lost laptop repair case - want to appeal but refused by the judge.

[BaronessVerney]

I really need advice please:

 

 

I went to court end last month:

 

 

Last yr laptop repairman took my laptop to quote on repairing broken screen,

brought back the next day with much damage to hinge area etc,

he denied it so I took him to court.

 

 

There he admitted fault, but I lost the case.

 

 

All my evidence was correct, half of which I sent to court was lost by court including quote I obtained,

 

 

judge had no idea about costs of repairing computers,

many court mistakes especially including the fact I lost the case.

I asked for appeal, it was denied by same judge.

 

Now I need to solve this,

 

 

so far all I have is vague suggestion to write letter of complaint to said court, or solicitors @ £500.00 per consultation alone.

 

 

Thanks for all you can do.

 

 

Sorry it's rather urgent due to court complaint policy.

[unclebulgaria67]

What was the value of the laptop originally ? And what would a similar specification laptop cost today ?

 

What was the cost of the repair ?

 

How old was the laptop ?

 

What was the reason for the judgement going against you ?

 

What did you claim for ?

 

Reason for asking questions, is that i think although there was additional damage caused, there was a problem with the claim you were making. The quality of plastic on laptops is not great and it is possible for damage to be caused replacing a screen. On an old laptop, it is questionable how much you could claim.

[BaronessVerney]

Good day to you Uncle Bulgaria.

 

The original cost/value of the laptop was £325.00. A similar one today would be ave £399.00. Same make and same specs @ 5 core.

 

The quote to repair the damage done by the computer repairman (Greg) alone was approx £135.00 (I can't remember the exact price with pence, the quote was sent to the court, my copy is at my parents house, I will know for sure tomorrow). The damage to the hinge was such that it was completely off and the mechanisms inside were on full view with a few bits incl a small spring-type-thing hanging out, it was possible to see through the laptop from from to back, the whole of the lid was wonky and laptop could not be opened more than 2 inches when he brought it back. As the proper 25 years shop establish repairman (Volts UK) stated the whole back was to be realigned and part of the back replaced because of Greg's severe tampering. Previous quotes from Greg were £70.00 to fix the screen, and then £110.00 to fix screen and hinges after he'd had it for a while. That was supposed to be a "special deal".

 

At that time the laptop was 11 months old, it had been used only a matter of around 7 weeks as that's when the screen was broken.

 

The judge did not give a reason for why the judgement went against me, nor any inclination. She re-read the points of both sides, as such, said "Um" and then said "I going to give it to the repairman". Just to note: Many small-but-important things I said in the court APPEARED to be ignored too, whereas some of the same from Greg where taken notice of without proof ~ examples are that he said he didn't receive the last lost of information from me, although I asked him - as we are supposed to keep in touch about that - and refused to reply, and he mentioned his company feedback was great (actually ex-company as his company that used was not a company anymore as he was part of another previously made company, oddly he stated I should have sued his previous company and not him personally) eventhough it was not checked by the judge, I had looked up the new company feedback online and only saw 3, my previous one was not on there anymore at all.

 

I claimed for the sum of the quote and the £25.00 court fee.

 

Thank You.

Edited July 26, 2015 by BaronessVerney

[unclebulgaria67]

Sounds like you issued the court claim against an employee of a company and not the company. This could well be why the Judge refused the claim.

 

I don't fully understand some of what you have said. I would suggest that you phone Citizens Advice, so you can discuss this matter and perhaps you can proceed on the correct basis.

[BaronessVerney]

Sounds like you issued the court claim against an employee of a company and not the company. This could well be why the Judge refused the claim.

 

I don't fully understand some of what you have said. I would suggest that you phone Citizens Advice, so you can discuss this matter and perhaps you can proceed on the correct basis.

 

It was his own company he was the only employee, which is why the court advised to sue him rather than the co. This is not the reason the judge refused the claim at all. I wrote on here to see if anyone had any idea of the procedure of this circumstance, obviously I called the CAB first and foremost, the day after the court hearing, and its out of their jurisdiction to advise, apart from to get a solicitor......... Writing on here was a last resort. Peoplle will either know the answer, or they won't.

Edited July 27, 2015 by BaronessVerney

[unclebulgaria67]

Trying to understand why the Judge refused the claim. They usually give an explanation. Unless you know why the claim was refused, it is difficult for anyone to advise. If the defendant gave false information to the court, if you have proof of this, speak to the clerk of court about how to pursue this.

 

Given the relatively low value of the laptop, it is not worth pursuing in my opinion.

 

Replacing a screen in a laptop is not a difficult job. In a newish laptop, i would expect a skilled technicuan to replace a screen without damaging the laptop.

[unclebulgaria67]

Did you have proof of the condition of the laptop before it went in for repair and proof of the condition after repair ? Was there any doubt that the repairman damaged the laptop ?

[tobyjugg2]

It may also be that if the screen was physically damaged it could be very reasonably argued that other damage was there as a result of that initial damage event which was not immediately apparent until screws/mounts are undone.

Plastic does become brittle when exposed to heat etc which will only become apparent when moved as in part disassemble to assess the scope of the damage.

[unclebulgaria67]

It may also be that if the screen was physically damaged it could be very reasonably argued that other damage was there as a result of that initial damage event which was not immediately apparent until screws/mounts are undone.

Plastic does become brittle when exposed to heat etc which will only become apparent when moved as in part disassemble to assess the scope of the damage.

 

I took my laptop apart. I was quite surprised at the weight of the screen compared to the lightweight plastic that was supporting it. There are some thin metal support strips, but they are not very robust.

 

So yes it is quite possible there was other hidden damage, which only came to light afer screws were undone.

[steampowered]

I'm afraid I think that you have reached the end of the road with this. You can only appeal on the basis of a 'question of law', not a 'question of fact'. The key thing to understand is that an appeal court would not re-hear evidence in relation to the dispute; it would only consider whether the judge has correctly understood the law.

 

Although it is not clear to me why the judge decided against you as I was not there, I cannot identify any 'error in law' from your posts. The question of whether the repairman broke the laptop is a purely factual question. This is a question of fact which cannot be appealed.

 

Unfortunately I don't think there is anything you can do as I cannot see any 'error of law' which is needed to bring an appeal.