Service paid for but not supplied. Refund request ignored. Advice needed

[Mike_Wood]

hiya,

 

back in march of this year, i contacted a company about having some work completed on an engine crankshaft, and supplying some new parts to me. i sent the crankshaft off to the company along with a cheque valued at £205.33 for the crankshaft work and the parts.

 

in may i contacted the company, who told me that the work was not worth doing to the crankshaft, but i could send them another crankshaft and another £160 to have the work done to the new crankshaft.

 

i replied to thier email, informing them that i did not have another crankshaft, and that i was unsure why i had to pay again for work that had not been completed by them. the email was ignored

 

i sent another asking for a refund for the work which they had not done, the new parts which they had not supplied, and also asked for my crankshaft to be returned to me.

 

i have not had a single reply to my emails, and they do not answer the phone, so im now sat here £205.33 out of pocket and without my crankshaft (which i actually need for my university final year project).

 

i was informed by my friend that i should try sending a '7 day letter before action' to try and spur them into life, but its now been 2 weeks since i sent one by recorded delivery (sent on 23/07/10), which was delivered on 07/08/10, (so technically, thanks to a 2 week delay in the 1st class post, they still have until next tuesday for 7 business days to reply) but they have still not replied to my emails, letter, or attempted to contact me by telephone.

 

i was just wondering what my next steps would be.

 

if i havent heard by next wednesday, should i then move on to moneyclaim?

 

any advice would be greatly appreciated and thank you for reading.

[perplexity]

The first thing to do is work out what is happening with the company, if it's worth the trouble to chase up.

 

£205.33 is a lot of money but if there's nothing in their bank to sue for it might be better to cut the losses.

 

[Mike_Wood]

i have checked companies house for "Hales Honda" and no sign of them on companies house register, so it might be a sole trader.

 

the cheque was made payable to a personal account too. does this make a difference??

[qa19]

I think you may have been scammed? For them to say s'end me another and more money' seems a little suspicious.

[IdaInFife]

it does seem a bonafide place and probarbly run from home by the address

 

If you do not get a repsonse from your lba ten yes proceed with moneyclaim

[Conniff]

I agree, get the Letter Before Action in the post. To make it even more menacing, you could send it Registered rather than recorded.

 

I certainly wouldn't cut my losses on this as it will only cost £30 to take it to court (which you get back if you win), which to me is worth the risk.

[Mike_Wood]

ok, thanks guys. all advice is greatly appreciated