig .... ?

[Alphageek]

It's not a course of action I'd take.

 

If you have sent a prelim that has been ignored and they ignore your LBA, the people who need to notice will surely get the message when they receive an N1 stamped by your local court

[johnnymitch]

Aw ! I just wanted to tweak their tails .....

 

Thanks though ,alphageek , I'll sort out the LBA today .....

[Alphageek]

How is this progressing Jonnymitch?

[gyzmo]

Also report this to Consumer Direct or Trading Standards.

 

Sales of this type (to "vulnerable" consumers) or a hotty wih them, and rightly so.

[buzby]

I've yet to see any benefit (in getting TS to take any action on behalf of the customer. They'll 'advise' you to take them to court - or they may send a letter, threatening the same, but there's little point in promising to go to court, THEN go to TS - they'll realise they'll probably fe home free.

 

It looks as though he made the arrangement and signed the contract in response not to a cold call, but a formal appointment. In these cases the waters become muddied and there is less room to apportion blame - so a 'win' is not a certainty unless rules have been broken.

[johnnymitch]

How is this progressing Jonnymitch?

 

 

Thanks for your follow-up query on this alphageek ...... the LBA went on 18 July and was signed for by them on 21 July - so they've got until the 4th August before I start court action for my neighbour ......

 

He's an old guy of nearly 90 so I'm hoping the court will let me be a 'speaking' McKenzie Friend for him ...... if it comes to that .......

 

Btw , it's nice of gyzmo and busby to use my thread as their own personal battlefield .......

 

gerrof and open your own threads guys ...

[johnnymitch]

Incidentally , I did report(by telephone ) to TS - who passed me onto Consumer Direct - who 'noted ' it .........

[gyzmo]

I'm sorry, it was not meant to be that way, but I will not let incorrect information go by. If this company is refusing to follow statutory requirements, then it should be reported so that TS can investigate if felt necessary, as they may be doing it to other people.

[johnnymitch]

That's OK gyzmo , it happens on my forum (HSBC) too - I don't mind - it's all relevant info .....

 

Just having a bit of a leg-pull with you & busby

[johnnymitch]

Right !that's it you two ........ If you can't be civil get off my thread .;

 

 

I'm used to friendly advice being given on this site ...... and you're definitely not helping anyone with this attitude .....

 

So, go off and continue your vendetta somewhere else .... or I will officially complain to the Site Team ..

[johnnymitch]

Ok gyzmo , I take your point - and if you're the gyzmo whom everyone was talking about a couple of weeks ago ,trying to persuade you to return - or not leave ? then I know you're well-respected on here ......

[legalpickle]

johnnymitch: I've just come onto this thread. I've had a lot of experience in suing companies for breach of contract and lack of refunds. Whilst I know a bit about banks, my area of expertise is not so much about banks. So if you need any help, feel free to just ask (I'm now subscribed to this thread).

 

I suggest, just in case, you post your draft Particulars of Claim ("PoC") up here to be proofed.

 

As for being a Lay Representative, which is the official term for a McKenzie Friend, if you're in England & Wales that shouldn't be a problem, providing the Claimant attends with you.

 

This has already been answered, but I'll try to make it clearer. Unless a Director signed personal liability for something the Defendant is the company, therefore the LBA and claim should be issued against the Defendant company with no mention of the Director. The only time the Directors are summoned is if you get a CCJ against the company and it doesn't pay, so you issue an Order to attend court for questioning on the company's financial status, which is done against the Directors, personally, and an arrest warrant is issued for the Directors, personally, if they don't attend court for questioning.

 

Best of Luck!

 

Even if you don't utilize our help, please keep us posted!

[citizenB]

Right, gyzmo and buzby.. I have unapproved your some of your posts. If you want them moved to an off topic thread of your very own where you can spit and snarl to your hearts content.. then please let me know and I will set one up for you.

 

BSC, have unapproved your posts as well as requested.

Edited July 31, 2009 by citizenB

[johnnymitch]

Thank you BSC - I don't think it's irrelevant ..... it needed saying..

 

 

 

And thank you for your intervention CB - it';s much appreciated - they're like a couple of kids

 

Arent they just

 

Oops, edited your post instead of quoting

Edited July 31, 2009 by citizenB
Oops, edited your post instead of quoting :)

[johnnymitch]

Legal pickle - that information is invaluable - thank you - They've got till next Thursday and then it's N1 time .

 

That is interesting about being able to be a 'speaking' McKenzie Friend - I wasn't sure how to go about it . However , I have a contact who works in the local court , so I'll ask there when I pick up the N1 .

 

Thanks again - I may be back for help with the POCs

[citizenB]

I would be interested in knowing more about "speaking McKenzie friends", JM.

 

BTW, I edited your post with my comment above ^^^ instead of quoting

[BSC]

Thank you BSC - I don't think it's irrelevant ..... it needed saying..

 

Only irrelvant in the fact that the posts no longer exist. Still at least we know what we're talking about

[johnnymitch]

Of course BSC - lol

[freakyleaky]

I only looked in here as someone told me there was a mass brawl going on.

Very dissapointed.

 

 

Hi Johnny. How the devil are you?

[johnnymitch]

I'm fine thanks freaky - hope you're OK too mate - it's been a while.....

 

Sorry you missed the 'brawl' - I know how much you like a scrap - but our intrepid CB beat you to it !! lol

[johnnymitch]

I would be interested in knowing more about "speaking McKenzie friends", JM.

As I understand it CB – a McKenzie Friend (or Lay representative as LP says ) can accompany a claimant if they are not legally represented . Usually it’s a silent support with no right to speak , but under certain circumstances this can be granted if applied for before a hearing. (try googling McKenzie Friend and see what you come up with ... )

BTW, I edited your post with my comment above ^^^ instead of quoting

I know ........ take more water with it CB ....... LOL!!

[gyzmo]

JM, was the contract signed at home? If so it will probably be covered by the doorstep selling regs, which requires a notice of cancellation (cooling off period of 7 days) as well as other requirements which, if not met, allow for cancellation anyway.

 

A brief guide to the regs is here: Doorstep Selling - Guidance for Business - BIS